COURSE SYLLABUS

Student Life Skills

SLS 1101

Online Instruction

515 - Summer 2016

View the Syllabus Addendum, which provides the most current version of fluid information, such as the academic calendar.

WELCOME

Welcome to SLS 1101! You have enrolled in a fun, introspective course that I hope you will enjoy. This course is designed to strengthen the student's skill set in a manner that can promote future academic, occupational, and overall life success.

INSTRUCTOR

Name: Dr. Michael Culligan

Email: culligan.michael@spcollege.edu

Phone:727-791-2583

Office and Online Chat Hours:   T/Th: 9:45-10:45/1-2; W 10-12:30; F: 10-12:30

Office Location: ES 313H Clearwater

Instructor Web Page:  https://web.spcollege.edu/instructors/id/culligan.michael

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT

DEAN

Name: Dr. Joseph Smiley

Office Location: Tarpon Springs Campus LY-250

Office Phone Number: 727-712-5851

Email: Smiley.Joseph@spcollege.edu

ACADEMIC CHAIR

Name: Enter academic chair name here

Office Location: Enter academic chair campus and room number here

Office Phone Number: Enter academic chair phone number here

Email: Enter academic chair email address here

WEBSITE

URL:https://www.spcollege.edu/socialsciences/ 

COURSE INFORMATION

Course Description:

This course provides students with the information and skills needed to succeed in their studies, including setting academic goals, managing time and financial resources to meet those goals, and developing an awareness of personal learning styles. Students also build thinking, listening, reading, study skills, note-taking, test-taking, and information literacy skills. The course also includes discussions on stress management and career development. Throughout, students will apply critical thinking skills to solve problems and evaluate situations.

Full Course Description

Course Goals: List the goals of the course in terms of expected Learning Outcomes for the student in addition to what is included in the C&I/CurricUNET Approved Course Outline.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Create long- and short-term goals that align with personal mission statements
• Create an academic learning plan incorporating time management skills
• Create long- and short-term financial goals
• Solve problems using critical and creative thinking
• Incorporate effective learning strategies that align with learning preferences
• Create class notes using active listening techniques
• Create reading notes using active reading techniques
• Utilize strategies for studying for and taking a test
• Incorporate strategies to appropriately communicate with diverse audiences, including peers, instructors, and teams
• Evaluate sources for reliability, credibility, currency, and accuracy
• Create a stress-management plan
• Create a career exploration plan

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.

Availability of Course Content: All modules will be open at the beginning of the semester. Students will have the option to work ahead if they choose. 

Other Critical Course Expectations:

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK & OTHER RESOURCE INFORMATION

Required Textbook: 

Title:        Keys to Success: Building Analytical, Creative, and Practical Skills

Edition:    Brief 6^th Edition

Author:    Carol Carter, Joyce Bishop, Sarah Lyman Kravits

Publisher Information: Enter publisher information here

ISBN: 978-1269-865-968

LEARNER SUPPORT

The Office of Disability Resources is available to assist you if you have a documented disability or think that you may have a disability. Please make an appointment with the Disability Resources Specialist on your campus or online. Registering with Disability Resources is especially important if you are on campus and will need assistance during an emergency classroom evacuation. For contact information, please see the Disability Resources website – View the Disability Resources site 

SPC offers a full-range of support services. Students who utilize our Learning Centers more than four times in a term have better than an 80% chance at success.St. Petersburg College offers FREE tutoring to all degree-seeking students to help review core concepts, tackle tough homework assignments or prepare for tests. From one-on-one tutoring to online resources, SPC offers tools to help you succeed.

View the Academic Support Services site

View the On-Campus Support site

View the Online Support site

View the Student Services and Resources site

IMPORTANT DATES

Course Dates: 5/16 - 7/22/2016 

Drop Date: 5/20/2016

Withdrawal Date: 6/24/2016

View Financial Aid Dates

DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

ATTENDANCE

View the college-wide attendance policy included in the Syllabus Addendum.

For this class, attendance is defined as: The completion and submission of assignments. If a student does not submit any assignments for a defined module, the student will be considered "absent." Failure to complete any modules in the first two weeks of class will lead to dismissal. Students who fail to complete 60% of their assignments with 60% of the course assigned will be identified as no longer active in course. 

GRADING

Letter grades for the course will be based on the following grading scale:

ASSIGNMENTS

Grades

The following table shows the graded assessment types contained within this course and the assigned weighting to determine the final course grade.

