Nassau Community College
NCC 101 E3 - The College Experience (CRN # 43979)
Professor Gregory J. Lehenbauer
Office: Life Sciences 248
Office Hours: Mon and Wed 2:00-315PM
Email Address: Gregory.Lehenbauer@ncc.edu
Textbooks:
Tuesday 10:00-11:15 AM: Room C220
Office Phone: (516) 572-7278 Ext 26330
Spring 2016
1) Leonard, Enid, College Success Simplified - Custom Edition for Nassau Community College, 3rd Edition
2) NCC Catalog on NCC Webpage: www.ncc.edu
Course Description:
An introduction to the world of higher education. The goal of the course is to give students the skills, insights and
knowledge to make the most of their college experience. Among the topics covered: The philosophy, mission and
expectations of higher education, academic disciplines and their relationship to careers, the contributions of faculty
to students’ intellectual growth, the role of campus resources (labs, library, counseling services, extracurricular
activities, etc.) in the educational process, listening, note-taking and study skills and the college community as a
mirror of cultural diversity. The course will also help students develop sufficient motivation to pursue their studies
as active, responsible learners.
Course Requirements and Information
Attendance: Attendance is very important for the successful completion of any course. Attendance will be taken at the
beginning of every class. Since this class only meets once per week for 15 weeks, a maximum of two absences will be
allowed. If a student is absent three (3) or more times then he/she will receive an automatic grade of “F”, unless a student
brings a withdrawal form to the instructor. This withdrawal form may or may not be signed in accordance with the
withdrawal policies discussed later on in this document. Lateness is also tracked and can cause you to reach the maximum
number of absences as two (2) latenesses are equal to one (1) absence. If a student is late it is his/her responsibility to
remind the instructor after class to change the attendance record from absent to late. Check with the instructor if you are
uncertain as to whether or not you will receive an “F” because of excessive latenesses and/or absences. Do not expect the
instructor to remember at a future class who arrived late the previous week.
Attending every college class, and being on time for it, is one of the most important things a college student can do to earn
higher grades in any course. Doing this allows a student to learn of changes in the course schedule, learn when assignments
are due, ask questions that he/she may have, as well as absorb all of the new material that is being presented in that particular
class session. In this course, in order to stress the importance of attendance in a college course, attendance will also be a
component of your grade. Attendance will be 15% of your overall grade. In other words you will receive one point for each
of the 15 classes that you successfully attend on time. As this is a component of your final grade, there are consequences
for absence and lateness. You will lose one (1) point for each absence and a half (0.5) point for each lateness. So a student
who was absent once and late three times would have an attendance average that calculates out to be 12.5/15*100 = 83%.
On the other hand a student who has perfect attendance on all 15 class days with no latenesses will have a three (3)
percentage point bonus added to his/her final average. It is noted that NO EXCUSES for absence or lateness are allowed in
order to receive these additional points. This may be very beneficial to those students who end up with a 86.5 average as the
three additional points will raise the average to 89.5, which is then rounded up to a 90.0, which allows the student to get an
A in NCC 101.
Behavior: All students are expected to conduct themselves in a mature and responsible manner while in the class room.
Once class begins there is to be no talking unless called upon by the instructor. There is also to be no eating or listening to
music through iPods or any other music playing device. Disruptive behavior, which includes but is not limited to loud
yawning, is a distraction to all and will not be tolerated. After one warning a repeated violation will cause the student to be
dropped from the course.
Cheating: Cheating will not be tolerated. A student who is caught cheating will be dropped from the course immediately
and reported to the Dean of Students. This may result in a student being dismissed from Nassau Community College, which
will make it very difficult to transfer into a four-year school. There are no warnings or excuses.
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Leaving the Classroom: Getting up and leaving the classroom for whatever reason (unless a medical condition exists) is
disturbing and distracting to the instructor and your fellow students. Students who may have a pending emergency can
inform the instructor ahead of time and sit near the door so they can handle their situation without disturbing the class.
Cell Phones, Wireless Devices, Text Messages, etc..: Cell phones are not to be used and should not ring during class This
includes sending and receiving text messages through any type of wireless device. Make sure that these devices are shut off
before you enter the building and classroom. These devices are a major distraction to the instructor as well as your fellow
students but most importantly they prevent you from learning and paying attention to the new course material. A student
who has to be individually asked by the professor to put away their cellular device because they are sending and
receiving text messages/email or playing video games will lose 1 point off of their final average for each occurrence.
