Policies

Course Requirements

Academic Integrity

While you are a student at this college, you will be treated as an adult.  You are expected to know and abide by the rules of the institution as described in the Scot’s Key.  Particular attention should be directed to the appropriate use of materials available on-line through the Internet.  It is important that you read and understand the ethical use of information.  Whether intentional or not, improper use of materials can be considered a violation of academic honesty.

Cheating in any of your academic work is a serious breach of the Wooster Ethic and the Code of Academic Integrity and is grounds for an F for the entire course.  In addition, I am required to forward a record of the incident to the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement.  You will be held responsible for your actions.  If you are unsure as to what is permissible, always consult me first.

You should be aware of the following guidelines regarding plagiarism:

  1. Any idea or argument taken from a work that is not your own – whether it is from a printed source, the internet, or another student – must be properly cited.  You must incorporate an acknowledgment of the source of the idea in a footnote.  If not, your work will be considered plagiarism.
  2. All quotations must be clearly marked with quotation marks in the text and the source identified in a footnote.  If not, your work will be considered plagiarism.
  3. Any group of three or more words taken directly from a work that is not your own must appear in quotation marks and the source identified in a footnote.  If not, your work will be considered plagiarism.
  4. The borrowing of any complete sentence, sentence fragment, or sequence of three words or more from a work that is not your own (whether taken from printed works, the internet, or the work of another student) without quotation marks and without proper citation is considered plagiarism.  This includes words taken from reference works, online book reviews, or student essay posting sites.

The Writing Center

The Writing Center provides professional tutors who work with you to help clarify your thinking and improve the communication of your ideas.  They can help at all stages of writing, from planning to drafting to revision.  I encourage you all to take advantage of this wonderful, free resource for any of your writing assignments.
Location: Andrews Library Level 1.
Hours:         Sunday 6-9     Monday – Thursday 9-5 & 6-9    Friday 9-4    Saturday: closed
Appointments: Walk-in consultations are accepted, but you are encouraged to schedule an appointment online or by calling extension 2205.

The Learning Center

The Learning Center, which is in APEX (Gault library) offers a variety of academic support services, programs and 1:1 meetings available to all students. Popular areas of support include time management techniques, class preparation tips and test taking strategies. In addition, the Learning Center coordinates peer-tutoring for several academic departments. Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment at the APEX front desk or visit the Learning Center Website for additional options.

An additional support that the Learning Center offers is English Language Learning. Students can receive instruction or support with English grammar, sentence structure, writing, reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking fluency, pronunciation, and American culture through 1:1 meetings with the Learning Center staff, ELL Peer Tutoring, ELL Writing Studio courses, and other programming offered throughout the year. Students seeking ELL support are encouraged to visit the APEX front desk.

The Learning Center also coordinates accommodations for students with diagnosed disabilities. At the beginning of the semester, students should contact Kaylynne Mahone, Assistant Director of the Learning Center (ext. 2595; kmahone@wooster.edu), to make arrangements for securing appropriate accommodations.  Although the Learning Center will notify professors of students with documented disabilities and the approved accommodations, students are encouraged to speak with professors during the first week of each semester.  If a student does not request accommodations or does not provide documentation to the Learning Center, faculty are under no obligation to provide accommodations.

Laptop and cell phone Policy

Students may not use laptops in the classroom.

Cell phones must be stowed during the entire class. Any student using a phone in class will be asked to leave.

Recording Classroom Activities

No student may record or tape or photograph any classroom activity without my express written consent.  If a student believes that he/she is disabled and needs to record or tape classroom activities, he/she should contact the Office of the Secretary to request an appropriate accommodation.

Attendance

You are expected to faithfully attend this class. You are further expected to be on time and not disrupt the class by getting up to go the bathroom in the middle of class. It’s only 75 minutes, go before class. Showing up late or getting up to leave in the middle of our time is a sign of disrespect to your classmates and me.

Late Work

Penalties of a letter grade will accrue every 24 hours past the due date for 72 hours. At that time, the grade will automatically convert to an F.

Electronic Submissions

All work will be submitted electronically as a pdf file to my email address jroche@wooster.edu. Title your work with your name and key word as to the assignment, for example “roche new deal book review.” Failure to attach your document or sending it in the wrong format etc. . . fall into the 21st version of the “dog ate my homework” set of excuses.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

This class is your job. Be a professional. Be prepared. Turn off cell phones and other personal electronics before entering the classroom. Use appropriate language. Treat everyone in class with respect. Failure to act in a professional manner (being disruptive, being rude, not being prepared) will result in severe grade penalties.

One of the great values of a small liberal arts college is the personal contact between faculty and students. If you have a problem in class: you are falling behind, you will have to miss a class, an assignment has you vexed, you have missed class and want to find out what you missed, email is NOT the best way to communicate. Let me repeat that: Email is NOT  the best way to communicate. I check my email once a day and mostly do triage, any subject that does not demand my immediate attention can go unread for days. But I am in my office pretty much every day. Come see me during my office hours. Too often what might take 4-5 back-and-forth messages (and several days) through email, can be resolved in one five-minute conversation.