Professional Development: Policies and Procedures

CELL PHONE POLICY: All cell phones must be turned off during class.

EMAIL: Official communication to you will often come through your NMSU e-mail box. Please access it regularly, or forward email to your current use address, as your success in college may depend on your ability to respond quickly.

Earning your grade (1000 pts maximum) :

In class participation: (300 pts) Based on student attendance and contribution to class discussion, and evidence of preparedness for class. Students earn 30 points per class for a maximum of 300 pts. STUDENTS MUST SIGN THE CLASS ROSTER

Portfolio assignment: (300 pts) Students will be asked to prepare a professional portfolio showcasing their achievements, skills, and academic record. Details of the portfolio entries will be posted on the Portfolio web page.
Self Study Assignments (400 pts) Miscellaneous group and individual assignments to enhance professional development skills

* Part 1: Faculty interviews; professional statements; profile on professional network site; CV/resume; Text assessment

* Part 2: Seminar evaluation; Workshop evaluations; professional development plan; job search; financial aid search; Text assessment

Grade Scale:

A 90-100 %

B 80-89 %

C 70-79 %

D 60-69 %

F < 60 %

S (Satisfactory) requires a B-

Note: The grade scale may be curved at the end of the semester at the discretion of the instructor.

Late assignments. 10% of the total points will be deducted for each week the assignment is late. Assignments will not be accepted if submitted more than 7 days after the due date.

Attendance: Discussion and debate are essential components of this class, therefore, students are expected to attend all classes except for a documented university business, medical emergency etc. Documentation must be submitted if you are absent and it is best to inform the instructor in advance if possible if you will need to miss class.

S/U Option: Students must meet all requirements of the course. A grade of C is required to receive an S if you requested an S/U grade..

Withdrawals: It is your responsibility to withdraw from the course. The instructor will not automatically drop you from the course for failure to attend class or to complete exams or assignments.

Incompletes, academic misconduct, and make-up work: Incompletes will be given only if a student has passed the first half of the course (assignments through March 8) and is precluded from completing the course by a documented illness or family crisis. There are no make-up assignments. Missed assignments with university excused absences must be discussed with the instructor within one week of the due date of the assignment. There are no provisions for extra credit work. Students found guilty of academic misconduct, may be subject to disciplinary action.

XEROX and/or BACKUP all assignments before submitting them to the instructor.

SAVE xeroxes of all graded assignments and exams from this course at least until you have received your final grade.

PLAGIARISM: Students found guilty of plagiarism have engaged in academic misconduct and shall be subject to disciplinary action. The penalty for plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct (as defined in the Student Code of Conduct) is failure of the course: no exceptions. The current University definition of plagiarism can be found at http://www.nmsu.edu/%7Evpsa/SCOC/misconduct.html . It reads as follows:

Plagiarism is using another person’s work without acknowledgment, making it appear to be one’s own. Any ideas, words, pictures, or other intellectual content taken from another source must be acknowledged in a citation that gives credit to the source. This is irrespective of the origin of the material, including the Internet, other students’ work, unpublished materials, or oral sources. Intentional and unintentional instances of plagiarism are considered instances of academic misconduct. It is the responsibility of the student submitting the work in question to know, understand, and comply with this policy. If no citation is given, then borrowing any of the following * would be an example of plagiarism:

· an idea or opinion, even when put into one’s own words (paraphrase)

· a few well-said words, if these are a unique insight

· many words, even if one changes most of them

· materials assembled by others, for instance quotes or a bibliography

· an argument

· a pattern of ideas

· graphs, pictures, or other illustrations

· facts

· all or part of an existing paper or other resource

* This list is not meant to include all possible examples of plagiarism.

Even with a citation, failure to put quotation marks around direct quotations also constitutes plagiarism, because it implies that the writing is your own. Material should either be paraphrased or clearly designated as a quotation. Note that replacing words with synonyms, changing verb tense or other minor alterations do not qualify as paraphrasing.

OTHER:

GUIDELINES FOR CLASS DISCUSSION: During the semester, many opinions will be voiced in the class. You may strongly disagree with some of these, or you may find them amusing. Outbursts can be misinterpreted or counterproductive to meaningful and thoughtful debate. Therefore, it is important that you exercise self-discipline and self-control, and treat all members of the class with the courtesy that you are entitled to receive in turn. The key words are: respect and courtesy. Please turn off cell phones and beepers while in class. Thank you!

SYLLABUS MODIFICATION: The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus during the semester as considered necessary to enhance the quality of the instruction, to meet the needs of students in the class and to achieve course objectives. Any changes to the syllabus [or to the course schedule] will be announced in class and it is the responsibility of the student for being aware of them.

COURSE REGISTRATION. If you drop a class on-line or are told that someone else will drop you, you need to check and make sure that the class was properly dropped. The same applies to adding a class.

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES. ICT Customer Service Center is equipped to deal with all of your information technology (IT) and telecommunications needs at NMSU. Their hours of operation are from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Please feel free to contact them at 646-1840 or via e-mail at helpdesk@nmsu.edu. You can also go to the Student Technology Help web page and the Student Resource tab on learn.nmsu.edu for additional information on NMSU Technology requirements.

EQUITY: Feel free to call Jerry Nevarez, Director of Institutional Equity, at 575-646-3635 with any questions you may have about NMSU’s Non-Discrimination Policy and complaints of discrimination, including sexual harassment.

ADA: Feel free to call Diana Quintana, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities, at 575-646-6840 with any questions you may have on student issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All medical information will be treated confidentially.

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT HEAD: The Department Head is Dr. John Gustafson (646-3611). His office is in the Foster 275. Ms. Gloria Valencia and Ms. Sylvia Saenz are Biology office staff.