CRIJ 3301 181: Research Methods in Social Sci

Grading

The course is divided into 6 Lessons shown under course content.Each Lesson is approximately two weeks in length.All you work can be done within the context of these six lessons.Each lesson is laid out the same way once you click to enter it.Each lesson contains your assigned readings, one discussion board assignment and one writing assignment.Each lesson also includes lecture notes.The lectured notes are required reading material designed to help you gain a better understanding of the material covered in the textbook.Lastly, each lesson will have a series of review questions that will help you study for the midterm and final exams

Discussion Board Requirements

For every discussion board assignment you should post an initial post that addresses the discussion question(s) and respond to a minimum of two other student post by the due date. You will not be able to see other student posts until you post your initial post. Your first discussion board post should be over 250 words.  Follow-up post should be at least 100 words.Students will be penalized 20 points for not responding to at least two other student posts.

There will be two exams for this class: a midterm and a final exam.Each exam is comprised of multiple choice questions.

Course Grade

6 discussion board assignments (100 points each) 600 points

Lesson 2 Writing Assignment100 points

Lesson 4 Writing Assignment100 points

Lesson 6 Writing Assignment60 points

Midterm exam(100 points)100 points

Final Exam (60 points) 60 points

Total Points = 1000 points

Please don't forget to remove these instructions.]

Research Methods for the Social Sciences

SOCI 3301

This course is interchangeable with CRIJ 3301 and PSCI 3301.

Instructor: Dr. Brent A. Paterline

Email: brent.paterline@tamiu.edu

Office Hours:  Tuesdays 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Cell Phone: 770-401-5146

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Standing and consent of COAS Advisor.

Textbook: Social Research Methods Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches by W. Lawrence Neumann. 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an introductory research methods class that is designed to familiarize students with the language, important concepts, and processes of social science research.  In this course, we will explore quantitative and qualitative research methods.  We will also investigate the data collection methods used in each method.  Students will acquire skills for understanding and analyzing research studies, designing a research project, and becoming a more critical observer and skeptical inquirer.  Students are expected to read and apply the readings to chapter activities and discussions.  This class is a fully online class and has been designed for the student to work through the different elements of the course to successfully complete it.  

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students should develop an understanding of the following topics:

1. The purposes of social research.
2. Objectivity as a major issue in social research
3. Common problems faced by social researchers.
4. Ethics as a major issue in social research
5. The differences between quantitative and qualitative research
6. Dependent and independent variables
7. Deductive and Inductive Research
8. Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Research
9. Probability and Non-probability sampling techniques
10. Measurement and operationalization
11. Validity and reliability
12. Survey Research
13. Experimental Research
14. Field Research
15. Secondary Analysis and Content Analysis
16. How to analyze and critique previous published research
17. How to write a literature review
18. How to design write a research proposal.

Grading

The course is divided into 6 Lessons shown under course content.Each Lesson is approximately two weeks in length.All you work can be done within the context of these six lessons.Each lesson is laid out the same way once you click to enter it.Each lesson contains your assigned readings, one discussion board assignment and one writing assignment.Each lesson also includes lecture notes.The lectured notes are required reading material designed to help you gain a better understanding of the material covered in the textbook.Lastly, each lesson will have a series of review questions that will help you study for the midterm and final exams

Discussion Board Requirements

For every discussion board assignment you should post an initial post that addresses the discussion question(s) and respond to a minimum of two other student post by the due date. You will not be able to see other student posts until you post your initial post. Your first discussion board post should be over 250 words.  Follow-up post should be at least 100 words.Students will be penalized 20 points for not responding to at least two other student posts.

There will be two exams for this class: a midterm and a final exam.Each exam is comprised of multiple choice questions.

Course Grade

6 discussion board assignments (100 points each) 600 points

Lesson 2 Writing Assignment100 points

Lesson 4 Writing Assignment100 points

Lesson 6 Writing Assignment60 points

Midterm exam(100 points)100 points

Final Exam (60 points) 60 points

Total Points = 1000 points

Grades:

900 – 1000 = A

800 – 899 = B

700 – 799 = C

600 – 699 = D

Below 600 points = F

Late work

I do not accept late discussion posts.  I will take late written assignments, however, there will be a deduction of points for written assignments turned in past the deadline.  I cannot accept late quizzes or exams.  If is very difficult to re-open a quiz or exam after the assessment has closed.

