PSY 7615 Jacobson Faculty Expectations

Course Requirements
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Jacobson LPC RPT NCC
Welcome to the course. To make things run as smoothly as possible, I want to share with you some
classroom rules and etiquette so we all start off on the same foot. Please read these and be ready to get
going on the course. The course will run for 10 weeks. The course discussions end Friday of the 10 th
week.
1. Getting Started: As a preview of the overall course, please complete the following activities:
Read the complete syllabus. If you have difficulty finding it, please let me know. When you have
an idea of the scope of the course, it should help you understand how each unit contributes to the
total knowledge to be gained from the class.
Keep up with the weekly discussion topics. This can be quite demanding of time and
organizational skills, yet this is perhaps one of the most enriching aspects of taking an online
course. Please plan on committing about 10 - 12 hours to reading and course room participation
each week. If you are taking two courses, plan on spending 20-24 hours per week on course
assignments. If you work full time and have other obligations, it will be critical that you plan and
manage your time accordingly. The course work can be quite demanding in terms of time, energy,
effort, and concentration.
Familiarize yourself with the contents of all areas of the course room. Click on the link to all
sections of the course. Become familiar with all course content. Become familiar with all course
tools. If you have questions about a particular area of the course room, please be sure to ask.
2. Update personal information. Please ensure that your personal information up to date. Pay particular
attention to your external email address. This address needs to be correct in the event that I must send
communication outside of the course room. Go to the roster section of the course room and check the
information contained in your personal profile. If any of the information has changed, please be sure to
make the needed corrections.
3. Disability Accommodations: If you have a documented disability for which you have received
accommodations for your course work, please be sure to present this letter during the first week of the
course. You will only receive accommodations if the letter has been submitted. It is each learners
personal responsibility to ensure that the letter is submitted at the beginning of the course.
4. Contingency Planning. Taking online courses requires a great expenditure of time, energy, effort, and
commitment. As most learners who take such classes have other responsibilities, it is important that
learners develop strategies for meeting the multiple and sometimes competing demands on their time.
When learners pursue higher education, there is an associated commitment and responsibility to meet the
course requirements and expectations in a timely manner. Meeting the educational demands will require
time management skills and the development of contingency plans for addressing the life events that
frequently occur. All learners are expected to submit assignments on or before the specified due dates. As
contingencies arise, it becomes each learners responsibility to develop strategies for meeting those
contingencies and for meeting specified course requirements. Presented below are some frequently
occurring contingencies and strategies for addressing them:
a) Computer failures. Because this is an online class and all assignments are submitted
electronically, it is important to have access to a working computer throughout the course.
Computer failures and Internet problems are not acceptable reasons for missing due dates for
assignments. If you anticipate being without a computer or a situation arises that may result in
losing access to a computer for more than three days, you must make alternate arrangements for
accessing the courseroom and posting your assignments.

b) Frequent Travel. If you have a job that requires frequent travel, it is important to work ahead and
post assignments in advance of the due dates. Posting assignments early ensures that you meet
course due dates in a timely manner. Computer access is limited or impractical in some
locations. If you cannot post early, be sure to check on the accessibility of computers and the
availability of the Internet in the locations to which you will travel. Work in advance of the due
dates to preclude the need four submitting assignments late.
c) Military Assignments/Relocations. If you are scheduled to make a major move or you are
scheduled for a major deployment during the span of the course, then you must make
arrangements to complete assignments ahead of the due dates. Please review the assignments
section of the course room for a list of course assignments and due dates for those assignments.
Please schedule your work effort accordingly. Work in advance of the due dates to preclude the
need for submitting assignments late.
d) Computer Access: It is imperative to have a backup computer available for your use in the event
that your primary computer experiences a failure. Most public libraries have computers available
for public use. Establish a backup plan for submitting course assignments until your primary
computer is restored. Most public libraries grant the public access to computers. This would be
one way of gaining access to an alternate computer source.
