Salt Lake Community College Family & Human Studies Department

FHS 2400 Marriage and Family Relations

Fall 2016
CLASS SECTION:
TIME:
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE:
CONSULTATION HOURS:
TELEPHONE:
E-MAIL:
TEXT:
ONLINE WEBSITE:
TEXT WEBSITE:
PREREQUISITES:

FHS 2400 Period 2 (Section 1 (#735) (CRN: 46505)

Kyley Brooks
Room 2612
7:00am-9:00am,
801-256-5300
Kyley.brooks@jordandistrict.org
The Marriage and Family Experience, Twelfth Edition, by Strong
and Cohen, Wadsworth/ Cengage publishers, 2014.
(We have classroom copies that will be checked out with students)
This course will use a website on Canvas. See Course Website
section below for further details.
The text publishers offer no free helps for students.
There are no prerequisites for this course

It is your responsibility to read and understand the contents of this document.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Personality, interpersonal relations and society are examined within the context of the family life cycle.
Emphasis is placed on the impact of societal and personal choices on the family. There are no
prerequisites for this course.
OVERVIEW:
This course is an introduction to marriage and family life. Some of the topics discussed are: Family
Diversity, Gender Roles, Communication, Parenthood, Divorce, and Blended Families.
This course fulfills the Social Science requirement for the General Education Program at Salt Lake
Community College. It is designed not only to teach the information and skills required by the discipline,
but also to develop vital workplace skills and to teach strategies and skills that can be used for life-long
learning. General Education courses teach basic skills as well as broaden a students knowledge of a
wide range of subjects. Education is much more than the acquisition of facts; it is being able to use
information in meaningful ways in order to enrich ones life.
While the subject of each course is important and useful, we become truly educated through making
connections of such varied information with the different methods of organizing human experience that
are practiced by different disciplines. Therefore, this course, when combined with other General
Education courses, will enable you to develop broader perspectives and deeper understandings of your
community and the world, as well as challenge previously held assumptions about the world and its
inhabitants.
GRADES: The grading scale is as follows:
87% - 89% = B+ 77% - 79% = C+
94% - 100% = A
83% - 86% = B
73% - 76% = C
90% - 93% = A80% - 82% = B70% - 72% = CGrades will be based on the following:
WEIGHTS

CATEGORY

67% - 69% = D+
63% - 66% = D
60% - 62% = D-

59% or less = E

47%
43%
5%
5%
100%

Quizzes
Essays
Attendance/Participation
ePortfolio
TOTAL

NOTE: You CANNOT pass the class without a complete ePortfolio.

DEADLINES: Submit all work WELL BEFORE the deadline. The submission button on Canvas will
disappear at 11:59 p.m. on the due date, and LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Do NOT
make the mistake of waiting until late in the day, when an unexpected technology glitch could prevent you
from getting your work turned in on time. The Help Desk (801-957-5555) will not be open that late in the
day. E-mailed assignments will NOT be graded.
QUIZZES: There will be six equally weighted unit quizzes during the semester. The quizzes may include
multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions. You will not be able to retake quizzes or make up
missed quizzes. LIFELINE: Your lowest quiz score will be dropped, so if you miss a quiz or are unhappy
with a low grade, dont worry: it will not affect your grade (assuming all other quiz scores are higher).
ESSAYS: Essays will be an important component of your learning experience. While quizzes typically
capture knowledge/understanding of a given concept, writing assignments will push you to APPLY those
concepts. See the ESSAYS document on Canvas for instructions, grading criteria, etc. LIFELINE: As
with the quizzes, your lowest essay score will be dropped, so a missed essay or unusually low score will
not hurt you.
ATTENDANCE / CLASS PARTICIPATION: Attendance will be taken on a regular basis, using a signup
sheet, an in-class activity, or something similar. Anyone not in the classroom at the time attendance
is taken will be considered absent. Regardless of how worthy or honorable your reason for missing
class, non-attendance in class is an absence. Experience has shown that those with regular attendance
in class tend to do better in the course. If you miss a class, it will be your responsibility to contact another
student to find out what happened in class.
GENERAL EDUCATION ePORTFOLIO: Each student in General Education courses at SLCC maintains
a General Education ePortfolio. Instructors in every Gen Ed course will ask you to put at least one
assignment from the course into your ePortfolio, and accompany it with reflective writing. It is a
requirement in this class for you to add to your ePortfolio, and this syllabus details the assignments and
reflections you are to include. Your ePortfolio will allow you to include your educational goals, describe
your extracurricular activities, and post your resume. When you finish your time at SLCC, your ePortfolio
will then be a multi- media showcase of your educational experience. For detailed information visit
http://www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio or http://eportresource.weebly.com.
After you have picked an ePortfolio platform, go to the corresponding help site to watch the tutorials and
look at the examples so you can get started on your own:
http://slcceportfolio.weebly.com
http://slcceportfolio.wix.com/slcceportfolio
http://slcchelpsite.jimdo.com
https://slccwordpresshelpsite.wordpress.com
https://sites.google.com/site/slcchelpsite/
If you would like to start your ePortfolio in a computer lab with a person there to help you, please visit an
ePortfolio Lab on the Taylorsville-Redwood, Jordan or South City Campus during business hours, and
staff will help you without an appointment. For lab hours and locations please see the following site:
http://eportresource.weebly.com/lab-information.html
Finally, questions regarding the ePortfolio can be directed to Emily.Dibble@slcc.edu.

Important Note: In order to receive a passing grade for this course, you
must post your signature assignments and reflections to your ePortfolio.
For this course, you will be required to include the following in your ePortfolio: any two written papers that
you have completed for the class, as well as a reflection (a 2-3 paragraph written discussion of your
learning as it relates to your signature assignments). See the ePortfolio assignment page on the course
website for further details.
MODIFIED CURVE: Final grades will be based on a modified curve. The top grade in the class will be
curved up to 100%, and every student in the class will receive the same number of curve points. For
example, if the top grade at the end of the semester is 98.3%, then every student will receive a 1.7%
adjustment to their grade.
EXTRA CREDIT: Extra Credit for this class comes in the form of (a) the LIFELINES mentioned above
(dropping the lowest quiz and assignment scores) and (b) a 1% Extra Credit boost for submitting an
anonymous Course Evaluation at the end of the semester. Together, these can significantly impact your
grade.
TOLERANCE: A primary objective of this class is to help you better understand the dynamics of the
modern family and dispel many common myths. In our effort to understand the family, we will be
discussing a wide variety of very sensitive, personal issues. As your instructor, I do not expect you to
agree with the positions taken by other members of the class. However, I must demand that you respect
the rights of the other class members to have and express their personal views.
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT: The student is expected to follow the SLCC Student Code of Conduct
found at http://www.slcc.edu/policies/docs/Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf.
ADA STATEMENT (http://www.slcc.edu/drc/faculty/syllabus-statement.aspx): Students with medical,
psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring accommodations or services under ADA, should
contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC determines eligibility for and authorizes the
provision of these accommodations and services for the college. Please contact the DRC at the Student
Center, Suite 244, Redwood Campus, 4600 So. Redwood Rd, 84123. Phone: (801) 957-4659, TTY:
957-4646, Fax: 957- 4947 or by drc@slcc.edu.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURES IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
http://www.slcc.edu/emergency-prepare/emergency-procedures.aspx.
In our classroom (2612), we will evacuate down the stairs and go into
PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is when you take credit for another persons words or ideas. You must cite
any source you use in your work (other than sources of common knowledge), or you have committed
plagiarism. This course will use Canvas plagiarism-checking software (TurnItIn). Papers containing
plagiarized material will receive a score of 0 for a first offense. A student who plagiarizes a second time
may fail the course. See the Student Code of Conduct, especially pages 42 and 45.
STUDENT CONTRIBUTION: This is a 3-credit hour course. It is expected by the college that students
taking a traditional on-campus course spend three hours of preparation for each hour spent in class. The
expected time commitment for this course will be in keeping with the requirements for traditional courses.
Students can plan on spending at least 9 hours per week preparing for this course.
To be a successful student requires careful planning, work, and study on the part of the instructor and the
student. In order to achieve maximum learning in this short amount of time, it is important that you
understand the following:
1. Please be dedicated to this course and try to stay current with your readings and your assignments.
This will help you understand the concepts more deeply and have an informed opinion in our discussions.

2. A major goal of this course is to provide you with the opportunity to review and/or clarify your own
thoughts, ideas, and values as they relate to the issues we will be studying. Although we will spend time
defining vocabulary and reviewing statistical information, the real heart of this class will be in our ability to
engage in meaningful, thoughtful discussions. It is imperative that all of us in the class be considerate
and respectful in our communications with one another.
3. Please understand that grade calculations can be tricky. This class involves weighted grade
categories, so 10 points in one area (like essays) are not the same as 10 points in another area (like
quizzes). Do not make the mistake of assuming you can skip small assignments. Things add up!
Submit your work on time.
4. Many students view this as an easy course and therefore put less effort into it or do not assign it the
same priority as their more difficult courses. Many times, the result is a high grade in the difficult class
and a low grade in this course. Please be aware that 3 credit hours of a low grade in this class is just as
devastating to your G.P.A. as 3 credits hours of a low grade from a harder course.
5. Every semester, I am informed by students that they need to leave on the last day of class to go on
vacation with their family, go to their friends wedding, or some other reason that would make it
impossible for them to take the last quiz with the rest of the class. Everyone in the class was aware of the
semester schedule before they enrolled in the class. If you have a wedding, vacation or whatever
scheduled during finals week, you will need to cancel those plans, drop this class, or plan on getting a
really bad grade. The final class quiz will be given during finals week, not sooner.
6. Assignments can be submitted on the course webpage. The beauty of the internet is that you can
access the class from anywhere in the world. This enables students to travel for work-related and
personal reasons and still stay current in the class. Being out-of-town will not be accepted as a reason
for missing work. Being in a different "time zone" is not an acceptable excuse for late work. Due dates
are based on Salt Lake City time.
7. It is assumed, at the beginning of the course, that you know how to use a computer to connect to our
webpage. An inability to use our software is not an acceptable excuse for not completing an assignment,
discussion or quiz. With the exception of the colleges system going down, no other excuses will be
accepted for not submitting assignments by the deadline. Do your assignments ahead of time so that if
you encounter a problem in the electronics then you will still have time to go to a neighbors house, to the
library, or to an SLCC campus to complete your assignments.
8. Salt Lake Community College is truly a community college. As part of our community involvement,
the faculty members are frequently asked to participate in conferences, advisory boards and other
community events that may make demands on the instructors time. Although I will try to limit my
absences, from time to time I may be away from my computer for more than a day. I will give you ample
warning of my impending absences. Unless otherwise noted, my absence from my office and/or my
computer does not change the due dates for any of our assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc.
9. Now, that you have reviewed this Syllabus, make a copy of it for your permanent reference. Refer to
this document for answers before you email me with the question. I like to spend my time reading your
work and learning with you, and I have less time to do that if I am answering questions that are clearly
answered in the course documents. I am excited to share this learning journey with you.
COURSE GOALS:
Substantive knowledge: Students completing this course will gain a basic understanding of the following:
Historical and contemporary terms and functions, theoretical perspectives, and racial and ethnic
diversity of marriages and families.
Elements that affect human intimacy and family life
Marriage and family challenges including abuse, divorce and family blending
Marriage and family strengths

Effective Communication: Students will gain a basic understanding of verbal and nonverbal
communication and conflict resolution. Students will communicate their knowledge through class
discussions and student written assignments on contemporary and pertinent family and marriage topics.
Quantitative Literacy: Students will demonstrate ability to analyze data on marriage and family theories
and research through class discussion and written assignments.
Critical Thinking: A major goal of this course is to provide the students with the opportunity to review
and/or clarify their own thoughts, ideas, and values as it relates to marriage and family issues. Students
will be asked to discuss their own personal opinions of marriage and family topics and research with class
discussions and personal written essays.
Civic Engagement: Students will demonstrate an interest in current events that effect marriage and family
life in general and how contemporary marriage and family life effect our society of today through class
discussion and written assignments.
COURSE WEBSITE: This class will require that you use the course website on Canvas. As your
instructor, I make the assumption that you are familiar with your computer and the software that is on it.
Further, I assume that you can follow basic instructions for changing the settings on your computer. I
want to make this very clear: Your inability to operate your computer will not be accepted as a valid
excuse for not submitting assignments in a prompt and professional manner.
Canvas is hosted by the Utah Education Network (UEN). Students using a PC need to know that Canvas
runs better with the Mozilla Firefox browser than it does using Internet Explorer (IE). It will run using IE,
but it will not run as well as it does using Firefox. Students using a MAC should be okay using the Safari
browser to access Canvas.
To access our course website, you have at least three options:
Go to www.slcc.edu and log in to MyPage. Select the My Courses tab at the top of the page
and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find Canvas. You may be asked to log in again.
Use the same username and password that you used to access MyPage.
Go to https://learn-slcc.uen.org/login or https://slcc.instructure.com/ and log in using your
MyPage username and password.
Go the www.slcc.edu and click on the Current Students tab at the top of the page. From the
pull-down menu, select Canvas.
All of these options will take you to the login page. After logging in, you will see a menu of your course
websites. Our course will be listed there.
The website contains copies of the syllabus, course calendar/outline, homework assignments, and other
materials to support your learning. You will be able to submit homework assignments to the website and
check your grades. If this is your first class with a course website, plan to take plenty of time to push all
of the buttons and links and become familiar with the software.
Submitting papers electronically is very convenient. However, this convenience carries with it an inherent
risk, which is ultimately your responsibility. Occasionally, your computer, the server, the user, the
connection or some other part of the internet fails. Equipment or user failure, regardless of the source or
cause, is not an excuse for submitting late papers. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your
assignments. Identify another computer that you can use in case of an emergency. A broken car is not a
good excuse for missing a traditional class, and a broken computer is not a valid excuse for missing an
online assignment. Have a backup plan in place.
You must be prepared to use the software correctly. The software program requires that you follow an
exact sequence in order to submit your papers. Failure to use the software correctly will result in the loss
of your data. Only data saved to the website by the due date and time will be graded.
If you want to learn more about using the Canvas software, go to the Canvas student guide at

http://guides.instructure.com/s/2204/m/4212 . If you still have questions, you can use the chat function
at www.slcc.edu/online to text with the folks at the SLCC Online Support Center. If you prefer to talk on
the telephone, please call the Online Support Center at (801) 957-4406. (Toll free: 1-888-963-7522).
Bottom line: It is your responsibility to know how to use the website. If your homework is lost because
you did NOT push the buttons in the correct order, you cannot be given credit. Emailed assignments,
regardless of the reason or time sent, will be returned to you ungraded. Remember: Papers can be
submitted early.
Title IX Information:
20 U.S.C.A. Section 1681 (a): TITLE IX
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be
denied benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving federal funds.
Examples of violations (but not limited to):
} Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and sexually motivated physical conduct
} Overt or subtle pressure for sexual activity
} Sexually offensive verbalization including remarks, teasing, slurs, and innuendo
} Repeated inappropriate jokes or comments about sex or gender specific traits
} Conduct that is demeaning or derisive and occurs substantially because of ones gender
} Sexual assault
} Sexual Violence
} Gender based disparate treatment
Violations can occur in any college environment, such as (but not limited to):
}
}
}

Field Trips
Student Clubs
Transportation

}
}
}

Classrooms
Athletics
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If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights or responsibilities, or if you would like to
file a Title IX complaint please contact:
Students: Dr. Marlin Clark, Dean of Students, 801-957-4776, STC 276 A (Redwood)
Employees or Community members: Ken Stonebrook, Title IX & Discrimination
Manager, 801-957-5027, AAB 211G (Redwood)
Online Reporting Form: http://www.slcc.edu/eeo/title-ix/complaint.aspx
Salt Lake Community College has a strong prohibition against RETALIATION! The college
does not tolerate acts of retaliation against anyone for engaging in filing a complaint or
participating in an investigation.