Cleveland Community College

Course Syllabus for ACA 122 - College Transfer Success

Summer 2010 | For Section OL511
Class Meeting Time and Location: Online/5 week course

Instructor Information
Instructor: Amy Davis
E-mail: davisaa@clevelandcommunitycollege.edu (please put ACA 122 in the subject line.)
Office Hours and Location: Mondays & Wednesdays 11-2:30 p.m. and Tuesday‟s 9-3 p.m. Online
hours are available through PRONTO when you notice I am online, including evening hours. |
Student Success Center- Room 2102E

Course Description
ACA 122 | College Transfer Success (Class = 1, Lab = 0, Credit = 1) Pre-requisites: None | Co-requisites:
None

This course provides information and strategies necessary to develop clear academic and professional
goals beyond the community college experience. Topics include the CAA, college culture, career
exploration, gathering information on senior institutions, strategic planning, critical thinking, and
communications skills for a successful academic transition. Upon completion, students should be able to
develop an academic plan to transition successfully to senior institutions. This course has been approved
to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement for transferability as a premajor and/or elective
course requirement. (1 credit hour)

Student Materials Needed

1. Textbook: Transfer Student Companion (2009). Thomas J. Grites & Susan Rondeau. First edition.
ISBN: 0-618-92486-8
2. Access to the internet at least 2-3 days a week, each week
3. E-mail account; All students are required to use their Windows Live college email address for this
class. Currently enrolled high school students may use their high school assigned e-mail address if
they are unable to access Windows Live from their high school.

Course Goals
a. Development of academic and personal coping skills with respect to college/university life
b. Familiarity with general college resources and services
c. Development of a personal academic plan for transition to a four-year university
d. Familiarity with the NC Comprehensive Articulation Agreement and your rights and responsibilities
as a transfer student under this agreement

Methods of Instruction
Lectures, class discussions, group activities, internet research, exploration of Cleveland Community
College resources such as the College‟s website and the CCC Catalog: Academic Bulletin and Student
Handbook, skills and aptitude assessments, audio/video supplements

Learning Activities
Learning about college resources, developing critical thinking skills; setting academic and career goals;
developing personal skills for time management, stress management, and financial management;
developing technology, research, and information literacy skills; developing intra and interpersonal skills;
planning for seamless transfer to a four-year university in order to avoid „transfer shock‟

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Critical/Analytical Thinking Activities
The course follows a step-by-step process of making the transition from a community college to a four-
year, higher education institution. The course covers strategies for successful transferring, including the
identification and use of community college and university resources, activities that cover university
policies and procedures, assessment and development of critical thinking skills, and development of
various plans to insure success.
Learning Outcomes
1. Determine individual academic and career goals
2. Identify and use Cleveland Community College resources for students
3. Identify and use state transfer resources
4. Explain the process for applying/transferring to a university
5. Detect personal strengths and weaknesses for academic and career planning
6. Explain roles of an academic advisor and an advisee
7. Prepare a personal academic plan for the next semester and beyond
8. Define academic policies and procedures of Cleveland Community College and the
Comprehensive Articulation Agreement of North Carolina
9. Analyze and develop critical thinking skills
10. Explain the value of time and stress management, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and money
management

Evaluation
10 % of final grade = Orientation to Blackboard for this course
20 % of final grade = Two Journals (Journal #1- Ch. 1-3 and Journal #2- Ch. 6-7)
20 % of final grade = “My Transfer Plan Research Paper”
10 % of final grade = Quiz on CAA/44-Hour Core
10 % of final grade = Chapters 4 & 5 Quiz
20 % of final grade = Final exam
10 % of final grade = Discussion Board postings (2 total)

Late Work and Make-up Work Policy

Late assignments will not be accepted or graded for credit unless there are extenuating circumstances
beyond the student‟s control such as illness. All assignments are due by 11:00 p.m. on designated dates.
Documentation may be required at the discretion of the instructor.

