LEGL 4500/6500
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander ,
Esq. dawndba@uga.edu
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Employment Law
Note: See the message below about being required to have a gmail account
with photo.
Hi! Welcome to the Web page for Dr. B-A's Employment Law course here at the
We are more
alike my friends, than we are unalike - Maya Angelou
You must be
the change you wish to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
In the
United States there is not a single line of any constitution that can withstand
bigotry and ignorance when it seeks to destroy the rights of the individual;
and bigotry and ignorance are ever active - Attorney Clarence Darrow, the
Scopes trial
Sacred cows
make the best hamburgers - Mark Twain
I swore
never to be slient whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and
humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutraliity helps the
oppressor, never the victims. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented. - Elie Wiesel
How
wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to
improve the world - Anne Frank
We may have
different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all
belong to one human race. We all share the same basic values. - Kofi
Annan, UN Secretary General
You and I,
we are the majority. We don't want war. Fun undermines
authority! - Jane Evershed
Americans
need to purge the darkness in our hearts and defeat the primitive, age-old fear
and dehumanization of other people who are not like us. - Pres. Bill Clinton
10/3/99
We need to
not only value diversity, but to honor and celebrate it. - Pres. Bill Clinton,
State of the Union Address 1/27/200
Dr. B-A's LEGL 4500 - Employment Law
Contents
syllabus
grading
assignments:
quiz
news article
journals
4500SuppReadingAssmts.htm
or click on section
you need below in capital letters
rules for paper submission
point deductions
extra credit
attendance policy
making up
absences
graduate/honor students
rules
for paper submission
important admonition
Click below to get the articles and info for the 5
class papers assigned. Your paper is to include all articles in
the section
DISCRIMINATION
AND DIVERSITY IN GENERAL (don't forget
eLC articles)
RACEe
GENDERr (don't forget to get 'Test Driving Dealerships' on eLC)
AFFINITY ORIENTATIONn
DISABILITYy
miscellaneous odds
and ends such as extra
credit opportunities
Terry
College of Business University of Georgia
LEGL 4500/6500 - Employment Law
Spring 2013
Significant Dates for Class
The course
syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by
the instructor may be necessary.
Tu
1/8 - First day of class; Sign
onto listserv with gmail account by midnight.
Th
1/24 - Discrimination in general
paper due
Th
2/7 - Quiz/Exercise/ single
question due
Tu
2/9 - Movie
Th
2/12 - Movie 1 paper due
Th
2/21 - Race paper due
Th
2/28 - Movie 2, Grad/Honors paper
topic due (e-mail)
Th
3/7 - First half of journals due
Tu
3/12 - Spring Break, NO CLASS
Th
3/14 - Spring Break, NO CLASS
Th
3/21 - Gender paper due
Th
4/11 - Affinity orientation paper
due
Th
4/18 - News arts due for those who
couldn’t sign up
- Disability paper due
Tu
4/23 - All extra credit papers due;
All out-of-comfort zone papers due
- Second half of journals
due, Honors/Grad paper due
Th
4/25 - Last day of class
The
content and opinions expressed on this Web page do not necessarily reflect the
views of nor are they endorsed by the
LEGL 4500/6500 - Employment Law
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander ,
Esq.
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Syllabus
Spring 2013 (Tu.1/8/2013)
Quick
Finder: Office &
Hours ****Grading*** E-Mail
******* Honors/Grad Students
OBJECTIVE: To teach the legal implications of dealing with employees
in the work setting who may present challenges regarding discrimination on the
basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy,
affinity orientation and other categories covered by employment legislation.
TEXT 
Employment Law for Business, Bennett-Alexander
& Pincus, McGraw-Hill Pub. Co., 7th ed.2012.
CLASS TIME
T&Th 8-9:15 9:30-12:15. Caldwell
107. Ordinarily if I have two sections of the same class, I don’t mind which
one you attend. However, due to the
small room size, this cannot be done for these classes this semester. You must attend the class for which you
signed up.
