General Policies and Communication
Syllabus Policy: The instructor reserves the right to adjust this syllabus and all of its contents – including but not limited to assignments, due dates, and course materials – as needed. Should the instructor decide to make any changes to the syllabus, these changes would not be made “quietly:” rather, I would announce via Blackboard announcements and LSCPA email that the syllabus will be altered and what exactly about the syllabus will be altered.
I do not intend to put this policy into practice unless necessity forces my hand: the true intent of this policy is to account for the unfortunate reality that tropical cyclones are not only a likelihood, but an inevitability in our corner of the world. When one also considers the presence of the petrochemical industry in Jefferson County and the increased prevalence of wildfires in southeast Texas, it seems prudent to be prepared for both natural and human-caused disasters.
Student Email Policy: It is incumbent upon you as a college student to routinely check your LSCPA email. I would recommend signing in to check it no less than once every twenty-four hours. You will receive communiques from me (and from other professors and college personnel) through your LSCPA email account.
I will not – in fact, I cannot – respond to emails sent to me from a third party account: this includes, but is of course not limited to, gmail, Yahoo mail, personal Outlook accounts, or any account other than your LSCPA account. Put simply, if the sender’s address does not end in @lamarpa.edu, I cannot respond to it. You will not receive responses to any emails sent from an account that is not your LSCPA account.
Additionally, please include a subject line and the section you are in (e.g., HIST 1301-1D) when you email me.
A Note on Blackboard Messages: Please refrain from using the Blackboard message service to contact me: firstly, it has not historically been reliable (I cannot count how many times students have claimed to have messaged me but their message has not arrived on my end) and secondly, even when the messages arrive, I am not always alerted to them, or at least not in a timely manner. Email me directly from your LSCPA student email.
Behavioral Policies and Order in the Classroom
Restroom Policy: In this course, like in all my Dual Credit or mixed student population courses, only one student may utilize the restroom at a time. There will not be exceptions to this rule.
A clipboard will be present with the instructor at the front of the room, and when a student requests to use the restroom, they must sign out. The instructor will provide a timestamp for when they leave the room. When the student returns, the instructor will mark the time they returned. Suspiciously long visits to the restroom will be reported to the Dual Credit Department and to the relevant individuals at the high school.
Note that you may not go to the restroom during the administration of either the midterm exam or the final exam (see exam policy, further below).
Seating Chart Policy: A seating chart will be implemented at the beginning of the semester based on last name. If you do not sit in your assigned seat, you will be counted absent for that class day. Refusal to revert to your assigned seat might result in further disciplinary action as the situation requires. The main possible exception to this rule might be in event of certain official accommodations which might require a student to sit in a particular area of the classroom: barring that situation, you will be assigned a seat and will not be allowed to change to another seat.
Class Recording Policy: Unless explicit written permission is provided by the instructor, you DO NOT have the right to record class sessions through any means whatsoever. This includes, but is not limited to, video recording, audio recording, and photography. Exceptions might be made upon request at the discretion of the instructor or in the event that recordings are necessitated by an Accommodations Memorandum. If you record without explicit written permission from the instructor, you will be counted absent for the day and other disciplinary actions might be taken as befits the particular circumstances.
Phone Use During Class Policy: Unless you are explicitly authorized by the instructor to take out your phone OR unless you have an Accommodations Memorandum necessitating your use of your phone as a recording device for notetaking purposes, you ARE NOT allowed to ever have your phone out during class.
Allow me to repeat myself: you are not allowed to ever have your phone out. I do not care if it is on silent or if it is making noise, I do not care if you are actively using it or not: if I see your phone out at all, you will be counted absent for that class period and further disciplinary action might be taken as the particular case warrants. As well, since Woodrow Wilson ECHS students are not allowed to have phones in class anyways, I will report you to the high school, district, to dual credit and to LSCPA student services.
Headgear, Earbuds and Headphones Policy: Excepting medical devices (e.g., hearing aids) used for the purpose of accommodations, there should be nothing in or near your ear canals whatsoever during class time. This means you may not have earbuds or airpods in and that you may not have headphones on. In order to ensure compliance, you are also not allowed to wear non-religious or non-medical headgear in the classroom (hoodies, hats that extend below your ears, etc.). Violation of this policy will result in the student being counted absent for the class period. Additional disciplinary action may be taken as warranted by particular cases.
Note that if you violate this policy during an exam day, you will automatically be issued a zero for that exam (see also exam policy, further below).
