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BN 301: Info |
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Course Information  [Top
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Spring Semester 2000 Tuesdays & Thursdays
While the instructor will make every effort not to make changes in this syllabus and the schedule of activities, they are subject to change. Required Texts: Required
readings in print (Coursepack Lite) and/or online Coursepack: Personal
Mission Statements from First Things First, Covey, Merrill &
Merrill, and additional Mission Statement readings (Are
You Deciding on Purpose?, Center
Point handout, additional
mission statement exercises) Informational
Interviewing Resumes: Excerpt from
From
College to Career, Asher, Donald; (skim sample resumes)
A selection about jobhunting on the Internet Job-Hunting on the Internet On reserve
in library: Dynamic Cover Letters, Hansen & Hansen.
You may wish to consult this text for additional cover-letter samples.
May be particularly helpful for nontraditional students.
Students are responsible for reading and keeping up to date with the Coursepack and also may be responsible for occasional additional handout material distributed in class. Instructor reserves the right to give pop quizzes on any of the reading ó including this syllabus and Coursepack. Please keep track of your grades and extra-credit points. Save your papers. Occasionally instructor enters points incorrectly on grade spreadsheet or neglects to record a grade (especially in the case of late papers); your own careful record-keeping will help prevent discrepancies.
Please note that the schedule for all three sections of the class (1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m.) is USUALLY the same. Thus, 1 p.m. students who miss class, for example, can usually come to the 4 p.m. or 6 p.m. class, and students in one of the later sections who know they have a conflict can usually attend an earlier session of the class on the same day. Check with instructor, however, since circumstances sometimes cause schedules to differ among the 3 sections. You cannot switch sections on days students work in groups. If you switch sections on a day when class meets in the computer lab, please understand that students actually enrolled in that section have first "dibs" on the hands-on use of the limited number of computers, and you may have to sit back and observe rather than using a computer. Regular attendance is also to your advantage because there will be at least one unannounced in-class opportunity to earn extra-credit points. Late paper policies: Assignments are expected on the due dates. There is really no such thing as an "extension" in this class. Technically you can hand in papers whenever you want, but you need to be aware that assignments handed in late will have half a letter grade deducted for EACH CALENDAR DAY (not each class day) of lateness. Assignments 13 days late are automatically subject to a baseline grade of not higher than 50 percent. NO ASSIGNMENTS ACCEPTED AFTER 13 DAYS OF LATENESS. Papers whose lateness coincides with an excused absence MAY be excused from deductions, at the instructorís discretion. Athletes who will not be in class because of an athletic event on a day when an assignment is due must hand in the assignment BEFORE the due date to avoid lateness deductions.
Policy/procedure for "firing" a group member: A group that is having a problem with a group member who is not pulling his or her weight in the development of the group project or otherwise impeding the progress of the group project should follow the following procedure:
2. If no improvement occurs, the complaining group members should alert instructor. 3. Instructor will talk to all parties separately and then attempt to arbitrate the problem with all parties present 4. If improvement still does not occur, complaining group members will inform instructor, and then group members will "fire" the problem group member. The fired group member will have to do an individual presentation, which will be worth only 75 percent of the available points for the group project.
Writing Expectations Since this is a communications class, competent writing is expected. Instructor will provide ample feedback on graded papers, and students are expected to improve their writing throughout the semester. Most writing assignments will be returned with detailed information on writing errors; students are expected to learn from these errors and not repeat them in future assignments. A copy of the detailed version of the error handout can be found in this Coursepack and is entitled "Why Is It Red?" Itís a good idea to refer to this handout before your first and subsequent writing assignments to familiarize yourself with the types of flaw instructor will be looking for. This and subsequent handouts describing writing errors align closely with the recommended text, Write Your Way to a Higher GPA. You might find it helpful to own the book, especially if writing is difficult for you, but the text is by no means required. The book also is on reserve in the library. The Indispensable Writing Resources site on the World Wide Web, also has an enormous amount of information you may find helpful in your writing. Stetson (Tophat) E-Mail Account You will need a Stetson e-mail account (also called a Tophat account) for this class. Even if you have an e-mail account with another Internet provider, you will probably want to have a Stetson account. Instructor will often communicate with class members via e-mail, and you will probably find it very helpful to communicate with instructor in this manner. Having a Stetson e-mail account also will be advantageous for some in-class activities, including those offering extra-credit. For example, you will need an e-mail account to participate in the required class discussion group, bizcomm-l, described below. As you probably know, you also need a Novell account to work in any university computer lab. Be sure to obtain a Novell account before class is scheduled to meet in lab (Feb. 17). To obtain an e-mail and/or Novell account, stop by the CIT Help Desk on the bottom floor of Flagler Hall and fill out the appropriate paperwork. Your account could take anywhere from a few days to a week or so to set up, depending on volume. bizcomm-l Online Class Discussion Group: Students are required to join bizcomm-l, the online discussion group for the class. This e-mail discussion group will be used for class announcements, reminders, syllabus changes, postings of helpful information, extra-credit assignments, and interactive discussion. E-mail messages posted to bizcomm-l go to all members of the group, which in theory are all members of the class. Specific instructions for joining and participating in bizcomm-l appear in this