HIST 5324 261: Seminar in US Women's Hist

HIST 5324 - Seminar in US Women's Hist

Spring 2025 Syllabus, Section 261, CRN 27073


Instructor Information

Deborah Blackwell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of History

Email: dblackwell@tamiu.edu

Office: AIC 341

Office Hours:
MW 11:00am-12:30pm
M 4:30-5:30pm

Office Phone: 956-326-2628


Times and Location

M 6pm-8:45pm in Pellegrino Hall 107


Course Description


Additional Course Information

“If history were past, history wouldn’t matter.  History is the present….  You and I are history.  We carry our history. We act our history.” –James Baldwin, author and critic.

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” –Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, historian

Artificial Intelligence Policy: In this course, using artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT on papers, discussion boards, or quizzes is expressly forbidden and will constitute academic misconduct.  Students found to have used AI tools on papers, discussion boards, or quizzes in this course will receive a zero for that assignment and will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for possible additional disciplinary measures.  However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule.  In the event that I assign you a prompt that specifically requires the use of AI, then its use will be acceptable.  Also, I make exceptions for judicious and occasional use of AI language tools such as Grammarly, which are used to help with issues of grammar and syntax rather than argument and analysis.  In the event that you have any questions about this policy, please do not hesitate to ask me to clarify it for you.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of facts concerning the history of women in the United States from the antebellum period to the present.
  2. Discuss and explain connections between historical events as well as describe historical changes over time.
  3. Understand and critique many of the key historiographical debates in the historical scholarship on U.S. women and gender.
  4. Analyze both primary and secondary historical sources, thus demonstrating critical reading skills.
  5. Develop written arguments in a variety of formats (e.g., secondary source reviews, discussion boards, research essays).

Important Dates

Visit the Academic Calendar (tamiu.edu) page to view the term's important dates.

Textbooks

Group Title Author ISBN
Required At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance Danielle McGuire 978-0-3073-8924-4
Required All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake Tiya Miles 978-1984855015
Required Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values that Polarized American Politics Marjorie Spruill 978-1632863164
Required The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote Elaine Weiss 978-0143128991

Grading Criteria

GRADE PERCENTAGE
A 90-100
B 80-89.9
C 70-79.9
D 60-69.9
F Below 60

Grade Distribution & Class Policies

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:  Please read the following thoroughly.  If any of the following information is unclear, please ask questions.  It will be assumed that you have read and understood this information.  NOTE: FAILURE TO COMPLETE ALL COURSE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE GROUNDS FOR FAILURE IN THE COURSE.

Research paper: Your most consequential assignment for this semester will be a research paper on a topic of your choosing dealing with some aspect of U.S. women’s history.  This assignment will require you to develop an argumentative thesis and utilize both primary and secondary research.  I will be incorporating a presentation by Killam Library Information Literacy Librarian Ms. Joan Murumba into one of our class meetings in February to assist you in your research process.  More information about this assignment will be forthcoming shortly.

Article and chapter reviews and video documentary review: One of the most indispensable tools of the professional historian (and the graduate student!) is the book review.  Rather than write reviews of full-length books in this course, I have chosen to have you write shorter (1000-1200 word) reviews of chapters (and in some cases, scholarly articles) that follow the same concept as a book review as a way of digging into the material for the course.  We will adapt this same framework to the idea of reviewing a film documentary as well.  More about this assignment may be found at the end of the syllabus and on Blackboard.

Discussion Board Postings: At least once or twice per week, class members will be responsible for responding to one or more critical thinking questions that I will pose on the Blackboard discussion boards.  You will be expected to submit/post your response to each of the questions and then respond to others’ comments.  Each student will need to post one original post and two responses before class time.  If you have not used these before, there are tutorials on Blackboard that will lead you through what you need to know to be able to use them.  The discussion boards will open shortly after the previous week’s class has concluded; no late or make-up postings will be allowed.  Discussion answers will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your initial response, the ability to integrate assigned readings, the thoroughness of your feedback to the other students as well as the overall writing quality of your responses.  Any quotations that you use MUST be cited using proper Chicago Manual of Style format.  More specific guidelines for this assignment appear at the end of this syllabus.  Note: Discussion boards are REQUIRED and are NOT OPTIONAL!!!

Quizzes:  I have discovered that students (both undergraduate and graduate) get more out of the documentary films that I assign if I also require short, multiple-choice quizzes to go along with the films.  You should expect that any time I assign a documentary film for you to watch on your own, that you will also have a 5-10 question quiz to take on Blackboard as well (and/or a discussion board about the film).  I will also start most of our class sessions with a 10-15 minute open-ended quiz that will cover the readings for that night as a way to encourage you to come to class prepared and to launch us into our discussion for the evening.  These quizzes will be factored into your grade along with your discussion boards.

