Syllabus Fall 2022

Course Details

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8AM CLASS

College Composition II – COMP 01112-13
CRN 45047

Physical Presence Required

Time and Place
TUESDAYS:          800-915 am     Savitz Hall Room 321
THURSDAYS:  800-915 am     Savitz Hall Room 321

FIRST CLASS MEETING:        TUE SEP 06

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9:30 AM CLASS

College Composition II – COMP 01112-15
CRN 45049

Physical Presence Required

Time and Place
TUESDAYS:          930-1045 am     Savitz Hall Room 321
THURSDAYS:  930-1045 am     Savitz Hall Room 321

FIRST CLASS MEETING:        TUE SEP 06

___________________________________________

Instructor David Hodges

Shared Office
Writing Arts Adjunct Office 515 Victoria Hall, 5th Floor, 260 Victoria Street.

Phone
Home Office (856) 854-8385 / Cell Phone (856) 979-6653 / Text (856) 979-6653

Email
Campus: hodges@rowan.edu / Personal: myfavoriteprofessor@davidhodges.com

Office Hours
See section Teleconference Hours below

Course Blog
Counterintuitive Spring 2022

___________________________________________

WELCOME!

Greetings from your Comp II professor!

You certainly chose an exciting and peculiar time to begin or continue your college experience! I will be your very enthusiastic professor for College Composition II this fall. I’m a committed optimist who loves teaching and cannot wait to meet you tomorrow. I’m also delighted that you’ve chosen a section in which we will meet in person and work together face to face (although masked and at a safe social distance). My goal as always will be to engage you, support you, and help you improve as a writer and overall student.

Here are some things you should know before our first class:

  1. There is no textbook to purchase. All of our readings will be available for free through web articles, open source books, and copies of readings on our course blog (more about the blog later).​
  2. Our section of Comp II offers the opportunity to meet in person for all classes provided we are not prohibited by governmental or campus mandates later in the semester.
  3. We’ll be meeting face to face.  
  4. If you need a section that accommodates remote learning, reach out to your Academic Advisor immediately. You can start at this page https://sites.rowan.edu/student-success/advising/advising-directory1/index.html (Links to an external site.)  Look for the question: Who is my Academic Advisor?
  5. Our classroom is pretty tight for 22 students. We’ll fit, but if you’re concerned about social distancing, this may not be the section you need to feel comfortable.
  6. We’ll meet in person on the first day of class, TUE SEP 06, and every Tuesday and Thursday morning thereafter to the end of the semester (except for the Thursday of Thanksgiving break).
  7. Now, about that blog. Students in my sections of Comp II conduct all of their coursework on a WordPress blog. Readings will be posted there as well your assignments. You will receive your feedback there too, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn from the work of your fellow students. I’ll introduce you to the WordPress blogosphere on the first day of class, so be sure to attend. Most of my students for many years have reported that using the blog is their favorite part of the class experience.
  8. If you’re up late tonight, consider giving the blog a look. I’m working on it as you read this, updating it from several semesters ago, changing dates, etc. You might see things change while you’re viewing it.

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We don’t use Canvas

We don’t use Canvas for this course, except for grades. All coursework is done on the blog.

Use Canvas for COLLECTING GRADES ONLY.

This class is linked to Canvas, which you can access at Your Canvas page for this course.  Use the same username and password as your email to access Canvas.

Canvas is good for checking grades, but the work is done on the blog.

All coursework is done on the blog

THE COURSE IS CONDUCTED ON A BLOG. On the first day of class, you’ll sign up for a free WordPress account and join the course blog, Counterintuitive Fall 2022 

For that, you’ll need an ANONYMOUS username, one that protects your identity. Come to class prepared with a username.

