Emergency Assistance Available

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as food insecurity, housing, transportation, and childcare concerns, or you may be unable to pay your bills. These stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. TSTC offers emergency aid and services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. Please contact the TSTC Advocacy & Resource Center.

You can reach a coach here: http://bit.ly/ARCCoach

Title IX

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) seeks to provide an environment that promotes equal opportunity free from discrimination and harassment.

If you have been a victim of sexual harassment, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or any other form of protected class discrimination, we encourage you to make a report. If you report to a faculty member, she or he must notify TSTC’s Title IX Coordinator about the incident. You may also make a confidential report to TSTC’s Counselors.

All students (including pregnant and parent students), regardless of their legal status are entitled to protections under TSTC’s policy.

For more information about Title IX or sexual misconduct, as well as your options, please visit https://www.tstc.edu/student_life/titleix.

For information about equal opportunity and civil rights policies, visit https://www.tstc.edu/governance/sos.

Student Uniforms Requirement

Fully Online Students

Texas State Technical College requires all students to wear a program-specific uniform while attending functions on and off campus. This uniform is available for purchase at the campus bookstore. As a student in a fully online program you are required to purchase at least two program-specific uniforms in the event you attend any in person or off campus learning opportunities or events (i.e. Job Fairs, Resume & Interview workshops, and media interviews).

Hybrid & F2F Students

Texas State Technical College requires all students to wear a program-specific uniform while attending functions and labs on and off campus. This uniform is available for purchase at the campus bookstore. As a student in a hybrid program you are required to purchase at least two program-specific uniforms to wear to in person labs and other learning opportunities or events held on or off campus (i.e. Job Fairs, Resume & Interview workshops, and media interviews).

Performance Based Education (PBE) Program Competencies and Traditional Program Instruction (Non-PBE) Curriculum Revisions

Each Program of Study, at least once a year, reviews its degree plans, courses, lesson plans, course objectives, course outcomes and/or competencies. They do this to ensure that each degree plan contains the most current curriculum and that it meets industry standards and requirements.

Students who successfully complete courses by meeting the minimum standards set for the course will complete the course outcomes and/or PBE competencies and assessments set at the time of enrollment. Course outcomes, competencies, and assessments can be updated at any time, especially from one academic year to another. If a student needs to repeat a course they may need to complete different lesson plans, course objectives, assessments and/or course competencies.

Example: A student drops or fails a course in the Spring semester. When the student registers to retake a course, some or all of the course lesson plans and/or competencies and assessments may be different. Therefore, the student will need to successfully complete the newest assessment requirements for the course.

Tutoring Statement

The Supplemental Instruction & Tutoring Program at TSTC offers free tutoring and academic support services to help you achieve your academic and career goals. You can access the Tutoring Schedule, as well as MyTSTC Video Tutor Library, by visiting: https://portal.tstc.edu/student/Student_Learning/Pages/Tutoring.aspx (shortened link: goo.gl/Z9vJvY ).

For more information, please contact Norma A. Salazar@ 956-364-4557.

Learning Resource Center

The Learning Resource Center provides online and in person library resources and services.  Go to tstc.libguides.com to find help with your assignments, projects, and papers.  Clicking the Student tab will allow you to find resources, homework help, tutorials, and real time chat to answer your questions.

• Access course page
• Complete NS Check-in
• Complete Self-Assessment [CO 10]
• Access course syllabus
• Complete Syllabus Quiz [CO 10]
• Post and Reply in Meet Your Classmates (Ice Breaker Discussion) Forum [CO 3, 5, 7, 8, & 9]

• Grammar and Mechanics
• Style and Tone
• Independent and Collaborative Writing
• Steps of the Writing Process
• Paragraph Structure
• Formatting Documents
• Avoiding Plagiarism and Using Sources
• Complete Learning Activity: Grammar: Verbs, Pronouns, and Style [CO 5, 6, & 7]
• Complete Learning Activity: Grammar: Sentences and Punctuation [CO 5, 6, & 7]
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Check: Writing Ethically [CO 1, 2, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Check: MLA Documentation [CO 1, 2, 6, 7, & 9]

