TULSA COMMUNITY COLLEGE - SOUTHEAST CAMPUS
COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 1003
Academic Strategies
Instructor: Linda Tindell
FALL, 2014
Course Section: #308; CRN: #16182 / M 6:00-8:50p.m./Room: SE 1222
TO CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:
Mailbox: Academic & Campus Services, SE2202
Phone: (918) 595-7658 E-mail: Linda.Tindell@tulsacc.edu or through Blackboard
Instructor’s Hours for consultation: By appointment
TO CONTACT THE DIVISION OFFICE:
Division: Communications
Associate Dean: Dr. Cindy Hess
Office: SE 1202
Phone Number: (918) 595-7694
TO CONTACT ACADEMIC & CAMPUS
SERVICES:
Director: Susan Burlew
Office:
SE 2202
Phone: (918) 595-7673
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Orients students to TCC campuses and college services, emphasizing personal and social strategies to
increase student involvement in college and community activities. Requires students to analyze and apply
study techniques and behavior patterns essential to college success, apply critical and creative thinking
skills to solve academic and social problems, and construct goals and time plans to balance work, school,
and family.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND OTHER COURSE MATERIALS:
 Two LASSI codes purchased through the Campus Store (approximately $6 each)
 Online text book; Access the course readings at this
URL: http://guides.library.tulsacc.edu/ASreadings
 this syllabus; Tulsa Community College Catalog; Student Code of Conduct Policy
Handbook (available on TCC web site);
 1 inch - 3 ring binder for Final Portfolio with side pockets; dividers for binder
 Weekly academic planner/calendar
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course is designed to prepare students for success in college by teaching them to:
 Develop and improve study skills, time management, test taking strategies, reading skills,
memory process, concentration techniques, and note taking systems; and demonstrate
transference of these skills to other coursework to successfully complete college work.

Apply critical and creative thinking skills to identify, discuss, and resolve academic and
social problems including math and science strategies, information literacy techniques,
collaborative learning, diversity issues, and conflict resolution.
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
Use personal and social strategies to succeed in and enjoy the college experience and to
become involved in college, community, and cultural activities.
 Become familiar with college procedures, terms, resources, and support services; and
incorporate these into the learning process.
 Apply the stages of the writing process and communication skills using essay, paragraph,
and sentence structure to written work and oral presentations.
TEACHING METHODS:
This class will be conducted as an academic support group for students and as a workshop consisting of
brief lectures, discussions, group activities, learning experiences, guest speakers, assignments and portfolio
assessment.
WRITING CENTER / MATH LAB:
Assistance in reading, writing, and study skills is available in the Writing Center (SE 7201; 595-7719)
Workshops and free tutoring sessions are available to TCC students and may be used for a Campus
Activity credit for this course.
SCIENCE/MATH LEARNING LAB:
Assistance in mathematics and individualized tutoring for math courses is available in the Math Lab. (SE
8150, 918-595-7751). Science tutors are available as posted in the Lab.
EVALUATION:
Course grades will be determined by the following:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Attendance Exercises, Quizzes & Participation
Study Skills Strategies & Writing Assignments
Essay/Opinion Paper
Campus Activity Reports
Career Planning Project
LASSI (pre & post test)
Exams – Mid Term (75 pts) & Final (50 pts)
Final PORTFOLIO
140 points
75 points
30 points
30 points
15 points
20 points
125 points
125 points
Total = 560 points possible
GRADING SCALE:
504 - 560 points
448 - 503 points
392 - 447 points
336 - 391 points
0 – 335 points
90-100%= A
80- 89%= B
70- 79%= C
60- 69%= D
0- 59%= F
(excellent; full mastery of assignment)
(good; strong fulfillment of assignment)
(average; satisfactory fulfillment of assignment)
(poor; less than satisfactory or incomplete)
(failing; missing, late, incorrect, or plagiarized)
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance and participation are expected and required. Each and every class session is important and
student participation is a vital ingredient to success in this class. Each class session (EXCLUDING MID
TERM AND FINAL EXAM CLASS PERIODS) will be worth 10 attendance/participation points for a
total of 140 points for the semester. Students are not eligible to earn attendance points on those two days,
but are expected to participate in class activities scheduled by the instructor. You may be required to
complete an activity or quiz each week during class to earn your 10 attendance/participation points.
