Course Syllabus Counseling 124
Dr. Marsha Fralick
Spring 2012

Course Credit:

The course meets General Education requirements for the California State Universities, Area E and is UC transferable. 

How to Contact the Instructor:

1.     Before the class starts, you may contact me at my regular e-mail at: marsha.fralick@gcccd.edu   

2.     It is my goal to attempt to answer all e-mails within 24 hours.  If I receive many e-mails on the same topic, I will send an e-mail to the entire class.   

Required Course Materials: 

The interactive e-text, CollegeScope, by Dr. Marsha Fralick is required for this class.  The text is personalized for each student based on the personality and learning style inventory completed at the beginning of the text.  There is an access fee of $50 (if you purchase the e-text online).  This fee takes the place of paying for a textbook. You can begin CollegeScope for free, but will have to pay the $50 fee or purchase an access code to begin Chapter 2.   

Save $10 by ordering your text online at this address: 

http://www.collegescope.com/ccs/cuyamaca 

You may also purchase an access code for this text from the Cuyamaca Bookstore at a cost of $65.  Financial aid vouchers can be used at the Bookstore to purchase the access code for CollegeScope. 

Do not purchase the printed edition of the text from the College Bookstore or purchase a used printed edition because they will not be used in this online course.

The first time you log in, click on the "Register Here" button.  You will use your e-mail address as your login ID and will be asked to create a password for your account.  Make sure to write down your e-mail address and password so that you can log in to your account in the future.  Once you have registered, use your email address and password to log in.  Note that you only use the access code one time during the registration process.   

Course Schedule
The Course Schedule contains a calendar with weekly assignments.   

Grading

Access your grades at any time by logging into Blackboard and clicking on the My Grades button.  Grading is based on points received on assignments:

            A         900-1000

            B         800-899

            C         700-799

            D         600-699

            F         Below 600

Note that quiz grades are graded automatically and posted upon completion of the quiz.  For blogs and assignments, please allow time for me to grade them and post the grades.  

Grading Rubric

The Grading Rubric has a sample journal entry with points earned and rationale for grading.  Please look at the grading rubric before beginning the journal entries. 

Points:

CollegeScope Chapters 14 chapters X 30 points each =  420 points (Includes journal entries and quizzes.)
Blogs                           15 blogs X 16 points each             = 240 points
Quizzes on Blackboard  15 quizzes X 10 points each    = 150 points
Assignments                                                                        = 190 points
                                                                                                 1000 total points     

Online Format:

This class is taught completely online.  No class meetings are required.  My goal is to help all students to be successful.   

Required Computer Skills and Equipment:

You will need access to a computer with an Internet connection and Microsoft Office software.  You must be able to save your files in a .doc, .docx or .rtf format.  It is more convenient to have your own computer with Internet connection at home, however open computer labs are available on campus.  Required computer skills include: basic keyboarding, accessing the Internet, searching the Internet for information, uploading documents, sending e-mails with attachments, creating word documents, and using cut and paste.  You must also be able to work independently, be self-motivated and ask questions if needed. 

If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download Open Office Writer for free at:

http://www.openoffice.org/

Using Open Office Writer, save your document as Microsoft Office with .doc or .docx as the format. 

Are you ready for online learning?  Take this free assessment to find out if you have the skills to be successful: 

Click here to take the E-Learning Quiz. 

How to be Successful in an Online Course

  Enroll in the course and complete the online orientation which will be available beginning August 22, 2011.  Please complete the orientation during the first week of class. 

Contact the instructor if you have any questions, especially in the first week.

Familiarize yourself with Blackboard. . 

Click on each button on the home page to find out how the course works.

Set a time to work on your online classes and work steadily to complete some work each week.  Don't wait until the last minute to get started.  Assignments are due before 11:55 pm on Sunday of each week. 

Balance freedom and responsibility.  You are free to work on the course on your own schedule.  You are responsible for your own learning. 

Having basic computer skills and access to a computer  

How to Log into Blackboard 

The course is taught with Blackboard, a popular course management system used in many college courses.  You will be added to Blackboard by the first day of class, August 22, 2011.  You cannot log in until the first day of class.  When you register in my section of Counseling 124, you are automatically downloaded into my course and a Blackboard account is created for you within 24 hours. 

If you cannot log in, send me an e-mail at marsha.fralick@gcccd.edu.   Include the phrase "online class" in your subject heading so that I do not confuse your e-mail with junk e-mail.   

After the instructor has added you to Blackboard, you can find your account by going to the college web site: www.cuyamaca.edu  

·         Under the title, “Online Services”, click on Blackboard

·         Click on User Login

·         Bookmark this site by adding it to your favorite sites 

·         Your Username is your firstname.lastname in lowercase with no spaces

·         For example, Joe Smith would have a Username of joe.smith

·         Your password is your birth date in 6 digits.

·         For example, if Joe Smith were born on January 1, 1990, his password would be 010190

.       When you arrive at the Welcome page, look for the box that says "My Courses" and click on Counseling 124

If you have an older Blackboard account, your login and password have been changed to the above described format.     

Technical Support 

For assistance with Blackboard, you may call the Student Help Desk at 619-660-4395. The Student Help Desk is open:
               Monday 8-5
               TTH 7 am-7:30 pm
               WF 7 am-5 pm
               Sat 7 am-3 pm  

College Success Web Site:

The College Success Web Site is used to supplement class materials and to do research on careers.  It is located at http://www.collegesuccess1.com     

The Course Blog

The blog is our virtual classroom where you will post comments each week: http://www.couns124sp2012.blogspot.com/

Assignments 

There are four types of assignments for each chapter: 

1.  Online blog

2.  Interactive exercises, quizzes and journal writings in CollegeScope. 

3.  Short quizzes (10 questions).  You may use your online text for the quiz, but you have only 10 minutes to complete it.  You will need to read and study each chapter before you take the quiz in order to complete the quiz within the 10 minutes allowed. 

4.  Written assignments that help you to apply material learned in class.   

One chapter of CollegeScope is completed each week.  All assignments for the week are due before Sunday at 11:59 p.m. You may turn in assignments up to 2 weeks late for 50% credit.  Please let me know if you have any extenuating circumstances that prevent you from getting your assignments in on time.  Contact me by email if you have any problems or questions.  The biggest reason for failure in an online class is procrastination.  It is important to get started early and work steadily toward completing the assignments for each chapter.  

Read Comments on Your Assignments

Click on the assignment to view my comments on your assignments.                

Student Learning Outcomes 

Students will:

• examine various motivational strategies and apply them to their success in college, in their career and in their life.
• explore their personality types and related careers to decide on an appropriate major and career. 
• analyze their learning style and multiple intelligences and list learning strategies that will help them to be productive in school, on the job and in their personal life. 
• explore their vocational interests and values and identify careers that match their interests and values. 
• complete an educational plan to match their major and career goals and begin to develop job seeking skills.
• utilize time and money management strategies to accomplish their short and long-term goals. 
• apply memory techniques to improve college reading. 
• practice strategies for effective note taking, writing and speaking in college.
• practice strategies for test preparation, taking tests and coping with test anxiety. 
• analyze their communication style based on their personality type and practice effective communication techniques which can be used to improve personal and professional relationships. 
• identify fallacies in reasoning, levels of moral reasoning, and creative thinking techniques and apply these thinking techniques to practical situations. 
• increase awareness of health habits that affect longevity.
• increase their appreciation of diversity in college, on the job and in their personal lives.
• increase awareness of their life stage and apply positive thinking strategies to their future college, career and lifelong success.