The homepage for our course blog:

URL: hodgescomp2.com

  • All course work will be conducted on the blog.
  • All assignments will be posted to the blog.
  • Deadlines will be posted to the blog.
  • A daily Agenda for every class meeting will be posted on the blog.
  • Daily graded class notes will be posted to the blog.
  • Feedback will be given and responded to on the blog.
  • The Syllabus and Course Outline will be posted to the blog.
  • You will schedule appointments and conferences with your professor on the blog. 

Communication with Professor

The experience of 15 years has taught me that students who have not emailed or texted me during the course are much more likely to be delinquent in their work in other ways as well, and find themselves scrambling at the end of the semester to remind me who they are, what they have been researching, and why I should work extra hard during Finals Week to read and provide feedback on all the missed assignments they want to submit at the last minute. Get into the habit of communicating regularly with your Professor.

Week One Communications:

  • Respond to my First Day Text
  • Be sure I know your Human Name and WordPress Username
  • Email me at hodges@rowan.edu
  • Email me at myfavoriteprofessor@davidhodges.com

Every Week Communications:

  • Ask for specific feedback regularly on the course blog
  • Post good class notes on the Agenda page for every class

My primary method of determining and grading participation is by evaluating your daily Class Notes on the Daily Agendas. Almost always in person, but in emergencies remotely, you’ll log into the blog during class and take good notes to indicate your active engagement with the course material. Notes will be evaluated on a scale of 1-3 each day and totaled at semester’s end.

Course Outline / Daily Agendas

The Course Outline is contained on a series of 30 Agenda pages, each with a title that indicates its date and its place in the sequence of classes; for example:

01 Class TUE SEP 06

The individual Agendas for each class meeting are organized under the menu heading Agendas at the top of the blog.

Daily Agendas
The more reliable guide to exactly what will occur in every class are the Daily Agendas, always available before the class begins, usually several days in advance, and the document we will use IN CLASS as a guide to our classroom activities.

Mandatory Professor Conferences

At least once during the first half and once during the second half of the semester, you will meet me for scheduled mandatory one-on-one professor conferences. Make appointments on the Professor TeleConference Chart. I am available at any time by appointment except as noted on the live, always-current chart of my availability.

A minimum of four teleconferences with your Professor are required.

  1. Defend your Hypothesis CHOICE before THU SEP 22
  2. Evaluate your Thesis PROGRESS before THU OCT 20.
  3. Evaluate your Semester’s Work in Total before THU DEC 01.
  4. Final Grade Conference by appointment (MON DEC 19, TUE DEC 20, WED DEC 21)

Teleconference Appointments

Choose your appointment times from the online Chart
Professor Teleconferences Chart

Required Texts and Materials

  • College Comp II WebBook (2019) by Jude Miller, Amanda Haruch, Samantha Kennedy, and Amy Woodworth: https://rowanccii.pressbooks.com/
  • Printouts or electronic copies of other course readings assigned by your instructor and which will be available via the course blog.  You are expected to have access to these on the days we are discussing them in class.
  • Access to the Rowan First-Year Writing Program’s Student Support Site: http://www.rowanfyw.org/v

Coursework

The First-Year Writing Program values writing as process as much as product, and strongly emphasizes revision and self-reflection as part of this process.

Therefore, you will present a collection of your formal work in the form of a portfolio at the end of the semester that demonstrates your engagement in the writing process. 

Portfolio

The Portfolio Assignments

Your final portfolio will be graded as a whole. You will work on and revise the portfolio essays/projects throughout the semester and must turn each draft in as assigned. While these drafts will be given individual reference grades, your writing is primarily evaluated through the final course portfolio. WordPress will save all drafts and and revisions so that the process of producing a portfolio is a simple matter of collecting your posts into a Portfolio category. It will include:

  • A 3000-word well-researched and annotated Persuasive Argument with at least 7 citations, primarily academic.
  • Final, polished drafts of two shorter 1000-word arguments that contribute to the overall research project.
  • Early drafts of the two short arguments including professor comments, that demonstrate substantial revision and responsiveness to feedback.
  • An Annotated Bibliography
  • A Visual Rhetoric assignments
  • A Self-Reflective statement

Feedback and Revision
The Short Arguments and other Portfolio items will undergo revisions during the semester, so grade penalties and deadlines are somewhat flexible. One thing is certain: Portfolio materials MUST be available for professor feedback and student revision WELL BEFORE the end of the semester. No student can pass the course whose work has not been reviewed early in the semester and thoroughly revised in response to feedback. The penalty, therefore, for repeated failure to post drafts and revisions timely will be a grade of F.