Anyone not completing the activity in class at the time it is given may not receive the 10 points for
attendance. Participation and class activity points cannot be made-up. Arrive to class promptly as we
will have field trips, pop quizzes and/or guest speakers. Homework is due at the beginning of class.
Any exception is at the instructor’s discretion.
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Due to changes in the Federal Financial Aid policy, you will be expected to sign in at the beginning of
each class period in order to verify your attendance. This is extremely important and will be the
STUDENT’S responsibility to report to class early enough to sign in each week and be ready when
class begins. If you are late and the sign in sheet has been removed, you may be counted as absent. This
may have significant impact on your current or future financial aid. You may not have someone else sign
in for you. It is your responsibility to make sure you have signed in for each class period you attend.
More than three class hours (1 class session) of absence will be considered excessive and may be reported
to the Dean of Students. Excessive absence makes successful completion of this class difficult or
impossible. If you know that you will have to miss several class sessions during the semester, you
should consider dropping this course as your grade will be significantly affected.
You are responsible for all announcements made in class whether or not you are present. If a student
misses class for whatever reason, it is their responsibility to acquire classroom material from another
student. In addition, consult your syllabus, weekly agenda, Blackboard, TCC email, lecture notes,
handouts and textbook for additional information regarding assignments and announcements before
contacting your instructor.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS AND MAKEUP WORK:
Work must be turned in on time. Late work will not be accepted. You can leave assignments in the
instructor’s mailbox in the Academic & Campus Services office (SEC 2202) PRIOR to the start of class
on the date the assignment is due if you are going to be absent from class. Homework is due at the
beginning of class. Most in-class assignments may not be made up (including tests and portfolio). Any
exception is at the discretion of the instructor and may require documentation and result in earning only
half credit for the assignment. Please keep current with the reading in order to participate fully in
classroom activities.
Consider this: Keeping up is easy. Catching up is really, really hard. If you don’t
have time to keep up, what makes you think you will have time to catch up?
COMMUNICATIONS:
Email: All communication from the instructor and the college will be sent exclusively to
the student’s assigned TCC email address. After admission, all TCC students receive a
designated “MyTCC” (Outlook) e-mail address (ex: jane.doe@tulsacc.edu) All students
are required to regularly check their e-mail and use it to correspond with the instructor
regarding this course. If any student is not familiar with their address, they are
encouraged to contact the TCC Help Desk as soon as possible at 918-595-2000. You
may also send emails to your instructor and other students in your class via Blackboard.
Please do not email assignments to your instructor. Work must be submitted
during class or taken to the instructor’s mailbox in Academic and Campus
Services – SE 2202.
Inclement Weather: TCC rarely closes for inclement weather. If extreme weather
conditions or emergency situations arise, TCC gives cancellation notices to local radio and
television stations and sends announcements via TCC Alerts Emergency Notification
system. This information is also posted on the TCC website (www.tulsacc.edu) and
students can sign up to receive TCC Alerts notifications there, as well. If class is
cancelled due to inclement weather or other emergency situations, check Blackboard
(BB) & your email account for possible alternative assignments.
Blackboard: Students should regularly check course announcements and information
on the class Blackboard site (BB) and are responsible for tracking their academic
progress using the “student grades” section on Blackboard. If class will not be in
session due to weather or some other unforeseen reason, an alternate assignment
may be posted on blackboard to be completed and turned in at the next class
meeting for participation points or specific assignment credit.
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YOUR EDUCATION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY -- ASK QUESTIONS!!!
WITHDRAWAL POLICY:
The student who simply stops attending class has not officially withdrawn. If a student cannot continue
with this class, he or she must officially withdraw. The last day to withdraw from this course is Friday,
November 7, 2014. The deadline to withdraw from a course shall not exceed 3/4 the duration of any class.
Check the TCC Academic Calendar or Enrollment Services (Registration) for the deadline that applies to
your course(s). Begin the process with a discussion with the faculty member assigned to the course. Go to
the Advisement Center at any TCC campus to initiate withdrawal from a course ('W' grade). Withdrawal
and/or change to an audit from a course after the drop/add period may alter the financial aid award for the
current and future semesters. Students may receive an outstanding bill from TCC if the recalculation leaves
a balance due to TCC. Students who stop participating in the course and fail to withdraw may receive a
course grade of “F,” which may have financial aid consequences for the student (including Tulsa Achieves
students).
You cannot withdraw using MyTCC; instead you must go to the Advisement office as directed in
above paragraph. You can only add or drop using MyTCC. Drop deadline is August 29, 2014. If
you do not attend class or make contact with the instructor prior to August 29, 2014, you will receive an
“AW” for the course and you are financially responsible (see Registration for policy).