202 Brooks Hall. T&Th 7:00-8:00, 11-12,
and by appointment. Call (706) 338-2293 for scheduling.
The class requirements for grades
are as follows:
Each student has a
"point pot" which starts out with 100 points for the class, and goes
down with points deducted for loss of points from assignments, absences,
tardiness of papers, etc.. Each of the assignments below is mandatory,
meaning that you must do each. If you do not, then in
addition to losing the points listed for the assignment, seven
points will be deducted from your point pot. Submit all
assignments!
Any assignment submitted to me
must have the name in the upper right-hand corner, last name first.
Failure to do this will result in lost points.
A newspaper article or YouTube video presented to
the class – 3 points
Journal entries for each day – 28 points
Attendance at two events during the semester which take you out of your comfort
zone as relevant to our class topics, with a one-page paper on each – 4 points
(2 points each)
A quiz on chapters 1-3 -20 points
Four one-page, and one three-page papers based on articles available on this
website – 42 points
one-page papers on each of two videos shown during the class – 2 points.
Video papers are due the next class after the showing of the video. If
the showing goes over one class day, the papers are due on the first class
after the class in which the video ended.
There are no exams. However, there is a quiz
based on the textbook chapters 1-3. Also included in the point pot are
any points deducted for failing to turn in assignments on time, failing to
correctly answer questions based on the assigned chapter information or
other things as I see fit. Points are added to the pot for doing extra
assignments as I permit. The points are explained below. Grad students and
those receiving honors credit are required to submit a 10-page research paper
in addition to the rest of the class work. The paper does not receive an
extra grade, but instead determines if the student will receive graduate/
honors credit for the course.
In order to see where you are at any given time,
count up the points that have been deducted from your assignments, as well as
any absences you have over the limit (5 points deducted for each absence over
1, unless you have an excused second absence you have made up as directed in
this Web page), and deduct them from 100. When I determine your final
grade for the class, I simply add up all of the points you lost, add to this
any points lost for absences, then deduct the total from 100. Rather than
add up how many points you receive, I simply deduct the points you’re missing
from 100. Keep track of your points deducted and your absences. Make sure to keep all papers and emails until after the
course is over. At least twice
during the term, I will circulate a sheet containing my scores for you,
including your absences and any extra credit recorded for you. Make sure
your records are consistent with mine. While you should be keeping track
of your own progress in the class, if you are ever unsure of where you stand,
ask me.
Unless stated otherwise the
grading scale for the class is 100-94 A, 93-90 A-, 89-87 B+, 86-84 B, 83-80 B-,
79-77 C+, 76-74 C, 73-70 C-, 69-65 D, 64 and below, F.
Check the due dates for the following assignments in the
Important Dates listing above
The quiz covers chapters 1-3 and is a combination
of multiple choice and true/false with fact patterns to analyze.
The article must be on some aspect of
discrimination, and is not restricted to employment discrimination. You
may use the web, but only if you can guarantee that the information you provide
to the class is current. Credit will NOT be given for web material in the
form of cases which are more than one year old from the date of your
presentation, and only then if you have made sure that what you are presenting
to the class is accurate and up to date. The best source for articles is
newspapers and magazines rather than the web. The presentations are done orally
and are limited to 5 minutes in class. Be prepared to give me a copy of the
article you presented and include on it your name, date, source, including page
number and date, for the article, and/or exact website. You may also present
and discuss a YouTube video relevant to class instead. Make sure to provide me the link by email
before your presentation.
If you were not able to sign up
on the presentation list for an oral presentation, then you must do your article in writing and submit it by
the end of class on the date due. Submit to me a COPY (not the original if it
is a newspaper article) of the article, and no more than one typewritten page
telling what the article was about and giving your opinion of the issue..
You will not receive credit for your article if it is not typed, stapled together with
your article, or does not have the source,
including date and page number, of your
article.
