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1.  Introduction:
I am providing this page of information to help students understand the
policies and procedures that I consider essential for students. The
purpose is to provide a base of common knowledge which will help eliminate
most routine questions and problems. Then, students can concentrate on
learning and the instructor can focus on helping students learn. You
are to read the following items and then print off the agreement form located
at the bottom of this page, sign it, and return it to me the next class
period. It may become necessary to update these policies during the
semester. Changes will be announced in class. Students are
responsible for these changes and should check this site periodically for any
changes.
2. Teaching Style:
I follow a methodology of teaching called learner-centered instruction.
The concept shifts the role of the instructor from a lecturer to a
facilitator and the student's role from passive to active learning. I
see my job as helping students learn by providing them with a base of
information and multiple methods of receiving the course information and then
guide them as they develop their own interests. The students are in
charge of and responsible for their own education. It is important for
you as the student to understand that that you are here to learn and I am
here to help you learn. You are not here to just get a grade.
Getting a grade is an evaluation of the process that is required as part of
my job description.
Students also need to understand that the focus of my work is to help
students to learn and not to be a bookkeeper. I gladly will answer any
and all questions about the course material. Any Questions that are not
about the course content will be gladly answered by making an appointment
with me or by coming to my office hours.
I strive to make the experience of taking a class from me to be scholastically
energizing and worthwhile. I thoroughly enjoy teaching so I have
created these policies for those who concentrate on issues other than their
learning and my teaching (helping you learn). Students should refer to
this page and the course syllabus for issues such as point values for
assignments and homework, the recording of grades, etc.
3. Use of Scantrons:
In many of my courses, I use scantrons to aid in the grading process,
especially for the final exam. Students who have not used them before
can easily find how to correctly mark a scantron by reading the directions
located on the scantron. It is important to mark your answers correctly
to receive full credit.  If you incorrectly mark an answer and cannot erase
completely, simply apply "white out" to cover the incorrect
answer. In all cases, you must use a #2 lead pencil to mark your
answers. Ink cannot be read by the machines so always bring a pencil to
each examination. You are accountable for marking the scantron
correctly.
4. Tentative Schedules and Syllabi:
All schedules and syllabi are tentative. I reserve the right to make
changes to the schedule and to the syllabus as I deem necessary. All
changes will be announced in class. Students missing classes are
responsible for those changes regardless of their class attendance.
Therefore, be sure you can trust the student to tell you all that you missed
when you ask "Did I miss anything important?"
5. Listening:
Listening is a skill. Students are expected to listen to what is being
said during class time. Reading notes of other classes, playing games
on the computer, etc. will distract you from hearing/seeing the material
presented. The result is that I must repeat information multiple times
thereby slowing down the class unnecessarily. Therefore, any student who is
intentionally not paying attention will be asked to leave the
classroom.
Additionally, it is distracting to me to have students talk among themselves
while I am lecturing. If you do not understand something or are not
sure of what is going on in the classroom at any given point in time, ask me,
not your neighbor. By asking your neighbor questions, you are now
responsible for two people not being able to pay attention to what is
happening in the classroom. A simple rule to follow, that you learned
in kindergarten, is to not talk while the teacher is talking. In other
words, simply follow normal social graces. You will clearly know when
it is OK to talk to each other such as when you are working in groups, when
there is wait time because of the computer processing information, etc.
Use common sense and consideration for those you are interacting with.
In some classrooms there are printers. It is also distracting to have
students print out materials while class is in session. Do not print
out materials prior to or during class times or when we are on break between
hours.
6. Save Your Work:
Have your bookwork up to date. If you have any problems with your grade
at the end of the semester, you will be required to produce your work, the
grading sheet, etc. Never throw away any materials from this class
until the semester is over and you are satisfied that the grade you received
is correct. Keep backup copies of all your work. You would not be
able to say to a boss in your workplace that you lost 16 weeks of materials
but you still want a raise.
7. Attendance:
Attendance is the best way of knowing what is going on in the class.
Unnecessary absences will impede the learning process. Be to class on
time since announcements occur at the beginning of the class and I typically
state at the opening of the class what will be covered for the day and how it
relates to previous materials. Students consistently late for class
will be asked to support their reason for being late. Arriving late is
disruptive to the other class members and me. Students who consistently
arrive late without a valid reason will be asked to arrive on time or not
come to class. If you must come to class late due to issues such as
work, please bring documentation from a superior that is verifiable when you
know that your lateness will be reoccurring.
8.  What's My Grade?:
Students often ask what their grade is throughout the semester and especially
just before final examinations. It is the student's responsibility to
keep track of his/her scores. At any time, the numerator is the total
points earned by the student and the denominator is the total possible.
I do not weight scores by categories so a simple calculation will give the
information wanted. For example, if you received a 88 out of 100 points
on the first exam and a 92 out of a 100 points on the second exam, your score
would be (88+92)/200 = 90%.
Please do not ask me "What's my grade?". In essence, what is
being asked is how little do I need to study to keep a grade. My
emphasis is on student learning, not grades. Again, students need to
keep in mind that I feel that students' primary reason to attend college is
to learn. Grading is just an evaluation of what you have learned
required by the institution. If you learn, the grade will be
there.
I will take class time at the end of the semester, typically the last day of
instruction, to reconcile what I have recorded with what you have recorded
and correct any discrepancies. Again, be sure to keep all homework,
quizzes, examinations, projects, etc. so if a discrepancy occurs, you can
produce the missing document(s).
If a bona fide reason exists that you need my copy of your grade, please
submit a request for your grades in writing. I will return the
information to you as quickly as possible, but not to exceed 1 week.