• Essay Structure
• Professional Writing
• Analyzing and Synthesizing
• Complete Learning Activity: Prewriting Activity [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Interview Activity [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Peer Review Forum for Professional Profile [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Review Professional Profile [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]

• Critically Reading an Article
• Analyzing an Article
• Utilizing Supportive Content
• Complete Learning Activity: Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet: Introduction [CO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet: Body Paragraphs [CO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet: Conclusion [CO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Review Rhetorical Analysis [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]

• Selecting an Argumentative Topic
• Argumentative Thesis
• Argument Organization
• Support and Evidence
• Complete Learning Activity: Argument Debate Flowchart and Working Thesis Statement [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]
• Complete Learning Activity: Argument Forum [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9]
• Review Argument Sentence Outline
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Review Argumentative Research [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]

• Reflection Strategies
• Review Reflection Prewriting Questions
• Complete Learning Activity: Self Review Reflection [CO 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, & 9]

Co-requisite Course

This is a co-requisite (co-req) course. Co-req courses have a lecture section and a lab section. These sections are co-taught. Each instructor will focus on one section, but have access to both the lecture and lab sections. Contact information and office hours for all instructors can be located in the class LMS. This enhanced coverage will give you the greatest access to instruction and coaching. The co-req lab for ENGL 1301 is NCBI 0301.

Course LMS

This course utilizes the learning management system, Canvas. Resources in the course's website include the official gradebook for the course, the course calendar, notifications, and other resources which assist in navigating the course. Additionally, instructor notes and/or videos designed to aid student learning may be posted in the course's website.

All students have a TSTC MyMail account. All official messages sent by the instructor will be directed to the student's MyMail account, so students should be checking messages regularly.

The course’s website can be accessed through Portal.tstc.edu or tstc.instructure.com. If you have difficulty with this site or your MyMail account, technical support is available by phone at 800-592-8784, by email at tstchelpdesk@tstc.edu, or via Chat (TSTC HelpDesk).

Course Copyright

The materials used in the course (textbooks, handouts, media files (podcast, MP3, Videos, RSS Feeds), and all instructional resources on the course's Learning Management System website are intended for use only by students registered and enrolled in this course, and are only to be used for instructional use, activities associated with, and for the duration of the course. By "handouts," this means all materials generated for this course, which includes but are not limited to syllabi, quizzes, exams, lab problems, in-class materials, review sheets, and any additional materials.

These materials may not be retained in another medium or disseminated further. They are provided in compliance with the provisions of the Teach Act. These materials may not be reproduced, displayed, modified, or distributed without the express prior written permission of the copyright holder or TSTC. For further information contact your instructor.

Academic Dishonesty

TSTC expects all students to engage in scholastic pursuits in a manner that is beyond reproach. Students are expected to maintain complete honesty and integrity. Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty is subject to disciplinary action. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on academic work, plagiarism, and collusion. Students are responsible for doing their own work at all times.

Please see TSTC’s student code of conduct for disciplinary produces in matters of academic dishonesty: https://www.tstc.edu/student-life/student-policies/student-code-of-conduct/

Academic Integrity

TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE, STATEWIDE OPERATING STANDARD No. ES 4.27: Academic integrity is honest and responsible scholarship in all coursework and examinations at Texas State Technical College (TSTC). This policy addresses willful violations of academic integrity and establishes common procedures to be followed when such violations occur. All TSTC students, staff, and faculty are responsible for supporting and adhering to the fundamental values of academic integrity. Any student found in violation of academic integrity is subject to disciplinary action. Violations include, but are not limited to, cheating on academic work, plagiarism, and collusion. For a more detailed explanation of these violations, procedures for reporting violations of academic integrity, and the student review process please refer to SOS ES 4.27: Student work that violates ES4.27/Academic Integrity will receive a grade of 0 (F). A second violation may result in an (F) for the course. All violations will be reported to the TSTC Community Standards Office, and students may be subject to further disciplinary action. Turnitin submissions via the course's website will be used in this class as a plagiarism assistant. Student links for essay submissions in the course's website will be that of the Turnitin variety so as to assist the instructor in detecting intentional plagiarism violations.

Turnitin

This course requires students to submit specified assignments through Turnitin. All coursework will be retained as reference documents in the Turnitin.com database for at least 3 years solely to be compared with future assignment submissions.

Required Tools and Technology

• Students must have a reliable internet connection to complete assignments in the course.
• Students must have access to a computer (Personal Computer, Notepad, Laptop, Tablet, Chromebook) to complete assignments in the course.
• Word processing software requirements: Students may use Microsoft 365 or Google Applications to complete assignments. Both are available for free for students to use.
• Students must have the ability to open and access PDF files.

Participation Policy

Though we do not physically meet for class, students are expected to spend at least the same amount of time on this course as they would any traditional college course. For online classes, students must complete the week’s readings and assignments to be considered actively participating in the course. Students should log in to the course's website several times a week to make sure they are up-to-date with materials and assignments. Overall, if a student is not regularly signing in to interact with course materials or submitting his/her work he/she may not be successful in this course.

Student Conduct

Students are expected to follow all of the guidelines related to conduct, which are found in the TSTC Student Handbook.

When communicating with instructors and/or employees of the college, you are required to use your TSTC MyMail student email address. If you choose to forward your email to another account, please be advised that you must respond from the MyMail account.

Student emails to the instructor must contain:

• The student’s full name
• Enrolled course name and section number (e.g., ENGL 1301-7P1)
• The official name of the assignment being discussed

Failure to use your TSTC MyMail account or to include pertinent information may result in a delay in communication. The student is expected to respond to instructor-initiated communication within 48 hours.

Instructor Communication and Office Hours

The instructor of the course will respond to student communications (emails and voicemails) received during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm) within 24, not including weekends and holidays. Emails received on weekends or during holidays will be responded to on the next business day. The instructor will have virtual office hours. These meeting times and how to reach the instructor will be posted in the course's website.

Course Announcements

Course announcements will be sent via MyMail and posted to a forum in the course's website. Students should frequently check their email and the announcements forum for updates or changes to the course. The course's website can be accessed through Portal.tstc.edu or tstc.instructure.com. 

Assignment Submissions

Depending on the assignment, assignments submitted for the course should be formatted as PDFs or Word Documents (.docx). The course's website does not recognize any documents that are submitted using Apple products, so anything created in the Pages or Keynote programs must be converted to the proper format. Formatting can be altered if using .rtf format, so it should be avoided as well.

Course Assignments

A. Syllabus Quiz

• The syllabus quiz should be completed as soon as possible once the semester begins. Upon completion of the "NS Check-in" (Show/No Show activity), the student will be counted as a "show" in the class; this will release the student's financial aid.

B. Assignments

• All work for the course must be submitted electronically to the appropriate location; therefore, students should have access to a reliable computer, as well as the Internet.
• Turnitin submissions via the course's website will be used in this class as a plagiarism assistant. Student links for reflection submissions in the course's website will be that of the Turnitin variety to assist the instructor in detecting intentional plagiarism violations.
• If a technical problem arises it is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor as soon as possible.
• No proctoring services are required for this course.

Final Grade Rounding Policy

Within this course, any final grade that ends with -9.5 or higher will be rounded to the next letter grade. For instance, if a student has a final average of 79.5, the average will be rounded up to 80. Thus, the student earns a B rather than a C.

Extra Credit

The expectation for the course is that the original work assigned is what will be completed to be successful. Therefore, no extra work will be created. Students should plan to complete the work assigned for the course. No extra credit will be offered in this course for any reason.