You are to have a journal entry for each day of
class, not including spring break. The entries should give insight you have
gained from the day's discussion. Credit will not be given for mere
regurgitation of the day's class or purely extraneous, non-class-related
matters. It is the processing of the employment law related information that I
am interested in seeing.
No points will be given for crap. "Crap"
is defined as non-substantive words on paper which convey no insight or
analysis.
The journals are yours to write and may be as
personal and uncensored as you wish, since no one will see them except me. Do
not write what you think I want to see. You may relate your insights to some
way in which class information made you think about an event in your life or
something you know about, in a different way.
The entries will be collected on the dates
above.
The journal entries have no set length
requirement, but should sufficiently convey your thoughts.
You are required to label each day's entry with
the date and whatever it primarily addresses, i.e., "race,"
"gender," "affinity orientation," etc. This heading for the
day must be located on the left of the page (not the right, or the center, as
is generally the case).
If you want to receive credit for a journal
entry for a day you were not in class,
state in your journal entry that you were not in class, and write on some issue
covered by our course subject matter.
Journal entries must be typed, single space, in 12
point font.
Each entry must be begin with 5 lines
separating it from the last line of the previous entry; on one line there must
be the date and topic in bold font; the next line should be blank and on the
next line the entry should begin.
Entries for each day are not to be put on a separate sheet of paper, but rather, are to
be continued on the same sheet as the date of the last entry.
Entries must also be written for days on which
class is cancelled. The topic can be anything related to Employment Law.
Entries are not required for days on which the University does not hold class
(such as Spring Break or Fall Break).
Papers on Supplemental
You will read several articles which I have placed
on the supplemental
reading assignment web page for you. The articles are divided by
areas of discrimination that we cover, i.e., race, gender, etc. For each of the
areas, you will submit a paper which covers the articles in that area.
Under the name of each assigned article are the questions you are to keep in
mind when reading the article, and later in addressing the issue in your
papers. At the beginning of each section is the due date for the paper
and the required length of the paper. Note that there is both an extra credit
reading list page, as well as a supplemental reading assignment page. The
former is a comprehensive list of readings you can choose for extra
credit. The latter is the page for doing your assignments.
Rules for submission of the supplemental reading papers
The rules include, but are not limited to:
* typewritten
*single-spaced
*one side of page only - do not use the back and front of the page
*do not include a cover page
*type your name in the upper right-hand corner of the paper; on the next line,
center the name of the section of papers you are writing about, i.e.,
"Race" (without the quotation marks). Skip one line and begin your
paper
*12 point Times New Roman font only.
*margins can be narrower than one inch in order to give you more room to write.
I will write my notes on the back, if necessary.
*refer to the articles ONLY by the shortcut title in parenthesis behind the
name of the article on the assignment web page.
*do not regurgitate the article contents - discuss and analyze the article
instead.
*analyze the articles, synthesize your thoughts about them, and edit the paper
well--don't waste space on repetition
* the paper must address the issues brought up by the questions under the
articles for that section.
* each of the articles must be addressed in your paper
* put the name of the article in bold italics the first
time you mention it in your paper.
* personal opinion is permitted, but only in the context of the questions
asked.
The number of articles assigned per section differs
therefore the possible points for each paper will vary since the number of
points for any given paper will be 2 X the number of articles assigned for that
section. Note that in some cases, there may be two articles listed
together. That is because they are similar and are to be taken as one.
In order for the papers to receive full credit,
they must be well done and you must include analysis of all the articles in the
section. This will require you to analyze the articles, synthesize them, and
edit your papers well in order to stay within the page limit. You need not
answer each of the questions or do so separately. Rather, you can think about
each of the questions for the article as you read the article, then when you
get ready to write the paper, synthesize your thoughts on them. Make sure you
edit your papers to minimize redundancy which will take up your much-needed
space. It will also save you much space if you do not tell me what the articles
are about in your paper. I already know. What your paper should discuss is what
it is that you think about the articles, particularly as it relates to the
questions you were given to think about.
The due dates for the papers are given at the top
of the Handout Assignment web page section for that set of articles.