STUDENTS’ EXPECTATIONS AND INSTRUCTOR’S EXPECTATIONS

REQUIRED INTERACTION

When communicating, you should always:

• treat everyone with respect in every communication
• use your professor’s proper title: Dr. or Prof., or if you are in doubt use Mr. or Ms.
• use clear and concise language
• remember that college level communication should use correct grammar, whether written or spoken. Avoid slang.
• use correct spelling and avoid texting abbreviations
• avoid using the caps lock feature as it can be interpreted as yelling online
• be cautious when using humor or sarcasm as tone is sometimes lost in an email or discussion post and, even when spoken, your message might be misunderstood
• be cautious with personal information (both yours and others’)

When you send an email to your instructor, department chair, dean, or classmates, you should:

• use a subject line that describes what you are writing about
• avoid attachments unless you are sure your recipients can open them
• be clear, concise, and courteous
• sign your message with your name
• use your SPC email account to ensure delivery. Sometime emails from non-SPC accounts are stopped by the spam filter and the recipient may not receive it.

When posting to a discussion board, you should:

• write posts that are on-topic and within the scope of the course material
• take your posts seriously; review and edit your posts before sending
• be as brief as possible while still making a thorough comment
• always give proper credit when referencing or quoting another source
• read all messages in a thread before replying
• avoid repeating someone else’s post without adding something of your own to it
• avoid short, generic replies such as, “I agree.” You should include why you agree or add to the previous point
• always be respectful of others’ opinions, even when they differ from your own
• express any differing opinions in a respectful, non-critical way
• not make personal or insulting remarks
• be open-minded

Students should expect feedback on submitted assignments within one week of the due date. 

PARTICIPATION AND CONDUCT

Unlike a traditional classroom-based course, you do not need to show up to class at a specific time every day to earn your class participation grade in an asynchronous online course. Instead, you need to complete the online lesson presentations, assignments, quizzes, and discussions by the due dates specified by your instructor. The due dates are found in the course calendar.

View the Online Student Participation and Conduct Guidelines in the Syllabus Addendum

ACADEMIC HONESTY

We expect you to be honest in all of your academic work. By enrolling at the College, you agree to obey all of the standards of academic honesty and integrity and you should understand that failing to observe the rules may result in academic and disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the College. As members of the College community, you also have an ethical obligation to report violations of the SPC academic honesty policies you may witness.

The academic honesty policy is available online (http://www.spcollege.edu/academichonesty/) and includes details on what is meant by:

• Cheating
• Bribery
• Misrepresentation
• Conspiracy
• Fabrication
• Collusion
• Duplicate submissions
• Academic misconduct
• Improper calculator, computer or online use

NETIQUETTE

The objective in an online discussion is to be collaborative, not combative. Please proofread your responses carefully before you post them to make sure that they will not be offensive to others. Use discussions to develop your skills in collaboration and teamwork. Treat the discussion areas as a creative environment where you and your classmates can ask questions, express opinions, revise opinions, and take positions just as you would in a more traditional classroom setting. Please be sure to proofread your submissions, submit college-level work and avoid text language or slang. 

SPC has outlined expectations for student behavior and interaction for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication. View the Netiquette expectations in the Syllabus Addendum.

TURNITIN

The instructor of this course may require use of Turnitin.com as a tool to promote learning. The tool flags similarity and mechanical issues in written work that merit review. Use of the service enables students and faculty to identify areas that can be strengthened through improved paraphrasing, integration of sources, or proper citation. Submitted papers remain as source documents in the Turnitin database solely for the purpose of detecting originality. Students retain full copyright to their works. Review the Turnitin Usage Agreement. Students who do not wish to submit work through Turnitin must notify their instructor via course email within the first seven days of the course. In lieu of Turnitin use, faculty may require a student to submit copies of sources, preliminary drafts, a research journal, or an annotated bibliography.

STUDENT SURVEY OF INSTRUCTION

The Student Survey of Instruction is administered in courses each semester. It is designed to improve the quality of instruction at St. Petersburg College. All student responses are confidential and anonymous and will be used solely for the purpose of performance improvement.

TECHNOLOGY

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Technical Skills: 

Students should know how to navigate the course and use the course tools. Dropbox-style assignments may require attachments in either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf), so that they can be properly evaluated. If an attachment cannot be opened by the instructor, students will be required to re-format and re-submit an assignment so that it can be evaluated and returned with feedback. 

MyCourses tutorials are available to students new to this LMS and are located at the beginning of the course. Most features on MyCourses are accessible on mobile devices, although it is recommended that you use a computer for quizzes, tests, and essay assignments.

ACCESSIBILITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Please click on the link below to learn about equal access to education:

View the MyCourses Accessibility Statement

PRIVACY

Please review the D2L/MyCourses Privacy by clicking on the link below: 

View the MyCourses Privacy Statement

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Technical support is available via the St. Petersburg College Technical Support Help Desk for any concerns with the MyCourses LMS.

In addition, if there are any technical issues with the MyStudentSuccess lab, Pearson tech support can be reached here: Pearson Diagnostics (Student Link)