MKT 3310 280: Principles of Marketing

OVERVIEW AND COURSE FORMAT

This course is organized into 13 chapters for learning. Each chapter folder can be found in the course content menu on the class website's Blackboard, including learning objectives, instructional materials, activities, and assessments. To successfully complete this class, students are encouraged to follow the national university standard and spend at least 9 hours per week (for a 3-credit-hour class) reading the textbook, studying the learning materials, and completing the assessment tasks in the course content folder.

This is a completely online class. The course format includes a set of interrelated activities:

-  Read the chapter, study the PowerPoint slides and notes, watch the videos, practice the interactive exercises, check the answers for the interactive exercise, and read and participate in class discussion forums, etc.

-  Practice the quiz on the Smart Book, and for the extra credit for the chapter, independently prepare for tests and exams.

-  Websites, emails, web-based conferences, and online office hours are used for learning and communication.

OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS

Your grades will be determined at the end of the semester, after taking into consideration the following assessment components:

Course Assessment Components and Points of Course Assessment Components

1). Quiz on Syllabus (5 times of access before Test 1): (You must make at least 80% to access the first three chapters’ course content), (0.5 points each × 40) = 20 Points, 80 minutes for 40 questions;

2). Submission of Acknowledgment: 5 points;

3). Practice Test (5 times of Trials before 2/16 at 8:00 pm): 15 Points (You must pass the practice test in order to continue the class);

4). 13 Chapters’ Readings & Quizzes (Due Every Saturday at 11:59 pm): Through Smart Book (15 points each × 13) = 195 Points (For Learning objectives 1 and 2);

5). 4 Tests (2/23, 3/23, 4/6, 5/3) (6:30 pm - 8:00 pm) (100 points each × 3+140) = 440 Points (For Learning objectives 1, 2, and 3): Test 1-3: Each test has 3 chapters, and 90 minutes for 50 questions; and Test 4: This test has 4 chapters, and 120 minutes for 70 questions;

6). Final Comprehensive Exam (5/6 at 6:30 pm-9:00 pm): 220 Points (For Learning objectives 1, 2, and 3): The final exam has 13 chapters, and 150 minutes for 110 questions.

7). Other Assignments (For Learning objectives 1, 2, and 3): 

Discussion Forum (Every Sunday at 11:59 pm): 40 Points, 5 discussions, each worth 8 points;

Marketing 4P’s Applications (5/1 at 11:59 pm): 65 points; 

Total: 1000 points

Extra-Credit                   

Chapter quiz practice: 13 chapters * 2.5 points each = 32.5 points

Meet and Greet Forum: 10 Points (Due 2/23 at 6:00 pm)

Test reviews: 5 tests * 1 points each = 5 Points (Due before each test)

Following the Testing Rules: 5 tests * 5 points each = 25 Points

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Total: 72.5 Points

All the questions for quizzes, tests, and exams are selected from the national test bank. You may assume approximately 90% of the total (A: more than 900 Points), 80% (B: more than 800 Points), 70% (C: more than 700 Points), 60% (D: more than 600 Points), and less than 60% (F: less than 600 Points) cut off for final grades.  However, your final grades will be curved based on the class's overall performance.  Your grade is available in Blackboard’s grade book. The details of each assessment component are described below:

Quiz on Syllabus and Deadlines (20 Points)

This quiz tests your understanding of the syllabus and deadlines for this class. It consists of 40 questions, each worth 20 points. Only when you make 80% on this quiz will you be able to access the first three chapters’ course content. You have five trials for this quiz, but it will be completely closed before the first test. You can access this quiz from the Blackboard syllabus area.

Practice Test (15 Points)

Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, along with an external webcam, are required for our online exams. The practice test is used to verify whether each student thoroughly understands the setup instructions and testing rules for Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor (please refer to the last two pages of the syllabus) and how to correctly apply these rules during the exam. It takes only 1-2 minutes to complete the practice test. The practice test is located in the "Practice Test" folder within the course website's Content Area. After you submit your practice test and once your test recording video is available online, Dr. Wei will review it, provide you with feedback, and let you know whether you did everything right, where the problems are, and how to correct the mistakes. You should immediately redo it. Every student has 5 trials to submit their practice test, and you must pass it by Monday, Feb 16th, at 8:00 pm to receive 15 points of credit. Please start working on it as soon as possible. It takes time for the system to process your practice test. It depends on the online traffic; sometimes it takes a few hours, and other times it takes 12-48 hours. Thus, please don’t leave the practice test until the last minute.

