Mutual Inquiry

The inquiry and experiences we have designed for members of this program require a common commitment to the tasks ahead and to one another. Our work together will be most fruitful when we overcome our creative inhibitions, prepare ourselves carefully to address the assigned program material, and bring our most careful personal reflections to our discussions. Our learning will depend on the mutual and thoughtful contributions of each one of us. There must be a common agreement and commitment to do the assigned work, to participate in all program activities, and to bring to our common inquiry a respect for others and their contributions to everyone’s education.

General

In general, students and faculty agree to:

  • Participate fully and faithfully in program activities.
  • Attend—and arrive on time for—all scheduled program activities.
  • Students agree to notify faculty of expected absences from the program, but students must recognize that there are no “excused absences.” (There are times when one might not be able to attend program activities. You should tell us when you cannot attend, but we do not want to be forced to judge the adequacy or legitimacy of “excuses.”)
  • Stay informed about the program and its schedule, including active, regular monitoring of email and the class listserv and regular checkbacks to the program web page.
  • To subscribe to the listserv,

1. send a blank e-mail to: join-wacf@lists.evergreen.edu

OR

2. go to http://www.evergreen.edu/lists/ and click the “subscribe” button next to What Are Children For

Either way, you will receive a confirmation e-mail to verify your subscription. This subscription confirmation is an important security step to keep the College’s lists spam-free. It is important that subscribers enter a real name: both first and last. This will prevent spammers from getting through to the list.

  • Think carefully about TESC’s five learning foci and the six expectations of an Evergreen graduate: http://www.evergreen.edu/aboutevergreen/fivefoci.htm

http://www.evergreen.edu/aboutevergreen/expectations.htm.

  • Be prepared for program activities, which means, in part, having done all assigned reading in advance of attending program meetings. Do not attend program meetings unprepared. Bring a personal copy of all readings to program meetings and seminars.
  • Communicate in a direct and timely way about intended absences, problems, changed plans, misunderstandings, needed accommodations, etc.
  • Respect staff, facilities and equipment. Theft or deliberate damage of equipment is grounds for dismissal.
  • Be fully present and work safely. This means, in part, that no one should come to class impaired by the use of drugs, licit or illicit, or alcohol.
  • Maintain clean individual and collective workspaces. This includes bodies.
  • Work cooperatively in sharing ideas and building on each other’s contributions. Be willing to learn by being open to new ideas, suggestions, points of view, and methods of instruction. Recognize that everyone, students and faculty alike, may blunder into mistakes, lapses in good judgment, indiscretions, poorly, even objectionably, phrased comments, and so on. Everyone must be willing to point these out honestly, engage in necessary discussion about them, and then to continue learning from and with the other members of this program.
  • Be individually responsible for any work submitted as one’s own.
  • Engage in respectful, honest, open and well-intentioned exchange and investigation with one another.
  • Refrain from unjustifiably offensive behavior or language.
  • Abide by the principles of the Social Contract (see http://www.evergreen.edu/aboutevergreen/social.htm), Student Conduct Code and Faculty Handbook. Respect differences, honor rights, seek understanding.
  • Resolve disputes directly and without rancor. All members of the program should abide by the principle of honest, early, and face-to-face resolution of conflicts. In the event you do not feel successful in resolving a conflict yourself, bring your concerns to the attention, first, of your seminar leader. If the individual faculty member cannot resolve the problem, he or she will bring it to the attention of the faculty team and the team will take steps to resolve the problem. Any conflicts that cannot be resolved by your own efforts or the efforts of the faculty team will be referred to our program’s Academic Dean. You may not skip steps in this process; if you do, you’re on your own.
  • Respect other people’s lives outside of the program.
  • Follow through on obligations made to others in teamwork situations.
  • Take responsibility for contacting Access Services (Meredith Inocencio, Director, at 867-6348, inocenc@evergreen.edu) regarding any health condition or disability that may require accommodations in order to be able to participate effectively.

Students

Every student specifically acknowledges that to receive credit he or she must:

  • Submit all assignments on or before due dates.
    • Guidelines for all written work: No separate title pages are necessary, but essays must have titles. No plastic covers. No font smaller than the equivalent of Times Roman12-point. All written work should be word-processed, spell-checked, sense-checked, double-spaced with one-inch margins, and stapled in the upper left-hand corner. (If you don’t have a stapler, it’s probably time to invest in one.) Always properly cite others’ work. Style guide resources are available at http://www.evergreen.edu/library/catalog/styleguides.htm. Remember: The purpose of proper citations is to allow a reader to find your source material. It is more important that a citation serve this purpose than that it should conform to a particular style, but use one style consistently in a paper. Submit peer reviews of earlier drafts and a cover letter with your final draft. The cover letter should tell your seminar leader anything you would like him or her to know before reading your paper.
  • Pay all fees properly assessed.
  • Attend all program activities. Notify faculty in advance of any anticipated absence.
  • Complete a self-evaluation according to the scheme outlined throughout the quarter and submit two signed copies to the Registrar (for inclusion in your permanent record and transcript) upon leaving the program.
  • Write a faculty evaluation.
  • Attend an evaluation conference.

Faculty & Credit

The faculty specifically agree to:

  • Review work in a timely manner.
  • Be available to meet during office hours or by appointment.
  • NOT accept late student work.
  • Schedule an evaluation conference and prepare a brief written evaluation to accompany each student’s self-evaluation.

The faculty will award full credit to every student who satisfactorily completes the assigned program work. Final decisions about credit and evaluations will be made by the program faculty team at the end of evaluation week. The faculty assume that everyone will do sufficiently good work to receive full credit. It is in everyone’s best interest that this assumption be allowed to hold.

Except in truly extraordinary circumstances, no one will be allowed to carry an INCOMPLETE beyond the end of the program.

FERPA

Students acknowledge that under the federal law known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, faculty are prohibited from discussing anything about students’ enrollment or work in the program or at the college with anyone else. Among other things, that means the faculty cannot respond to inquiries from parents, friends, or loved ones. Students may complete a waiver with the Registrar that allows faculty to discuss matters of the student’s enrollment with specified other people. But students should understand that even if there is a waiver in place, the faculty will be reluctant to discuss work in the program with anyone other than the student.

Agreement

Good faith compliance with this Covenant is required for membership and credit in What Are Children For?

Faculty and Student Signatures: 

Date: