Davis A. Foulger, Ph. D.

Visiting
Professor
Fall, 2005-Spring, 2006
and Fall 2001-Spring 2003

Communication 365: Organizational Communication

Semester Syllabus - Spring, 2003

Grading Criteria:

AssignmentWeightDescription
Mid-Term Exam20%Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted in the middle of the semester. Covers all of the material up until mid-term.
Final Exam20%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.
Group Presentation20%A group research project culminating in a scheduled group presentation. Here are the groups. The group project is due on March 20.
Index Card Reports10%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 15-25 such assignments, each worth between .4 and .66 (10/25 - 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 Paper30%A research paper.
Total Grade (based on above)100% 
Attendance SubtractionopenEvery absence beyond two will result in a net subtraction of one quarter of a letter grade from your final grade..
Effort BonusUp 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.

Note that I maintain both scheduled in-office office hours and unscheduled "virtual" office hours. Any time you find my AOL Instant Messenger ID "Dr Foulger" up, feel free to ask questions. I will often have this ID up during my scheduled office hours as well.

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