Only after Dr. Wei formally writes an email to you and informs you that you passed the practice test, she will mark your practice test’s grade as 15 points. She will release all the testing folders available only to the students who have passed the practice test. In other words, if you don’t pass the practice test, you can’t continue and take any of the tests or see any of the chapter folders for the class.

Weekly Chapter Quizzes on Smartbook (195 Points)

The purpose of the quizzes is to help you become actively involved in learning and reinforce your understanding of the chapter reading.

Smartbook lets you use the audio feature to listen to the textbook if that is your preferred learning method. You must get the quizzes done before the due date. After the due date, you will enter a recharge mode. In the recharge mode, you can continue working on the quizzes as often as possible before tests and the final exam, but you will not earn any grades. This is the app's default and a limitation of the technology. Nobody can change the setup of 100% or 0%. After the due date, please use the personalized quiz analytics report to understand your strengths and weaknesses in each chapter, enabling targeted learning improvements.

Smartbook uses adaptive learning: if you answer a question incorrectly on one concept, the system will continue testing you until you get it right. Please ensure that you read the textbook thoroughly and answer the questions carefully before submitting your answers. For each chapter, we select only 15 concepts to test your reading comprehension, and it may take around 20 minutes if you can answer them correctly the first time. If you don't read the chapter carefully, you may need to spend lots of time and answer lots of questions to earn 100% on your chapter quizzes. Therefore, it is essential to begin reading the chapter and working on the chapter quiz as soon as possible.

More normal chapter practice quizzes are available for extra credit. Please check the further instructions in extra credit session.

Tests and Final Exam (440 Points + 220 Points)

Four tests (100 points each for the first 3 tests and 140 points for the last test = 440 points) and one final exam (220 points) will be given to test your knowledge of all materials covered in the textbook and PowerPoint slides. The first 3 tests cover 3 chapters each, and the last test covers 4 chapters. The final exam is comprehensive, covering all 13 chapters.

My PowerPoint slides include detailed lecture notes in each slide’s note section, which can help you understand the key points covered on each slide. The PowerPoint slides aim to explain key issues and challenging concepts in each chapter. However, the PowerPoint slides cannot discuss everything covered in the textbook. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly read the textbook and ask questions about any content you do not understand.

The tests and exams will be multiple-choice. All the questions are from the national standard test bank. The questions will cover both general concepts and specific details discussed in the textbook and PowerPoint slides. You will be asked to pick the best answer from the options you are given and to mark your answer on an answer sheet. 

All the reviews for each chapter are available in the exam folder online. The dates for tests and exams are indicated on the website and at the end of the syllabus. You are fully responsible for being prepared for all exams on time. Please refer to the online testing policies section for more detailed information on preparing and administering online tests and exams.

We provide a “Questions and Answers” forum on Blackboard Discussion Boards for students to ask and discuss questions. TAMIU strongly discourages students from using external study/chat groups, as most Honor Code violations have occurred within these groups. If you are in such a group and participating in viewing purloined exam questions/answers, you are guilty of violating the Honor Code.

Other Assignments (105 Points)

I also give some other types of assignments and exercises. The purpose of these exercises is to help you become actively involved in learning, deepen your knowledge from reading, and motivate you to apply key concepts and frameworks in the real world.  The format includes participating in the discussion forum, responding to questions about applying the learned concepts to real-world situations, and completing a free-writing assignment on marketing issues. Those exercises will require you to organize your ideas, articulate your thoughts, and demonstrate your understanding of the textbook concepts. This semester, two assignments are required for you to work on:

(1) Discussion forum (Individual assignment, 40 Points for Participation)

There are 10 discussion forums across the semester. Each student will be required to work on 5 discussion forums and will be assigned either odd- or even-numbered modules to reduce each student’s workload. In other words, half of the students will complete all the odd-numbered module discussion forums (Modules 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13), while the other half will complete all the even-numbered module discussion forums (Modules 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12). I will send an email and announce which discussion forum you will be assigned to (5 X 8 points = 40 participation points).

Each week’s discussion forum runs from Monday at 6:00 am to Sunday at 11:59 pm. Late posts after the deadline will not be graded. Submissions would be on a post-first basis (which means you must post first before you can see other classmates’ responses). An empty post is not allowed. After submitting your first time, you should be able to view other students' submissions. You must respond to at least 2 other students.

