College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: 4/3/12
1. Division: Student Learning Support Services
2. Course ID and Number: Guidance 8
3. Course Title: Career Planning
SHORT TITLE (appears on student transcripts; limited to 30 characters, including spaces): Career Planning
4. Please select the distance education method that best describes how the course content will be delivered to most
students taking this class:
CTV
DE 52: One-way video and two-way interactive audio (delivered video and telephone)
ITV
DE 51: Simultaneous Interaction: Two-way interactive video and two-way interactive audio
Online
DE 71: Internet based - Simultaneous Interaction: Session under supervision of instructor not
available by line of sight using the Internet with immediate opportunity for exchange
between participants.
DE 72: Internet based - Delayed Interaction: Session under supervision of instructor not available by line of
sight using the Internet without the immediate involvement of the instructor.
Other
DE 53: Simultaneous Interaction: Two-way interactive audio only
DE 60: Text One Way
DE 70: Audio One Way
5. Attach course syllabus to this proposal.
6. What perceived need will this distance education course address?
This course addresses the need for students across the district to identify a program of study
in an organized and thorough manner who might otherwise be unable to attend on-campus
classes or appointments due to distance, illness, or time constraints. There are not enough
Counselors and Advisors to provide career assessment and exploration activities throughout the
District. The current student to Counselor load at the Eureka campus is 2643:1; 735:1 at the
Mendocino campus and 748:1 at the Del Norte campus. (Counseling/Advising Program Review
2010-11). This situation will become even more acute in the Summer of 2012 when two
Counselors retire, one each at the Eureka and Del Norte campuses, with no replacements in the
near future. Current Financial Aid regulations demand an identified program of study.
Additionally, the recently Task Force on Student Success document includes a recommendation
to: Require students to declare a program of study early in their academic careers. The latest
Enrollment Management Plan includes a requirement for students to choose an education goal
by the end of their second semester.
7. Describe in detail how the course content will be delivered and how students will engage this content. Be sure
to describe the specific technologies and/or software to be used.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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Guidance 8 course content is delivered through assignments and discussions of material
from external media such as videos and websites. The assignments and discussions are
designed to help students develop their observation, articulation of ideas, and critical thinking
skills. Lecture content will be delivered primarily via text with links to appropriate sites. Students
engage with other classmates through discussion forums. Major assignments (resume, cover
letter, and an essay about an "informational interview") will be delivered to the instructor by
means of a communication tool within the learning management system (LMS).
8. To illustrate the description in #7, describe what students in this course may do in a typical week of this course.
Students are expected to "attend" class at least twice each week. Attendance means
checking and responding to email and MyCR messages, responding to instructor and
classmates in the discussion forum prompts, checking their grade, and reading web-based
career exploration resources. Each week there are 1-2 discussion questions posted and each
student submits a response followed by a response to at least 2-3 other students. There are 2
main assignmentns that students work on throughout the semester. Students will submit a
cover letter and resume and a paper documenting an interview with someone in a career field
in which they are interested.
9. Title V mandates “regular and effective” contact between DE students and the instructor. Describe the nature
and frequency of instructor-student interactions in this course.
The instructor regularly initiates interaction with students to determine that they are
accessing and comprehending course material and that they are participating regularly in the
activities of the course. The instructor will reply within 48 hours to student questions submitted
as posts in the discussion forum, MyCR messages, or emails. The policy describing the
frequency and timeliness of instructor inititated contact and instructor feedback is posted in the
syllabus that is available for students. If the instructor must be out of contact briefly for an
unexpected reason, notification to students is made in an email or in the announcements area of
the course that includes when students can expect regular effective contact to resume. The
instructor will work with each student to deepen their critical thinking skills and help them
express their ideas.
10. Describe the nature and frequency of student-student interactions in this course.
Student -student interactions occur mainly in the discussion forums and from feedback
regarding cover letters, resumes and informational interviews. Students are required to submit
three postings for each of the 10 discussion forums. The first posting should respond to the
posted prompt. The second two postings should thoughtfully respond to other students'
postings using the response rubric included in the syllabus.
11. Describe how you will identify and respond to students experiencing difficulty in this course.
Students with no or low-participation, no response to instructor email or MyCR messages,
and minimal discussion forums responses are students experiencing difficulty in this course.