While the online teaching environment inevitably will have some legitimate delays (power outages, networks being down, military duties), you should still be prepared to deliver your work by the stated deadlines. If you have a problem getting online or anticipate a delay, please let me know as soon as possible.  If an emergency occurs, you need to let me know. The worst thing you can do is simply vanish during the semester.

To be successful in this course you should log into the course on a daily basis.  I suggest a minimum four logins per week.  If you cannot commit to logging into Blackboard on a consistent basis, this type of learning may not be the best for you. Remember that this is NOT a self-paced course. You have weekly assignments and deadlines that must be met.  It is very important that you do a couple of things every time you log into the course: (1) read all new course announcements and emails, (2) read all new discussion board posts, and (3) check the course calendar for updates or changes.

Classroom Behavior

TAMIU encourages classroom discussion and academic debate as an essential intellectual activity. It is essential that students learn to express and defend their beliefs, but it is also essential that they learn to listen and respond respectfully to others whose beliefs they may not share. The College will always tolerate diverse, unorthodox, and unpopular points of view, but it will not tolerate condescending or insulting remarks. When students verbally abuse or ridicule and intimidate others whose views they do not agree with, they subvert the free exchange of ideas that should characterize a university classroom. If their actions are deemed by the professor to be disruptive, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action (please refer to Student Handbook Article 4).

TAMIU Honor Code:  Plagiarism and Cheating

As a TAMIU student, you are bound by the TAMIU Honor Code to conduct yourself ethically in all your activities as a TAMIU student and to report violations of the Honor Code. Please read carefully the Student Handbook Article 7 and Article 10 available at https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml.

We are committed to strict enforcement of the Honor Code.

Violations of the Honor Code tend to involve claiming work that is not one’s own, most commonly plagiarism in written assignments and simple cheating on exams and other types of assignments.

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own. It occurs when you:

1. Borrow someone else’s facts, ideas, or opinions and put them entirely in your own words, you must acknowledge that these thoughts are not your own by immediately citing the source in your paper. Failure to do this is plagiarism.
2. Borrow someone else’s words (short phrases, clauses, or sentences), you must enclose the copied words in quotation marks as well as citing the source. Failure to do this is plagiarism. 3) Present someone else’s paper or exam (stolen, borrowed, or bought) as your own, you have committed a clearly intentional form of intellectual theft and have put your academic future in jeopardy. This is the worst form of plagiarism.

Here is another explanation from the 2010, sixth edition of the Manual of The American Psychological Association(APA):

Plagiarism: Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotations marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own words. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else's article, the person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important for the health of intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a study originated. If authors do know, however, they should acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications (pp. 15-16). For guidance on proper documentation, consult the Writing Center or a recommended guide to documentation and research such as the Manual of the APA or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. If you still have doubts concerning proper documentation, seek advice from your instructor prior to submitting a final draft.

• Penalties for Plagiarism: Should a faculty member discover that a student has committed plagiarism, the student should receive a grade of 'F' in that course and the matter will be referred to the Honor Council for possible disciplinary action. The faculty member, however, may elect to give freshmen and sophomore students a “zero” for the assignment and to allow them to revise the assignment up to a grade of “F” (50%) if they believe that the student plagiarized out of ignorance or carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive in order to earn an unmerited grade; the instructor must still report the offense to the Honor Council. This option should not be available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students, who cannot reasonably claim ignorance of documentation rules as an excuse. For repeat offenders in undergraduate courses or for an offender in any graduate course, the penalty for plagiarism is likely to include suspension or expulsion from the university.

Pregnant and Parenting Students

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, harassment based on sex, including harassment because of pregnancy or related conditions, is prohibited.  A pregnant/parenting student must be granted an absence for as long as the student’s physician deems the absence medically necessary.  It is a violation of Title IX to ask for documentation relative to the pregnant/parenting student’s status beyond what would be required for other medical conditions. If a student would like to file a complaint for discrimination due to his or her pregnant/parenting status, please contact the TAMIU Title IX Coordinator (Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201 University Boulevard, KLM 159B, Laredo, TX 78041, TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857) and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office, U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600). You can also report it on TAMIU’s anonymous electronic reporting site: www.tamiu.edu/reportit.