The detailed requirements for discussion board posts are: a) for the first post, you have to clearly answer the questions and address all parts of the discussion questions. It is worth 5 points. b) for the 2 response posts: each post should be at least 3-5 sentences long. They are worth 1.5 points each. Please make sure that your posts demonstrate constructive, specific, and substantial thoughts, answers, comments, or recommendations.

Additionally, submissions received after the deadline will receive a score of “0”. I will post my answer key and let the whole class review and learn by the following Monday after the deadline.

(2) Marketing 4Ps Strategy’s Application (Individual assignment, 65 Points)

In this assignment, each student must conduct simple marketing research and apply the 4Ps marketing strategy to a specific job market. The assignment should be submitted to the Dropbox set in the assignment folder. Students should save electronic copies of their submitted assignments on their personal computers until the end of the semester. SafeAssign is used for plagiarism detection. This assignment is due almost at the end of the semester. A rubric will be provided to evaluate this assignment. Please review it very carefully to understand the criteria and ensure that you include all expected components to earn the best grade you desire and deserve.

Extra-Credit Opportunities

I’d like to encourage and reward the students who study hard, review before the tests, and follow our testing rules for each test.

If you want to improve your grades and earn extra credits, you can complete each chapter’s practice quiz found in the extra credit folder. Around 10% to 20% of quiz questions will be used in the exams without any changes to reward you and help you succeed in this class.

All the quizzes are available from the first day of the semester. Each chapter quiz will be closed before the final exam. You have unlimited trials for chapter quizzes before that time. The computer will record the best performance as your grade. You should print every quiz for your later review to help you prepare for the tests and the final exam.

A total of 72.5 points of extra credit will be offered this semester. No make-up for extra credit points.

Chapter quiz practice: 13 chapters * 2.5 points each =32.5 points

        Meeting and Greeting: 10 Points (Due 2/23 at 6:00 pm)

Test Reviews: 5 tests * 1 point each = 5 points (Due before each test’s starting time)

Following the Testing Rules: 5 tests * 5 points each = 25 points

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Total: 72.5 points

TESTING POLICY

This is an online class. All your learning materials and each chapter’s quiz are online. However, because TAMIU requires all online classes to eliminate possible cheating, you are all required to take tests and exams at 6:30 pm on the following dates: Feb 23^rd (Monday), Mar 23^rd (Monday), Apr 6^th (Monday), May 3^rd (Sunday), and May 6^th (Wednesday). No makeup tests or exams will be allowed. We inform you of all the specific testing dates on the first day of the semester to help you plan your working hours and life events in advance for those five days. Please inform your supervisor that you will be unavailable to work for these 5 days. If your boss doesn’t allow it, you may consider requesting a few hours of leave or annual leave on these five days. I trust that you are willing to commit a total of 9 testing hours over the three days to support your valuable educational goal and a better future. If you can’t take tests these days, you may have to drop the class and take other classes instead.

All quizzes, tests, and exams will be administered via Blackboard. The computer will randomly assign different questions to each student each time you take the tests, except for the quizzes.  Even though you are taking them online, they are still "real" tests.  There are always couples, sisters, brothers, cousins, or roommates who take the same class together. So, the proctoring rules should ensure fairness and justice in testing. Every student must follow the rules and procedures when taking these tests and exams.