Grading Scale
93-100 = A Excellent AU = Audit/ no credit
85-92 = B Good I= Incomplete (requires instructor‟s prior
77-84 = C Average approval
70-76 = D Below Average
Below 70 = F Failing/No credit Note: Final Grade may be rounded on a case-by-
WA = Withdrawal/no credit case basis by instructor.
Attendance Policy
Although there is no attendance policy for logging into the course site each day, according to College
Policy, “A student, who, during a term, incurs in any course absences in excess of twenty percent (20%)
of the class hours for that course may be withdrawn from the course (without credit). Students who have
not attended class at least once by the 10% date of the course will be withdrawn by the instructor as
“never attended.” NOTE: Attendance policies for students beginning online courses are determined when
a student successfully logs into Blackboard® and completes the first assignment requested by the
instructor.

Absences may be considered legitimate and eligible for makeup at the discretion of the instructor.
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Academic Honesty
Cleveland Community College expects students to practice academic honesty at all times. Academic
dishonesty refers to cheating on tests, examinations, projects, and other assigned work. Plagiarism, a
very serious form of academic dishonesty, is work that has been written by someone other than the
student submitting the work or work obtained from an undocumented or improperly documented resource.
Students are responsible for documenting both direct quotations and paraphrased material. Direct
quotations must appear within quotation marks and must be documented. Paraphrased material (written
in the student‟s own words but taken from another source) must also be documented completely and
accurately.

When a suspected incidence of academic dishonesty occurs, the College will follow the procedures as
stated in the Academic Bulletin and Student Handbook.

Americans with Disabilities Act/Section 504 Regulations

Cleveland Community College, in compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504
Regulations, does not discriminate and is dedicated to providing equal educational and employment
opportunities for qualified adults. The College will make reasonable accommodations in its programs,
services and facilities for disabled students and disabled employees who are otherwise qualified. Students
with special needs should contact the Student Services Department for assistance such as note takers,
readers, interpreters, etc.

Additional Information about Assignments

“My Transfer Plan Research Paper” – due by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22

You will write a 3-4 page paper describing the admission and transfer process at two universities
for which you may consider transferring. One must be a North Carolina public university. The other
school is any college of your choice, preferably a public or private university in NC.
In your paper, you must indicate 1. the major/program of study for which you plan to apply; 2. the
general deadline information for applying as a transfer student to the University, 3. the deadline
information for your specific major, 4. the general deadline for applying for financial aid and/or
academic scholarships, 5. Indication of the admissions requirements required of your particular
major. This information should be included in your paper for each university.
In your paper, you must also indicate: 6. if you plan to live on campus or off-campus, 7. If you plan
to live on campus, indicate in your paper the process and deadline for applying for housing. If you
plan to live off campus, indicate your plans and estimate the costs for where you will live. 8. Be
sure to include estimated transportation costs if you are planning to commute. This information
should be included in your paper for each university.
Keep in mind that your transfer plan should include a basic timeframe for when you should apply
for admission as a transfer student (based on your anticipated completion or graduation date from
CCC.) This timeframe will be different for every student. Remember: this is just an estimated
timeframe to give you an idea of when you should begin the admissions process as a transfer
student. For the purposes of this assignment, currently enrolled high school students in this
course should pretend they would enroll at CCC in summer 2010 and graduate from CCC
with an AA or AS degree in spring 2012.
Do NOT cut and paste information from college websites or place „bullets‟ in your paper. Instead,
paraphrase or put into your own words what you must do to apply for admission and what is
required of you for entrance into the each university and/or academic program for which you intend
to apply.
You must include a References Page indicating any sources you used, including college websites.
You may use either MLA or APA format.

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 The paper should be double-spaced and formatted with 1” margins and 12 point font size. Please
type your paper and save it as a .doc or .docx file. Do not use Microsoft Works.
Title your paper, “My Transfer Plan Research Paper”
Submit it electronically to our course Blackboard site through the “Assignments” feature by 11:00
p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

The following grading rubric will be used to grade this assignment:

Up to 40 points awarded for all required information on University #1

Up to 40 points awarded for all required information on University #2
Up to 15 points awarded for following directions (formatting, length, references indicated)
Up to 5 points awarded for no grammatical errors/college-level appropriate writing

Journals (for Chapters 1-3 and 6-7 only)

Go to the course Blackboard site and click on “Assignments.” You will click on the link for Journal #
1: Chapter 1-3 Journal, and Journal #2: Chapter 6-7 Journal. Follow the directions in the
appropriate Journal Assignment so you know what the questions I am asking of you. All Journals
should be submitted electronically through the Journal feature of Blackboard.
Journal #1: Chapter 1-3 Journal- due by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.
Journal #2: Chapter 6-7 Journal- due by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
You should answer each question with a paragraph of at least 5-6 college-level sentences.
Up to 100 points will be awarded for the completion and quality of each journal.

