Important Points About Our Course
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Professor Stephen “Steve” Lettic
– [email protected]
Greetings Everyone!
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Welcome to CJ 228,
Introduction to Forensic
Psychology
Please review my greeting
to all of you, the course
announcements, the
Instructor Expectations
document, and the course
syllabus if you have not
done so already.
Next, Let’s review some
important points about our
course
Communication Is
ESSENTIAL
This involves discussion
boards, web field trips,
and quizzes, as well as
emailing me with any
questions, concerns,
problems or issues that
may arise throughout the
entire term. Please let
me know ahead of time if
you experience any
difficulties, or have other
extenuating
circumstances.
Course Announcements
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I use the course room
to post announcements
Also, check your
settings in canvas to
enable the information
to be forwarded to you
in one of several
electronic formats.
Time Commitments
This is not a self-paced class. You should plan on
spending about 5-6 hours or more per week on
this class. A key to success in taking on-line
classes is to keep up with the assignments. You
are all busy people, the best advice that I can
provide to you is to make every effort to stay
current in your course work.
Academic Weeks
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Our academic weeks are
from Monday to Sunday.
Generally, all assignments
will be due on Sunday.
Please see the course due
dates in the syllabus (unit
weeks) for further
clarification of due dates.
 Just as a reminder, the
course room “locks” on
Sunday evening at 11:55
PM PST Following that
time no other submissions
will be accepted for that
particular unit.
Participation
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Students are expected to participate in the course
room on two (2) days during the unit week
Waiting until the last day of the unit week (Sunday)
is not in keeping with this practice and violates this
agreement
Students that post on the last day of the unit week
will not receive special consideration for problems
that occur
Please keep in-mind: Fully 99% of all student
course room issues occur when using the course
room on the last day of the unit week.
Required Textbook
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Students are required
to have purchased
their textbook prior to
the start of the class
session.
It is a student
responsibility to ensure
that they meet this
requirement.
Assignment submission
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All course work in the CJ
228 course must be
submitted via the Canvas
course room.
Students must work to
insure that their assignment
are submitted via this
medium and in a timely
fashion.
Engaging in an online
course requires the student
to work within these
parameters.
Office Hours
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For office hours, I will use
the Google Chat instant
message system. My
scheduled office hours
occur on Saturdays
between the hours of 5:007:00 pm PST. If you are
not a Google Chat member,
you can download the free
service at: Google Chat
My Google chat address is
smettic
Emails
You can also email me at
[email protected]. I will get
back to you within a 24-48 hour
period. I check my email each
morning. Email represents the
best way to reach me.
If you ask a question that is
answered in the course
syllabus or Instructor
Expectations document, my
response may be as brief as
“syllabus” or Instructor
Expectations. Please do not
take offense. My goal in
providing the brief statement is
that the issue is addressed in
these documents.
Returning Your Work to
You
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I will grade all papers, projects,
and other required
submissions throughout the
course within seven days of
their original submission. That
is, if you turn your paper in on
the 7th of the month, you will
get it back no later than the
14th of the month.
If you do not receive your work
within this allotted time frame,
please email me.
Accessing the Available Tools
Access the tools
available to you,
such as the Library,
Career Services, and
other college
services. The online
library represents a
very useful
resource.
Discussion Boards
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Discussion boards require 3
postings to present the
opportunity for full points
– An original student
response
– 2 peer responses
– Attendance (postings)
on two separate days
during the unit week
Postings should represent
more than mere opinions
– Application of assigned
reading materials should be
presented in APA style
Discussion Board Responses
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Student responses to the
posted discussion board
question should:
– Be 150-200 words in
length (minimum)
– Include information
(support) from the
required readings
– APA style 6th should be
included
Discussion Board Peer Responses
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Peer responses are
comments to other
student’s postings on the
discussion board
– Should be contain 100
words at least
– Represent more than
mere acknowledgement
(“Good posting Jeff. I
liked that!”)
– Do not require APA style
Instructor Questions and
Proper Salutations
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All questions posed by the
instructor must be
addressed by students.
All correspondences need to
include a proper salutation
(see syllabus under
Communications)
If you fail to address the
question, points will be
deducted from your point
total for that week
APA Format and Guidelines
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Learn the American
Psychological
Association (APA)
writing style, and use it
to cite any outside
references within your
postings, papers and
projects throughout the
term.
There is information
regarding APA style 6th
under Course
Procedural Documents
You WILL be graded
in this class for
improper APA
citations and references
Spelling and Grammatical
Errors
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For all papers and projects to
be submitted, I will deduct
points from any paper that has
spelling and/or grammatical
errors.
As college level students, you
are expected to have the
fundamentals of both spelling
and grammar.
Your employer would expect
no less from you, and as your
instructor, please provide me
the same courtesy you would
to them.
Late Assignment Policies
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Late assignments are adjusted to a 60% maximum scale. You have
a full six days to complete each unit and those turned in on the 7th
day or later are considered late. Unit assignments are due on
Sundays at 11:55 pm PST.
Please make note in the syllabus of the week five deadline. Once the
midterm has past, I cannot accept work that was due prior to the
midterm week ending (papers, projects, missed seminar
assignments).
I will not consider any past due assignment for credit that is more
than 5 days late.
If you have extenuating circumstances and would like to turn work
in late without penalty, you must contact me in writing prior to
the due date.
There is a statute of limitations to any course assignment or grade
mark received. Please see the course syllabus.
Grading
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As an instructor I do not support the notion of “grade
inflation.” The grade the you earn will represent a direct
reflection of the time and effort that you invest in this course.
Regarding grades: University policy states that:
“A ‘C’ grade indicates that a student has made substantial
progress toward meeting the objectives of the course and has
fulfilled the requirements of the course. The grades above
‘C’ are used for those students who have demonstrated
some degree of superiority. The highest grade, ‘A’ is
reserved for those students who have excelled in every phase
of the course. The ‘B’ grade is for students whose work is
superior but does not warrant special distinctiveness of the
‘A’. The ‘D’ is a grade for those students who have made
progress toward meeting the objectives of the course but
have fulfilled the requirements in only a substandard manner.
The ‘F’ is reserved for those students who have failed to
meet or have accomplished so few of the requirements of the
course that they are not entitled to credit.”
Technical Problems
You are responsible for
having contingency plans
for computer problems-one suggestion is to be
familiar with local
community resources
e.g., computer access
through the public
library, local University,
and/or Community
College; another
suggestion is to ask
friends or relatives in
advance if you can use
their equipment in an
emergency.
Late Assignment Policies
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My rule regarding late work is as follows:
– The decision to pursue post secondary education is a
voluntary one. Life happens in real time and attempting
to complete college credit will require that you to manage
work, family and personal time.
– I RARELY grant extensions to the established timelines for
course work submissions. The criteria that I use in
considering requests for extensions is that there must be
an emergency (as opposed to an inconvenience) that was
unanticipated and significantly impacted your ability to
complete the required work.
Conclusions
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Ask questions when you do not
understand something. I am here to
assist you in your educational and
professional goals.
Remember, online work requires a self
directed, pro-active approach to course
work.
Enjoy the Term! Let’s work hard together!