• For all exams, you cannot use the textbook, notes/ebook/ printed copies, or online searching.
• It may take a little time to set up the test (such as verifying your picture ID, performing background checks, using a standing mirror (on the desk, not on the floor) to display the monitor and keyboard settings, etc.). We should plan for at least 5-10 minutes of extra time before the test starts. Dr. Wei also opens the test 10 minutes early at 6:20 pm.
• Every student must start the test on time at 6:20 pm. No late start will be allowed. If you can’t see the text link or resume your test, your only option is to email me immediately and ask Dr. Wei for assistance.
• After you finish your test, please don’t share the test questions with anyone else.
• A security browser called Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor needs to be downloaded and used for all tests and the final exam, but not for quizzes. Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor will check, monitor, and record your behavior throughout the entire testing time via the webcam. You must obey Setup Instructions and Testing Rules for Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor:
  • Please carefully read the setup guidelines for Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, which are attached to the syllabus. If you fail to follow any of those guidelines or testing rules, you will receive an automatic zero on the exam.
  • You must use a standing mirror on the desk or an external webcam in the second step of the environment check. Your webcam should clearly capture both hands on the desk during the entire testing period.
  • Any red flags recorded and marked by the system are viewed as cheating/dishonesty and will be submitted to the University’s Student Conduct Office and Honor Council. You will automatically receive a “0” for the exam if you have any red flags.
  • You must ensure that the internet service and speed are stable and fast enough for testing. If the unstable internet service results in the failure of recording your behavior during the testing, you are required to retake the whole test.
• A timer appears on your computer screen, and the test continues until you click the submit button.  You must submit your test within the specified time frame. The test should automatically close and be submitted when the time is up. If not, please click "Submit" to end the test and submit your test.
• If something happens and your computer freezes during the test, please return to the test link and resume the test as quickly as possible. The test timer will continue running and won’t stop, regardless of the situation.  As soon as you complete the test, send me an email detailing your problem and the time it occurs.
• Please do not wait until the last minute to do the quizzes, tests, or exams! There are many things that can go wrong in the path between your computer and the Blackboard course site. If any issues/problems occur with your computer/internet service at home, it is your responsibility to plan ahead, use TAMIU/another public facility immediately, or ask for help from your family members, classmates, neighbors, or friends. So, your personal/public computer/Internet Service Provider issues, bad weather, sick children, family problems, traffic, car accidents (etc) are not acceptable explanations for the last-minute testing or missing the quiz and/or test. If you have any legitimate reasons for not being able to perform the tasks on time, you must provide me with legal documentation, obtain my prior approval, and make special arrangements with me in advance to take the exam at a different time. Even if you have serious health issues, your family members and/or your friends may help you inform me or leave a message for me immediately through email or phone.
• If any cheating is found, both the cheater and the helper will receive a score of “0” for the test. Both will be submitted to the University’s student conduct office and honor council.

MAKE-UP AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS POLICY

For each chapter quiz, you have unlimited access for at least one week. For tests/exams, your online testing time will be at 6:30 pm on Feb 23^rd (Monday), Mar 23^rd (Monday), Apr 6^th (Monday), May 3^rd (Sunday), and May 6^th (Wednesday). NO MAKE-UP QUIZ, TEST, or EXAM WILL BE ALLOWED. Therefore, avoid scheduling any work or life events for these five days. If necessary, you may need to request a few hours of leave or annual leave on these five days. Otherwise, you should not consider taking this class.

If you are unable to take the quiz/test/exam during the scheduled time for legitimate reasons, you will need to provide documentation, obtain my prior approval, and make special arrangements IN ADVANCE to take the exam at a different time. Even if you have serious health issues or a car accident, your family members and/or your friends may help you inform me or leave a message for me immediately through email or phone.

Please do not wait until the last minute to do the quizzes, tests, or exams! There are many things that can go wrong in the path between your computer and the Blackboard course site. Your personal/public computer issues, Internet Service Provider problems, bad weather, sick children, family problems, traffic, and car accidents (etc.) are not acceptable explanations for missing the last-minute testing or the quiz and/or test.

AVAILABLE STUDENT ONLINE RESOURCES

This online course will be managed through the Blackboard course management system. There is a folder called Student Resources that provides various online resource information for you:

Course Technology Requirements

You can find links to the technological resources needed for this course, including the minimum technology requirements for the online class and personal software resources, on the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services webpage, which is accessible through the University's Learning Management System (LMS). TAMIU Students may access online versions of this software through their Dusty Office 365 account at https://dusty.tamiu.edu/. This site also provides students with access to download the Microsoft suite for educational use. See instructions for downloading the Microsoft Office suite.

All file types should be opened inside the Blackboard system (Adobe Presenter, PDF, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, URLs, video clips, etc). If you encounter any issues with software that prevents you from opening files, please visit the Personal Software Resources link to find links to any missing software. Please ensure that your home computer can access all our class files.

For this class, you will need the following hardware: a webcam (a stand-alone external webcam is recommended), a mouse, and a microphone for testing through the Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor or an online virtual meeting platform. If you experience any problems with Blackboard, please contact the OIT Help Desk (hotline@tamiu.edu or 956-326-2310) as soon as possible, rather than contacting the instructor.  If your home computer is outdated and you cannot use TAMIU’s computer labs, you may need to drop the class and enroll in a face-to-face class instead.

Technology Skills & Training

Through the provided link, you can learn the required technical skills and receive training using the Atomic Learning tool.