General Classroom Etiquette Policy: I take the issue of civility in the classroom seriously, and I expect you all to behave like mature adults ought to behave (and as educated citizens of a healthy and functional republic ought to behave). You will behave civilly, treat others with respect, and follow instructions from the instructor, or you will fail the course.
Firstly, bigotry (of any form whatsoever) will not be tolerated. I do not care who you are and I do not care what group(s) you are discriminating against, you will not make inflammatory statements about any race, sex, gender, or other group in my class. Statements or actions which the instructor takes to be inflammatory will result in an absence and might, depending upon the particular circumstances, result in much more extreme disciplinary action on the part of the instructor and/or college.
Secondly, you will be kind and respectful toward your peers during class discussions and lectures: listen when someone else is talking and show others the courtesy that ought to be shown to you. Unless someone is behaving in a discriminatory manner, you have no reason to interrupt your fellow students – regardless of how much you might disagree with their perspectives. Civil disagreement is crucial to a healthy, functioning republic, so my advice when someone says something you disagree with? Deal with it. The world does not consist of clones of you. Furthermore, in debate, it is often beneficial to allow your opponent to keep talking. To recite a famous (and garbled) paraphrase of something Napoleon Bonaparte once (sort of) said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" (for the curious, what Napoleon seems to have actually said was probably something closer to "Quand l'ennemi fait un faux mouvement, il faut se garder de l'interrompre").
Thirdly, you will be respectful of the learning environment. Disruptive students – e.g., students who talk on or otherwise use their phones during class or who talk while other students are presenting – will be reprimanded. If circumstances require it, the instructor will request the offending student leave the room, and will mark the offending student absent for that class session.
Fourthly, you will be quiet during roll call unless the instructor has called your name. Students talking loudly during roll call to the point that the instructor cannot hear if another student has responded to their name being called will be found in violation of this etiquette policy and might be counted absent themselves.
Finally, if there are any acts of violence or threats of violence by any student(s) against any other student(s), the instructor, or any other person or people whatsoever, the offending student(s) will be removed both from the classroom and from the course entirely.
If a student violates any portion of this etiquette policy, they can be counted absent for the day, regardless of whether they remain in the classroom or not. If a student’s presence is so disruptive that other students cannot complete their tasks, the offending student will be asked to leave the room, or security will escort them out if necessary. If such an incident were to occur on an exam day, the offending student would receive an automatic zero for the exam without any possibility of retaking it.
In short, this is a college class, and as such I expect you to act like mature adults. Behave yourselves accordingly.
A Note on Offensive Materials: This is less a policy per se than it is a disclaimer.
We will be studying history in this course and since we are doing so at a college level, nothing will be censored. In the context of this class, you are considered to be adults and expected to act as mature adults ought to act. You will read about, see, discuss, and otherwise encounter materials that you might find shocking, repulsive, offensive or – perhaps the most frightening thing of all – which might cause you to take a step back and question your preconceived notions about human nature, society, and perhaps even yourself and what you were raised to believe by your parents and/or community. There is not much else to say here other than that you need to be able to confront ideas and facts that might make you uncomfortable both in order to pass this course and in order to be a functioning, mature adult. Get ready to be offended.
Assignment Policies and Notes
Assignment Submission Policy: All assignments are to be turned in via Blackboard. If you email me an assignment, it will not be accepted. Note that your research assignment components must also be submitted as Microsoft Word documents (.docx): other file types will not be accepted. Additionally, if you ever submit any sort of SharePoint link, you will receive a zero for that assignment. You are to submit static files (which you cannot change post facto) and static files only.
A Note on Assignment Instructions: As a college student, it is your responsibility to read through assignment instructions. Make sure you do so before you turn your work in, so that you do not violate any failure conditions or clauses in the assignment instructions. As per this syllabus, any instructions given in conjunction with an assignment are binding and final. Read the instructions.
Syllabus Quiz Policy: You will not be able to access any materials outside the Introduction Module of the course until you have completed the Syllabus Quiz and earned a perfect score on it. You will have an indefinite number of tries to complete the Syllabus Quiz, but until you answer every question correctly you will not be able to access any other course materials. Complete the Syllabus Quiz as soon as possible to avoid getting zeroes on future assignments.
Exam Policy: The following rules apply any time that an exam is be administered. Failure to comply with exam policies will result in the student earning an automatic zero on that exam.
- You may only have pencils on your desk during the exam: no other writing utensils and no other materials whatsoever are allowed. This includes food. You may have standard no. 2 pencils and erasers, and a bottle of water, but nothing else.
- You may not speak to anyone about anything at anytime during the administration of an exam. If you yell, speak, or whisper so much as a single word, even if you have already completed the test, you will receive a grade of zero for that exam.
- Be quiet during the administration of the exam. Do not rock your chair back and forth, use your pencils as drumsticks and your desk as a snare drum or do anything else that otherwise makes noise, even if you have completed the exam.
- If you have any nonmedical electronic devices on your person whatsoever during the exam, you will receive a grade of zero. This includes, but is not limited to, any sort of nonmedical device in your ears (earbuds, headphones, etc.), your cell phone, a smart watch, etc. As on normal class days, you may not wear any non-religious or non-medical headgear during the administration of an exam.
- You may not leave to go to the restroom while the exam is being administered.
- You may not have written notes or cards with you on your desk (or on your lap, knees, or anywhere else). If I see that you have any written notes with you, you will receive an automatic zero on the exam.
- Once you have finished the exam, you are to raise your hand. The instructor will retrieve your exam, and then you are to wait at your desk until the rest of the class finishes.
If I had my druthers, I would allow you to leave once you have finished with your exam (my perspective is that on exam days, once you have finished the exam itself, there is really no reason for you to have to stay in the classroom: your work for the day is done), but the nature of the beast with Dual Credit is that you must remain in the classroom the entire time. Thus, while I do not personally like it, neither of us has a choice here: you must remain in the classroom until the period is over, even if you have finished the exam ahead of time. If you finish early, take a nap.
Late Work Policy: Excepting students with an Accommodations Memorandum that necessitates different assignment timelines, students faced with a documented and authenticated medical or other crisis and possibly students who are pregnant or parenting a child of minority age, assignments are due when they are due, and that is that. If the aforementioned conditions do not apply to you and you have not finished and submitted your work by the deadlines set forth in the assignment instructions and this syllabus, then you will earn a zero for that assignment. Beg and plead all you want, but this is college and you are expected to be punctual and submit work by the proffered deadline, like any adult: if you waited until the eleventh hour to do your work and thus failed to get your work in before the due date, then you have only yourself to blame and will be given the F which you have earned.
To preempt the inevitable question, yes, if your assignment is one minute late, it is still late. If you are tasked with turning in an assignment by 11:59 PM on Friday, 09/18/26 and you submit it at 12:00 AM on Saturday, 09/19/26, you will receive a zero. Deadlines are deadlines.
Please note that the late work policy also applies not only to your various writing and research assignments, but to the exams: as a college student, you are expected to keep track of your schedule and to be prepared for exam days. If you miss an exam and the aforementioned conditions (an Accommodations Memorandum, documented crisis, pregnancy, etc.) do not apply to you, then you will earn a zero for that exam without any chance of making it up. This applies to both the midterm exam and the final exam.
Making Up Missed Assignments: For a majority of you, this will be a nonissue: you do not get to make up missed assignments. If you miss the deadline for an assignment, then you earn a zero for said assignment, and that is that; however, if you have a relevant Accommodations Memorandum clause, documented and authenticated crisis, or are pregnant or parenting, you might be able to make up missed work. The specifics will be handled on a case-by-case basis, as no two of any of the aforementioned sorts of conditions are ever quite the same but provided you meet one of the above criteria, the instructor might allow you to make up missed work as befits your particular situation. Once again, such situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Extra Credit Policy and Bonus Assignment Policy: I will not create bespoke extra credit work for individual students because they did badly earlier in the semester, failed an exam, or simply because they would like to score extra points. Do not insult me by asking for extra credit, particularly if you have performed poorly in the course. If you send me an email asking me to create extra credit work for you because “you really need to get a higher grade in the course” or "I can't fail this class" or some other such whiny drivel, I will simply respond by saying "I know that you completed the syllabus quiz, so please tell me what the Extra Credit Policy in the syllabus says. Have a nice day." If you really needed a better grade in the course, then perhaps you should have studied harder, turned your work in on time, attended class, followed assignment instructions, behaved during class, and written your papers yourself.
I have occasionally offered bonus assignments to the entire class. I do this on a discretionary basis and typically, should these assignments be offered at all, they take the form of offering a maximum of x bonus points on an upcoming exam if the student completes bonus assignment y. I reserve the right to create class-wide bonus assignments (that are equally available to everyone) at my discretion.