5. Places to Visit Frequently: There will be an exchange of information throughout the course. There are
three primary locations where the information will be presented. To be sure that you remain up to date on
events in the classroom, visit the following locations on a frequent basis (at least two times per week):
a) Course room Email
b) Course Announcements
c) Ask Your Instructor Forum
6. Discussion Postings: Weekly discussion questions must be of substantive content. A substantive
post is one that reflects critical thinking and higher cognitive thinking skills. Critical thinking skills are
essential requirements for graduate-level work. Graduate learners are expected to reach the higher
domains of Blooms Taxonomy of Learning Objectives, which are presented and summarized below:
Application: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what
was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.
Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational
structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.
Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a
whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.
Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or material (Krathwohl, 2002).
To reach these higher levels of learning, learners must invoke critical thinking in the weekly discussion
postings. This will require that learners elaborate on the required discussion topic. This means the post
must go beyond simple repetition and summary of the required reading assignments. The discussion
postings must demonstrate the ability to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the content required of
the discussion postings. Learners must present a position and defend the position with citations and
references from the required reading assignments. Each discussion posting MUST BE SUPPORTED by
applicable readings or outside materials such as articles of professional papers.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All references and citations must be annotated according to APA style and format.
See the APA Manual, 6th ed. for details.

On average, learners are required to make a minimum of four postings per week. Learners are required to
make a primary discussion postings each week. The primary postings are direct responses to the
discussion topics posted in the course room. In addition, learners are required to make a minimum of two
secondary postings each week. This means that learners must respond to at least one other learner's
post for each discussion question. Primary postings will be submitted to SafeAssign. Please keep in mind
that primary postings should consist of your thoughts and ideas that are supported by referenced
material. Postings should have a 35% or less match to the referenced material.
Some weeks may require more postings, and some may require fewer postings. Please overview the
course room to get a summary of the number of postings required for each week. To get a preview of the
weekly discussions, go to the course home page. Click on the link for Learning Units. Once this link is
activated, you should have access to the Course Outline by week. This outline should show the learning
objectives for each unit on the right, and the list of Learning Units on the left. Be sure to expand the
outline on the left of the page to show the discussion questions for each unit.
All postings must be "substantive" in nature, must include citations from the reading and/or other sources,
and be scholarly in nature. Please read the comments above and below regarding what constitutes a
substantive post. The details regarding expectations for the two the types of discussion postings are
presented below:
a. Primary postings are expected to be substantive in nature. These postings must contain a
minimum of 350 words. The postings must relate to the discussion question, and they must
incorporate appropriate references to the reading assignments. This will require that learners
elaborate on the required discussion topic. This means the post must go beyond simple repetition
and summary of the required reading assignments. The discussion postings must demonstrate
the ability to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the content required of the discussion
postings. Course postings are evaluated along the three criteria of:
a) content of the post,
b) integration of course material into the post,
c) clarity of the post,
d) mechanics such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and
e) timeliness of submissions.
Postings which effectively reach the above criteria are typically posts which meet or exceed 350
words. In addition, to achieve the course competencies, learners must perform the following:
a. Learners must effectively elaborate on the topics discussed in the course. Elaboration
means going beyond what is presented in the assigned readings to make the post
relevant and meaningful to each individual learner. This is accomplished by interjecting
personal experience, thought, and explanation of the discussion postings.
b. Learners must be able to demonstrate an ability to critically synthesize, integrate, and
apply material presented in the course. This will require that learners integrate
information from different sources into a coherent, meaningful response.
Considering the criteria stipulated above, it is rarely the case that posts achieve the course
competencies with fewer than 350 words. Therefore, the 350 word stipulation represents a
minimum threshold for the primary discussion postings.
b. Secondary postings must also be of substantive content. These postings are required and
they must consist of approximately 100-125 words. The intent of the secondary postings is to
promote scholarly conversation and a sense of community in the course room. Please DO NOT
make these "me too" type postings or give comment such as "good post" without further
discussion. Your comments to other learners must further and enhance the discussion through
personal experience, introduction of relevant literature topics or other sources which add to the
discussion. Comments that are simply "good post" or "nice job" or "I agree" will NOT meet the
requirements. When responding to the work of others specifically state what prompted you to
respond to the post; what makes the post notable for comment; and specifically why you are

responding to the post. Be sure to work as hard on the secondary posts as you do on the primary
ones.