Calculator: This must be brought to every class as we will refer to and use it several times during the semester. For grade
calculation purposes it is a good idea to carry a small inexpensive calculator with you to all of your courses on campus.
Fire Safety and Evacuation: Students must familiarize themselves as to the proper evacuation route in case of a fire or
chemical spill. Please locate and find the evacuation route map located near the door. We will review this map and the
evacuation route on the first day of class. There may be an unannounced practice fire drill during the semester as well.
Grading: As in every college course YOU will determine the grade that you receive in NCC 101. Students can and should
track their grades using the NCC 101 web site and the grade record sheet. A student’s grade will be an average
calculated from his/her performance in the various aspects of the course and is determined and described as follows:
Attendance
Class participation
College Event/Activity Paper
GPA Quiz
15%
10%
20%
10%
Homework
Campus Resources Oral Report:
Final Exam
15%
20%
10%
Class Participation: In order to receive the maximum amount of these points students should be actively participating
in the class and or group discussions. At various random times during the semester students will be called upon
randomly and asked questions pertaining to the current discussion. Students should be paying attention and involved
in the current discussion, which means no one should be asleep during any portion of the class. The instructor will
note who is and who isn’t prepared for class, including those who fall asleep and those who do not bring their
textbook and calculator to class each day. During class discussion every student has the right to his/her opinion and
every student has the right to agree or disagree with any opinion. However, every student also has the right to be
respected. Therefore, discussions will proceed in such a way as not to deliberately insult and/or make anyone in the
room feel uncomfortable.
College Event/Activity Paper: During the semester NCC will offer many special events on campus, such as concerts,
theater productions, speakers, art exhibits, social events, workshops, club activities, etc. Many of these events are
held during the day, while others are held during the evening and on weekends. It is your responsibility to find out
about and attend one of these events by reading the Vignette (NCC campus newspaper) and by paying attention to
flyers that get posted on campus. You will be required to compose and type a 2-3 page (double spaced, 12 point type,
1" margins) summary and reaction paper about your experience. In the first paragraph of your paper you should
describe the details of the event such as when it was, where it was, who hosted the event and how you heard about it.
If the event is a lecture, panel discussion, or a workshop of some kind, focus your summary paper on the topic and
include what you learned. Your textbook on pages 171-175 offers help in attending and writing summary papers
about lectures and panel discussions. If the event has more of a social focus, describe the atmosphere, point out
anything that struck you as significant and let me know your overall impression of the experience. Submit your
papers any time during the semester, but no later than April 19, 2016. If you turn your paper in before this date you
will have the option of correcting any mistakes after it is graded to improve your initial grade.
GPA Quiz: There will be one quiz during the semester covering the topic of GPA - Grade Point Average calculation.
There will be no make-up quizzes.
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Homework: There will be four homework assignments that will be collected and graded during the semester.
The due dates and details of these assignments are listed on page 5 of this course outline. Late homework will
not be accepted. If you were absent the day a homework was due, you must hand it in at the next class,
otherwise it will not be accepted. Homework is to be written neatly on the front side of white 8.5" by 11"
college ruled paper, WITHOUT perforated edges torn from a spiral notebook. In addition you should consider
that tearing out pages from your textbook and handing them in as homework assignments will make it
impossible for you to sell the book back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. You must do your
homework by yourself. Group work is not allowed. Students who hand in identical work (with the same errors)
will be considered guilty of plagiarism and will receive an F in the course and reported to the Dean of Students.
Campus Resources Oral Report: NCC has numerous resources and services available to help students
maximize their success and to make college life less stressful. This assignment requires that you choose a
service that interests you (list to be distributed) and interview a person on campus who provides that service and
present a oral report 3-4 minutes in length about what you have learned. Your grade on this will be based on
your content, presentation style (including the use of 3*5 note cards) and whether or not you reached the
minimum time requirement.
