Attendance/Participation - Class attendance is crucial to your success in this course. You are expected to attend all the classes for this course.  Because you are graded on your work performance in class, failure to show and work on your assignments during class time will automatically affect your grade adversely.  Regular and punctual class attendance is expected of all students. If attendance or compliance of course policies is unsatisfactory, the instructor reserves the right to withdraw without prior notification, for excessive absences, any student that misses four or more classes. 

The student is responsible for informing the instructor of planned absences in advance.  If for any reason you’re unable to come to class, you will be counted as absent. You are allowed 3 absences. There is no distinction between an excused or unexcused absence, so use your absences meaningfully and sparingly. You are counted absent if:

• you are not in class
• you leave the class early
• you get to class extremely late

At your  fourth absence, you will fail the class and should withdraw from the course. If your forth absence happens past the final withdrawal date of the semester, then your final grade will be lowered one letter grade for each subsequent absence. If you decide to withdraw from the course, it is your responsibility to officially withdraw yourself from the class through admissions and records. If you do not withdraw from the class, you will receive an F.

Withdrawal - It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the roll should he or she decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is submitted before the Final Withdrawal Date. The student is also strongly encouraged to retain their copy of the withdrawal form for their records.

Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall, 2002, may be charged a higher tuition rate, for that course. State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at Texas public colleges or universities. With certain exceptions, all course withdrawals automatically count towards this limit. Details regarding this policy can be found in the ACC college catalog.

Missed or Late Work - Assignments are due at the beginning of class periods. If turned in after that, the project is late. I will lower a project one letter grade for each class day that it is late.

Incomplete - An instructor may award a grade of “I” (Incomplete) if a student was unable to complete all of the objectives for the passing grade in a course. An incomplete grade cannot be carried beyond the established date in the following semester. The completion date is determined by the instructor but may not be later than the final deadline for withdrawal in the subsequent semester.

An incomplete (I) will be granted to a student in extremely rare circumstances. Generally, to receive a grade of I, a student must have completed all examinations and assignments to date, be passing, and have personal circumstances that prevent course completion that occur after the deadline to withdraw with a grade of W.
 
Scholastic Dishonesty - A student attending ACC assumes responsibility for conduct compatible with the mission of the college as an educational institution. Students have the responsibility to submit coursework that is the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. Students must follow all instructions given by faculty or designated college representatives when taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations. Actions constituting scholastic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, collusion, and falsifying documents. Penalties for scholastic dishonesty will depend upon the nature of the violation and may range from lowering a grade on one assignment to an “F” in the course and/or expulsion from the college. See the Student Standards of Conduct and Disciplinary Process and other policies at http://www.austincc.edu/current/needtoknow

Copyright - The software programs that you in the labs are licensed to the college as the original purchaser and as such are not available for students to duplicate for their personal use. Do not use college equipment to duplicate software for other students or to produce work-for-profit. Do not download, copy or scan copyrighted material for use in your projects.
 
Student Rights and Responsibilities - Students at the college have the rights accorded by the U.S. Constitution to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, petition, and association. These rights carry with them the responsibility to accord the same rights to others in the college community and not to interfere with or disrupt the educational process. Opportunity for students to examine and question pertinent data and assumptions of a given discipline, guided by the evidence of scholarly research, is appropriate in a learning environment. This concept is accompanied by an equally demanding concept of responsibility on the part of the student. As willing partners in learning, students must comply with college rules and procedures.

Privacy policy - The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects confidentiality of your educational records. Grades cannot be given over the phone, posted, over non ACC e-mail, or through a fellow student.
 
Statement on Students with Disabilities - Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented disabilities. Students with disabilities who need classroom, academic or other accommodations must request them through the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD).  Students are encouraged to request accommodations when they register for courses or at least three weeks before the start of the semester, otherwise the provision of accommodations may be delayed.

Students who have received approval for accommodations from OSD for this course must provide the instructor with the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ from OSD before accommodations will be provided. Arrangements for academic accommodations can only be made after the instructor receives the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ from the student.

Students with approved accommodations are encouraged to submit the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ to the instructor at the beginning of the semester because a reasonable amount of time may be needed to prepare and arrange for the accommodations.  

Additional information about the Office for Students with Disabilities is available at http://www.austincc.edu/support/osd/
 
Safety Statement - Austin Community College is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. You are expected to learn and comply with ACC environmental, health and safety procedures and agree to follow ACC safety policies. Additional information on these can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/ehs. Because some health and safety circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the Emergency Procedures poster and Campus Safety Plan map in each classroom. Additional information about emergency procedures and how to sign up for ACC Emergency Alerts to be notified in the event of a serious emergency can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/emergency/.

Please note, you are expected to conduct yourself professionally with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be dismissed from the day’s activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending future activities.

You are expected to conduct yourself professionally with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be immediately dismissed from the day’s activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending future activities.
 
Use of ACC Email Communication - All College e-mail communication to students will be sent solely to the student’s ACC email account, with the expectation that such communications will be read in a timely fashion. ACC will send important information and will notify you of any college related emergencies using this account. Students should only expect to receive email communication from their instructor using this account. Likewise, students should use their ACC email account when communicating with instructors and staff. Instructions for activating an ACC email account can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/accmail/index.php.

Cell phone policy - Students are not allowed to have their cell phone on in classroom during scheduled class times. Students may check messages during their break as long as their phone calls don’t cause the student to return from break late. During an emergency situation, the student should notify the instructor. Instructors will use their discretion to determine an emergency situation. (Students may be able to set phone to vibrate, and leave the classroom to receive an emergency call.) Dept of Visual Communication Policy & Procedure Manual.

Computer policy - Students are not allowed to utilize the computers for personal use in the classroom during scheduled class times.  This means, students will not use the computers to email, check FaceBook

 
Student And Instructional Services:
ACC strives to provide exemplary support to its students and offers a broad variety of opportunities and services. Information on these services and support systems is available at: http://www.austincc.edu/s4/

Links to many student services and other information can be found at: http://www.austincc.edu/current/

ACC Learning Labs provide free tutoring services to all ACC students currently enrolled in the course to be
tutored. The tutor schedule for each Learning Lab may be found at:
http://www.autincc.edu/tutor/students/tutoring.php

For help setting up your ACCeID, ACC Gmail, or ACC Blackboard, see a Learning Lab Technician at
any ACC Learning Lab.