Points taken off for your papers can be regained
by resubmitting the paper with the changes made from the notes as to why points
were lost. When resubmitting the paper, it will not be graded unless the
original paper with my notes is attached so that I know why points were taken
away. Papers must be resubmitted the class after the papers were returned
to the class.
I urge you to read as many of the extra
credit articles from the Extra Credit Supplemental Readings site as
possible, as they will be referred to in class from time to time. You will
receive one point for each extra article from the list for which you read and
submit a one-page paper.
"Outside Your Comfort Zone" Papers
Each paper should be no
more than one page, single spaced, 12-font.
I will be announcing these opportunities during the course of the semester as
opportunities arise. Please let me know of anything you hear of that may
fit this assignment so that I may share it with the class. It may be
something your organization is sponsoring or something you've seen around
campus or heard or seen advertised or just heard about. If it is not an
announced opportunity, be sure to check with me to make sure it qualifies for
the assignment.
In doing your papers, I
am not as concerned with what the event was as I am with how it took you
outside your comfort zone as it relates to issues we address in class.
That should be the focus of your paper. There should be very little of
the actual details of the event. Your paper should not be just a
description of the event. If it is, you will receive no credit for
it. The discomfort must come from feeling as “the other” or an outsider,
not from simply being uncomfortable. For instance, being straight and
going to a gay club or being Catholic and going to a Baptist church would
qualify. Sky diving or visiting a retirement community would not. These
papers may be turned in at any time during the semester up until the day before
the last day of class. Please try not to wait until the end and have me
loaded up with papers.
In-Class Movie Papers
These
papers should be no more than one page, single-spaced, 12-font. I am not
interested in a description of the movie. I will have seen
it. I am interested in your reaction to it as relates to the issues we
discuss in class and what insight you gained from seeing it. No credit
will be given for regurgitation of the movie.
In addition to extra credit for turning in
one-page papers on articles from the Extra Credit Reading List, you can also
receive extra points for attending events relevant to class, some of which I
will announce in class. In order to receive credit, turn in to me a brief
report on what program you attended, what happened and what you got out of it.
If you are unsure of whether a program will qualify for extra credit, clear it
with me first. If you hear of any relevant events, including television or
other media, please let me know so I can share it with the class. You can also
send the class an e-mail notification via the listserv
(4500DBA@listserv.uga.edu)
There may be the possibility of additional points
for doing work related to the internet. I'll keep you posted.
* Assignments are due by the end of class when
scheduled. If you do not turn in any submission by its deadline, one point is
deducted for each day (including weekends and turning it in after class on the
date it is due) that I do not receive it. The points deducted will be that many
fewer points in your point pot. Don’t turn assignments in late!!!!
*Five points are deducted from
your final grade for each absence over one. Absence can only be
made up by the rules below, so extra credits submitted for other reasons will
not count toward absences. Be careful of your
absences! People who have done all the work for the class have still
failed due to excessive absences. Consider this a non-negotiable rule.
*If you do not show up for a scheduled article
presentation, and I have not heard from you regarding a viable excuse, rather
than getting points for doing the article, the points are deducted from
your point pot.
*Points are deducted for failure to follow rules
set forth in your syllabus about the correct time and characteristics of
submission of papers.
* A point is deducted for each of the directions
you fail to follow for a submission, i.e., failure to
- use the correct font
- put first use of article title shortcuts in bold italics
- use the correct title as I gave it for the article you're
writing about, etc.
- failure to put your name, last name first, in
the upper right-hand corner of papers you submit.
This is a class which you must attend in order to
learn what the course is designed to provide you. I want you to attend class.
You are allowed only one absence. After the first absence, five
points will be deducted from your point pot for each absence and these will not
be able to be made up by the submission extra credit assignments. I want you to be in class. Can that get any clearer? Be there!
The roll sheet is circulated daily and is the only
acceptable evidence of being in class. If your signature is not
on the roll sheet, you are considered absent. Make sure you sign the roll
sheet. Of course, no one may sign the sheet for you in your
absence. Doing so will result in the loss of one entire letter grade off
your final score as well as the score of the student who signed for you.