Technology Statements

You can learn about the accessibility and privacy statements for the various technologies used in this course. At Texas A&M International University, we believe that all students should have equal access to technology in the classroom. These technologies/sites may also require user data, such as creating a username and password. In this class, we will utilize Blackboard. You may find the accessibility and privacy policies of these technologies on the following pages: Accessibility Statements and Privacy Statements.

Support Services

You can find links to technical, accessibility, student, and academic support services provided by TAMIU, such as instructional technology and distance education services, technical support services, accessibility support services, academic support services (testing center, university learning center, and writing center, etc), student support services (e.g., Bursar’s office, student health services, and student counseling center, etc) and library support service.

Handbook, Policies & Other Links: 

You can find links to the University's student handbook, academic regulations, academic calendar, and class schedule.

Attendance - Time Commitment - Student Expectations

Regular attendance (participating in the online classroom) is essential for maintaining the best learning environment.

• You will be expected to log into the course site at least 3-5 times per week.
• According to the national university standard, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 12 hours per week on this class. For our class, we should spend 6-9 hours per chapter. You may spend more or less, depending on your current level of expertise and capability. 
• You are also expected to participate in all assigned activities for the course.
• Attendance is measured by the completion of course tasks and assignments.

Just as in the business world, this class is meant to emulate real-world experience. Students should treat this class as a real-world professional commitment. Every day in the “real world”, millions of people go to work and complete assignments when they do not feel good, when their family members do not feel good, have relationship problems, when their cars will not start, when they are overextended, when their alarm clock malfunctions, etc. However, they take responsibility for managing their problems, working on multiple issues and demands, developing effective time management skills, and accepting the consequences of their actions and conduct. You are expected to overcome these problems as well.

Email Communication, Response Time, and Feedback Policy

The student is required to check their email account often for important class and University-related information. Students are expected to use dusty email and Blackboard emails for timely updates related to this online class.  From time to time, I may send you emails.  Please ensure that the email address registered with the online learning system can receive and read my emails promptly. I also use announcements in the Announcement section of the Blackboard course site to alert students to important issues or highlight certain aspects of assignments. Email is the preferred method for individual and class communication when necessary.

To ensure that you receive and read my emails, you can connect our course's Blackboard email box with your existing TAMIU email. Here are the instructions for receiving email notifications of my emails.

Online office hours are also available for us to communicate. You will need a webcam and a microphone/headset to use the Virtual Meeting Space. You can learn how to use Blackboard Collaborate through this link: https://youtu.be/6SKSODqUeWg/.  If the normal online office hours do not work for you, you are welcome to schedule an online meeting at a time that suits you.

I typically check and respond to students’ emails between Monday and Friday. Please allow 24 hours for a response during weekdays. When I reply to some of the students’ emails and answer their questions, I may CC my responses to the whole class to ensure that all other students receive the answers as well. I also expect students to respond to my emails within 24 hours or less during weekdays. Moreover, I typically grade any assignments/tasks within one week of the due date. For discussion forums, I mainly provide feedback Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. However, I will not grade your discussions until the end of the semester, when all teams have completed their posts.

To help the class understand how to manage their learning and prepare well for the practice tests, exams, and assignments, I will conduct two synchronous meetings for the whole class. You can ask me any questions related to the class’s tasks, rules, exams, etc. Everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.

2/13 (Friday): First Synchronous Meeting at 12:00-1:00 pm

4/17 (Friday): Second Synchronous Meeting at 12:00-1:00 pm

AI Policies

Guidelines for Using AI in This Course

Students are encouraged to use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, DALL·E) responsibly by following the rules below:

✅ Acceptable Uses

You may use AI tools for: brainstorming and refining ideas, finding information related to course topics, drafting outlines to organize your thoughts, and checking grammar, style, or clarity, among other purposes.

❌ Unacceptable Uses

You may not use AI tools for: Impersonating you in class activities (e.g., generating responses to discussion board posts or prompts); Completing work that your group has assigned specifically to you; Writing drafts of essays, reports, or other written assignments; Producing entire sentences, paragraphs, or papers to submit as your own work.

⚖️ Responsibilities and Academic Integrity

• You are fully responsible for the accuracy, legality, and ethical use of any AI-generated content.
• All use of AI must be acknowledged and cited in accordance with university policies on academic honesty. Example citation: OpenAI. ChatGPT. January 9 version. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://openai.com.
• Unauthorized or undisclosed use of AI will result in a 50% deduction from the assignment grade, with a required resubmission that includes proper acknowledgment.