Students who are not keeping up with the publication schedule will be advised to drop the course during the Withdrawal or Late Withdrawal periods to avoid ultimate failure.

Non-Portfolio Assignments

Besides drafts of the portfolio assignments, there will be many smaller assignments that contribute toward your learning and will prepare you for the major essays/projects. These include reading activities, practice work, research journal entries, and pre-drafting activities/writing.

The Stone Money Argument, the Purposeful Summary Assignment, the Critical Reading Assignment, and several other tasks are not eligible for Rewrites and will not be part of the end-of-season Portfolio. For these Non-Portfolio assignments, late penalties are severe but the impact is smaller than for Portfolio failure.  

Participation Grade

Daily Agenda Notes serve two purposes. 1) They are your professor’s means of taking attendance. 2) They provide the basis for the Participation Grade that comprises 5% of your course grade.
They determine attendance. Mere physical presence in the classroom does not qualify as attendance. The Agenda Notes provide objective evidence that the student attended and engaged with the material.
They comprise the Participation Grade. Better notes earn higher grades. Every day can earn between 1 and 3 points depending on thoroughness and quality.

Deadlines

MIDNIGHT MON and MIDNIGHT WED.
Unless otherwise indicated in the official assignment, the deadline for “weekend assignments” is 11:59PM Sunday, just before midnight. The deadline for “midweek assignments” is 11:59PM Tuesday.

Weekend Assignments:
For example, if an assignment is due before class TUE SEP 13,
the deadline for publishing your draft is 11:59PM MON SEP 12.

Midweek Assignments:
For example, if an assignment is due before class THU SEP 15,
the deadline for publishing your draft is 11:59PM WED SEP 14.

Late Work Policy

Penalties are stiff for work turned in late, but your professor is quite liberal about granting extensions to students who reach out IN ADVANCE to request additional time.

  • Early posts are eligible for early feedback before the first draft is graded.
  • On-time posts published before midnight or noon on the due date: Full Credit
  • 0-24. Posts published within 24 hours of the deadline: 10% Grade Penalty
  • 24-48. Posts published 24-48 hours late: 20% Grade Penalty
  • 48+. Posts published more than 48 hours late: Maximum grade 50 for a perfect essay (can’t pass regardless of quality)

The primary work of the course is the completion of a 3000-word Researched Persuasive Argument composed of 3 shorter 1000-word arguments (one Categorical, one Causal, one Rebuttal) along with substantial revisions to the early drafts of those arguments. Students who delay turning in early drafts of their short arguments compromise the very foundation of the course and will do irreparable harm to their grades by failing to follow a regular schedule of feedback requests followed by substantial revision.

Under no circumstances will a portfolio receive a passing grade if students fail to submit drafts of their short arguments on time (or after brief negotiated extensions) AND follow up those drafts with substantial revisions.

Grading Scale

F   (0-60)
D- (61-63)   /   D (64-67)   /   D+ (68-70)   /   C- (71-73)   /   C (74-77)    /   C+ (78-80)
B- (81-83)   /   B (84-87)   /   B+ (88-90)   /   A- (91-93)   /   A (94-100)   /   A+ (can’t get one)

Note that you must earn at least a D- to pass the course, but most majors require at least a C to graduate from the college.

A+Grade Breakdown

End of Semester Portfolio accounts for 75% of your final Grade.

