SOCIOLOGY 452: Expectations

The expecations for an six-week online class are simple: You are expected
to invest the same amount of hours in the online class as in a conventional
class.

A conventional class meets for about 150 minutes a week over a 16 week
semester, or about 2.5 hours a week. In an online class of six weeks, this 
translates into about five to six hours a week, at a minimum, that you are
expected to be online (instead of in the classroom).

In addition, in a four hour upper-division class, a reasonable workload
(reading, writing) is considered two to three hours for every credit
hour. For this class, it translates into four to six hours of reading
a week. 

For this class, the following are MINIMAL EXPECTIONS:

1) You MUST be online on WebBoard four or five times a week. While
everybody may miss a few days, over the course of the term that
should be the goal.

2) You MUST participate on WebBoard and reflect an understanding of
course material.   

3) You MUST also participate in team exercises. Posts in your team
area do not replace discussions elswhere on WebBoard. They are part of
it.

4) You MUST reflect the readings or issues and illustrate that you're
keeping up with the material. Opinions are fine, but our opinions must
gradually develop into reasoned judgments that reflect logic, facts,
and reasoned discussion.

An online class is only as good as the participants. It takes an entire
class to keep it moving ahead.

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