PROGRAM COVENANT

Public Education

This program covenant is an agreement between faculty and students regarding the conditions of academic work. To be in this program, you must indicate your understanding of and agreement with all of these conditions by signing this covenant.

1. "Public Education" is a two-quarter program. Students and faculty plan to remain in the program for fall and winter quarters. Students who think they may leave the program at the end of fall quarter should disenroll now to make room for a student willing to make a two-quarter commitment.

2. Scholarly inquiry requires students and faculty to practice attentive civility. Attentive civility maintains the conditions for open and continuing dialogue among members of the program. Attentive civility requires focussed consciousness, active listening, thoughtful and rigorous questioning, and public participation. Attentive civility is not the same as personal comfort.

3. Students and faculty will participate in all sessions, unless called away by illness, emergency, or professional obligation. (It is a courtesy to inform seminar leaders of the reasons for an absence.) Everyone will have read all assigned material and completed writing or other assignments before coming to program sessions. (A person who has not read the assigned reading should not attend seminars on that material.)

4. Students must submit all papers (proofread, corrected, and typed double space) on time. Late papers are not accepted and are a reason for losing credit. Faculty must respond to students' work in a timely manner.

5. Everyone will keep a carefully organized notebook of all work.

6. Evaluations must be completed in writing prior to evaluation conferences. Evaluation conferences must be completed by the end of evaluation week.

7. A student will receive academic credit for satisfactory completion of all requirements. Plagiarism, violation of any aspect of this covenant, missing class, failure to complete an assignment (or submitting an assignment late) are some reasons for the denial of credit. The faculty team as a whole makes credit decisions regarding the award of credit at the conclusion of the program. Students understand that all decisions regarding the award of credit rest with the faculty; academic deans may intervene in an award of credit only when a faculty member has violated the college's policies or rules.

8. Conflict resolution begins by talking face-to-face with the other parties to the conflict. If necessary, meet for mediation with the next higher level in the college's organization. (The levels are: seminar leader, program coordinator/program team, academic dean). It is not acceptable to skip levels.

9. Students agree to work collaboratively in research groups. They agree to rely on one another's strengths, work with one another's weaknesses, and turn any inclination to criticism into an effort to improve each other's academic skills.

10. Students recognize that in contacts with people and agencies outside of the college, they are representing The Evergreen State College and the faculty members in this program. They will conduct themselves appropriately.

I have read the materials describing the program. I understand them. I accept the conditions of academic work outlined in this covenant.

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Signature

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