Final Exam: The final exam will consist of writing a letter to an incoming freshman. In it you will share your
thoughts on the college experience, relating what you have learned in NCC 101. Being able to summarize the
content of this course and how it directly helped you, ie what you learned about the college and yourself, etc.
will be a part of this final written exam. This is an open exam, which means you can bring your notebook,
textbook and a dictionary to the exam. This means the better you take organized notes during the semester, in
your own notebook, the higher your grade on this exam and the higher your final course grade will be. If you
have an “A” average (not including the perfect attendance bonus) going into the last week of the term, you will
be exempt from taking the final exam
Extra Credit: Various extra credit tasks will be assigned during the semester. Pay attention to the details of
these and the due dates when they are initially discussed in class as they might only be mentioned one time.
Student Campus Questions: Each day we will spend up to five minutes at the beginning of the class answering any
questions that students may have pertaining to their NCC college/campus experience. As new students on campus
you will most likely come up with a variety of questions as the semester progresses. This time can be used to answer
questions pertaining to anything that may confuse you on campus such as parking tickets, club activities, the
registration process, situations you encountered in your other courses, etc.... The goal of this time each week is to
get you assistance in solving your problem or possibly provide you with another point of view on or suggestion on
how to handle problems you may be having in other classes this semester. Since we do have an agenda to cover each
week, we will stick to the allotted five minute time frame. If there are additional questions that go beyond this time
frame I will be willing to stay after class to try to help you resolve whatever problems you may encounter on campus
this semester.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (GB&A): Each day at the beginning of the class, after we have answered any
student campus questions, each student will tell the class either something good, bad or ugly that happened to them
since the class met the last time. This will be a time to praise good things that happened and for everyone to try
learn from the bad or ugly things that happened so that they hopefully won’t happen to anyone again in the future.
Disabilities: If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may have an impact on your
ability to carry out the assigned coursework, I urge you to contact the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD),
Building U,(516 572-7241,TTY(516) 572-7617. The counselors at CSD will review your concerns and determine
reasonable accommodations you are entitled to by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. All information and documentation pertaining to personal disabilities will be kept
confidential.
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Withdrawal: In order for there to be no record of this course on your transcript you must withdraw within the first
three weeks of the semester. After the first three weeks, the last official day to receive an automatic “W” is Friday,
April 1, 2016. Students who wish to withdraw from the course after this date must meet with the instructor to
discuss why a withdrawal is necessary and to discuss any other alternative steps that may be taken. Students may do
this up until 11:15 AM on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. After this time the student will receive the appropriate grade for
the course work completed. It is noted that a student who has been absent 3 or more times will receive an “F” or
“UW” unless he/she officially withdraws from the course with the proper form. A grade of “UW” is given out if a
student disappears from the class and does not fill out a withdrawal form by the proper date. Keep in mind that a
“UW” counts as an F in your GPA calculation. At NCC students have the ability to retake any course for a higher
grade to replace any “UW”, “F” or other low grades that were earned. Note: Students with two or three remedials
who withdraw or stop attending or fail the course must repeat the course as it is required for graduation.
Internet: This document and other helpful information can be found on the instructors web site for NCC 101:
http://www3.ncc.edu/faculty/sci/lehenbg/ncc101.html
One of the many features of this web site is the ability to login to the web site using your Banner N Number and
Password. Once inside a student can view his/her grades that have been earned in the various course components as
well as their current overall average. The grades and overall average are updated by the instructor at various times
during the semester.
Office Hours/Extra Help: If for any reason you do not understand any of the material covered in class, do not
hesitate to ask for extra help. I will be available for help during my office hours and during other free time I have
during the day. If you can not meet during my office hours talk with me to arrange an appointment. Office hours
can also be used to go over homework questions before or after they are due. Students who wish to inform the
instructor of learning disabilities or medical conditions may also come to office hours to discuss the situation in
private.
Other Important Notes:
1) The deadline to apply for a May 2016 graduation/degree is Monday, February 29, 2016. Students who miss this
deadline will have to wait until December of 2016 to graduate.
2) There could be several conversion days scheduled into this term that will could impact your schedule this
semester. Conversion days are necessary so that all day/evening/weekend classes will meet for the same number of
days within the 15 week time period. The following are the conversion days scheduled for this term:
•
There are no conversion days during the spring 2016 term but be sure to look out for them in the fall
What does this cartoon mean/imply?
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NCC 101 - The College Experience - Spring 2016 - Tentative Course Outline
Since you have been given this tentative course outline it is your responsibility to know when the GPA quiz will be given or when the
College/Event Activity paper or homework assignments are due or when you have to give your Campus Resources Oral report. Students
should not come to class after an absence and claim that they did not know a homework or a paper was due or that the GPA quiz was going to
be given that day.
