Expectations and Evaluation
EVALUATION will be based on the following criterion:
- Successful completion of all program requirements including:
- Adherence to the syllabus and agreements in the covenant
- Preparation for and participation in class and seminar
- Complete preparation for and participation in online seminars
- The quality of ideas and the writing in your papers and projects
- Demonstration of acceptable understanding of program content and learning goals
Be advised that 8 credits constitutes a full-time program in the summer term. Given that we meet on only five Saturdays, excellent attendance is necessary for successful completion of the program. Likewise, timely participation in online seminars is required.
Incomplete status will be granted only for reasons of family crisis, illness, or similar documented emergency. Evaluation conferences will be held at the end of the term. Credit is not the same as positive evaluation. Students receive credit for fulfilling minimum requirements and standards. The evaluation is a statement describing the quality of the student’s work. It is possible for a student to receive credit but receive an evaluation that describes poor quality work. It is also possible for a student to attend regularly yet receive no or reduced credit because of unsatisfactory performance.
EXPECTATIONS
The faculty member assumes that students have well-rounded college-level skills. In case of deficiencies in basic skills, students are expected to work with the Learning Resources Center. The faculty member does not assume that students initially will be conversant with critical terminology or special techniques for discussing the works to be assigned. It is assumed that by the end of the program, students will have developed the ability–both in the terminology appropriate for more advanced discussion and in their own works–to think, to speak, and to write about the issues and themes of the program. In addition, they will have improved their ability to participate in the various collaborative activities of the program.
In general, students are expected to fully participate in all aspects of the class, to thoroughly prepare for each class session, and to complete all assignments on time. Late assignments may not be evaluated. Attendance and being on time for class are essential. Unexcused absences, late, incomplete or unsatisfactory completion of assignments or plagiarism will constitute grounds for loss of credit.
Faculty are expected to be prepared for lectures and class sessions, to provide feedback on written assignments in a timely manner, to be available for consultation by appointment and to provide a written evaluation of the student’s overall work in the program. Please refer to covenant for further details.
PORTFOLIO
Students will be required to keep an organized portfolio. It will be turned on the final day of class and returned during the evaluation conference. The portfolio will contain:
- Syllabus and covenant at the front
- Relevant notes (dated and organized chronologically—week by week)
- Lecture and reading notes
- Responses to website study questions
- Online seminar comments
- Completed screening form for each film
- In-class handouts
- All readings downloaded from the website with margin notes and/or highlighted passages of importance
- Seminar and workshop writing
- Essay with annotated bibliography (due Saturday, August 20)
- A self-evaluation draft