English Professors assign "AW" or "I" grades only when genuine emergencies prevent a student from
completing the class and/or from withdrawing before the deadline and only when the student is earning a
satisfactory ("C" or better) grade.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOAL STATEMENT:
The General Education Goals are designed to ensure that graduates of Tulsa Community College have the
skills, knowledge, and attitudes to carry them successfully through their work and their personal lives.
General Education Goals relevant to this course include Critical Thinking and Effective Communication,
Civic Responsibility, and Global Awareness.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE:
Open and mutually respectful communication of varied opinions, beliefs, and perspectives during
classroom or online discussion encourages the free exchange of ideas that is essential to higher learning and
to the ability to learn from each other. A student who exhibits behavior in the classroom which
interferes with the learning environment or conduct which is disrespectful to the instructor or other
students will be asked to leave the classroom and may be referred to the Dean of Students.
Students are expected to be in class on time and to remain until the class is dismissed. A student who is late
for class or has missed a class should not interrupt the class to determine what he/she has missed; if a
student must leave the classroom before the end of class, he or she should not interrupt the class to get
assignments yet to be completed or assigned. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain this information
outside of class time. Students should schedule medical or other appointments/activities at times other than
class time.
All cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices should be turned off or silenced and put away
during class sessions. Do not wear earbuds or earphones during class, or visit social networking or
other websites during class. TEXT MESSAGING IS NOT PERMITTED. If necessary, you may be
required to surrender your phone until class is over, or asked to leave without earning your
attendance points for that class session. No electronic or recording devices may be used in class
without prior permission of the instructor. If any student is expecting an emergency phone call, please
notify the instructor before class begins and set the phone to vibrate or silent. Please find a seat near the
door and exit the room quietly to answer the phone & keep the conversation brief. Participation in class
activities is an important part of the learning process, and an atmosphere conducive to gleaning the most
from each session should be a priority for each class member. Take responsibility for your own learning by
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coming to class on time with homework ready to submit and reading assignments completed. Check your
class schedule every day. Be open to learning new processes. Students are responsible to clean up after
themselves – please throw any trash away as you leave the classroom.
FORMAT:
Assignments should be typed and double spaced, or neat and legibly written in blue or black ink. Students
should use standard notebook paper or worksheets provided. Students should write or type on one side of
each page and provide one inch margins for professor’s comments. Assignments should be submitted in
class to the professor with the following heading in the upper left hand corner of the page:
 student’s name
 date submitted
Late assignments or assignments not following the prescribed format may be rejected. For assignments
turned in ahead of time, the instructor’s mailbox is located in Academic & Campus Services, SE2202.
Worksheets for study strategies and academic activities should be filled-out using complete sentences,
answering all questions, and writing in black or blue ink.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OR MISCONDUCT:
Academic dishonesty (cheating) is defined as the deception of others about one’s own work or about the
work of another. It is behavior in which a deliberately fraudulent misrepresentation is employed in an
attempt to gain undeserved intellectual credit, either for oneself or for another. Academic dishonesty or
misconduct is not condoned or tolerated at campuses within the Tulsa Community College system. Tulsa
Community College adopts a policy delegating certain forms of authority for disciplinary action to the
faculty. Such disciplinary actions delegated to the faculty include, but are not limited to, the dismissal of
disrespectful or disorderly students from classes. In the case of academic dishonesty a faculty member may:
 Require the student to redo an assignment or test, or require the student to complete a
substitute assignment or test;
 Record a "zero" for the assignment or test in question;
 Recommend to the student that the student withdraw from the class, or administratively
withdraw the student from the class;
 Record a grade of "F" for the student at the end of the semester. Faculty may request that
disciplinary action be taken against a student at the administrative level by submitting such a
request to the Dean of Student Services.
PLAGIARISM POLICY:
Plagiarism is claiming, indicating, or implying that the words, ideas, or sentences of another writer are your
own; copying the work of another and presenting it as your own; or following the work of another as a
guide to ideas and expression that are then presented as your own. Students should review the relevant
sections of the TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook. A student who is determined to have
plagiarized will receive a "0" on the assignment and may fail the course.
GUESTS:
Access to the classroom is limited to students who are officially enrolled in the course. No guests, family
members, friends, or children will be admitted.