Five points
will be deducted from your final grade, for each day you are absent over the first absence. The reason for the first absence doesn't not matter, so
you need not give me a written excuse. The roll sheet is circulated
daily. The roll sheet is the only acceptable means of proving you
were in class, so make sure you sign it. If your name is
not on the roll, then you are regarded as absent from class. Please do not come
to me asking to be counted as present by showing me your notes. This is
not acceptable. Sign the roll each day.
If you are absent more than once, you can make up only
up to one additional absence. If you are absent more than that, you
will be able to make no more than a B in the class no matter how many points
you have.
In order for you to be able to make up the one
absence over the one permitted, the absence must be verifiably excused by
me. You will be required to supply appropriate documentation which can be
suitably verified.
Absences count in order of their date. That
is, the first absence you have is a freebie, but the next one after that must
be excused in order for you to be able to make it up.
It is not the total number of absences and their
reasons to consider in determining if it is excused. It is only those
after the first
one that a reason must be given. For instance, if you overslept the first time, then you are out
with a hangover for the second absence, I wouldn't need an excuse for the first absence, but only for
the second
(and, of course, a hangover would not be able to be excused). Deciding to
sleep in does not constitute an excuse, so you would not be able to make up the
day with extra credit and the five points for the absence would come off your
final grade for the class. If you had a doctor's note on the free
absence, then overslept for the second, your second would still be an unexcused absence which could not be
made up. The fact that you had a doctor's note for the first does
not matter, because why you miss freebies is irrelevant. The fact that you had
a doctor's note on the free absence would not help you on your second when you
overslept. Some of you may be going on job interviews during the
semester. These are not necessarily excused absences. You should
make every effort to schedule the interviews at some time other than our
class. If you choose to have interviews during our class, know that
it may not be excused and even if it is excused by me, it must be made up as
instructed below. In no instance
will anything over 2 absences (1 freebie and 1 excused by me) result in a grade of more than a
B in the class,
regardless of your other points. Of course, depending on the number of absences
you have, it can certainly result in less than a B.
Guard your absences carefully and only use them if
you absolutely need to because you may eventually need them, but the absence is
not verifiably excused. I say all this, but the truth is, you'll love the
class so much until you won't even want to miss it.
The extra credit assignment to make up for up to
one excused absences over your first absence consists of turning in five extra credit papers for each day of absence.
The papers must be turned in on the next class after your
verifiably excused absence.
The papers are to be no more than one page each
on non-asterisked articles on this Website's supplemental class readings page.
If the article has a plus (+) sign next to
it, then you must do three of the "plus" articles in order for them
to count as paper.
Keep in mind that there can be no more than one excused absence for
which you can do makeup assignments. If you do additional extra credit, it will
not count to counterbalance points lost by your absences.
It is extremely
important to come to class. The
extra credit papers will be very closely scrutinized for thoroughness of
familiarity with the issues involved. Any less than five articles for an
excused absence will not count as credit for the absence. Can you tell
that I would much prefer that you simply come to class? I reserve the
right to change this policy and make it even tougher during the semester
if the necessity arises. You are hereby given fair warning.
You are required to read your chapters as we get
to that topic. Do not dismiss it just because you think you will not be
specifically tested on it. That can certainly change. We will be discussing the chapters in detail
in class, and three points will be deducted for each time you are called on and are unprepared with the
chapter readings. You are hereby on notice that I reserve the right to increase
the point deduction if the need arises.