7. PLEASE post on time. The syllabus indicates the days of the week for which the course postings are
to be made. Late postings and assignments are accepted at a reduced value. If you are chronically
behind in your assignments, you will not benefit or profit from this course as others will not read and
respond to your posts. PLEASE be on time! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Postings more than 7 days
beyond the due date will not receive credit unless there is a mitigating circumstance and you have
obtained prior approval to make the late postings.
Due Dates for Postings:
Discussion Question (DQ) 1 due Wednesday of each week at no later than 11:59 PM CST
Response to DQ 1 due on Thursday of each week no later than 11:59 PM CST
In weeks of more than two postings, all other posts due on Sunday no later than 11:59 PM CST
8. Ensure Postings are made. After you submit postings and assignments, check to make sure your
assignment has posted to the course room. I suggest logging out of the course room, logging off of the
Internet, then returning to the course room to be sure that the post was successfully posted in the course
room. Make it a habit to ensure posts are made. Frequently learners leave the course room thinking that a
post or assignment has been submitted successfully only to discover days later that a glitch in the
computer prevented a transaction from occurring. It is each learners responsibility to ensure delivery of
course postings and assignments.
9. Track Postings. Track your course postings. It is each learners responsibility to ensure that he or she
makes all required postings and assignments. One way to do this is to create an excel spreadsheet (or
some other tracking form) to indicate the date and time a post is made.
End of Course Postings: This quarter ends on Friday; therefore, the final course postings must
be made on or before Friday, 11:59 PM CST. The course room will be closed for postings on this
date at the designated time. Postings made after Friday,at 11:59 PM CST will not receive credit.
10. Review of Postings: I will read ALL postings and respond to many of them each week, but I will not
respond to all postings. During some weeks I may send a general response to all posts, other weeks I will
respond on an individual basis. Please be mindful that course room discussions are to hone the scholarpractitioner dialogue, so attempt to focus on substantive comments and offer documented support
whenever possible. If there are significant problems with writing style or the weekly postings continually
need a bit of "nudging," I will contact you through email to make recommendations on how to improve the
content of your post. Please DO NOT make attachments to your discussions. Incorporate all of your
information directly into the Course Room threads of discussion through the input box provided for each
posting.
I will provide feedback and requests for clarification on postings that do not completely answer the intent
of the discussion question. In such instances you are required to respond to those prompts and requests
for clarification. Providing this additional information with adequate detail and discussion will result in an
increased score on the referenced discussion posting.
11. Assignment Due Dates: There is a specific location in the course room for graded assignments. If
you will go to the assignments folder tab and click the Assignments link, you will find a listing of all
assignments and the due dates for those assignments. It is each learners responsibility to be aware of
the due dates and to submit assignments on or before the established due date.
12. LATE Postings and Graded Assignments Each learner is expected to make weekly postings on
or before the specified due date. It is important that course work is submitted in a timely manner. It is also
important that learners post their work on time. Late postings and late assignments will be accepted
at a reduced score as indicated below:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Assignments posted 1 days late are evaluated at 95% of the original assignment value.
Assignments posted 2 days late are evaluated at 90% of the original assignment value.
Assignments posted 3 days late are evaluated at 85% of the original assignment value.
Assignments posted 4 days late are evaluated at 80% of the original assignment value.
Assignments posted 5 - 6 days late are evaluated at 75% of the original assignment value.
Assignments posted more than 7 days late will not be evaluated.