DISABILITY RESOURCES:
It is the policy and practice of Tulsa Community College to create inclusive learning environments.
Accommodations for qualifying students in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are available. To request accommodations, contact the
Education Access Center (EAC) at eac@tulsacc.edu or call (918) 595-7115 (Voice). Deaf and hard of
hearing students may text (918) 809-1864.
TOBACCO FREE COLLEGE:
Tulsa Community College is a Tobacco Free college in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order
2012-01 and Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1-1523 which prohibits smoking or the use of any
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tobacco products in all public places, in any indoor workplace, and all vehicles owned by the State of
Oklahoma and all of its agencies and instrumentalities. This Order includes property leased, rented, or
owned by TCC including, but not limited to, all grounds, buildings, facilities, and parking lots. Tulsa
Community College’s policy includes a tobacco free environment on all campus and off-campus locations
conducting TCC credit or non-credit classes. The TCC Campus Police is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the Tobacco-Free Environment Policy. Violations of the policy may be addressed through
issuance of campus or state citations.
INSTITUTIONAL STATEMENT:
Each student is responsible for being aware of the information contained in the TCC Catalog, TCC Student
Handbook, TCC Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook, and semester information listed in the Class
Schedule.
PORTFOLIO GRADING:
An Academic Portfolio of student’s coursework will be submitted at the end of the semester. The
Academic Portfolio will provide students with an individualized academic reference to be used throughout
their college experience—the result of their research and assessment of academic strategies and support
services. Students will participate in many learning activities and writing exercises—individual and group,
graded and ungraded. Students are advised to keep all written exercises, revisions, worksheets, and
handouts from the course. Since the loss or damage of the course materials could jeopardize the Portfolio
grade, course materials should be maintained with care. The structure of the Portfolio will be explained in
detail later in the semester.
Syllabus Changes:
Occasionally, changes to the syllabus or weekly agenda may be necessary. Changes will be announced in
class and on Blackboard (BB). The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments as needed. Students
will be responsible for those changes whether in attendance or not.
Technology & First Stop Help Desk:
Questions regarding any technology issue (help with Blackboard, MyTCC, passwords, computer issues,
etc.) or issues regarding Admissions, Enrollment, Academic Advisement and Financial Aid should be
directed to the Help Desk: 918-595-2000.
Personal Note from Instructor:
It is my goal to introduce you to the world of higher education and help you begin to gain insight into how
to be successful as a college student. I will do as much as possible to help facilitate your learning but in
the end, it will be your motivation and hard work that earns your grade and determines the benefit of this
class for you personally.
This course is often one of the first courses students take, so I hope that the interaction provided in class
will prove beneficial. It will be up to you to put forth the effort to succeed in this course. It is up to you to
ask questions if you need clarification on any point. Grades are not negotiable.
Thank you, and I look forward to our semester together!
CLASSMATES: (helpful to have a contact for this class!)
Name: _______________________
Phone: ____________________
E-Mail:____________________
Name: _______________________
Phone: ____________________
E-Mail:____________________
Name: ______________________
Phone: ____________________
E-Mail:____________________
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SYLLABUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
FILL OUT AND TURN IN TO INSTRUCTOR BY
*** SEPTEMBER 8TH
Course: ENGL 1003 – 308
ACADEMIC STRATEGIES
Semester: Fall, 2014
Instructor: Linda Tindell
***
I acknowledge by signing below that I have received the syllabus for the course indicated
above. I have reviewed the syllabus and understand the objectives, course content, class
procedures, and basic semester schedule of this course. Further, I understand how my
performance will be evaluated and how my final grade will be determined. I am aware of
how to contact my instructor for help with and/or clarification of course contents or
procedures. If circumstances are such that I cannot complete the semester, I understand
that it is my responsibility to withdraw officially from the course. I acknowledge that I
am ultimately responsible for my success in this class.
Printed Name: __________________________________________________
Student ID # (CWID): ____________________________________
Signature: ______________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________
Emergency Contact Information (phone):____________________________________
Please provide the following student information:
Is this your first semester in college? Yes ___ No ____
If no, how many hours have you already completed? _________
How many hours are you enrolled in this semester (including this class)? _________
I enrolled in this course because ___________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
How many hours will you be working each week during the semester?
___not working ____1- 10 hours ___10- 20 hours ___20 – 30 hrs.
___30 + hrs.
Briefly describe (in 1 or 2 words) your thoughts/feelings about this semester __________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
What do you hope to get from this class?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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