TAMIU advises a pregnant/parenting student to notify their professor once the student is aware that accommodations for such will be necessary. It is recommended that the student and professor develop   a   reasonable   plan   for   the  student’s   completion   of   missed coursework  or  assignments. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (Lorissa M. Cortez, lorissam.cortez@tamiu.edu) can assist the student and professor in working out the reasonable accommodations.. For other questions or concerns regarding Title IX compliance related to pregnant/parenting students at the University, contact the  Title IX Coordinator. In the event that a student will need a leave of absence for a substantial period of time, TAMIU University urges the student to consider a Leave of Absence (LOA) as outlined in the TAMIU Student Handbook.  As part of our efforts to assist and encourage all students towards graduation, TAMIU provides LOA’s for students, including pregnant/parenting students, in accordance with the Attendance Rule and the Student LOA Rule.  Both rules can be found in the TAMIU Student Handbook (https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml).

Anti-Discrimination/Title IX

TAMIU does not discriminate or permit harassment against any individual on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity in admissions, educational programs, or employment. If you would like to file a complaint relative to Title IX or any civil rights violation, please contact the TAMIU Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity/Title IX Coordinator, Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201 University Boulevard, Killam Library 159B, Laredo, TX 78041, TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857, via the anonymous electronic reporting website, ReportIt, at www.tamiu.edu/reportit, and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office), U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600.

Texas A&M International University

Course Policies

(To be attached to all university syllabi)

Last Revised:  December 20, 2021

COVID

Students are strongly encouraged to get fully vaccinated and to get booster shots after an appropriate number of months.  Students are also strongly encouraged to wear masks when entering buildings or when congregating with other students in close proximity outdoors.  Maintaining at least 3 feet of social distance with others is also highly recommended.  TAMIU offers free COVID testing.

Class Attendance Required

With the exception of online courses, students are expected to attend every class in person and to complete all assignments. If you cannot attend class, it is your responsibility to communicate absences with your professors.  The faculty member will decide if your excuse is valid.  According to University policy, acceptable reasons for an absence (physical or virtual), which cannot affect a student’s grade, include:

• Participation in an authorized University activity.
• Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family.
• Illness of a dependent family member.
• Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s presence.
• Religious holy day.
• Illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.
• Required participation in military duties.
• Mandatory admission interviews for professional or graduate school which cannot be rescheduled.

Students are responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to faculty members within seven calendar days of their absence and return to class. They must substantiate the reason for absence. If the absence is excused, faculty members must either provide students with the opportunity to make up the exam or other work missed or provide a satisfactory alternative to complete the exam or other work missed within 30 calendar days from the date of absence. Students who miss class due to a University-sponsored activity are responsible for identifying their absences to their instructors with as much advance notice as possible.  The right to view recorded class meetings depends upon receiving an excused absence from the faculty member teaching the class.

Classroom Behavior

TAMIU encourages classroom discussion and academic debate as an essential intellectual activity. It is essential that students learn to express and defend their beliefs, but it is also essential that they learn to listen and respond respectfully to others whose beliefs they may not share. The University will always tolerate diverse, unorthodox, and unpopular points of view, but it will not tolerate condescending or insulting remarks. When students verbally abuse or ridicule and intimidate others whose views they do not agree with, they subvert the free exchange of ideas that should characterize a university classroom. If their actions are deemed by the professor to be disruptive, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action (please refer to Student Handbook Article 4).

TAMIU Honor Code:  Plagiarism and Cheating

As a TAMIU student, you are bound by the TAMIU Honor Code to conduct yourself ethically in all your activities as a TAMIU student and to report violations of the Honor Code. Please read carefully the Student Handbook Article 7 and Article 10 available at https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml.

We are committed to strict enforcement of the Honor Code.

Violations of the Honor Code tend to involve claiming work that is not one’s own, most commonly plagiarism in written assignments and any form of cheating on exams and other types of assignments.