Participation: Attendance in the class is expected, all the more so because we only meet once a week.  Because much of the class will consist of discussion, missing class means you will miss significant information.  Emergencies will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and will require documentation (to protect you and the other members of the class).  It is up to you to contact me if you must miss class (and do so as soon as is practical); I will not track you down and ask why you were not in class.  In any event, you will be responsible for any material covered in your absence.  Each class period will be taken up with discussion of readings and lecture material; it is therefore in your best interest to come to class prepared.  I will be drawing a seating chart during the first week of class to help me keep track of participation.    Please feel free to question, challenge, and otherwise disagree with the instructor.  However, while all opinions are welcome, this classroom must remain a comfortable place for everyone.  Please express opinions without recourse to derogatory language or remarks. 

Office Hours:  Professors have office hours for the benefit of their students.  Please do not hesitate to visit me during my office hours, even if you do not have specific questions.  Feel free to email me or leave clear phone messages as well with any questions or concerns. 

Late Papers:  Major assignments (i.e., chapter reviews, video reviews, research papers) will be docked 5 points per day they are late, and I will not under any circumstances accept them more than one week past their original due date.  All other assignments (i.e., discussion boards) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE STATED DUE DATE.  In the interest of fairness, these policies will apply in all cases.  If you must leave town on an emergency, I expect you to contact me BEFORE you leave and as soon as you return in order to make up work missed—my email and answering machine work 24 hours a day.  You would not leave town without informing your employer first; your professors deserve the same consideration.  This is not about punishing you; rather it is about protecting the other members of the class who were required to hand in the assignments on time.

Classroom Etiquette:

  1. Turn cellular phones and pagers to “vibrate.”  Cell phones and pagers going off during class make your instructor extraordinarily cranky, and it is not fair to disrupt the class in this or any other manner.  Using electronic devices during class for any reason other than one related to the class (i.e., looking at an ebook, taking notes) is expressly forbidden.
  2. All earphones not required for medical reasons must be removed from your ears.
  3. Talk to your neighbors only when absolutely necessary, and in a low whisper.  It is important to be as considerate of one another as possible—meaning that having conversations amongst yourselves during class is unacceptable.
  4. Please refrain from reading newspapers, working crossword puzzles, writing letters, taking naps, snapping gum, chewing tobacco, engaging in personal hygiene, snuggling with your sweetie, etc. during class.  If you cannot concentrate, please leave the class before you start distracting me or the students around you.
  5. Arriving late and leaving early are distracting to me and to the other students.  If you must arrive late or leave early, please notify me before class.  I reserve the right to penalize your grade for persistent late arrivals or early departures.
  6. This class is 2.75 hours long, and we will always take a break mid-session.  Barring any serious illness (e.g., vomiting or other imminent bodily explosion), there should be no reason why you would need to leave in the middle of class and return.  This is not a movie theater, nor is it your home: this is a classroom, and I expect you to behave in a respectful manner.  If you absolutely must leave in the middle of class, please do us all the courtesy of closing the door quietly. 
  7. Generally speaking, I have no problems with students bringing guests along with them to class.  However, I do appreciate it if you let me know about your guest.  In particular, I understand that occasionally children may have to accompany you to class, and if they are quiet that is fine.  I do want to offer this caution though: we will be talking about some rough things this semester that are not always appropriate for young children, and I encourage you to keep that in mind.
  8. Individuals who consistently behave in a manner distracting to his/her fellow students, as deemed by the instructor, will be warned.  If warnings go unheeded, students may forfeit their right to attend this class.
ASSIGNMENT VALUE
Research Paper 30%
Documentary Film Review 10%
Article/Chapter Reviews (3) 40%
Quizzes and Discussion Boards 20%