  • 75% Final Portfolio
  • 20% Non-Portfolio Assignments (see below)
  • 5% Class Participation
  • It is the Rowan First-Year Writing Program’s policy that you must have a passing (D- or higher) final course portfolio to be eligible to pass the course.  A failing course portfolio will earn a failing grade (F) for the course, regardless of your grade(s) on your non-portfolio work.

Incomplete

Very special circumstances only! Students in good standing with a B average at the time of their incapacity who suffer a serious illness, injury or pressing emergency which renders them unable to complete the required work for the course may be given a grade of I (incomplete) at the discretion of the professor and only by approved proposal.

END-OF-SEMESTER GRADE CONFERENCE

In addition to two mandatory “Progress Conferences,” we will meet briefly during Finals Week for a MANDATORY one-on-one Grade Conference. At this final meeting of the semester, you and your beloved professor will come to a meeting of the minds regarding your earned grade for the semester. In addition to helping you understand the rationale for your grade, this conference will eliminate the possibility of disputes after grades are posted.

Students who fail to schedule a Grade Conference or who fail to attend a scheduled Grade Conference WAIVE THEIR RIGHT to dispute the grade their professor determines fair. 

Classroom Policies

The University Classroom Behavior Policy and Procedures can be found at:
http://www.rowan.edu/provost/policies/documents/ClassroomBehaviorPolicy.04.12.pdf

classroom behavior

Courtesy & Respect

A major aspect of this course is approaching different points of view with an open mind, to both listen to and to question them.  A classroom that includes a diversity of ideas both engages us and pushes our thinking.  We can only have this diversity of ideas if people feel they can BOTH speak freely AND listen to others in turn.  Students of all identities and backgrounds bring diverse and beneficial perspectives, which strengthen everyone’s learning experience.  I hope to create an environment where you can develop the intellectual courage to share your thoughts, to challenge your own thinking, and to have the humility to sometimes change your mind.  I in turn will do the same and plan on learning from you as well.  While I welcome lively conversations, we need to maintain respect for one another, even if our opinions and ideas differ; this includes addressing each other with our preferred names and pronouns and also refraining from comments that insult or demean others (see above State on Responsible Discourse).  We will be teaching and learning in accordance with the University Classroom Behavior Policy and Procedures, which can be found here: https://confluence.rowan.edu/display/POLICY/Classroom+Behavior. Do note this all applies to both the physical classroom and our virtual learning environments.

Attendance

Your attendance in class is incredibly important to your success in this course. A writing class is a community, and most classes will include collaborative work that cannot be replicated. 

Attend

The policy below is the university’s attendance policy
The maximum number of permissible absences—both excused and unexcused—is six. You cannot earn credit for this course if you miss more classes than this. You may withdraw from the course before you have exceeded this number of absences or you will receive an F for the course.

You will be allowed to make up work for excused absences only, providing you have documentation.

Excused absences include: religious observances, official University activities, illness, death of a family member or loved one, inclement weather.

If you must miss class for any of the above or other excusable reasons, you must contact me as soon as possible. If extenuating circumstances force you to miss more than six classes, you must speak to me about the possibilities for accommodating you beyond this. Absences should be used with discretion because you never know when you will suddenly have to miss class.

Rowan University Attendance Policy

COVID-19 Safety 

My goal is for us to have a pleasant and safe semester, and this is only possible when we work together as a community. We will follow the most up-to-date university policies and health guidelines throughout the semester, including masking guidelines.

Classroom Guidelines/Info

Cleaning

There are cleaning products in our classroom. Classrooms get a thorough cleaning overnight, but it is smart to still clean our workspaces between classes. (This isn’t just a COVID thing; college campuses are germy and other viruses like the flu are easily spread.) Rather than assume the previous class cleaned up after themselves, I am recommending that we all clean the surfaces where we will sit before we get started.