If you are unsure whether using AI is permitted, you should request clarification in advance.

Student Responsibilities in Online Courses

The students’ responsibilities and expectations for online courses differ from those for on-campus courses.  Online learning is a pure self-managed learning model. You will enjoy a great deal of freedom, but you must also take full responsibility for your own learning process and outcomes.

The following statements identify your responsibilities in this course. You must submit the acknowledgment statement of your responsibility in the first week of the class to be able to view the first week’s course content. If you disagree with any of the statements, you may want to reconsider taking this course in an online format.

1. I verify that I am, and will be, the student who is actually completing all the coursework for this online course.
2. I will not share the test questions with anyone else after I finish my tests.
3. I will log into our online classroom at least 3-5 days per week and understand that I am expected to work online for a minimum of 12 hours per week.
4. I will ask questions directly and immediately if I do not understand the announcement instructions or due dates for tasks and exams, or whatever other questions or issues.
5. I understand that I can't use textbooks, notes, ebooks, printed ebooks, online searching, or printed copies. for all my exams. And I also understand that I must take 4 tests and 1 final exam at 6:30 pm on Feb 23^rd (Monday), Mar 23^rd (Monday), Apr 6^th (Monday), May 3^rd (Sunday), and May 6^th (Wednesday).  NO MAKE-UP TEST or EXAM WILL BE ALLOWED.
6. I will connect our course Blackboard email box with my dusty TAMIU email and ensure that I can receive Dr. Wei’s email notifications for the class.
7. I know that every Saturday at 11:59 pm is the deadline for that week’s chapter quiz on Smartbook. NO MAKE-UP QUIZ WILL BE ALLOWED.
8. I can improve my grades and earn extra credit by completing each chapter’s practice quiz in the extra credit folder. Around 10% to 20% of quiz questions will be used in the exams without any changes to reward you and help you succeed in this class. 
9. I will be responsible for meeting all due dates for both tasks and exams and submitting them on time or before the due date. All the quizzes are available on the first day of the semester. I have at least 1 week to prepare for the weekly quiz. I will organize my time to thoughtfully and thoroughly complete class tasks.
10. I am required to use Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor for the tests. For online testing, students must have either an external webcam or a standing mirror placed on the desk (at least 6 inches in diameter) (not on the floor). The external webcam (the preferred option) offers greater comfort and convenience. Students may borrow one from OIT e-Learning or purchase one for about $7.00 at Walmart. The Standing Mirror (as an alternative) must be placed on the desk during testing. Mirrors can also be purchased for about $7.00 at HEB or Walmart. Only one option (webcam or mirror) is required to meet the proctoring requirement.
11. I understand that I have 5 trials to pass the practice test before the deadline. If I don’t pass the practice test, I won’t be able to continue the class.
12. I understand that I must follow the setup instructions, guidelines, and testing rules for the attached Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor. I must start the test on time at 6:30 pm. No late testing is allowed. I understand that failing to follow any of the setup instructions and testing rules will result in an automatic zero on the exam. If my unstable internet connection causes video recording to fail during the test, I will have to retake the entire test later. 
13. I understand that technical problems related to Personal/public computers, Internet Service Providers, bad weather, sick children, family problems, traffic, car accidents (etc.) cannot be used as an excuse for failure to complete the tasks on time. I will ensure I have the necessary computer hardware, software, and Internet access to stay connected and up to date with my online coursework. I am aware of alternative Internet connections available through TAMIU’s computer labs/library, the public library, and from friends, relatives, or neighbors, and will access them if my personal computer equipment/internet connection is not working. I understand that technical problems with Blackboard require me to contact OIT at 956-326-2310 for technical support during their working hours, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm.
14. If I have a legitimate reason for being unable to take the quiz/test/exam during the scheduled time, I understand that I need to provide documentation to Dr. Wei, obtain her prior approval, and make special arrangements IN ADVANCE to take the exam at another time. When I have serious health issues or car accidents, I will ask my family members and/or friends to help me inform her or leave a message for her immediately through email or phone.

At the “Start Here”! Within the Blackboard course site, there is an acknowledgement of the syllabus, policies, and responsibilities, including these statements. The acknowledgment represents a contract between you and me. You must agree to and sign the contract to continue this class. Otherwise, you will not be able to see the first three weeks’ course content.

If you believe that this course plan is incompatible with your abilities, job schedule, or life priorities and lifestyle, take action now.  For example, consider taking another instructor’s class or enrolling in another course.