Remember, there will be no make up of exams except under extreme
circumstances. The only exceptions will be drastic conditions such as
prolonged hospitalization, ongoing cancer treatments (which really did occur
in the mid 1990's), etc. Typically, these students will take an
incomplete and finish the coursework in the following semester.
9.  Conduct in Class:
I am the teacher, you are the student. The relationship in the
classroom is to be based on mutual respect. Students will, at times,
disagree with how I teach the class. I base my teaching style on
my belief that how I teach will benefit the student in the long-run.
You are welcome to discuss this teaching style at any time during the
semester as long as it is non-emotional and logical.
I reserve the right to ask a student to leave the classroom because of
his/her improper conduct. Serious infractions will be dealt with in the
following manner:
a). first offense: student will be given written warning about the
misconduct.
b). second offense: student will be asked to leave the classroom and he/she
will be dropped from the course. To be readmitted to the course, the
student will have to file a formal document as outlined by each
institution. No student will be readmitted to the course without going
thru the specified process.
I must reiterate, the classroom dynamics are based on mutual respect and that
I am the teacher, you are the student.
10.
 Labeling and
Stapling Homework and Exams:
All assignments, homework, scantrons, exams and emails handed
in/submitted must be uniquely identifiable . This means that you must
put your full name, the course and section number, and the assignment name or
number in the upper right hand corner. (See the examples to the
right.) If you are handing in multiple pages, they must be stapled in
the upper left hand corner but do not staple multiple assignments
together. Following these directions simplifies the recording of grades
which in turn, increases the integrity of the grades recorded. If you are submitting information such as a
quiz via email, you must put
CourseName,CourseNumber-AssignmentName/Number-StudentName in the subject area
of the email. For example: Acct201-Quiz3-Potter, Harry. Items
handed in that do not follow these instructions may be penalized or refused.
11. Clarity in Communication:
Students also need to understand that, for example, when a students sends an
email to me such as this one:
Subject: homework
To temulli@ilstu.edu
I'm having issues with the homework. I was sick on Wednesday and I am not
sure what I am supposed to be doing. Should I wait and talk to you Wednesday
and possibly turn it in on Friday? Thanks. Emily
...there is no last name, no
school name, no course number, no section number, etc. If I were to
give out information and have the wrong Emily, I would be violating the
privacy of the second Emily.
12.
For some
assignment, additional requirements may be needed such as dividing notebooks
into milestones, including a table of contents, etc. Those additional
requirements will be added to the individual assignment sheet so that you
clearly know what you are responsible for.
13.
Keep Track of
Dates and Times Yourself:
Please look up any information that you can rather than relying on me to do
it for you. I do not keep dates and times in my head well; I write them
down and refer to my own notes as necessary. For example, if you need
to know when and where the final exam is, look it up on the institution's
home page. I do try to put the date and time of the exam on the course
schedule but the ultimate responsibility is for you to look up the
information as it is available. If you do not know what section of the
course you are in, look it up on the web or refer to your class
schedule. Please do not be offended when you ask these types of
questions and I say "You can look that up yourself." If in
fact you can not find that information, then I will gladly help you.
14.
Due Dates:
As mentioned above, no late homework will be accepted. This policy, of
course, means that a due date is established for each assignment. These
dates will on the assignment sheet, on the course schedule, or will be
randomly collected in class. For some classes that have assignment or
tutorials for every week, a generic date will be set such as "All
tutorials are due 1 week after they are assigned." In case that
date is a holiday, assignments will be due the next class period we meet
after the holiday.
15.
If you miss a class
period, do not panic! Student’s trade names and phone numbers the first
day of class. Call or email these students to find out what
specifically was covered and assigned in the class that you missed. Be
sure that you prompt this person to give you complete and accurate information.
If you are unsure of what to do, for example: what accounting homework is due
for the next class, do more rather than less. The worst case scenario
is that you will be over-prepared for class. It is the responsibility
of the student to get back "up to speed" due to missed class(es) by
coming to see me during office hours or by making an appointment. Students
can also email me and ask additional questions but the email has to be
properly labeled and the questions need to be specific and not subject to
ambiguity ("What did I miss?" or "Did I miss anything
important?" are not valid questions.) See also #15.
16.
Email is the
easiest method of getting information to me. Although I check my emails
regularly, no guarantee is given or implied that I will be able to return
your email as quickly as you might want. Have names and phone numbers
of other students from this course available so that you have other resources
for asking questions. Additionally, when an email comes to me that does
not provide me enough information to properly answer the question asked, such
as not telling me what course or which institution the student is referring
to, I will probably send back a message saying "See course policies" or
"Not enough information given". My intention is to avoid
needless excess work on both your part and mine trying to clarify the
situation. Although what you are typing may be clear in your mind, each
message needs to be able to "stand on its own".
17.
The purpose of
your coming to class is to learn. It is my ethical responsibility to
the student and others who pay for this economic opportunity to limit
distractions from learning. Therefore, you will not be allowed to read
a newspaper, text message, listen to music such as from an iPod, etc. while
in my classroom. Those violating this policy will be asked to leave
immediately. The student should also recognize that his/her actions
(reading a paper, etc.) are disrespectful to the instructor which, in itself,
should be reason enough not to do it. See also item #5.
18.
Some students may
have complaints with any given class and that is to be expected. Every
instructor has a different teaching style and every student has a different
learning style. I will be happy to respond to any difficulties that you
are having whether it is with the coursework, me as the instructor, time
issues, etc. I cannot fix a problem that I do not know about.
Therefore, it is imperative that you come to me with any problems that you
are having. If you have not previously discussed the situation with me
and my superior in turn contacts me, I will ask my superior to instruct you
that you must first talk with me before I will take any action to help you
and the situation at hand, further delaying the goal that we all want to
achieve. 
18.
Please click on this link to print out the agreement form. Sign
and return this form to the instructor at the next class meeting.
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