Mutual Respect and Smooth Class Sessions

If anyone is not following the university guidelines, my goals are to handle this as privately as possible, to check for understanding, and to find solutions so that person can attend class and everyone has a smooth experience. For example, if you forget a mask, I will give you a spare disposable one that I have on hand. However, we need to think about the best interest of our whole community in class, and disruptions to our sessions need to be kept to a minimum. If an individual student is not complying with university policies and we cannot arrive at a solution in a timely manner to get class started, I will have to ask that student to leave, and we can work with the Dean of Students to resolve the issue later in the day.

More information about university policies and expectations can be found in the Return to Rowan guide for students: https://www.rowan.edu/returntorowan/planning-resources/student-guide.html. 

FYWP Position on Language and Correctness

Our program approaches language and grammatical/mechanical correctness rhetorically.  This means that we think about the impact/effects of language, and we encourage students to make linguistic choices in context. Specifically, we believe that linguistic diversity is an asset for composition. Linguistic diversity means that we all have different ways of expressing ourselves, even when we are all speaking English. These forms of expression are influenced by many factors, including our cultural, familial, and class backgrounds, and are a part of our identity. Therefore, we often have more than one language or even more than one English to choose from or work with when we write, and “standard written English” is not always the best or most appropriate choice for every writing situation. Our program also believes in using gender inclusive language to more accurately reflect the multitude of gender identities in the classroom and in the world.

FYWP Position on Responsible Discourse

Rowan’s First-Year Writing Program believes in the power of language and discourse, and we understand how both can be informed and shaped by our individual experiences and identities. It is everyone’s responsibility to create safe and inclusive classroom spaces where we can express ourselves freely, and we recognize the vast opportunities for free expression that are made possible only through the cultivation of a classroom community by building bonds between all community members. 

We are, therefore, committed to freedom of speech and expression with the knowledge that “Freedom of Speech” does not and should not equate to speech without repercussions and/or consequence. Words have power, and we hold classroom community members accountable for what and how we communicate. For these reasons, we are all (students and faculty) called to challenge, interrogate, and pushback on ideas that promote misinformation, which is defined as “false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive,” and hate speech, which is defined as, “speech expressing hatred of a particular group of people.” These forms of discourse have no place in our acts of communication. For these very reasons, we believe that the use of language, in all of its forms, cannot and should not be used to perpetuate ideas or ideological beliefs that are not only harmful to the intersecting identities of those in our classroom communities but are rooted in hate and misinformation.

If you feel that you are someone you know is the victim of discrimination, you can report it here.

See here for more on this FYW Position Statement: https://ccca.rowan.edu/departments/writingArts/first-year-writing-position-statement-on-responsible-discourse.html

Course Description
and Learning Goals

College Composition II builds on the concepts and approaches in College Composition I or Intensive College Composition I (prerequisites for CCII). It emphasizes argumentation and information literacy. The course introduces students to argumentative strategies, asks them to identify and analyze forms of argumentation, and requires them to write a variety of well-researched and ethically responsible arguments. Students work to become independent researchers who can find relevant information from a variety of sources (both academic and non-academic, traditional text and digital) and evaluate and present that information to an academic audience. This course fulfills the second of the two-course general education requirement.

This course teaches habits of mind, concepts, and transferable skills that align with the First-Year Writing Program’s five Core Values:

Core Value I. Writing is a practice that involves a multi-stage, recursive, and social process.

Core Value II. Close and critical reading/analysis is necessary for listening to and questioning texts, arriving at a thoughtful understanding of those texts, and joining the academic and/or public conversations represented by those texts.

Core Value III. Writing is shaped by audience, purpose, genre, and context.

Core Value IV. Information literacy is essential to the practice of writing.

Core Value V. Writing has power and comes with ethical responsibilities.

In our section of this course, you will develop your own research agenda around an issue that interests you, and you will develop multiple researched, argumentative essays that grow out of inquiry-based research.

