COM 212: Interpersonal Communication

Semester Syllabus - Fall, 2002

Section 800: Tuesday/Thursday - 11:10AM-12:30PM - Mahar 111
Section 810: Tuesday/Thursday - 2:20PM-3:40PM - Lanigan 107A

Grading:

Weight Description

Final Exam 20% 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 15% Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted in the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material up until mid-term.

Section Quizzes 12% Brief Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of each of the six major topic areas that don't end at a major exam (e.g. the mid-term and final). These quizzes, worth 2% each, will only cover the material associated with their section.

Communication Journal 12% A semester long journal of your interpersonal communication history and activities. This journal will take a form such that, at the end of the semester, you will have an "interpersonal resume" that outlines and examines significant interpersonal experiences of your life. While I'm sure such a resume will never have any particular value in getting a job, it may help you to understand yourself a little better. A number of journal entries will start with index card assignments.

Index Card Assignments 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. These will not be graded. Simply turning the assignment 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 21% You will be expected to write a research paper on a topic of your own choosing within the scope of the course. A sensible research paper will select a single topic that we examine in the course and take a look at that topic in more detail. In order to do this you will need to go find additional references related to the topic. The term paper will proceed in three stages. In the first stage you will select a topic. In the second stage you will select a set of references and create an outline. In the last stage you will complete the paper. The final grade for the paper will be given after a short interview with the student in which the paper will be discussed.

Attendance 10% You get this just for showing up prepared every day. 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%

Attendance Subtraction open Every absence beyond four will result in a net subtraction from your final grade.

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.

Attendence:

There are several layers of content associated with this course, including:

the texts and other readings.
lectures, which will sometimes extend and often diverge from the readings.
class discussions
tests
papers and other assignments

All of these elements contribute to the overall learning experience of this class, and you will necessary miss out on these layers if you miss class. Attendence counts as a part of the course grade in at least two ways. It will not be possible to receive an A in this class with more than 3 absences. Any absenses beyond four will result in a net subtraction from your final grade. For most students, however, these absenses will have secondary effects on test scores and other assignments.

Bottom line: Be here.

Plagerism and Cheating:

I have caught a number of students attempting to pass off other people's work as their own. Such behavior is unacceptable in any classroom, and I won't accept it in mine. The Oswego Student Handbook discusses cheating and its possible implications. My usual practice will be to zero any assignment on which a student has been found to be cheating and to make a confidential report of the act to the office of the Dean of Liberal Arts. I retain the right to use any punishment for cheating and plagerism, including outright failure of the course or college disciplinary action.

Examples of cheating include:

Duplicate test answers. I cannot prevent students from studying together or comparing notes on a take home exam (should I give any). Test answers should always be in your own words (e.g. not copied out of a book or off of someone elses test paper).
Plagerized term paper content. I encourage you to look at content from a wide variety of sources, but the content of your term paper should be in your own words.
Unreferenced term paper content. Where, in the course of writing a term paper, you present the ideas of others, you must indicate where they came from with a reference. This is true even when you have stated the ideas in your own words or if the ideas or their sources seem obvious.

Bottom line: Write in your own words and reference the ideas you use to the sources you read them in.

Disabling Conditions

Students who have a disabling condition which might interfere with their ability to successfully complete this course are encouraged to speak, confidentially, to the class instructor, or to contact the Office of Disability Services (x3358, 210 Swetman). Grades in this course will be based on mastery of material, but I will be happy to cooperate in identifying alternate means of demonstrating such mastery where there is a demonstrable need.

Bottom line: I'm here to help.

Late Assignments:

It is your responsibility to ensure that all assignments are submitted by the due date. I will reduce the grade on an assignment by one half letter grade for every class period by which it is late.

Questions, Problems and Incompletes:

If you have a question I encourage you to ask it in class. There are no stupid questions; only answers that didn't need to be. If you don't know the answer to a question it is likely someone else is curious as well. Please ask. The worst that can happen is that I defer my answer to a meeting after class or during office hours.

If you have a problem in the class I encourage you to contact me as quickly as possible. Several means of contact are listed at the top of my Oswego home page, including telephone, e-mail, and instant messenger. I also maintain regular office hours. Note, in particular, that I will not grant an incomplete for the course unless you talk to me about it in advance or I am aware of conditions which would make it impossible for you to do so.

	Weight	Description
Final Exam	20%	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	15%	Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted in the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material up until mid-term.
Section Quizzes	12%	Brief Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of each of the six major topic areas that don't end at a major exam (e.g. the mid-term and final). These quizzes, worth 2% each, will only cover the material associated with their section.
Communication Journal	12%	A semester long journal of your interpersonal communication history and activities. This journal will take a form such that, at the end of the semester, you will have an "interpersonal resume" that outlines and examines significant interpersonal experiences of your life. While I'm sure such a resume will never have any particular value in getting a job, it may help you to understand yourself a little better. A number of journal entries will start with index card assignments.
Index Card Assignments	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. These will not be graded. Simply turning the assignment 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	21%	You will be expected to write a research paper on a topic of your own choosing within the scope of the course. A sensible research paper will select a single topic that we examine in the course and take a look at that topic in more detail. In order to do this you will need to go find additional references related to the topic. The term paper will proceed in three stages. In the first stage you will select a topic. In the second stage you will select a set of references and create an outline. In the last stage you will complete the paper. The final grade for the paper will be given after a short interview with the student in which the paper will be discussed.
Attendance	10%	You get this just for showing up prepared every day. 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%
Attendance Subtraction	open	Every absence beyond four will result in a net subtraction from your final grade.
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.