Chicana/o Studies Program - Course Policies and Procedures

and Grading Rubrics

CLASS POLICIES:
1. You must check Moodle daily for announcements and emails. If you fail to check Moodle and
you miss an important announcement or email you are responsible for the consequences.

2. You are provided with a separate Course Calendar that clearly defines all due dates and
deadlines. Online learning is independent learning and you must be responsible enough to
submit all work on time. I will not accept late work.

3. The only time that I will accept a late quiz or assignment is if the Moodle System goes
down. I have the ability to enter the system as both an administrator and as a student and I will
know if there was a system failure. If there is a failure Moodle provides me with a report stating
so and then I can extend the deadline.

4. Your work schedule, military deployment, athletic events, travel, vacations, sick children,
broken computer, lack of access to internet, etc. are not valid excuses for missing any work in
this online course.

5. This is an upper division course and you will be penalized for poor writing skills. If you
submit work that is riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors you will lose a
significant number of points for that assignment. This could be the difference between a passing
and failing grade so I strongly suggest that you utilize the spell check before submitting.

6. All modules and links are time released. This means that you will see modules and links on
the dates that they are scheduled to open according to the Course Calendar. For example, if
you have a quiz that opens on Thursday at 5:00pm (MST) you will not see the quiz link until that
Thursday at 5pm and the link will disappear promptly at 11:55pm (MST) the following Friday. If
you start the quiz at 11:50pm on Friday the link will close at 11:55pm and you will not receive
credit for any unanswered questions. Again, I have the ability to track you in Moodle so I will be
able to see what time you opened any and all links.

7. Do not wait until the last minute to do your work! Technology has a way of tripping you up
when you are racing against the clock.

8. If you are working from home you must ensure that you have all of the necessary software
and that your browsers and software are up to date. If you do not have proper working
equipment you will not be successful in an online class. You are responsible for seeing that all
of your equipment and software are up to date or that you get yourself to a lab, library, etc.
where you can meet the requirements of the class.

9. Moodle works best with Google Chrome, and then Mozilla Firefox and Safari. Stay away from
Internet Explorer! For some reason Moodle does not communicate well with Internet Explorer so
avoid it. Additionally, it is very important that your Adobe Reader and Java software be up to
date. All of your readings, lectures, and assignment sheets are (.pdf) files and require the latest
version of Adobe Reader.

10. It is very important that you follow directions carefully. You must submit all of your work
correctly. If you fail to properly submit your work you will not receive credit for the assignment.
Here is an example of improperly submitting work: Student opens assignment link,
Copyright 2010 The University of Texas at El Paso and Irma Montelongo.

Chicana/o Studies Program - Course Policies and Procedures

copies/pastes their critical response then fails to click the submit button. They then move into
another part of Moodle and the assignment is never submitted. Simple human error, but it will
cost you a grade.

CLASS PROCEDURES:
Your Learning Modules will open according to the dates in the Course Calendar so follow the
calendar carefully! In the Learning Modules you will find a brief Introduction, the Lecture,
Readings, Video(s), Quiz links, Assignment links, Discussion Board links, and any other
pertinent information. Check the course calendar for all assigned readings and videos.
Quizzes:
Your quizzes are worth 100 points each. You have four (4) quizzes scheduled (see Course
Calendar for quiz dates). They will be based on your readings and videos and they will consist
of multiple choice, true/false, and/or short essay. They may be a combination of all three and
are intended to assess your ability to keep up with the course materials. See Course Calendar
for scheduled quizzes.
Your very first quiz is based on the Syllabus, Course Policies and Procedures and Grading
Rubric, and the Plagiarism video. Be sure that you read the material and view the video
thoroughly and carefully.
Individual Response Papers:
Individual Response Paper and Group Discussion Posts are due by 11:55pm (MST), see
Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Type a 500-word (min.) critical response to the articles and videos assigned for each Learning
Module. A critical response is not a summary of your readings and videos. A critical response
makes important links between the sources and compares and contrasts the arguments being
made by the author(s). I have placed a guideline for writing a critical response on the Home
Page under the tab Course Resources.
Grading Rubric For Individual Response Assignments:
Each Individual Response paper is worth 100 points. Grading is based on the following: You will
receive 0-85 points for your critical analysis. This is based on how well you understood the
material and your ability to think critically about what you have just read and viewed. The
remaining 15 points is based on your writing skills and this includes, grammar, punctuation, and
spelling. If you are having problems forming your critical analysis think about the following:

What is the authors thesis (main argument) of the article? What is the main point of the
video? DO NOT write a summary or personal opinion piece. Analyze the material!
Do you agree or disagree with the authors/videos viewpoints? Why? Briefly explain
and provide examples from one or both to support the stance you took.
What are the conflicting viewpoints on this issue? Compare and Contrast the weeks
materials
Can you identify further research directions for this topic?
Can you make links, connections with either historical or contemporary events and/or
Copyright 2010 The University of Texas at El Paso and Irma Montelongo.

Chicana/o Studies Program - Course Policies and Procedures

Again, I do not want a summary (recap of the material) of the readings/videos. I have read
and seen the material; I know what it is about.
Type up your individual response in a Word document (SAVE the file) and upload your
response under the Assignment Link located in the Learning Module. Read and follow
instructions in Assignment Link very carefully!!! They may change from week to week. If you do
not upload your assignment correctly you will not receive credit for the assignment.
After you submit your individual response as an assignment, copy/paste your response to your
group Discussion Board Link. Your Group Discussion Board Links are located in the Learning
Module.
Group Discussion Boards are in effect from the moment you post your first response
until closing scheduled dates (see course calendar). Your grade is dependent on your
active participation throughout the week as well as on the quality of your post.
You should check the Discussion Boards often so that you can actively participate and earn the
maximum grade.
Grading Rubric For Discussion Boards:
Each Discussion Board is worth 100 points and is graded as follows:
Posting before or by the deadline at 11:55pm (MST) is worth 50 points. You will lose 10 points
for each day that you are late. (i.e. if you post your blog on the morning after the due date you
will receive 40 points).
Discussion Boards are in effect from the moment that you post your blog and they run for
approximately three days (see course calendar). You are expected to maintain your discussion
board over this period and this means posting daily at your convenience. The remaining 50
points are based on the quality and quantity of your ongoing discussion posts throughout the
week.
The following is an approximate breakdown of how the posts are graded, assuming that the
posts are quality and consist of critical analysis and contribute to the discussion:
0-2 posts
3-4 posts
5-6 posts
7-9 posts
10 plus posts

+15 points
+25 points
+35 points
+45 points
+50 points

EXAMPLE: You post your initial response on time so you automatically earn 50 points. Then,
you post 4 more times over the remainder of discussion week and that is worth +15 points
according to the rubric above; therefore, you will earn a total of 65 points as a discussion grade
for that particular discussion board.
BEWARE: Simply responding to a blog with I agree or wow thats interesting is not
considered quality. Neither is responding 20 times without any substance. You can provide 6+
quality posts and receive a very good score, but note: the word quality carries a lot of weight!
Copyright 2010 The University of Texas at El Paso and Irma Montelongo.

Chicana/o Studies Program - Course Policies and Procedures

Additionally, if you post your response to the discussion board on time but disappear from the
boards until the last day of discussion and then try to post 8 times you will not receive a passing
grade! A passing discussion grade consists of discussion that begins once you post your
individual response to the board and continues DAILY AT YOUR CONVENIENCE all the way
through Friday.
Photo Essay:
In Week 6 you will submit a Photo Essay. This essay will consist of photos taken by you that
reflect and symbolize an ethnic Mexican woman who has had an important impact on your
life. I have provided an article that week that serves as an example of how to construct your
essay and I will also provide a detailed assignment sheet inside of the Learning Module 4
entitled The Politics of Chicana/o Identity in the 21st Century. I will also provide an
assignment link in the Learning Module for you to submit your photo essay.
Grading Rubric For Photo Essay:
The Photo essay is worth 100 points. Grading is based on the following: Did you provide
sufficient information to explain and describe each photo. Are the photos unique and good
symbols of the woman you are writing about? For example, did you capture or locate unique
photos of your subject?
Final Exam:
Final exam is comprehensive and will cover Learning Modules 2,3,and 4.The final exam is
scheduled for December 9, 2015 opening at 8:00am (MST) and closing on December 12, 2015
at 11:55pm (MST). The final exam is worth 100 points.

Copyright 2010 The University of Texas at El Paso and Irma Montelongo.