COM 380: Communication Ethics

Semester Syllabus - Fall, 2001

Davis Foulger

Course Schedule and Assignments

The Approved Department Course Syllabus on which this course is based.

The Course Bibliography from which the approved course syllabus was written may contain useful reference material.

Texts

Leslie, Larry Z. Mass Communication Ethics: Decision Making in Post-Modern Culture. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Rossi, Phillip J. and Paul A. Soukup. Mass Media and the Moral Imagination. Sheed & Ward, 1994.

Grading:

I'm still finalizing the assignments for this course and their weighting. Here's how things break out now.

Weight Description

Final Exam 24% Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course, including classroom material and book material.

Mid-Term Exam 12% Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted in the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material up until mid-term.

Group Presentation 14% A group research project in the form of a case study analysis. Will culminate in a scheduled group presentation.

Index Card Reports 10% Index card assignments entail doing a small assignment involving thought or observation, but with the restriction that the output of the assignment (your answer or observation) must fit on one side of a 3x5 card. There will be approximately 15 such assignments, each worth about .66 (10/15). These will not be graded. Simply turning them in on time nets the points, but deductions will be taken if it is obvious that a particular assignment wasn't taken seriously. Index Card Assignments will frequently be used in the course of class discussions.

Term Paper 30% A research paper.

Participation 10% You get this just for showing up prepared at a rate of about .36 (10/28) per class. I will deduct if it is obvious that you were not prepared (e.g. had not done the reading or completed the assignment) on a given day.

Total Grade (based on above) 100%

Effort Bonus Up to 10% An optional addition, based on good and enthusiastic participation, interest in subject matter, etc. There is no guarantee I will give any of these points to anyone.

	Weight	Description
Final Exam	24%	Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course, including classroom material and book material.
Mid-Term Exam	12%	Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted in the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material up until mid-term.
Group Presentation	14%	A group research project in the form of a case study analysis. Will culminate in a scheduled group presentation.
Index Card Reports	10%	Index card assignments entail doing a small assignment involving thought or observation, but with the restriction that the output of the assignment (your answer or observation) must fit on one side of a 3x5 card. There will be approximately 15 such assignments, each worth about .66 (10/15). These will not be graded. Simply turning them in on time nets the points, but deductions will be taken if it is obvious that a particular assignment wasn't taken seriously. Index Card Assignments will frequently be used in the course of class discussions.
Term Paper	30%	A research paper.
Participation	10%	You get this just for showing up prepared at a rate of about .36 (10/28) per class. I will deduct if it is obvious that you were not prepared (e.g. had not done the reading or completed the assignment) on a given day.
Total Grade (based on above)	100%

Effort Bonus	Up to 10%	An optional addition, based on good and enthusiastic participation, interest in subject matter, etc. There is no guarantee I will give any of these points to anyone.