Comprehensive Course Syllabus, Policies, and Academic Guidelines

Initial class administrative duties include confirming student names on the roster, including Jordan Haffey, Michelle Ingram, Andrea Jackson, Jamaya Jackson, Angelicia Corinne, Zoe Johnson, Farrell, Darion, and Aliyah.
Attendance is compulsory because all course instruction is delivered live in person during class sessions.
A significant portion of the overall course grade directly depends on physical classroom attendance and daily participation.
Students earn 10 attendance points for arriving to class on time.
Graded in-class activities take place regularly, starting from the first day of class.
Standard class meetings run for 50 minutes.

A mandatory 10-minute grace period is provided for both students and the instructor.
The grace period accommodates campus geography and transit factors, such as commuting from off-campus, traversing the West Building, and walking across a large campus from distant dormitories.
The instructor teaches back-to-back classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 10:00 AM, requiring transit from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill and back up.
Daily lessons and activities are kept brief and concise to fit within the 50-minute class duration.
Arriving more than 10 minutes late results in receiving half credit (5 points out of 10) for attendance.
Arriving 20 to 35 minutes late to a 50-minute class causes students to miss crucial instructional material and leaves insufficient time to complete in-class graded assignments, directly reducing overall grades.

The overall course grade consists of three distinct components totaling 100%:
- Four Major Essays: 60% of the overall course grade.
- Quizzes and Activities: 20% of the overall course grade.
- Final Exam: 20% of the overall course grade.
Completing all four major essays is mandatory to pass the course; missing a single submission deadline can cause an overall grade to drop from an 'A' to a 'B' or 'C'.
Blackboard is pre-programmed to issue automatic zero scores for missed assignment deadlines based on its system clock.
Major essays are prepared and worked on during dedicated in-class writing workshops.
Quizzes and activities (20%) consist of low-stakes assignments, including short close-reading quizzes, interactive lessons, writing workshops, and short writing assignments.
The final exam (20%) is a standard departmental exam administered in November prior to Thanksgiving break.

Strict deadlines are maintained to prevent grading backlogs and ensure real-time tracking of student academic standing.
Late submissions are accepted for the four major essays.
Low-stakes assignments (quizzes and daily activities) cannot be submitted late and cannot be made up under standard circumstances; they are due by the end of class.
Exemption procedure for low-stakes assignments:
- Students missing class due to medical or personal emergencies must obtain official documentation from a physician or wellness center nurse practitioner.
- Documentation must be submitted to Laserfiche to obtain an approved university excuse.
- Once Laserfiche confirms the approved university excuse, the missing low-stakes assignment is marked as "Exempt" in Blackboard, eliminating grade penalties without requiring a makeup.
For major essays missed due to an emergency, submitting an approved university excuse via Laserfiche waives all late submission penalties.
The Laserfiche approval process maintains student privacy, allowing verification of legitimate absences without requiring students to disclose personal details directly to the instructor.

All major essays must be typed and submitted online through designated Blackboard modules.
Unacceptable submission formats include:
- Photographs of physical written documents.
- Non-standard web links or obscure file extensions (e.g., JPEG or .x files).
- Direct email attachments sent to the instructor.
Acceptable file formats are strictly limited to Microsoft Word (.docx) and PDF (.pdf) to ensure instant accessibility in Blackboard.
Instructional video tutorial modules will be posted on Blackboard demonstrating how to convert Google Docs into Word or PDF files and properly submit them.

Blackboard Messaging is the primary and fastest channel for direct communication between students and the instructor regarding grades and scheduling.
Email Communication Rules:
- Emails must originate strictly from official Bulldog student email addresses.
- Emails sent from personal email accounts will not receive a response due to institutional cybersecurity policies.
- Standard email responses may be delayed due to administrative traffic from department chairs, deans, and university administrators.
Office Location: Williams Gleaves (located past Thickhead, adjacent to Buchanan), 2nd Floor, Room 212 (cubicle located in the far back on the right-hand side).
Office Hours Schedule (officially starting Monday, August 31):
- Mondays: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Tuesdays: 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
- Wednesdays: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
An open-door policy is maintained during office hours for individual academic consultations.

Mutual kindness and respect are required throughout the course.
Classroom etiquette policies:
- Answering phone calls or conducting full conversations during class is prohibited; urgent phone calls require stepping outside the room.
- Side conversations with peers during 50-minute instructional lessons are prohibited.
- Grade inquiries must be conducted privately via Blackboard Messaging or during office hours rather than during class sessions.
Required Course Materials:
- A reliable, fully charged laptop for writing workshops and digital submissions.
- Pen and paper for select in-class written assignments.
- A physical Blue Book for the departmental final exam in November.
Student Grievance Procedure:
- Formal complaints or requests for section transfers must be submitted to Dr. Philip Blackman.
- Dr. Philip Blackman's office is located in Makayla McIntosh Hall, Room 207, and can also be reached via institutional email.