ARCHIVE - Covenant

One of the main activities in the Patience program is to create our own covenant.

This covenant comprises the learning guidelines and tenants of the program: Recognition: The Politics of Human Exchange.

·    The paramount objective of the program is to create a community of learners. To that end:
·    Recognition is a program based on equal commitment and responsibility by both the faculty and the students.
·    As Recognition exists within the larger community of The Evergreen State College, all members of the community are subservient to the guidelines set forth in the TESC Social contract.
·    The goals of this community are to provide an environment rich in learning opportunities, facilitation of learning, and a sounding board for self-paced learning objectives.
·    Community members are expected to pursue a tract of learning objectives for their own personal improvement.
·    As community is the primary objective, a cumulative presentation is the sole requirement for successful completion of the program and cooperation in the community. A presentation or publication shared with the learning community of the class ensures not only commitment to the community but also commitment to the fostering of knowledge .
·    It is understood that the activities of one individual sometimes override the needs of the community. As such attendance is encouraged but not mandatory.
·    Plagiarism is not accepted. Community members guilty of plagiarism will be dealt with under TESC institutional guidelines. *

*ON ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Community members acknowledge and accept that in an academic community, sharing and taking responsibility for our own ideas is vital. Acknowledging our use of other people’s ideas is equally important. Work that students submit must reflect their own ideas. When incorporating the view of others, be those published authors or seminar colleagues, we must acknowledge our sources. Since some work in this program will be collaborative and the ideas may reflect the contributions of more than one person, we agree to develop the habit of acknowledging the people and ideas that have influenced us. We understand that presenting the work of others as our own or failing to acknowledge the use of other people’s ideas is plagiarism. Any student who plagiarizes material will be asked to leave the program and may be required to leave the College.

"Recognition Program Covenant of Mutual Responsibilities*
(This is just a model to help our community create our own covenant, we may use it in Patience while we create our own.)

        Every faculty team provides students with a covenant of mutual responsibilities and program requirements. All members of this learning community agree to take responsibility for their part in meeting the commitments and requirements described in this covenant. College-wide policies as related to the Evergreen Social Contract apply to this program. This covenant will be replaced by the one created by the Recognition learning community.

Program Goals, Focus and Direction
        The intention of this 10-week program is to engage in the exploration of the dynamics of human communication in intercultural interactions. Students and faculty will focus on creating a learning community in which all are supported as we work toward developing an understanding of what matters in intercultural encounters and an understanding of the cultural framework out of which we each operate.
        Participation in the program should help develop skills for participating collaboratively and responsibly in a diverse society; for communicating creatively and effectively; and for learning to think independently, critically and in an integrative manner.

Expectations and Responsibilities of Faculty and Students

Students and faculty will work collaboratively and independently to meet the program’s goals. Specifically, faculty will,

model by language and behavior commitment to the program and the development of community;

prepare and facilitate workshops, learning activities, and lectures that supplement and highlight the major ideas of the program themes and readings;

read, comment upon and return student work in a timely fashion;

schedule student conferences, adhere to the principles of the Social Contract, and provide environments free from sexual harassment and discrimination;

send written notice by the end of the 5th week of each quarter to any student who is having academic trouble and may be in danger of receiving reduced credit;

conduct evaluation conferences’

agree to take our work seriously and also maintain our sense of humor and sense of joy

Students will remain in good academic standing, which includes,

meeting all financial obligations of the program such as tuition, quarters’ books, printed material and program activity costs described in catalog;

regular, on-time attendance at all program activities;

active participation in all program activities, such as lectures, workshops, seminars, simulations, and peer meetings with preparatory work completed;

successful and timely completion of all program assignments, including journals, seminar papers, peer reviews and final portfolio.

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The Evaluation Process
        Faculty will meet individually with their seminar students for a final evaluation conference during Evaluation Week. Students are expected to bring a copy of their Self-Evaluation and evaluation of the faculty member to that conference.
        Students will be evaluated at the end of the quarter for the following: satisfactory completion of all assignments; active participation in program activities; improvements of academic skills; and demonstration of understanding of the terminology, themes, issues and techniques discussed in the program.
        Each faculty member will evaluate students in his seminar with the input from the other faculty team member. Seminar leaders will form their evaluations by examining the writing students’ submit, their contributions in seminars, their participation in workshops, their projects and final portfolio, and the completion of assessments, including the student’s self-evaluation.
        The evaluation is a statement describing the quality of a student’s work. Students receive full credit for fulfilling minimum standards and requirements. It is possible for a student to attend regularly yet receive reduced credit because of unsatisfactory performance or missing work. It is also possible for a student to receive credit and receive an evaluation that describes poor quality work.

Due Process in Resolving Grievances
        This program operates under the College’s Social Contract and prohibition against discrimination. Complementing Evergreen’s Social Contract is the Student Conduct Code ? Grievance and Appeals Process. Evergreen has long promoted a policy that conflict and grievances should first be dealt with between the parties themselves. The following procedures should be followed:

Take up the concern with the parties involved in the grievance. If not resolved?

Meet with the seminar leader. If still not resolved:

Meet with the faculty team. If still not resolved:

Meet with the Academic Dean.

Academic Honesty
        Students and faculty acknowledge and accept that in an academic community, sharing and taking responsibility for our own ideas is vital. Acknowledging our use of other people’s ideas is equally important. Work that students submit must reflect their own ideas. When incorporating the view of others, be those published authors or seminar colleagues, we must acknowledge our sources. Since some work in this program will be collaborative and the ideas may reflect the contributions of more than one person, we agree to develop the habit of acknowledging the people and ideas that have influenced us. We understand that presenting the work of others as our own or failing to acknowledge the use of other people’s ideas is plagiarism. Any student who plagiarizes material will be asked to leave the program and may be required to leave the College.
*This document reflects the ideas of faculty member Jose’ Gomez whose work can be viewed on the academic program web page for “How can you tell an American?”
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