Plagiarism Policy: Academic integrity is essential to truly learning any subject or discipline. You are to submit your own work, not the work of peers, friends, or anyone – or anything – else. By cheating, you not only jeopardize your own academic future, you are cheating your future self out of your own education. All research papers will be screened for plagiarism. For a more thorough definition of plagiarism, please refer to the “Academic Policies” section of the Student Handbook.
Below are the consequences for acts of plagiarism in this course:
- First Offense: For your first plagiarism offense, you will receive a grade of 0% on the assignment. You will be required to come to my office and discuss plagiarism with me, something I am sure we both want to avoid.
- Second Offense: A second plagiarism offense will result in yet another grade of 0% for the plagiarized assignment, and the student’s name and all documented offenses will be forwarded to the proper LSCPA officials.
- Third or Further Offense(s): The student will receive grades of 0% for all offensive assignments and, in severe cases might even fail the course entirely and face additional consequences.
Policies Regarding Accommodations and Exceptional Circumstances
Pregnant and Parenting Student Policy: In accordance with state law, pregnant students and/or students caring for a child of minority age are afforded certain considerations that other students are not. Pregnant or parenting students are allowed up to five excused absences per course per semester, and while they do not have to present college instructors with the same kinds of documentation required of other students, they do need to inform the instructor that they will be absent as a result of an issue related to pregnancy or childcare.
Pregnant students and students who are parenting a child of minority age do not need to acquire Accommodations Memoranda from the Office for Accessibility Services in order to receive these excused absences, although the instructor must be alerted. Additionally, pregnant and/or parenting students can meet with the instructor to determine the wheres, whens and hows of making up assignments missed due to pregnancy or parenting issues or crises.
A Note on Accommodations Memoranda: Students who provide the instructor with an Accommodations Memorandum are entitled to work with the instructor so that they can best implement the necessary accommodations within the confines of the course. That said, the instructor is unable to implement any accommodations if an Accommodations Memorandum is not presented to the instructor. Federal law requires that students be afforded the same opportunities as all other students unless certain other legally-defined criteria are met. What this means is that I cannot implement accommodations for you unless/until I receive a copy of your Accommodations Memorandum. In accordance with other legislation meant to protect students and ensure fairness in the classroom, accommodations are not retroactive, so they cannot be instituted until after I receive the Memorandum from you. You must furthermore submit your Accommodations Memorandum to me in PDF form via LSCPA email.
An additional note: if you are slated to take an exam or another assignment at the Testing Center so that your accommodations can be met, then you must provide the Testing Center with a copy of your Accommodations Memorandum and confirm your scheduled time to take said assignment with the Testing Center. It is your responsibility as a college student to provide the Testing Center staff with a copy of your Accommodations Memorandum and to confirm when you will be taking an assignment there.
A Note on Documentation of Medical and Other Crises: If you are unable to take a test or complete work due to a routine doctor’s appointment - e.g., an annual check-up or physical exam, a dentist's appointment, etc. - this does not constitute a medical crisis in this course and you will not be eligible to make up any missed work. Schedule your dentist’s appointment, your doctor’s appointment or your optometrist’s appointment on a day that isn’t a college class day.
If there is any danger to life or limb - e.g., you are suffering from appendicitis or you are suffering from a long-term and life-threatening condition and you must see a specialist for scheduled treatment of said long-term and severe condition - this does constitute a medical crisis and the instructor is willing to work with the student to schedule making up any missed work and to excuse the absence, provided documentation of said crisis is provided to the instructor and the instructor authenticates that said crisis really did occur or is ongoing.
Documentation here means that a third party (no, your parents and family members do not count, nor does your school councilor, vice-principal or principal) has written to me that you were in the Emergency Room, that you had to undergo this or that operation, or receive this or that specialist treatment for a condition, etc., and that you were medically incapacitated and thus unable to fulfill your obligations as a college student. I will be researching the individual who wrote (or “wrote”) your letter and contacting them and their hospital, clinic or practice directly to confirm the veracity of your claim.
If another crisis befalls you – e.g., you are involved in an automobile collision on the way to campus – I will similarly need documentation of that incident in order to excuse your absence or allow you to make up missed assignments. For instance, police reports, a contact card and an officer to contact, and so on would be required, and I would be getting in touch with the relevant individuals before excusing your absence and allowing make up work, should I be able to authenticate the crisis.
If you cannot provide me with documentation of a crisis - in other words, you cannot prove that it happened - then I cannot excuse your failure to get your work in on time and cannot allow you to make up any missed assignments.