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own. It occurs when you:

1. Borrow someone else’s facts, ideas, or opinions and put them entirely in your own words, you must acknowledge that these thoughts are not your own by immediately citing the source in your paper. Failure to do this is plagiarism.
2. Borrow someone else’s words (short phrases, clauses, or sentences), you must enclose the copied words in quotation marks as well as citing the source. Failure to do this is plagiarism. 3) Present someone else’s paper or exam (stolen, borrowed, or bought) as your own, you have committed a clearly intentional form of intellectual theft and have put your academic future in jeopardy. This is the worst form of plagiarism.

Here is another explanation from the 2010, sixth edition of the Manual of The American Psychological Association(APA):

Plagiarism: Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotations marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own words. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else's article, the person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important for the health of intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a study originated. If authors do know, however, they should acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications (pp. 15-16). For guidance on proper documentation, consult the Writing Center or a recommended guide to documentation and research such as the Manual of the APA or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. If you still have doubts concerning proper documentation, seek advice from your instructor prior to submitting a final draft.

• Penalties for Plagiarism: Should a faculty member discover that a student has committed plagiarism, the student should receive a grade of 'F' in that course and the matter will be referred to the Honor Council for possible disciplinary action. The faculty member, however, may elect to give freshmen and sophomore students a “zero” for the assignment and to allow them to revise the assignment up to a grade of “F” (50%) if they believe that the student plagiarized out of ignorance or carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive in order to earn an unmerited grade; the instructor must still report the offense to the Honor Council. This option should not be available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students, who cannot reasonably claim ignorance of documentation rules as an excuse. For repeat offenders in undergraduate courses or for an offender in any graduate course, the penalty for plagiarism is likely to include suspension or expulsion from the university.
• Caution: Be very careful what you upload to Turnitin or send to your professor for evaluation. Whatever you upload for evaluation will be considered your final, approved draft. If it is plagiarized, you will be held responsible. The excuse that “it was only a draft” will not be accepted.

• Caution:  Also, do not share your electronic files with others. If you do, you are responsible for the possible consequences. If another student takes your file of a paper and changes the name to his or her name and submits it and you also submit the paper, we will hold both of you responsible for plagiarism. It is impossible for us to know with certainty who wrote the paper and who stole it. And, of course, we cannot know if there was collusion between you and the other student in the matter.

• Penalties for Cheating: Should a faculty member discover a student cheating on an exam or quiz or other class project, the student should receive a “zero” for the assignment and not be allowed to make the assignment up. The incident should be reported to the chair of the department and to the Honor Council. If the cheating is extensive, however, or if the assignment constitutes a major grade for the course (e.g., a final exam), or if the student has cheated in the past, the student should receive an “F” in the course, and the matter should be referred to the Honor Council. Additional penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the university may be imposed. Under no circumstances should a student who deserves an “F” in the course be allowed to withdraw from the course with a “W.”

• Caution: Chat groups that start off as “study groups” can easily devolve into “cheating groups.” Be very careful not to join or remain any chat group if begins to discuss specific information about exams or assignments that are meant to require individual work. If you are a member of such a group and it begins to cheat, you will be held responsible along with all the other members of the group. The TAMIU Honor Code requires that you report any such instances of cheating.

• Student Right of Appeal: Faculty will notify students immediately via the student’s TAMIU e- mail account that they have submitted plagiarized work. Students have the right to appeal a faculty member’s charge of academic dishonesty by notifying the TAMIU Honor Council of their intent to appeal as long as the notification of appeal comes within 10 business days of the faculty member’s e-mail message to the student and/or the Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement. The Student Handbook provides more details.

Use of Work in Two or More Courses

You may not submit work completed in one course for a grade in a second course unless you receive explicit permission to do so by the instructor of the second course.  In general, you should get credit for a work product only once.

Extra-Credit Work

Faculty may not give extra-credit opportunities to individual students.  They must be made available to all students in a class.  Assignments for extra-credit must be directly related to the learning outcomes of the specific course.  No extra-credit opportunities at all may be given after final grades for the semester are submitted. 