By the end of the semester, you will be able to:

  • Use writing and research as a form of inquiry to explore a complex issue, then develop and communicate an original and well-constructed argument that incorporates or builds on ongoing textual discussions from informal and formal research.
  • Understand and write within various rhetorical situations and modes; this variety might include academic and public-facing writing, print and digital writing, alphabetic and multimodal texts, etc.  
  • Recognize the role of textual/genre conventions in writing, and make purposeful decisions about whether and when to meet, adapt, or push against those conventions in your own writing.
  • Analyze written and multimodal arguments for their methods of persuasion, the quality of their logic, and their use of evidence.
  • Understand the ethics and responsibilities of writing, which includes avoiding fallacious reasoning as well as manipulative and “bad faith” arguments–i.e. arguments that only seek to dominate discourse and lack a baseline of respect for the rights and dignity of others.
  • Support your claims using credible evidence and outside research, and qualify those claims appropriately.
  • Understand your topic’s complexity by finding, locating, and evaluating sources that represent a variety of perspectives and kinds of information (e.g. journalist and community perspectives, political/legislative debates, activism, disciplinary research, socio-cultural analysis, etc.), including sources that represent points of view that differ from your own and sources that center underrepresented and marginalized voices.
  • Find sources with credibility and expertise in a variety of venues, while also acknowledging the benefits and limitations of dominant/mainstream media and scholarly research.
  • Document your use of sources through methods appropriate to the context (e.g. in-text citation, a References page, hyperlinks).
  • Recognize that word and language choices have power and consequences and that adopting the preferred language used by individuals and groups for themselves demonstrates respect and builds your credibility as an informed, reasonable, and respectful voice in a conversation.
  • Use a process-based approach to writing that uses global and local revision strategies, and understand how to utilize outside resources to improve writing (e.g., your instructor, your peers, the Writing Center, Grammarly or Spellcheck).

*Note: This course may be taken for a Pass/No Credit grade. You have until the end of the withdrawal period to request this option (April 11, 2022); instructions for doing this are on this page of the Registrar’s web site.

Graduate

Rowan Core
(General Education)

Through the Rowan Core general education program, students complete course requirements in six literacies: Artistic, Communicative, Global, Humanistic, Quantitative and Scientific. College Composition II is a course that satisfies the Communicative Literacy. All students in this course will be assessed on the following Rowan Core learning outcomes for this literacy:

  • Students can identify and evaluate various format, modes, and genres of communication within their social context.
  • Students will produce and analyze complex texts (written, oral and nonverbal) for a variety of purposes and demonstrate their understanding of rhetorical strategies, genres, and discourse community expectations, and well as the effect of evolving digital technologies on communication.
  • Students will investigate, discover, evaluate and incorporate information and ideas to create authentic messages.
  • Students can investigate, discover, evaluate and incorporate information and ideas to create rhetorically adept messages.
  • Students can compose texts that successfully respond to a variety of rhetorical situations and needs.

For the assessment, we will look at some of your work in this course and evaluate how well you are achieving those goals. The results from all CCII students are used purely for improving our program’s teaching of this literacy, and your individual scores do not factor into your course grade or have any other impact on you as a student. 

For details on the new Rowan Core requirements, please consult your advisor or the Undergraduate Catalog (https://sites.rowan.edu/catalogs/).

Resources for Students

Technical Assistance

Properly functioning technology is essential for college courses. If you experience any technical difficulties, please contact Rowan’s Information Resources and Technology  (IRT) department by clicking on this IRT Support link. You can also call IRT at 856-256-4400 or email support@rowan.edu. 

There are open computer labs on campus if you need access to a computer. You should not have to rely on your smartphone as your only device this semester. If you are having issues with the technical resources you need to be successful, let me know so that I can assist you in finding solutions.

crazy wiring

If you do not have reliable internet service or a laptop/tablet to use remotely, please let me know. The same is true for students attending class in person. The ability to conveniently contribute to the course blog during classes is essential. I can connect you with the technical resources you need to be successful this semester. You should not have to rely on your smartphone as your only device this semester. 