Please submit all work in a timely manner. If you anticipate having an event or experience events which
will take you away from your assignments, you must coordinate with me in advance in terms of
determining how to submit work that will be due during your absence. Arrangements must be made in
advance; arrangements cannot be made retroactively. I encourage you to work ahead as it is quite easy
to fall behind in the course and not quite so easy to catch up with missed work.
Course room discussions will be closed for comments at the end of the 5th day after the discussions are
due. Learners will be able to view the comments, but will not be able to make responses or create
discussion threads.
To receive corrective feedback, the course postings must be posted in a timely manner. Because of the
dynamic and progressive nature of the course discussions and the rapid pace of the course, discussions
posted more than three days after the due dates WILL NOT RECEIVE CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK.
13. Graded Assignments: All assignments must be posted in the course room in the Assignments
Section under the proper location. Submit your assignments as Microsoft Word document (files with a
.doc extension) or as rich text file (files with an .rtf extension) attachments in the assignments folder. Do
not copy and paste information in the comments area of the assignment. This area is for additional
comments that pertain to your assignment. Since the course room platform does not interface well with
Word 2007 files (those with a .docx extension), please post as a Word 2003 document (those with a .doc
extension), or as a rich text file (those with a .rtf extension),. Please make a note that PASW output
should be copied to a doc file. Sometimes output files will not open after they are submitted. Please
follow the course room directions regarding submission of assignments carefully. If I cannot open your
files I will notify you by email.
Assignments which do not adhere to the above requirements WILL NOT be evaluated. Such assignments
will be returned to the owners so to be resubmitted in the proper format. If you encounter problems with
attaching files in the course room, please contact the Capella IT Department to work out a resolution to
the problem.
14. Scoring rubrics. All graded assignments have specific criteria the must be addressed in the
assignment. The assignments will be graded using the scoring rubrics that are embedded Syllabus
Section of the course room. Please familiarize yourself with criteria for your assignments and the scoring
rubrics that will be used to evaluate the assignment.
If you have questions about any aspect of the grading criteria or scoring rubrics please be sure to ask.
You may post your queries in the Ask Your Instructor Forum or you may send an email through the course
room.
15. Extended absence: If you are going to be away from a computer for an extended period of time,
please email me and so that we can discuss remediation strategies to minimize the effect of your absence
on your course performance.
16. Please keep the classroom discussion focused on the topic at hand. Use email outside the
classroom for peripheral conversation.
17. References. When asked to provide resources to substantiate your answers, some learners choose
to use online sources. This is fine IF the online sources are scholarly in nature. Many online websites are

NOT appropriate references. An electronic version of a published journal is great. However, sources that
are not peer reviewed are not acceptable. Many people publish "health sites" which offer information
which is little more than opinion, conjecture, or downright false. Be very selective in what online sites you
choose to use for graduate level citations. Wikipedia IS NOT CONSIDERED A SCHOLARLY SOURCE
and cannot be used as a primary source document.
18. Etiquette. Please use the same etiquette in this class as you would in real life. Please feel free to
disagree with one another (in fact that can make for lively learning), however, do not criticize, harass, or
otherwise insult other learners. The intent of the discussions is to promote learning and a sense of
scholarly community, which cannot be achieved in the presence of adversity in the course room.
19. Please check your spelling, grammar, and syntax of your postings! Nothing detracts from a wellintentioned post like a bunch of spelling errors. At the graduate level, this is simply unacceptable. If
necessary, write your posts in a Word document and then paste it into the classroom (remember, only
Microsoft Word documents can be used at Capella, not other processing programs).
20. Plagiarism: All course papers are submitted to SafeAssign, which is a plagiarism detection software
used by Capella University. You have the opportunity to submit your papers directly through the course
room before the paper is submitted for a final grade.
Each learner is expected to do his or her own work in this course room. When using the ideas of others,
learners must take extra care to give credit to the source and to annotate those sources according to APA
guidelines and specifications. To sustain academic integrity, course postings and papers will be routinely
evaluated for instances of possible plagiarism. Course assignments will be submitted to Turnitin.com, a
website used as a check for plagiarism on course assignments. This system generates a report for each
paper submitted and that report identifies what percentage of the paper is identical to passages in other
sources, the report identifies the specific passages, and the report indicates the specific sources which
contain the passages. Instances in which a paper receives a similarity index of 20% or more will be
further evaluated for instances of possible plagiarism. Papers that are plagiarized will receive a score of
zero.