UConnect, TAMIU E-Mail, and Dusty Alert

Personal Announcements sent to students through TAMIU’s Uconnect Portal and TAMIU E-mail are the official means of communicating course and university business with students and faculty –not the U.S. Mail and no other e-mail addresses. Students and faculty must check UConnect and their TAMIU e-mail accounts regularly, if not daily. Not having seen an important TAMIU e-mail or UConnect message from a faculty member, chair, or dean is not accepted as an excuse for failure to take important action. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to sign-up for Dusty Alert(see www.tamiu.edu). Dusty Alert is an instant cell phone text-messaging system allowing the university to communicate immediately with you if there is an on-campus emergency, something of immediate danger to you, or a campus closing.

Copyright Restrictions

The Copyright Act of 1976 grants to copyright owners the exclusive right to reproduce their works and distribute copies of their work. Works that receive copyright protection include published works such as a textbook. Copying a textbook without permission from the owner of the copyright may constitute copyright infringement. Civil and criminal penalties may be assessed for copyright infringement. Civil penalties include damages up to $100,000; criminal penalties include a fine up to $250,000 and imprisonment. Copyright laws do not allow students and professors to make photocopies of copyrighted materials, but you may copy a limited portion of a work, such as article from a journal or a chapter from a book for your own personal academic use or, in the case of a professor, for personal, limited classroom use. In general, the extent of your copying should not suggest that the purpose or the effect of your copying is to avoid paying for the materials. And, of course, you may not sell these copies for a profit. Thus, students who copy textbooks to avoid buying them or professors who provide photocopies of textbooks to enable students to save money are violating the law.

Students with Disabilities

Texas A&M International University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal education opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Office of Student Counseling and Disability Services located in Student Center 126.  This office will contact the faculty member to recommend specific, reasonable accommodations. Faculty are prohibited from making accommodations based solely on communications from students.  They may make accommodations only when provided documentation by the Student Counseling and Disability Services office.

Student Attendance and Leave of Absence (LOA) Policy

As part of our efforts to assist and encourage all students towards graduation, TAMIU provides

LOA’s for students, including pregnant/parenting students, in accordance with the Attendance Rule (Section 3.07) and the Student LOA Rule (Section 3.08), which includes the “Leave of Absence Request” form. Both rules can be found in the TAMIU Student Handbook (URL: http://www.tamiu.edu/studentaffairs/StudentHandbook1.shtml).

Pregnant and Parenting Students

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, harassment based on sex, including harassment because of pregnancy or related conditions, is prohibited. A pregnant/parenting student must be granted an absence for as long as the student’s physician deems the absence medically necessary. It is a violation of Title IX to ask for documentation relative to the pregnant/parenting student’s status beyond what would be required for other medical conditions. If a student would like to file a complaint for discrimination due to his or her pregnant/parenting status, please contact the TAMIU Title IX Coordinator (Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201 University Boulevard, KLM 159B, Laredo, TX 78041,TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857) and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office, U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600). You can also report it on TAMIU’s anonymous electronic reporting site: www.tamiu.edu/reportit.

TAMIU advises a pregnant/parenting student to notify their professor once the student is aware that accommodations for such will be necessary. It is recommended that the student and professor develop a reasonable plan for the student’s completion of missed coursework or assignments. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (Lorissa M. Cortez, lorissam.cortez@tamiu.edu) can assist the student and professor in working out the reasonable accommodations. For other questions or concerns regarding Title IX compliance related to pregnant/parenting students at the University, contact the Title IX Coordinator. In the event that a student will need a leave of absence for a substantial period of time, TAMIU urges the student to consider a Leave of Absence (LOA) as outlined in the TAMIU Student Handbook. As part of our efforts to assist and encourage all students towards graduation, TAMIU provides LOA’s for students, including pregnant/parenting students, in accordance with the Attendance Rule and the Student LOA Rule. Both rules can be found in the TAMIU Student Handbook (https://www.tamiu.edu/scce/studenthandbook.shtml).

