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Information System & Technolgy -- Departmental Information
Information Systems & Technology
Student-Related Procedures & Guidelines
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This document contains procedures and guidelines about courses and student-related issues.
Syllabi
Each faculty member will provide a syllabus, which is treated like a contract between the faculty member and student. Both the student and faculty member should abide by this contract. If students are not willing to meet the requirements of a certain course, they should drop the course.
Faculty should follow the official course objectives that have been approved through the Curriculum Office. Furthermore, faculty should post their syllabi on the UVSC ftp site and through WebCT.
Grievance Process
If students have a disagreement or grievance with an instructor, the first place to attempt to resolve the situation is with the specific faculty member. Students should meet with their instructors to discuss the issue, and both parties should keep documentation (such as emails) about their deliberations. The path toward resolution of a disagreement a student should pursue is as follows: your instructor, the department chair, the School of Computer Science and Engineering Dean´s Office, and then the Academic Vice President. Requests for attention from an administrator at the higher levels will not be approved unless students follow the official chain of command.
Course Prerequisites and Credit
Course Prerequisites: Students are held accountable for all prerequisites listed in the Utah Valley State College Course Catalog. Course prerequisites are specified to help ensure that students possess the minimal knowledge and skills necessary for advanced courses. Transfer students who receive credit from other institutions are still accountable for the required prerequisite knowledge at UVSC. Course prerequisites should also be listed in the syllabus provided by the instructor of the course. Challenge Credit and Experiential Credit: According to UVSC College policy, "Credit for any course that appears in the current catalog may be awarded to individuals who can prove through appropriate assessment and/or documentation that they have already acquired the equivalent knowledge and/or expertise required for successful completion of that course." A maximum of 16 credits may be challenged. Furthermore, a student must be enrolled in at least 4 credits during the semester in which he or she desires to receive challenge or experiential credit. Students should discuss these arrangements with the IS&T Department Chair, who will coordinate challenge credit or experiential credit requirements with appropriate department faculty. Students should start the process, within the first three weeks of a semester to enable ample time for faculty to prepare challenge tests or portfolio requirements. A student may not test out or challenge a course in which they are currently or have been previously enrolled.
Students who wish to demonstrate equivalent knowledge in a course may be required to complete all or some of the following depending on the nature of the course: a written exam, selected course assignments, a research paper and/or a project. This assessment must be completed at a C- level or higher.
Degree Portfolio
The department requires that students build a portfolio that should be completed by their final semester. Individual courses specify the requirement that students must include particular assignments and/or projects in their ongoing portfolio.
Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are registered. Furthermore, students are expected to arrive on time to avoid interruptions. Faculty may impose penalties for tardiness. Students are responsible for all material covered and/or assigned in class. Taking attendance is at the instructor´s discretion for administrative purposes and grading. IS&T faculty members typically accommodate special extenuating circumstances for absences or missed work, such as death in the family, hospitalization, and UVSC-sponsored activities. Students are responsible for informing their respective instructors prior to a class time that will be missed. Refer to each course syllabus for specific expectations.
Administrative Drop: In accordance with College policy, instructors reserve the right to administratively drop a student if the student: (1) registers but does not attend equipment-related courses within the first three academic days of a semester--not to be interpreted as within the first three class periods--and (2) registers for courses for which he or she has not completed the prerequisites with a minimum of a C- grade.
Assignments
Each instructor specifies the type of required assignments for his or her courses. Students are expected to complete all required assignments. Late Work: The IS&T Department expects assignments to be submitted by the due dates specified in the course syllabus for each class. Instructors reserve the right to accept no late work for assignments, tests, quizzes, etc. Instructors who do accept late work may impose penalties. Instructors may allow penalty-free make-up work due to extenuating, emergency situations when instructors have pre-approved the situation. Extra Credit: Extra-credit is generally not given in IS&T courses. Only in rare circumstances will an instructor provide extra-credit opportunities, and those opportunities will require rigorous, challenging expectations, above and beyond the assignment requirements, on the students´ part in order to receive that credit. Students should not expect nor demand extra credit to make up for poor performance on required assignments, projects, and tests. Archival Responsibilities: Students are expected to keep copies of all assignments, programs, and projects. Students should backup all coursework to a personal hard drive, data disk, Zip disk, network drive, USB jump/flash drive, etc. Instructors are not responsible for student files that are lost or corrupted. The School of Computer Science and Engineering is not responsible for data lost due to failure of the network servers. Group Work Expectations: Group projects and assignments are required in some IS&T courses. Each group member is expected to share the workload equitably and fairly. Group members will be evaluated by their peers, and these evaluations may be used as a basis for an individual member´s grade. Furthermore, a group member may be expelled from a group if the majority of the group members vote for removal. If a student is expelled from a group, he or she must complete the assignment on his or her own. Severe penalties will be assessed for individual projects since a goal is to produce a project as a group.
Content and Mechanics of Work: When assignments are submitted directly to an instructor, students are required to submit typewritten documents in a clear, structured format. Students may also be required to email, or upload assignments electronically. Accurate references, correct grammatical construction, and appropriate format are expected.