The following is excerpted from Capella University 's Academic Honesty policy (iGuide):
"Plagiarism is representing someone else's ideas and work as your own. Plagiarism includes not only
copying verbatim, but also rephrasing the ideas of another without properly acknowledging the source. As
they prepare and submit work to meet course requirements, whether a draft or a final version of a paper
or project, learners must take great care to distinguish their own ideas and language from information
derived from sources. Sources include published primary and secondary materials, electronic media, and
information and opinions gained directly from other people."
Capella Universitys general policy regarding academic honesty is presented below:
UNIVERSITY POLICY 02.03
Learner Code of Conduct
Approval Date: February 28, 2005
Effective Date: April 1, 2005
Procedure Revision Effective Date: July 1, 2005
Revision Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Policy Statement
Capella University is committed to providing to its learners a high quality educational experience. Capella
faculty and staff play a primary role in assuring a high quality educational experience; learners play a role
as well. They are responsible for conducting themselves in a manner guided by respect, collegiality, and
honesty. Learner conduct that infringes on the quality of the educational experience is not acceptable; this

policy describes the types of conduct that are unacceptable. (Guidelines for academic dishonesty and
harassment are addressed in separate university policies. For further details see academic policy 02.61:
Academic Honesty, and academic policy 04.22: Discrimination, Harassment, and Assault)
Please take caution to ensure that you work is not lifted or copied improperly form other sources. Be sure
to give proper credit to authors whose ideas you incorporate in your posts and your course final paper.
Resubmission of previous assignments. Resubmitting previous work from another course, whether at
Capella or elsewhere, is considered an act of plagiarism. The Academic Honesty policy specifically states
a learner may not submit the same or similar work for credit in more than one course. This means the
learners may not submit their previous work for credit in the current course.
21. Incomplete grades: Capella University has specific guidelines concerning the assignment of
incomplete grades. The general policy is outlined below:
UNIVERSITY POLICY 3.04.08
Incomplete Grades
Policy Approval Date: December 19, 2006
Policy Effective Date: April 1, 2006
Procedure Approval Date: May 28, 2008
Procedure Effective Date: January 1, 2009
Policy Statement
In the event that a learner is unable to complete the course requirements by the published course end
date due to unavoidable and unforeseen circumstances, the learner must request an Incomplete ("I")
grade from the instructor. The instructor may choose to grant a grade of "I" only if the learner can
complete the remaining assignments independently (i.e., have only assignments and not discussions to
complete). A grade of "I" is not awarded quality points and is not included in a learner's grade point
average (GPA). Incompletes are included as attempted credits but not as earned credits.
Incomplete grades are reserved for extenuating circumstances which are beyond the learners control. A
request for an incomplete must occur before the final day of the course. The request must be in writing
and the request must contain an explanation of the extenuating circumstances. Incomplete grades will not
be given for the purpose of making up missed assignments. The decision of whether to award an
incomplete is at the discretion of the instructor.
22. Contact Info: My personal contact information is listed in the course profile section. If you need to
reach me, you will find the contact information there. If you need to reach me by telephone, the best
method of contact is my cell phone. This number also serves as a message phone. Please leave a
message and I will contact you shortly after I receive your message. I do not have specific office hours; I
will routinely be available for telephone contact on Monday and Friday from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM CST.
While I realize that many learners are working on the weekend, I generally use those days for family time.
If you have any questions regarding the course expectations or course requirements, please feel free to
ask. I look forward to seeing all of you in class.
Have fun, be passionate about your learning, and strive for excellence!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Jacobson, Ph.D.

Reference
Krathwol, D. R. (2002). A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(4),
212-218.