Accommodation Policy

Your academic success is important. If you have a documented disability that may have an impact upon your work in this class, please contact me. Students must provide documentation of their disability to the Academic Success Center in order to receive official University services and accommodations.  The Academic Success Center can be reached at 856-256-4234. The Center is located on the 3rd floor of Savitz Hall. The staff is available to answer questions regarding accommodations or assist you in your pursuit of accommodations. They look forward to working with you to meet your learning goals.

Note: Students can receive accommodations for mental health as well, and the campus Wellness Center can help provide documentation for applying.

Rowan Success Network

The Rowan Success Network powered by Starfish® is designed to make it easier for you to connect with the resources you need to be successful at Rowan. Throughout the term, you may receive email from the Rowan Success Network team (Starfish®) regarding your course grades or academic performance. Please pay attention to these emails and consider taking the recommended actions. Utilize the scheduling tools to make appointments at your convenience and keep an eye on your reminders and flags to track your progress and get help when needed. Additional information about RSN may be found at https://sites.rowan.edu/student-success/rsn/index.html.

Basic Needs, Self-Care, Resources

The First-Year Writing Program has created a comprehensive resource guide to help you navigate college life, academically, personally, financially, etc: https://www.rowanfyw.org/campus-resources

College life can be busy, overwhelming, and stressful. When your body is run down or you’re suffering from anxiety or distress, it can be difficult or impossible to be an effective student while balancing work, friends, family life, and more. And according to a 2017 poll, 48% of Rowan University students have experienced food insecurity. Hunger, homelessness, financial concerns, and other struggles with basic needs are a growing problem among college students at Rowan and across the country. This statement is intended to help disarm stigma or shame—we all have basic needs, and I, along with your other faculty and administration here at Rowan, want to ensure that your basic needs are being met so that you can learn and succeed. 

Counseling

If you are facing challenges, we urge you to use the resources available to support your well-being:

  • Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing is urged to contact the Dean of Students: 203 Savitz Hall, 856-256-4283, studentlife@rowan.edu.
  • If you or someone you know ever thinks about hurting yourself/themselves, please do one of the following:
    • call Rowan’s 24/7 Crisis Hotline through the Wellness Center to speak to a counselor (any information you provide can be kept confidential): 856-256-4333 and press option 3 to speak to a counselor; you can also call Public Safety at 856-256-4911 and ask to speak to a counselor call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255
    • text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to talk to a trained crisis counselor by text 
  • If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or other mental wellness issues, visit or call Counseling & Psychological Services: Winans Hall, 856-256-4333.
  • If you need support academically, the Academic Success Center offers a variety of services, including tutoring and academic coaching: Savitz Hall, 3rd floor, successcenter@rowan.edu 856-256-4259.

To make a complaint involving discrimination on the basis of disability, gender identity and/or expression, national origin, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, color, veteran status, genetic information, and other characteristics prohibited by law go to go.rowan.edu/titlevi and see the next section of this syllabus.

The Writing Center

The Rowan Writing Center is a free resource for students to improve and succeed in meeting their writing goals. Our tutors will work with you to breakdown assignments, brainstorm topics, find resources, organize your thoughts, draft and revise your papers, and check grammar and citations. A trained peer consultant will work with you individually on anything you’re writing. In addition to print-based essays, students in the writing center are often found collaborating with tutors on slide presentations, videos, social media, public speaking, and more.

Writing Center 2

The Writing Center is located on the 1st floor of the Campbell Library, room 131. To make an appointment, stop by in person or go to www.rowanwritingcenter.com and register for a free account. Once this account has been created, you will have access to a complete list of tutors and their available hours. Simply click on an open time slot and fill out the form that requests the type of session you prefer. We offer in-person, online, and drop-off tutoring sessions.

Suggestions for getting the most out of your session:

  • Bring the writing assignment your instructor gave you.
  • Have a clean, hard copy of your draft, if you have a draft.
  • If possible, make your appointment well before the due date to allow yourself time to revise.
  • Come prepared with some awareness of the specific concerns you have about your work.
  • Ask questions, and if you need clarification, don’t be afraid to ask more! 

