This course will use a contract grading system. Instead of me assigning you a grade of A, A-, B+, etc. on assignments, you will commit to completing a certain number of assignments at a level I consider satisfactory for graduate work. Just as with professional academics submitting their work to a journal for publication, I may accept your assignment on first submission or I might ask you to “revise and resubmit” until the results are satisfactory.
In the first 2 weeks of the class, you will email me with your desired grade for the semester and your commitment to fulfilling the requirements to receive that grade. You must contract with me for one of the grades below. If you do not submit a contract I will assume you are contracting for a B.
Contract for an A
To receive an A, you must contract to
1. actively participate in the course at an A level
2. complete all required modules and at least 3 optional modules
3. complete 10 weekly blog posts
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for an A-
To receive an A-, you must contract to
1. actively participate in the course at an A level
2. complete all required modules and at least 2 optional modules
3. complete 9 weekly blog posts
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for a B+
1. actively participate in the course at an B level
2. complete all required modules and at least 1 optional module
3. complete 7 weekly blog posts
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for a B
1. actively participate in the course at an B level
2. complete all required modules
3. complete 6 weekly blog posts
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Other Grades
I will not contract with students for an A+ (which I will award at my discretion for students who go above and beyond the contract for an A) or for grades lower than a B (which I reserve for students who fail to complete the minimum requirements for this course and do not discuss the situation with me in order to find another path forward).
