Class Policies

Fall 2005

Plagiarism: Please read the information on the MPA web site regarding plagiarism. Please let the instructor know if you have any questions and we will discuss the topic further in class. (Anyone who has not yet signed a form indicating your understanding and agreement can go here: Plagiarism_Form_for_Student_Signature.doc if you need the form.)

Evaluation: Participants will be evaluated based on their performance of the following requirements with values listed:

Nonprofit Overview Presentation 15% Handbook for Nonprofit Managers 15% Grant Proposal 15% Topic Presentations 15% Marketing Plan 20% Participation/Threaded Discussions 20% Total 100%

See the "Assignments" page for details on the nature of the components above.

Group Projects: For this class we will have some group projects and some individual projects. In the case of the group projects, I will need a summary from each person about what part of the project she/he did. This type of grading can sometimes be tricky, so please help me out with this. I do not want one person or two people to do all the work and someone else get credit without taking part. The goal of the projects is to learn something specific and each person must take part to learn from the experience.

Style Guidelines: Participants should use either the APA or ASPA styles. Information is provided here on the APA style. If you have access to the ASPA style guidelines feel free to use those. Get the APA Style MS Word Template (right-click and "Save Target As" to get file) and see "APA Format Handout" (PDF* file) on the MPA Resources page. (That "APA Format Handout" file is also available in MS Word format.)

Communication:

E-mail is our preferred method of communication. While you are working in WebCT, use the email there. If WebCT is not accessible, use the following email address: gamerwin@valdosta.edu. I will generally respond to any e-mail within one to two working days. Likewise, I ask that you check your email daily and respond in a timely manner if a response is requested or warranted. If the email communication fails or some emergency comes up it is OK to contact the teacher by telephone. The best number is my cell number: (229) 221-2891 and voice mail is available in case I cannot answer. I will return calls if needed.

Seeking Professional Assistance & Working with Others: If you seek information, assistance, and/or support from others, particularly professionals, always act as a professional would be expected to act. Please be kind. In addition to normal politeness, please send all helpful individuals a thank you letter.

Attendance: Although we will not have regular class meetings, we will consider communication through email and the online discussions as our attendance parallel for this class. Participants are expected to stay in touch with the teacher through email and to take part in the online discussions.

Language Biases: All participants are expected to employ non biased speech and prose--gender, race, and other. At times we will make mistakes and say or write in a manner which may cause offense. We will help each other to remove biases and offensive aspects from our speech and prose.

Working Together: Participants are encouraged to cooperate--share ideas, resources, and insights. Make certain the final product reflects your efforts, but help each other out. Learning, like almost everything, is more fun when it is a shared experience.

Questions/Concerns: If in doubt--ask! Do not let a little problem grow. The only "stupid" or “silly” question is the one that goes unasked.