Academic Integrity
According to the "Student Rights and Responsibilities" code, "Each student is expected to take an active role in the learning process by meeting course requirements as specified in written syllabi. Each student is expected to display appropriate conduct in classroom situations, which will enhance the learning environment. Faculty members have the right to set classroom standards of behavior and attendance requirements. Students will be expected to meet these requirements and make contact with faculty members when unable to do so." Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. All work submitted must be the individual´s work unless otherwise specified by the instructor as in a group assignment. No copying or plagiarizing will be allowed. You will be questioned if your work is similar to another student´s work. All parties involved will receive (0) for the assignment if copying is involved. If the behavior continues, the students involved will fail the course.
Professional Behavior/Class Protocol
Children in Classrooms: According to College policy, children are not permitted in College classrooms or laboratories unless they are an integral part of instruction; nor should parents/guardians leave children unattended in hallways and restrooms. Cell Phones/Pagers: Because cell phones and pages are major distractions, you must turn off these devices before class begins. If a cell phone or pager goes off in class, the instructor will request the student to leave the classroom and not return until the next class session. Computer Usage: Students should not engage in personal computer usage during class time in a computer lab. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, sending and reading personal email, surfing on the Internet, playing computer games, etc.
Other Non-Related Activities: Students are expected to pay attention and actively participate in classroom activities. Disruptive talking, sexual harassment and eating in class are strictly prohibited activities.
Grading Policies
General Policy: IS&T Department faculty members make a concerted effort to create courses with appropriate learning activities, assignments, projects, and tests. Refer to your course syllabus for specific grading policies and standards by which your grade is determined in a specific course. Incompletes: According to College policy, students are required to complete all courses for which they are registered by the end of the semester/term. In some cases, a student may be unable to complete all the course work because of extenuating circumstances. The term "extenuating circumstances" includes: (1) incapacitating illness which prevents a student from attending classes (usually more than five consecutive class days); (2) a death in the immediate family; (3) change in work schedule as required by employer; (4) activation to military duty; (5) other emergencies deemed appropriate by the instructor. ´I´ grades should not be requested nor given for lack of completion of work because of procrastination or dissatisfaction with the grade earned. If circumstances are deemed appropriate, the student may petition the instructor for time beyond the end of the semester/term to finish the work. If the instructor agrees, an ´I´ grade is [recorded]. An Incomplete Grade Form indicating work completed and work to be completed must be signed by the Department Chair. The instructor determines the length of time for which the incomplete work must be completed; however, college policy specifies that incompletes must be completed within one year. Grade Changes: Grades are non-negotiable; the only justification for a grade change is if the instructor mistakenly calculated and recorded a student´s grade. Students should follow College policy for appealing a grade. See page 20 in the Utah Valley State College Catalog for details. Grading Scale: The IS&T Department has the following common grading scale:
Disability
Accommodations: If you are a student with a condition that requires academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids, please contact the Accessibility Services Department at (801)863-8747 or BU-146 to discuss your needs. Students must provide adequate documentation to be eligible for services. Accommodative services are coordinated with the student and instructor through the Accessibility Services Office, not directly by the student. Prearrangement: Students who qualify for accommodations must arrange for these accommodations at the beginning of the semester through a formal letter provided by the Accessibility Services Office. Accommodations are not provided retroactively. It is your responsibility to approach the instructor to ensure arrangements prior to tests, quizzes, or assignments due dates.
Unwarranted Incompletes: Students with special needs are not permitted to extend the course requirements beyond the framework of the semester in which they are enrolled. An Incomplete grade is not one of the accommodations that will be given students who have failed to complete required coursework.
Miscellaneous Policies
Final Exam Policy: Final examinations must be administered and taken during the published final exam schedule. Faculty are not required to accommodate students´ vacation plans or other personal events such as weddings during the regularly schedule final exam times. A missed final exam will result in a 0 for that exam. Some courses may require a presentation of a group project or final project during the scheduled final exam time. Students are required to participate and attend class to meet these requirements just as they would be with a written final exam. Lab & Course Fees: Students enrolled in specific ISYS courses must also enroll in BUS 0050 in order to pay lab fees. These fees, in addition to course fees, help defray the cost of providing you with the best possible computer education. These costs include 200 print credits, hardware maintenance, and software licenses/upgrades. Additional print credits may be purchased through the IS&T Department Office in CS 601. UVSC Email: A UVSC student email account is generated for each registered. Students are expected to frequently check their UVSC email account for communication with their instructors. Some instructors use the WebCT email system. Check with your instructor to see which email system you should use for that course. Do not expect an instructor to accommodate external email accounts for sending messages to you. Students will be responsible for forwarding their course email to their external email account.
Required Textbook and Required Software: Students must purchase or otherwise have access to the required textbook, materials, and software used for IS&T courses in which they are enrolled. Typically, you should use only current software versions. Microsoft Works is not an acceptable alternative for completing assignments in Microsoft Office XP. Internet access is also a requirement for most IS&T courses. |