FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I contact the Instructor ?
For any communications regarding grades, or messages of a confidential nature, you should only use my ENMU email address. This is because of FERPA requirements for confidentiality.
For informal messages, I can be contacted by e-mail
at rollinsondr@yahoo.com or by the message system in the BlackBoard section of the course. -
How do I get an "A" on the Course ?
There is a special Page to help you "Go for the A". -
I have registered for a Web-based Course - now what do I do ?
Go to the Web Pages for your Course, browse through them to see what the Course will involve, and plan your schedule of work for the course. -
May I start working on the Course before the beginning of the Semester ?
Yes, when you have registered with the ENMU Registrar's Office you may start as soon as you like, though you will not be able to submit your work until BlackBoard is opened for students for the semester. -
May I send in my Essays and/or Reading Reports early ?
Yes, in fact I encourage you to send in your work before the due dates just in case there are last-minute problems with the computers. You may submit your work in as early as you like, though I probably will not grade it until all that group of reports has arrived. -
How soon will I hear what grade my work scored ?
If you send your work in on a Monday morning you should receive a grade and some help with questions you missed by the next Monday. However, sometimes I get caught up with student emergencies or other unforeseen events, so grading may be delayed by an extra week. -
How do I send in a Reading Report ?
The Web-based Courses have weekly Reading Reports which are due by 9 am on Mondays. It is a good plan to copy the questions onto a word processing file, either with "NotePad" or "MSWord", and save it to a diskette or jump drive. Write your answers into that file, save it, and then submit it to the BlackBoard Inbox for that report. Always be sure to include your name in the answer file itself and in the subject line of any messages. -
I'm afraid I might lose my work when I send the answer in
It is a good idea to write your answers out first - use a word processing program and save the file to a diskette or jump drive. Then you will still have your file of answers in case anything happens to BlackBoard. -
How should I identify my work so that it does not get mixed up with someone else's ?
Always include your name at the top of any word-processed file of answers or an essay.
Always use your name as part of the name of the file, eg. ASmith-report1
When sending an Attachment there are several things you should do :
1. make sure that your name, Course Name, and Essay Number are actually in the document, preferably at the head of the document
2. name the document file something like "Course Number - Essay Number - Your Name"
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What is the College policy on Academic Integrity ?
To quote from the Undergraduate Catalogue, pages 35-36 :
"Academic Integrity :
Students are responsible for . . . demonstrating attainment in an honest manner. . . Cheating, plagiarism, or other acts of academic dishonesty compromise the integrity of the academic process and community and are subject to disciplinary action. . . .
Cheating behavior includes but is not limited to:
(a) dishonesty of any kind on examinations, quizzes, written assignments and projects, . . .
(d) obtaining information during an examination or assignment from another individual and/or assisting another to cheat . . .
Plagiarism includes but is not limited to: offering the work of another as one's own; offering the work of another without proper acknowledgment; and/or failing to give credit for quotations or essentially identical expressions of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines, other reference works, term papers, reports, or other sources of another individual"
As the Catalog points out, an act of academic dishonesty may result both in grade changes and/or disciplinary action. -
I found a really good piece in an Encyclopedia which just fits with the essay I'm writing : how may I use it in the essay without being guilty of plagiarism ?
You may always quote from Encyclopedias and other reputable sources of information - in fact I am pleased when you do, because it shows that you have done some extra research and reading. However, please make sure that you acknowledge your sources :
- You may use footnotes (at the foot of the page) or end-notes (at the end of your essay), or
- You may write something such as "Maria Yang writes in her article on Chamber Pots in the Encyclopedia of Everything :" and then copy the passage, either marking it with quotation marks or setting it as a Blockquote in your text (indented from the margin) or
- You may write out the passage, marking it with quotation marks or setting it as a Blockquote, and then in parentheses (brackets, braces) give the Source (Author's name, Journal; or Encyclopedia name).
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I'm really stuck with my essay, and I found a site on the Net where I can get essays on all sorts of subjects. I bet the instructor won't know that it's not my work, so what might happen if I copy it and send it in ?
You would probably get an "F" for the whole Course. I know those sites. Been there and checked them out - and they're not worth much. In fact I have Web Pages of information for other Faculty, in which I give a list of "Term Paper Mills", and techniques and sources of software for detecting plagiarism. Also, the essays available at the sites usually do not match the topics I set for essays and are written in styles which differ from the normal student style. So if anyone uses them it's pretty obvious. My advice - no matter how stuck and hopeless you feel - send your own work to me rather than using the cheat sites : You'll learn more, and you'll probably score more. -
I do have difficulty writing reports and essays
The Web Courses rely heavily on reading, comprehension, and writing skills. There are several Lecture-based versions of the Survey Courses which would probably be a better choice for anyone who finds it difficult to complete written assignments on time. -
I need help with essays and writing
Student Academic Services provides FREE HELP and tutoring for writing skills such as essays. -
On the Reading Reports for the Web-based Courses, how do I "write an account" ?
If the question asks for an "account", it generally means just to tell in your own words what happened. Some of the passages are rather long - several chapters of Genesis, for example - and for those you could give a condensed version which covers the main events (and which should probably take about 10 lines). If the question specifically says to write a "brief account" or a "brief summary" then just give the main points - ( who did what, where, when, why, and what were the results ) -
What is meant by "Key Verses" in courses REL 101 and REL 103 ?
The "Key Verses" are the six Verses from your week's reading which meant something special to you, or which you would like to remember. There are no right or wrong answers - just write out in full the 6 verses from your week's reading which meant something special to you, or which you would like to remember. Writing them out in full will help you to remember them if you need them in the future. The verses should come from the section of Scripture which was set for study during the week. -
Why do the Web-based Survey Courses, REL 101 and REL 103, ask for "Key Verses" each week ?
If you were attending my lecture-based Courses you would have a Monday (or Tuesday) Quiz every week, and there would be material to be learned each week and written out from memory on the Quiz. It is difficult to do that with the Web-based Courses, so I allow you to choose what passages you would like to learn, and then write them out (not from memory) as part of the Report.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