Honors/Graduate Students
If you
are a graduate student or a student taking the class as an honors option, then
you are enrolled in LEGL 6500 rather than LEGL 4500. In addition to all
the other assignments due for class, you are also to submit a 10-page research
paper by Tuesday April 23. The paper can be on any topic relevant to
class. I will read a list of previous paper titles in class so that you
can get an idea of what kinds of topics students write about. You must have me
pre-approve your topic by submitting it by the date above. Take a look at
the areas we cover, both on the website and the textbook, to begin to get some
ideas. Requirements for the paper:
- ten pages
- double-spaced
-14-font
- cover page containing your name, date, title
-footnotes at the bottom of the page on which the note number appears
-a page containing all footnotes (this page is not counted as part of the ten
pages required) in the same order they appear in the paper
-an e-mail sent to me by the paper deadline, containing your footnotes in which
hot links to your internet sources is provided. Please send yourself a
copy of the e-mail before sending it to me, to make sure that all of the links
are working and accurate. Make the subject of the
e-mail: Paper Citation Links
Let's not kid each other. You've most likely
seen "The Key" information for this class and you know the grades are
high. But don't let that fool you. Anyone will tell you that they
had to work hard to earn what they got. Better yet, you'll have to look hard to
find a student who will tell you they weren't significantly changed after
taking the course. The difference between this class and others is that
unlike many classes you will take in college, this one will directly affect
your ability to protect your employer and your company's assets from
unnecessary legal liability. I'm more interested in you knowing how to keep
your employer out of trouble for unnecessary discrimination claims that you can
help him/her avoid, than I am in the usual pedagogy of the course. I give you
plenty of opportunity to learn what you need to do to avoid liability because
it is so important that you do it. This system of evaluation necessarily has an
integral part of it, your absolute integrity in dealing with the process. The
tradeoff for no exams is making sure you do your assignments as required. I'm
telling you up front that you can get an "A" in the class if you put
forth the effort. Since it's so interesting, that should not be difficult. But
it does mean you have to do your part and do it to the very best of your
ability. I am more interested in you knowing the subject matter than anything
else. If you can show that you know it, your grade should reflect it.
Don't blow it off. I don't get many who try it, but ask anyone who has done it,
and they'll tell you they were REALLY
sorry they did.
COMMENTS: This is a fun and challenging class.
There will be much discussion of issues and class
participation is important. Get the numbers of a few students you can call to
find out what happened if you were absent. Check below also.
GMAIL ACCOUNT:
I require that you have a free gmail account for this class and that you insert
your photo into your account as gmail allows you to do. Not only will you
have tons more space for your e-mails, without having to worry about things
being deleted, but your photo will show up when you e-mail me so I will know
with whom I am communicating. Please sign up for your gmail account immediately.
To create a gmail account, go to
gmail.com and set it up. To attach a photo to your account, click on the
settings tab in the upper right part of the bar while in your gmail account,
and make sure you are in the General tab. The fourth section down is about
attaching photos. When uploading a photo, it allows you to make it
fit. Make sure that the only thing in the photo is your face. If
anything else is in the photo, the photo will be too small for me to see your
face clearly. Any photo can be used as long as it gives me a good face
shot, and the program allows you to make it larger. Please send an e-mail
to a someone with gmail to see if the photo shows up, before submitting your
required email to me. You can't imagine how time consuming it is to have
hundreds of students and have to go back and forth with them on this!
E-Mail, the
Web; the listserv: I communicate changes
between class days by e-mail through the listserv (4500DBA@listserv.uga.edu).
Anything you miss because you are not connected to the listserv will not be
excused. This website will generally have class information posted and
will be supplemented by e-mail. Make an e-mail folder for this class and
keep all e-mails until class is over. Watch for changes. Don't just
print out the web pages at the beginning of class and forget to look at the
website again during the semester.