Quizzes
You will complete a 10 question quiz on Chapters 4 and 5, and one quiz on the CAA/44-Hour Core.
The quiz format will consist of multiple choice and/or true/false questions. Each question will be
worth 10 points for a total of 100 points.
You will have up to 30 minutes to complete each quiz. Once you open/launch the quiz, you must
complete it then. If you have technical difficulties with the quiz, contact me by e-mail immediately
with an explanation of your difficulties. NOTE: students who wait until the last available day to take
the quiz run the risk of having unresolved technical difficulties by the due date.
When the quizzes are available, as noted in the Weekly Schedule, you will find them located under
the “Assignments” link on our course home page. Scroll down the page to find the appropriate Quiz
link
Discussion Boards
You will have two discussion board assignments due in this course (excluding the Orientation
component):
1. Muddiest Point about CAA/44-Hour Core- due by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8, 2010.
2. The two schools you are researching for the Transfer Research Plan Paper- due by 11:00
p.m. on Thursday, June 10, 2010.
You will reach the Discussion Board area for our course site by clicking on „Discussion Board.‟
You will see a forum link for each Discussion Board assignment. Click on the appropriate forum
link, and then click on “Create Thread” to post your assignment. Be sure to hit “Submit” and then
double check that your posting was successfully submitted. Do not hit “Save Draft!”

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 Weekly Schedule

Week 1:
Complete your Orientation to Blackboard training (all 7 components) by Thursday, May 27.

Read Chapters 1-3. Complete your Chapter 1-3 Journal Assignment by Tuesday, June 1. Click on the
“Assignments” link, then click on the link for Journal #1 (Chapters 1-3).
____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 2:
Read Chapters 4 & 5 and then complete the quiz for these chapters. The quiz is located in the
“Assignments” link. It will be available beginning at 12:05 a.m. on Monday, May 30 and will close at
11:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. The quiz must be taken during this time-frame and must be taken the
first time you open/launch it.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 3:
Begin researching your two possible transfer universities. Post to the Discussion Board the two schools
you are researching for your upcoming “My Transfer Plan Research Paper”. This assignment is due to the
Discussion Board by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8.

Then, under “Course Resources” and External Links, click on the CAA.zip file under the heading of CAA
and read the NC Comprehensive Agreement Manual.

Then, post to the Discussion Board (the thread called, “The Muddiest Point”) at least one question you still
have that would aid in your understanding about the 44-hour core or the NC Comprehensive Articulation
Agreement. This assignment is due to the Discussion Board by 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 10.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 4:
Read Chapters 6-7 and then complete your Chapter 6 Journal Assignment by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
June 15. Click on the “Assignments” link, then click on the link for Journal #2 (Chapters 6-7).

Then, you will take a quiz on CAA/44-Hour Core. The quiz is located in the “Assignments” link. It will be
available beginning at 12:05 a.m. on Monday, June 14 and will close at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday,
June 17. The quiz must be taken during this time-frame and must be taken the first time you open/launch
it.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 5:
Submit your “My Transfer Plan” Research paper. To do so, click on the “Assignments” link and then click
on the link for “My Transfer Plan Research paper.” DO NOT type or cut and paste your paper in the box
that says, “Assignment Materials!” Instead, be sure to scroll down and click on “Browse My Computer” in
order to attach your paper. Once you have attached the paper, then click on “Submit.” The paper is due
by 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22.

Then, review terminology in the Glossary of your textbook. Also, go back and re-visit the NC
Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Manual as well as the CCC Catalog: Academic Bulletin and
Student Handbook (either the 2009-2010 or the 2010-2011 edition will work) Specifically look at the
section on the Associate of Arts degree program requirements in preparation for your final exam.

The final exam is located in the “Assignments” link. It will be available beginning at 12:05 a.m. on
Monday, June 21 and will close at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 24. The final exam must be taken
during this time frame and you must take it the first time you open/launch it.
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