Schedule of Topics and Assignments

Day Date Agenda/Topic Reading(s) Due
Mon 1/27 Now, Just as Much as Ever: Why Do We Still Need “Women’s History”?; Historical and Theoretical Foundations of U.S. Women’s History; the Great Source Problem Gerda Lerner, “U.S. Women’s History: Past, Present, and Future,” Journal of Women’s History 16 (2004); Barbara Welter, “The Cult of True Womanhood, 1820-1860,” American Quarterly 18 (Summer 1966); Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, “The Female World of Love and Ritual,” Signs 1 (Autumn 1975)
WATCH: A Midwife’s Tale
Mon 2/3 The Journey of Ashley’s Sack and What Black Women’s History Tells Us READ: Deborah Gray White, Ar’n’t I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South, chapter 1: “Jezebel and Mammy”; Tiya Miles, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake
WATCH: Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom
DUE: Chapter review of Tiya Miles, All That She Carried, chapter 5, on Sunday 2/9 by 11:59pm.
Mon 2/10 Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Women’s History; Special Guest Speaker: Dr. Lorri Glover, St. Louis University READ: Tiya Miles, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake, “Little Sack of Something: An Essay on Process”
Mon 2/17 Three Generations of the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1848-1920, part 1; Special Guest Speaker: Ms. Joan Murumba, Killiam Library Information Literacy Librarian READ: Lisa Tetrault, The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898, chapter 5
WATCH: The Vote, part 1
DUE: Chapter review of Lisa Tetrault, The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898, chapter 5, on Sunday 2/16 by 11:59pm.
Mon 2/24 Three Generations of the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1848-1920, part 2 READ: Elaine Weiss, The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
WATCH: The Vote, part 2
Mon 3/3 Laboring Women, the Progressive State, and Efforts to Remake Work on the Texas-México Borderlands: Special Guest Speaker Dr. Leah LaGrone, Weber State University READ: Leah LaGrone, A Woman’s Worth: How Race Changed the Minimum Wage Movement for Women in Texas, 1919-1921, chapter 4: “Race and Wages on the México-Texas Border;” Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, “Disorderly Women: Gender and Labor Militancy in the Appalachian South”
WATCH: Triangle Fire
Mon 3/10 NO CLASS--SPRING BREAK
Mon 3/17 Social Justice Feminism in the Doldrums; World War II Changes Everything READ: Dorothy Sue Cobble, Linda Gordon, and Astrid Henry, Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements, chapter 1; Melissa McEuen, Making War, Making Women: Femininity and Duty on the American Home Front, 1941-1945, chapter 5, “Sacrifice and Agreeability”
WATCH: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
DUE: Chapter review of Melissa McEuen, Making War, Making Women: Femininity and Duty on the American Home Front, 1941-1945, chapter 5, on Sunday 3/16 by 11:59pm
Mon 3/24 The Modern Civil Rights Movement for African Americans READ: Danielle McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women and the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
WATCH: Eyes on the Prize, episode 1: Awakenings
Mon 3/31 Women’s Sexuality and Reproductive Health in the 20th Century READ: Andrea Tone, excerpt from Devices and Desires; Leisa Meyer, excerpt from Creating G.I. Jane; Elaine Tyler May, America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation, introduction and chapters 1 & 4
WATCH: The Pill
Mon 4/7 “Second Wave” Feminism Arrives READ: Second Wave primary documents (on Blackboard); Dorothy Sue Cobble, Linda Gordon, and Astrid Henry, Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements, chapter 2 DUE: Video documentary review, Sunday 4/6 by 11:59 pm
Mon 4/14 The International Women’s Year 1977 Conference as High Point and Turning Point READ: Marjorie Spruill, Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values that Polarized American Politics
VIEW: Sisters of 77
Mon 4/21 Women and Popular Culture READ: Andi Zeisler, excerpt from We Were Feminists Once
WATCH: Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues
Mon 4/28 “I can’t believe I still have to protest this S***!”: Women’s Lives and Women’s History in the Intersectional 21st Century READ: Current affairs article(s) TBA
Mon 5/5 No Class
Mon 5/12 RESEARCH PAPER DUE MONDAY 5/12/25 BY 11:59PM

University/College Policies

Please see the University Policies below.

COVID-19 Related Policies

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, please refer to the Student Handbook, Appendix A (Attendance Rule) for instructions.

Required Class Attendance

Students are expected to attend every class in person (or virtually, if the class is online) 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 and thus may provide lecture materials of the class. According to University policy, acceptable reasons for an absence, 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 the 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. 

Classroom Behavior (applies to online or Face-to-Face Classes)

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 different, 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 2020, seventh edition of the Manual of The American Psychological Association (APA):

“Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, idea, or images of another as your own; it denies authors or creators of content the credit they are due.  Whether deliberate or unintentional, plagiarism violates ethical standards in scholarship” (p. 254).  This same principle applies to the illicit use of AI.

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 (p. 11). For guidance on proper documentation, consult the Academic Success 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.

TAMIU has penalties for plagiarism and cheating.

  • 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 it 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. 

AI Policies

Your instructor will provide you with their personal policy on the use of AI in the classroom setting and associated coursework.

TAMIU E-Mail and SafeZone

Personal Announcements sent to students through TAMIU E-mail (tamiu.edu or dusty email) 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 their TAMIU e-mail accounts regularly, if not daily. Not having seen an important TAMIU e-mail or 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 download the SafeZone app, which is a free mobile app for all University faculty, staff, and students.  SafeZone allows you to: report safety concerns (24/7), get connected with mental health professionals, activate location sharing with authorities, and anonymously report incidents.  Go to https://www.tamiu.edu/adminis/police/safezone/index.shtml for more information.

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: https://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 https://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

The Department of Biology and Chemistry does not permit WIN contracts. For other departments within the college, WIN Contracts are offered only under exceptional circumstances and are limited to graduating 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 Dropping 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 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.

Mental Health and Well-Being

The university aims to provide students with essential knowledge and tools to understand and support mental health. As part of our commitment to your well-being, we offer access to Telus Health, a service available 24/7/365 via chat, phone, or webinar. Scan the QR code to download the app and explore the resources available to you for guidance and support whenever you need it. The Telus app is available to download directly from TELUS (tamiu.edu) or from the Apple App Store and Google Play.