Date Week #
Book(s) Needed Topic/Important Notes
Jan 19 1
Syllabus/Outline, Course Goals, NCC ID Extra Credit (+ 1 Point), NCC Email Address Extra Credit (+ 2
Points), Student Campus Questions, GB&A, First Day/Week of Class
Jan 26
2
Feb 2
3
Feb 9
4
Text: Chapter 1
NCC ID Card Extra Credit Due, Email Extra Credit sent from your NCC student email account before 11:59PM
tonight, Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Icebreaker Activity, CERC Workshops Extra Credit (+4/+8
Points), First Day/Week of Class, Handout: NCC Daily Planner, Your Long-term Plan to a more Relaxing
Stress Free Life, Word Processing & College Level Paper Criteria for College Event Activity Paper
HW # 1: Ch 1 Pg 5 Activity 1Due (4 Points), Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Discuss Campus Resources
Oral Reports, Handouts: 1-Sample Interview Questions, 2-Academic Student Services and Campus
Resources, Your # 1 Priority, Choosing a Major and the Importance of a College Education, The Importance of
Coming to Class
Text: Chapters
10 & 6
Feb 16
Student Campus Questions, GB&A, How to Read and Use your Textbooks, Study Guides and On-Line
Resources, Organizational Skills, Handout: My Weekly Activities, Time Management, How do You Spend
Your Time in a 168 Hour Week?, Handouts: 1-Grade Record Keeper, 2-Student Grade Record Sheet
No Class - Presidents Week
Feb 23
5
Text: Chapter 13
and Pgs 11-12 &
Pg 225
NCC Library Day - Go to the Reference Desk in the Library before 10:00 AM and find out our room
assignment in the library for today, Bring your Student ID Card, Library Research, How to Access and Use
Databases, Choosing a Major and Career Planning Library Assignment
Mar 1
6
NCC Catalog 31 HW # 2: Ch 6 Pgs 29-30 Activities 1 & 2 Due (10 Points - Note: Only page number 123 will be collected
Text: Page 69
activities 1 & 2), Bring Calculator to Class, Student Campus Questions, GB&A, How to Login to Blackboard,
Text: Pgs 189-191 How to Give Your Campus Resources Oral Report, How to Calculate your GPA
Mar 8
7
Mar 15
8
HW # 3: Career Planning Research Summary Due (20 Points) Campus Resources Oral Report Presentations,
Answer GPA Questions, Handout: GPA Calculations In-Class Exercise
Text: Pgs 189-191 HW # 4: GPA Problems 1, 2 and 3 Pgs 189-191 Due (20 Points: Show all of your work/calculations to receive
NCC Catalog
the Maximum 20 Points) Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Withdrawal Forms, Penalties for Excess W’s,
Campus Resources Oral Report Presentations continued
Mar 22
No Class - Spring Break
Mar 29
9
NCC Catalog
Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Review HW # 4 - GPA, Review for GPA Calculations Quiz, Academic
Text: Pg 137
Etiquette, Professor Decoding, Academic Integrity-Is it Honest?
Text: Pgs 211-213
Apr 5
10
NCC Catalog
GPA Calculations Quiz, Bring Calculator to Class, Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Faculty Rights and
Text: Pgs 143-145 Responsibilities........ Student Rights and Responsibilities, Think Before You Speak (How to Talk to Your
Text: Pg 139&149 Professor), A Tale of Three Students
Apr 12
11
NCC Catalog
Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Return GPA Quiz, Priority Registration, Academic Advisement, Banner
System and Registration, Discuss Fall 2016 Registration Extra Credit
Apr 19
12
Text: Chapter 5
Last day to submit your College Event/Activity Paper/Revisions, Student Campus Questions, GB&A,
Learning Styles: Discovering How You Learn Best (Myers Briggs Type Indicator)
Apr 26
13
Text: Chapters
15 & 16
Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Handout: No Smoking and the Time Value of Money, ROTH IRA,
401K, Pensions, Mutual Funds vs Individual Stocks, Social Security, Credit Cards and Personal Finances
May 3
14
Text: Chapter 16
Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Discuss Final Exam, Handout: The Final Exam
May 10 15
Bring a Dictionary, Student Campus Questions, GB&A, Registration Extra Credit Due, Final Exam - Letter to
an Incoming Freshman