Anti-Discrimination/Title IX

TAMIU does not discriminate or permit harassment against any individual on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity in admissions, educational programs, or employment. If you would like to file a complaint relative to Title IX or any civil rights violation, please contact the TAMIU

Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity/Title IX Coordinator, Lorissa M. Cortez, 5201

University Boulevard, Killam Library 159B, Laredo, TX 78041,TitleIX@tamiu.edu, 956.326.2857, via the anonymous electronic reporting website, ReportIt, at www.tamiu.edu/reportit , and/or the Office of Civil Rights (Dallas Office), U.S. Department of Education, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1620, Dallas, TX 75201-6810, 214.661.9600.

Incompletes

Students who are unable to complete a course should withdraw from the course before the final date for withdrawal and receive a “W.” To qualify for an “incomplete” and thus have the opportunity to complete the course at a later date, a student must meet the following criteria:

1. The student must have completed 90% of the course work assigned before the final date for withdrawing from a course with a “W”, and the student must be passing the course;
2. The student cannot complete the course because an accident, an illness, or a traumatic personal or family event occurred after the final date for withdrawal from a course;
3. The student must sign an “Incomplete Grade Contract” and secure signatures of approval from the professor and the college dean.
4. The student must agree to complete the missing course work before the end of the next long semester; failure to meet this deadline will cause the “I” to automatically be converted to an “F”; extensions to this deadline may be granted by the dean of the college. This is the general policy regarding the circumstances under which an “incomplete” may be granted, but under exceptional circumstances, a student may receive an incomplete who does not meet all of the criteria above if the faculty member, department chair, and dean recommend it.

WIN Contracts

WIN Contracts are offered only under exceptional circumstances and are limited to seniors. Only courses offered by full-time TAMIU faculty or TAMIU instructors are eligible to be contracted for the WIN requirement. However, a WIN contract for a course taught by an adjunct may be approved, with special permission from the department chair and dean. Students must seek approval before beginning any work for the WIN Contract. No student will contract more than one course per semester. Summer WIN Contracts must continue through both summer sessions.

Student Responsibility for Withdrawing from a Course

It is the responsibility of the student to drop the course before the final date for withdrawal from a course. Faculty members, in fact, may not drop a student from a course without getting the approval of their department chair and dean.

Independent Study Course

Independent Study (IS) courses are offered only under exceptional circumstances. Required courses intended to build academic skills may not be taken as IS (e.g., clinical supervision and internships). No student will take more than one IS course per semester. Moreover, IS courses are limited to seniors and graduate students. Summer IS course must continue through both summer sessions.

Grade Changes & Appeals

Faculty are authorized to change final grades only when they have committed a computational error or an error in recording a grade, and they must receive the approval of their department chairs and the dean to change the grade. As part of that approval, they must attach a detailed explanation of the reason for the mistake. Only in rare cases would another reason be entertained as legitimate for a grade change. A student who is unhappy with his or her grade on an assignment must discuss the situation with the faculty member teaching the course. If students believe that they have been graded unfairly, they have the right to appeal the grade using a grade appeal process as described in the Student Handbook and in the Faculty Handbook.

Final Examination

All courses in all colleges must include a comprehensive exam or performance and be given on the date and time specified by the Academic Calendar and the Final Exam schedule published by the Registrar’s Office. In the College of Arts & Sciences all final exams must contain a written component. The written component should comprise at least 20% of the final exam grade. Exceptions to this policy must receive the approval of the department chair and the dean at the beginning of the semester.

__________________

Support Services

To receive free tutoring in most subjects, including help with writing skills:

Academic Center of Excellence:                              Cowart 203 and 204 (326-2723)

To receive academic advising for freshmen, transfer students, and select others:

Advising & Retention Center:                                             ZSC 222 (326-2886)

To receive academic advising for all other students, by college:

A. R. Sanchez, Jr., School of Business Advising: WHT 204 C and 213 A (326-2483 / 2489)

College of Arts & Sciences Advising:                                  ACI 3rd floor (COASadvisors@tamiu.edu)

College of Education Advising:                               Pellegrino 3rd floor (326-2427 /3148)

College of Nursing & Health Sciences Advising:   CNS 111 (326-3269 /3110/ 3277)

University College:                                                    Advising & Retention Center (see above)

To receive personal counseling:

Student Counseling Services:                                             Student Center 128 (326-2230)

To receive health services:

Student Health Services:                                        Student Center 125 (326-2235)