To learn more about the writing center, please stop by, call 856-256-4376 or email writingcenter@rowan.edu. You can also visit http://www.rowanwritingcenter.com. 

Web Resources

University Policies

Academic Integrity

One of the goals for this course is to increase your awareness of the ethical ramifications of writing and your ability to write ethically and responsibly.  Appropriately using sources and the ideas of others is one of the learning goals of this course, and I aim to support you in this learning process.  However, it is ultimately your responsibility to submit ethical writing, including in drafts.  If you have any questions about the use of sources and citations in your work, or when/how you are allowed to reuse your own writing, you should contact me prior to turning in the assignment. 

In order for Rowan to uphold its commitment to academic integrity, I need to report suspected acts of plagiarism and academic misconduct.  A link to the university’s policy—which includes a description of the process for reports of academic integrity violations, types of infractions, and possible sanctions–can be found below, and it is your responsibility to read and familiarize yourself with it.  Of particular interest to this course are the following two academic integrity concepts:

  • Plagiarism, whether the intentional act of passing off someone else’s words or ideas as your own or the unintentional act where sources for material are not acknowledged due to a lack of familiarity with citation practices, is a serious violation of the principles of academic honesty. This applies to both parts of an assignment and the whole of an assignment. Students who submit plagiarized work will be subject to the process and penalties of Rowan’s academic integrity policy.
  • Academic misconduct includes the recycling of your work from other courses (including other sections of this course and other composition courses) without permission, as well as unauthorized assistance with your work, such as having someone write your assignments for you or submitting the same work as another person. 
  • The Department of Writing Arts does not allow students to turn in the same writing assignment for more than one class. Students must receive express permission from both instructors when submitting writing or a substantial part of a written text previously submitted to another class. Not doing so is considered academic dishonesty and, may result in an F for that assignment and possibly an F for the semester.
  • A full list of activities that are considered misconduct is in the university’s policy, and these activities are also subject to the process and penalties of Rowan’s academic integrity policy.

University Policy: https://confluence.rowan.edu/display/POLICY/Academic+Integrity+Policy

Rowan University’s Statement on Diversity

Rowan University promotes a diverse community that begins with students, faculty, staff and administration who respect each other and value each other’s dignity. By identifying and removing barriers and fostering individual potential, Rowan will cultivate a community where all members can learn and grow. The Rowan University community is committed to a safe environment that encourages intellectual, academic, and social interaction and engagement across multiple intersections of identities. At Rowan University, creating and maintaining a caring community that embraces diversity in its broadest sense is among the highest priorities.

Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Reporting, and Title IX

Rowan University and its faculty and staff are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational environment for all students. Title IX makes it clear that sexual misconduct and harassment based on sex and gender is a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against protected categories such as race, national origin, etc.

University faculty and staff members are required to report any instances of sexual misconduct or harassment, to the University’s Title IX Coordinator so that the appropriate resources and support options are provided. Please report any incidents of sexual misconduct and harassment by clicking HERE. What this means is that as your professor, I am required to report any incidents of sexual misconduct and harassment that are directly reported to me, or of which I am somehow made aware. See Rowan’s policy, Student Sexual Misconduct and Harassment.

Rowan University Discrimination and
Harassment Reporting, and Title VI

Rowan University prohibits discrimination, whether verbal, written, physical or psychological under the University’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace and Educational Environment. Please report any incidents of discrimination and harassment by clicking HERE. In addition, as your professor, I am required to report any incidents of discrimination and harassment that are directly reported to me, or of which I am somehow made aware. 

Confidential Resources:
The Wellness Center, Winans Hall, 856-256-4333, www.rowan.edu/wellness

Non-Confidential Resources:
Office of Student Equity and Compliance (OSEC), Savitz Hall 203, 856-256-5830
Public Safety, Bole Annex, 856-256-4911