Running a report in MyCR for a list of participating students with statistics and reviewing grade
reports are other ways of identifying students who are struggling in this course. The instructor
will identify students who are falling behind in their work by tracking the gradebook points on a
weekly basis and will make contact with them by email and/or phone.
Students will also have access to an assigned online advisor and the CR distance education
website for further assistance. The CR tech support office can help with questions regarding the
technology. The Distance Education homepage has information about online courses, My CR,
tutoring, and other resources. In order to encourage and assist students experiencing difficulty in
this course, the instructor offers extra credit if needed.
12. Will exam proctoring be required?
No
Yes
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
2 of 4
If yes, who will proctor exams?
13. Describe how assessments are used in this course to ensure that student work is evaluated effectively and
accurately.
Student work is evaluated effectively and accurately by using assessment rubrics and
discussion forums. Students will be assessed weekly, using the rubric noted in the syllabus, on
how fully and thoughtfully they respond to the discussion forum prompts and to their
classmates' responses. Feedback about student performance is frequent and timely throughout
the course and provides clear opportunities for improvement and encouragement to excel. In
order to ensure student work is evaluated effectively and accurately, it is necessary to
collaborate with other Guidance faculty on a regular basis. A final cover letter, resume, and
informational interview will be required and graded with clear expectations stated in the syllabus
and the assignment section of the class. All course learning outcomes will be assessed each
semester.
14. Describe the equipment and staff resources necessary to support the course for students and instructors.
To suport this course, students and instructor must have access to a computer with an
internet connection (high speed DSL, cable or satellite preferred). Student and instructor support
is provided by the DE department.
15. Describe the contingency plan for this course if access to the delivery system is interrupted.
If access to the delivery system is interrupted, assingment due dates can be modified. The
instructor will contact students via the learning management system's communication tools
and/or telephone after power is restored and adjust any deadlines accordingly.
16. Both state and federal law require community colleges to design courses to ensure access for students with
disabilities, including compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Please indicate the steps taken to
ensure accessibility by checking the Yes, No, or NA boxes below. For further assistance with accessibility and
assistive technology, please contact DSP&S.
Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
1. The course delivery provides a text equivalent for all non-text elements such as images,
animations, applets, audio/video files and art. This will enable a screen reader to read the
text equivalent to a blind student.
2. The course delivery provides descriptions for important graphics if they are not fully
described through alternative text or in a document’s content. The description would inform
a blind student of what a picture represented.
3. The course delivery ensures that information conveyed by the use of color is also
understandable without color. For example, so a blind or color-blind student could
understand a color-coded representation of DNA.
4. The course delivery provides textual equivalents to audio information (captioning). The text
will enable deaf students to know what others are hearing.
5. The course delivery provides an alternative audio description for multimedia presentations.
The sound will enable blind students to know what others are seeing.
6. The course delivery ensures that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or
pages may be paused or frozen. The movement can be distracting for students with certain
disabilities.
7. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
identifies, by labeling or other appropriate means, row and column headers. The
identification will enable screen readers to discern the headers, which disclose the purpose
of the data in the rows and columns.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
8. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
provides title frames and includes sufficient information as to their purpose and relationship
to each other. This will help blind students understand the organizational purpose of the
frame.
9. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the instructor has
ensured, through HiSoftware’s “Cynthia Says” http://www.cynthiasays.com/ or other
appropriate verification, the usability of pages, and will attach to this proposal evaluation
printouts of Section 508 and WCAG—Priority 1 compliance.
10. My course syllabus recommends that students who require accommodations for a disability,
such as accessible formatting of course materials, contact me immediately. Example: “In
compliance with equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic
accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students are
encouraged to contact Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) for disability
verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations.”
Submitted by: Michael Regan, April Klingonsmith
Tel. Ext: 4158 Date: 4/3/2012
Approvals:
Department Chair:
Dean, Distance Education Geoff Cain
Division Chair/Director: Keith Snow-Flamer
Review Date:
Review Date: 4-3-2012
Review Date: 4-4-2012
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Yes
Date: 4/13/12
Academic Senate Approval Date: 4/20/13
Board of Trustees Approval Date: 06.05.12
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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