Coursepack. Membership and participation in the group will count toward your attendance/participation/ preparation grade. Students are expected to subscribe to bizcomm-l by the third week of class. Overview of assignments and requirements (in most cases, more detailed explanations of assignments are provided in this Coursepack): Group Project: You and 2-6 of your classmates will form groups centered around actual companies. You and your group will be given 6 class periods to work on various aspects of the group project; however, time outside of class most likely will also be necessary. Your group will serve as a company "search committee" whose main function is to fill a job vacancy within your company. Candidates to fill the vacancy will be students from the other two sections of BN 301. Later, your group will wear a somewhat different hat as you prepare a short presentation critiquing an aspect of your companyís communications. At the same time your work in your group is going on, you will be experiencing the group project from the other side because you will be a candidate for a job offered by one of the groups in one of the other sections of BN 301. This part of the project contributes to your attendance grade and provides possible extra-credit points. Detailed information that will guide the context of the group project can be found within this Coursepack. See policy/procedure above for firing a problem group member. 250 points for total group project, including presentation, listed below. This Coursepack contains
a more detailed handout about the Group
Presentation. The presentation is worth 100 points, of which some come
from class members who view your groupís presentation and from members
of your group.
Individual Projects: (Please note specifications for EACH assignment. Some assignments are required to be single-spaced; others double-spaced.) Personal/Career Mission Statement: Using the exercises and following the examples in the readings First Things First (in print Coursepack), the section from College Grad Job Hunter (Krueger) entitled "Personal Career Mission Statement," and Are You Deciding on Purpose?, additional mission statement exercises, you will craft a personal mission statement aimed at launching your career. The mission statement can range from a (healthy-sized) paragraph to a page (or longer, if you wish). Because the mission statement is obviously a very personal document, grading will be based on thoughtfulness, the seriousness with which you treated the assignment, and absence of serious writing flaws (such as run-on sentences and misspellings/typos). Sample mission statement appears in the Coursepack. Double-spacing preferred. 75 points. Proposal for Final Paper: See Final Paper. 75 points. Resume: 1-2 pages. Specific instructions will come from class lectures and readings. You will probably also find it helpful while crafting your resume to use the required text, Resume Workbook for College Students, especially if you have never created a resume or if you feel your resume content needs considerable improvement. The resume assignment is divided into two parts. Part I is a resume draft, not to be confused with a "rough" draft. It is called a draft because it is assumed that even a very good resume can be improved. "Draft" does not imply that this version of your resume should not be your best effort; after all, up to 75 points of the 100-point assignment come from the draft. After you receive your graded draft from instructor, use instructorís suggestions to improve your resume. You will receive up to an additional 25 points for the revised version. You must submit the draft version with your revised version. Single-space. 75 + 25 points = 100 points. NOTE: Because typos and misspellings are generally fatal errors in the job-hunting world, each typo and/or misspelling on the resume, cover-letter, and thank-you letter assignments, INCLUDING DRAFT VERSIONS, is subject to a 10-point deduction. Misspelled names of software programs are subject to a 5-pt. deduction, so watch out for tricky ones (PowerPoint, WordPerfect, PageMaker, FrontPage). Misspellings/typos that appear in revised versions but that instructor failed to catch on draft versions will not be counted off. Be careful not to edit new typos/misspellings into your revisions. Cover Letter: 1 page, typed, single-spaced. Specific guidelines will come from class lectures and readings. The cover letter assignment is divided into two parts. Part I is a cover letter draft, not to be confused with a "rough" draft. It is called a draft because it is assumed that even a very good cover letter can be improved. "Draft" does not imply that this version of your cover letter should not be your best effort; after all, up to 75 points of the 100-point assignment come from the draft. The cover letter assignment is tied to the group project. Your cover letter must target a job advertised by one of the groups/companies in one of the other sections of BN 301. After you receive your graded draft from instructor, use instructorís suggestions to improve your cover letter. You will receive up to an additional 25 points for the final version. You must submit the draft version with your revised version. Single-space. 75 + 25 points = 100 points. You must submit the Interview Availability Form (http:www.stetson.edu/~khansen/bn301/int_availability.html) with your Revised Cover Letter to aid the "company" you've applied to in scheduling your interview. NOTE: Because typos and misspellings are generally fatal errors in the job-hunting world, each typo and/or misspelling on the resume, cover-letter, and thank-you letter assignments, INCLUDING DRAFT VERSIONS, is subject to a 10-point deduction. Misspelled names of software programs are subject to a 5-pt. deduction, so watch out for tricky ones (PowerPoint, WordPerfect, PageMaker, FrontPage). Misspellings/typos that appear in revised versions but that instructor failed to catch on draft versions will not be counted off. Be careful not to edit new typos/misspellings into your revisions. Thank-you Letter: 1 page, typed, single-spaced. Specific guidelines will come from class lectures, readings, and thank-you letter handout in this Coursepack. Letter should be a thank-you letter to an employer for an interview and should be single-spaced in standard business-letter format. NOTE: Because typos and misspellings are generally fatal errors in the job-hunting world, each typo and/or misspelling on the resume, cover-letter, and thank-you letter assignments, INCLUDING DRAFT VERSIONS, is subject to a 10-point deduction. 50 points. Misspelled names of software programs are subject to a 5-pt. deduction, so watch out for tricky ones (PowerPoint, WordPerfect, PageMaker, FrontPage). Responses
to 25 Frequently Asked Interview Questions. 50 points.
