1. The syllabus is only online. 

    The syllabus address is    http://www.kaschassociates.com/392web/392homefall2009.htm

There will be no paper copy of the course syllabus, calendar, policies, and so forth.  If you do not check the course web site often you will probably be confused.  If there is something you do not understand on the course web site feel free to ask questions.

2.   The Primary Course Policy:  "If you do anything to jeopardize your own learning, or the learning of your classmates, I will manage the situation using my best professional judgment."   If you are interested in the specifics continue reading.

3.  We will adopt a seminar style of instruction and students will be expected to be actively involved in leading class discussions. Think of our classroom as a corporate executive development meeting.  The other students are your professional colleagues from your company.  I am the individual who has called the meeting and who is responsible for seeing that you become knowledgeable about communication.   Address others by name. Listen to what they have to say.  Agree or disagree and explain why.   Share your ideas with your colleagues.   You are also partially responsible for the success of others in the class.    No inactive sponges allowed!!!

4.  This course will be reading-oriented rather than project-oriented. In order to do well in the class it is suggested that one not read the required readings like one watches television. In other words, read for understanding. We will be dealing with words and  ideas, not images.  Your are expected to read the assigned cases and the case overviews linked off the course calendar.

5. If you have an emergency that prevents you from giving one of the three required public presentations at the scheduled time I should be notified as soon as possible. Emergencies in  392 will be rather narrowly defined to include only acts of God which prohibit one from being in class.  Oversleeping, having to leave campus early because of an anticipated flight  attendants strike, the "brakes going out on my car", "pulling a groin muscle helping my girlfriend move furniture", "having to be the emergency room all night to comfort a  friend" and so forth will be considered events under human control and will NOT be  acceptable justification for missing an scheduled presentation/discussion., individual public presentation, or a small group project team presentation.  

6. Should you decide that you are unable to be in class for "health reasons" YOU  MUST SECURE EVIDENCE FROM A PHYSICIAN OR FROM AN  APPROPRIATE UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL that documents your unhealthy state. No  make-up presentations can be granted unless such documentation is presented. This is the only way the "ethic of fairness" can be maintained. "It's not personal, it's just business." If the severity of your illness requires you to miss a three9two  presentation than you are obviously in need of medical attention.   

7. A final deadline for  work is just that--a final deadline. In the private sector you will no doubt encounter personal stressors (relationship crises, health problems, divorce,   problems with your children, death of loved ones, competing demands on your time (e.g. leisure; volunteer work) and so forth) which will conflict with your responsibilities at  work. School is a good time to begin to learn how to balance these competing demands  rather than making excuses for failure to meet one's responsibilities. I prefer not to be  put in the position of having to evaluate your excuses. My job is to evaluate your work, not your excuses. When you leave town to see a concert with a group of people the  night before an exam or paper deadline, ask yourself, "What might happen if everyone  except me wants to stay over, sleep in, "blow off" their  classes, and come back the next day or night??? COMPETENT COMMUNICATORS ANTICIPATE.

8. Be Careful. Do not make the mistake which one student did when she brought in  written reports of her medical  laboratory results as documentation of her illness. Evidently it  did not occur to her that, after having been kept alive on dialysis for 13 years and having a kidney transplant, I am relatively proficient at reading blood chemistry profiles. Her claim that she had mononucleosis was not substantiated by the evidence she brought which showed that her hemoglobin, HCT, and WBC count were all within normal ranges.

9. Attendance will count. I strongly suggest that you attend all discussions.  Standard policy is that for each session a student is not present five points is deducted from their semester total.You are responsible for all lecture material, handouts, announcements, .(in short--for everything) that happens during class periods. It is probably possible to attend  infrequently and still pass this course, but as a sign on the graduate student offices at  the University of Illinois used to say "hope for luck, but don't count on it." As Richard   Nixon once said "let us halt the denial of individual accountability for individual  action," and as the T-shirt I sent to my friend Katie who was having her first child at the age 38  said "actions have consequences" Or as Yoda once remarked:

"Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression, lack of attendance. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to  join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, your grade point average; consume your chances of graduating it will."

10. Be sure to print lots of hard copies of your working drafts and to back up your files often. I can  not accept "my computer/printer/disk" broke down as valid excuses for late work. In the event that I was to lose your paper or sinister forces were to cause it harm while it was in my possession, you will be required to produce another copy of  your work. In the "age of the smart machine" this should not be an unreasonable requirement.  Make multiple drafts when developing your PowerPoint presentations.  Invest in a flash or thumb drive.  The time has past where one should lose their work completely as a result of computer SNAFU's.

11. Part of my philosophy of education is that students and instructors can learn from each  other. Although at times painful, education need not take place in straight rows.    However, an informal classroom atmosphere should not be confused with a lowering of standards. In any partnership parties have both rights and responsibilities. One of your responsibilities is to meet my standards, rather then expecting me to lower my standards. Of course one of my responsibilities is to try and set reasonable  expectations and fair standards.

12. In creating and administering course policies my primary ethic is fairness. In order to maintain this ethic I will tend to see any special requests as a threat to the "fairness" standard and will be unable to grant them. Please do not request extra  credit opportunities, extra points on exams, an alternative exam schedule, or any other special treatment or "special dispensations" that I am unable to give to you without  also giving to EVERY CLASS MEMBER.  For example, one semester a  Communication three9two project team came to me two days before their semester project was due claiming that they needed another week to complete the project.    If I  had given them extra time other three9two students who met their responsibilities might perceive this as a violation of the "fairness ethic." Thus, although I am not a "rules   person" by nature, I will be relentless (like Katherine Turner in the low-budget  film  Body Heat) in adhering  to the "fairness ethic."

14.  The department  does not permit faculty in the Department of Communication to discuss "grades" via electronic mail.  If you wish to discuss your current progress in the course,you should email me to set up some "facetime."  I am usually free for 15 minutes before and after class.

15. It is the policy of Bradley and this instructor to make every reasonable effort to allow members of our diverse university community to observe their religious without academic penalty. However, it your responsibility to provide me with advance written notice of the dates of any major religious holidays on which you will be absent (the earlier notice the better please). Students who proactively visit with their professors before a situation becomes a problem tend to avoid problems and do better in class. I am always available before and after class.  Bradley students who because of their sincerely held religious beliefs are unable to attend classes, take examinations, participate in graded activities or submit graded assignments on particular days shall, without penalty, be excused from such classes are be given meaningful opportunity to make up such examinations and graded activities or assignments provided that advance written notice of their absence is given to the faculty member during the first two weeks of the semester.

16. This university and this instructor are committed to providing an equitable learning environment for every student. I will readily adjust for those students with special needs. If you have special needs in the classroom, please provide a letter from Learning Assistance confirming and describing your special needs at the start of the semester. You may have Learning Assistance contact me directly. This information will be kept in confidence.

19.  In my classroom, there will be no vibrating or beeping cell phones, no laptops open, no ordering from a menu, no leaving in the middle of the class for bathroom breaks, no hushed conversations while other people are talking. My classroom is not a hotel lobby; it's not a restaurant; and it's not a computer lab. Here in my classroom, you're a grownup, an adult, a person who can be trusted to understand there are important things worth caring about in this world. We can have fun but we also know that becoming a responsible and engaged learner and citizen is our serious business.

20.  Do not come to class if you have the Swine Flu.  Go home if you can.  The best place to have the flu is at home, not in a
      residence hall, Greek house, or other living unit.