I have set up a
listserv for the class entitled 4500DBA. It is urgent that you get on the
listserv for the class as soon as possible. It also allows me to send
everyone an e-mail at the same time. In order to get on the listserv, which you
are required to do for the class, by either going to http://www.listserv.uga.edu and finding
the 4500DBA listserv and following directions or by sending an e-mail to:
listserv@listserv.uga.edu
(NOTE: This is not a hot link. You must send the e-mail on your own)
Make the text of the e-mail ONLY the following
command:
subscribe 4500DBA your first name your last
name
For example, mine would say:
subscribe 4500DBA Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander
Note that the 4500 and the DBA are all one
"word." Do not put a space between the 4500 and the DBA. After the
4500DBA, put a space, then your name. So your message should be: subscribe
[space] 4500DBA [space] Your Name. If you have done it correctly, you
should then receive notification that they received your request and that you must respond the
way it tells you to within 24 hours or you will be dropped. Simply writing ok in the message
space is enough. Make sure to do
this last step or you will not be on the listserv and will not receive e-mails. If you receive a message saying they have no such
listserv, then you have entered the information incorrectly. Usually this
is because you put a space between the 4500 and the DBA.
You may also either subscribe or unsubscribe by
going to the listserv website at listserv.uga.edu, scrolling down to the class
listserv and following directions for what you want to do.
At the end of the
semester after class is over, please don't forget to
sign off of the listserv. To do
so, send an e-mail to:
listserv@listserv.uga.edu
(NOTE: This is not a hot link. You must send the e-mail on your own)
Make the text of the e-mail ONLY the following:
unsubscribe 4500DBA
Please do not
e-mail me asking me to take you off the listserv. You must do it
yourself, just as you put yourself on.
Recording:
Lectures may not be recorded without my permission. Also, you do NOT
have my permission to use notes from my lectures for commercial lecture note
purposes.
Computers, Cell Phones and other electronic
devices: Please do not use them in class. If
I catch you doing so, you will be considered absent for the day. Period. Don’t even try to come to me and try to
justify it. I don’t want to hear
it. Just do not use them in class. It is
totally disrespectful of both me and your classmates.
Academic Dishonesty: All academic dishonesty matters are considered serious and
will be handled in accordance with the University's Office of Judicial
Programs. Don't cheat!
Recommendations: Students often ask me to write recommendations for them. I
don't mind doing it if I know you well enough to do so. Please do not ask
me to write a recommendation for you if I do not know you. Being
listed on my class roster is not a sufficient basis for my writing you a
recommendation. In order to help me make the recommendation more than a
general one, I need information from you. If you wish to have me write a
recommendation, give me the following:
* an e-mail requesting
the recommendation with a good, clear photo of you included
* the latest copy of your transcript
* your phone number and e-mail address
* explicit instructions as to where and to whom
the recommendation should be sent. Do not include postage or
pre-addressed or postaged envelopes.
* the deadline for the recommendation
* any necessary forms I need from the place
needing the recommendation. Do not forget to fill out any portions
required of you. Be aware that checking the box that says you reserve
the right to view your recommendation generally means the recommendation
carries very little weight. The requester generally feels the
recommendation is of little value since a recommender is not as likely to be
candid if the candidate is going to see the recommendation.
* a Word attachment to an e-mail which is a draft recommendation about yourself written
by you as if it came from me.
* a brief, but full typed essay from you telling
me things about yourself, your family, your goals, ambitions, and motivations,
that might be helpful in painting a picture of you that you may think is
inappropriate for you to do yourself. The information could include such things
as obstacles you have had to overcome to go to school, particular family
circumstances that may make you unique, etc. I don't want the essay you write
for the application, and I don't want a recitation of your grades. I want
something that makes you more than a one-dimensional person.
* Make sure you give
me enough time to work on the recommendation. The longer the better. If it is
brought to me at the last minute, you run the risk of me turning you down, or
your recommendation being late.
* Give me the
information (except the e-mail) as a total package, not piecemeal. If you
give it to me piecemeal, pieces are likely to be misplaced.
* Follow these
directions precisely. Recommendations are time consuming
and tedious favors for you, but following these directions makes it a somewhat
easier on me and is a small price to pay. Failure to follow the directions
precisely will result in my not writing the recommendation. If you cannot
follow these simple directions, I am not likely to feel comfortable
recommending you to someone else.
***Students are responsible for all my postings on
the Web or by e-mail. Keep in touch with these.
***The professor reserves the right to modify
the syllabus as necessary.
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