Mock interview: Precise logistics and schedule are to be determined, but mock interviews will be conducted in a small-group setting with instructor present. Each class member will be interviewed for his or her ideal job by a group of classmates, a situation that simulates the growing panel-interview trend in job interviewing. Panel members will participate in critiquing interviewees. Tentative plans call for a professional employment recruiter or human-resources person to participate in critiquing the interviews (but not in the grading). Prepare for the interview with a job in mind as described in a want ad, as explained below. 100 points, a portion of which will be awarded by classmates. The week before the mock interviews commence, you must also submit either a newspaper (or magazine, Internet, etc.) want-ad typifying the kind of job you expect to seek after graduation or your own written description of the type of job youíd like to have. This ad or description accounts for 10 points your grade. Final
"exam:" Final
exam in BN 301 consists of a take-home research exercise, which will
be distributed early in the semester. Students may do the exam individually
or choose to form teams to complete the exam as a group and earn bonus
points based on the order of completion. No actual activity will take place
in the class's final exam period except that the end of each class's final-exam
period serves as the final deadline for the research exercise. Instructor
will be in her office during the final-exam periods to receive research
exercises turned in during those periods. The research exercise can also
be turned in earlier, in fact, anytime during the semester, and bonus points
are awarded for early completion. Final is worth 90 points. Details at
http://www.stetson.edu/~khansen/bn301/finals_week.html
Final Paper (A more detailed explanation of this assignment can be found in this Coursepack.) Informational Interview Paper: This paper is designed to help you learn more about your chosen career field or to explore career options if you are undecided about your career goals. After submitting a proposal describing your interviewees, you will conduct in-depth interviews with three individuals in a career field in which you have an interest. You will write short papers summarizing what you learned from the interviews, and you will write a final paper, integrating the three previous papers and adding a detailed analysis. Be sure to review the more detailed explanation of this assignment in this Coursepack.) NOTE:
For those students planning to attend graduate school or who otherwise
feel that the informational interview would not be helpful to them at this
time, an alternate research-paper assignment is available. See instructor.
Four Levels of Performance in BN 301 You will get out of this class what you put into it. Since this is a course designed to help you successfully launch your career, getting something out of the class can be extremely important to your future. The more you put into the class, the better grade you will get, but more importantly, the more likely you will be to obtain the job of your dreams upon graduation. Only you can decide which of the following levels of performance you will strive for: Passive: This level represents doing the bare minimum to pass the class ó doing all or most of the assignments passably, attending class with some regularity. Students achieving this level will attain a D or C in the class and may not be as well equipped as their competition to obtain a job after graduation. Active: This level represents a higher degree of responsibility. Students at this level do all assignments ó on time ó attend class regularly, do at least some of the reading and participate moderately in class. Students achieving this level will attain a C or B in the class but still may not possess quite the competitive edge of their counterparts in the job market. Evaluative: Students achieving this level can measure their performance and its consequences ó not only with the A grade they are likely to receive but with the sharpened job-hunting skills theyíve developed by involving themselves in the career-development curriculum this class offers. Students at this level of performance do all the assigned reading, attend class faithfully, participate actively in class, perform all assignments well and on time, and may establish a connection with instructor outside class. Students at this level will be well equipped to obtain a job upon graduation and will be able to measure the success of their job-hunting skills by how easily they attain that first job. Transformative:
Students achieving at this level will find the class to be a life-changing
experience because they will leave the class with something tangible, such
as a job/internship offer in hand, a new career direction, or a promising
contact that could lead to that great first job. Students at this level
do all the assigned reading, attend class faithfully, participate actively
in class, perform all assignments exceptionally well and on time, and establish
a connection with instructor outside class. They go above and beyond what
is expected of them and what their classmates do. Further, they take advantage
of every opportunity the class offers, thus honing the highest level of
competitive job-search skills and attaining an A or A+.
Expected Outcomes from This Course Assuming reasonable effort on your part, you can expect the following outcomes from this course by the end of the semester:
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