Drop Policy

To withdraw from this course, students must formally drop the course by contacting the admissions and enrollment office. Instructions for dropping the course and the last day to drop the course will be posted in the course's website. Please review the TSTC academic calendar for the official drop dates and other important dates: https://www.tstc.edu/events/

Reuse of Previous Work

As students grow every semester, it is important for them to showcase their learning and development as it pertains to each subject. For this reason, no work done for another department or another college is accepted in this course. Likewise, students cannot re-use their work from a non-PBE section. However, students may request approval from their current instructor - in advance - to reuse or partially reuse their work. However, it is up to the discretion of the instructor to allow the submission on a case-by-case basis. Submitting the assignment before instructor approval is granted will result in an automatic zero.

Grading Policies

10% Module 1 Mastery Assessment (part I)
10% Module 1 Mastery Assessment (part I)
20% Module 2 Mastery Assessment
20% Module 3 Mastery Assessment
20% Module 4 Mastery Assessment
20% Module 5 Mastery Assessment

• Individual assignment criteria and the requirements for individual assignments are given in writing along with assignment instructions/prompts.
• Evaluation of assignments is based on set rubrics for each written assignment.
• All assignments will be graded within 2 business days of submission (excluding holidays and weekends).

Late Work Policy

All course assignments and materials will be open and available on the first day of the course. As a self-paced course, assignments can be completed on the student's schedule; however, suggested completion dates are scheduled for each unit. At the latest, all written assessment submissions should be made by 5:00 pm on Wednesday of week 15. This courses closes at 5:00 pm on Friday of week 15, and all submissions will be locked from that point forward.

Virtual Open Labs

Virtual Open Labs are virtual spaces (via Google Meet) where students can connect with instructors and other students to discuss assessments and course content. Virtual Open Labs are available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Virtual Open Lab links for the Academics Division are:

• Anthropology/Biology
• Chemistry/Computer Science/Engineering/Physics
• DevEd/GenEd English
• DevEd/GenEd/Math AS
• Economics/Government/History/Psychology/Sociology
• TSTC 1101/TSTC 1102/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/Speech

Enrollment Coach Information

TSTC is here to help you succeed and to aid you through your journey with us. We have assigned you an Enrollment Coach who will assist you with scheduling your classes, guide you towards completing your classes on time, and let you know about all the services TSTC has to offer. In order to help you stay on track to your great paying job, we ask that you meet with your enrollment coach weekly, whether in person, on the computer, or through a phone call. These meetings won’t take long and we want to make sure you know how you are doing and how to get where you are going! To schedule a meeting with your enrollment coach you can click on this link: http://tstc.edu/meetwithcoach. Our job is to help you succeed!

TSTC PBE Grading Policy for General Education Courses

(Grades for courses must be C or better)

See College Catalog for complete descriptions.

PBE Information

This course is a Performance-Based Education (PBE) Course, the name of TSTC’s course-based, Competency-Based Education (CBE) initiative. PBE courses require a minimum grade standard be met. For this course the minimum grade standard is set at 70%.

Mastery assessments have been built to align with industry reviewed course competencies and you will have multiple attempts to reach this mastery level as outlined in the Mastery Assessments in General Education Courses policy below. All Mastery Assessments must be completed with a minimum mastery grade by the end of the semester. Your work in this course will be self-guided, which means that you will be able to determine how much time will be devoted to each of the learning modules with the guidance of your Enrollment Coach and Faculty member. Please refer to the Guide Dates (suggested due dates in Canvas) to check your progress in the course. 

A Mastery Assessments in General Education Courses policy is provided that will be followed as well. The final grade for this course will be determined by averaging all the Mastery Assessments, each of which must meet the minimum mastery grade requirement (70%).

Mastery Assessments in General Education Courses

In Performance Based Education (PBE) courses, you are required to show mastery of course competencies through assessments. At TSTC, general education course Mastery Assessments have the mastery level set at 70% or better. You will need to complete ALL Mastery Assessments at or above the required mastery level in order to complete the course. The benefit of PBE is that in the event you do not finish the course, Mastery Assessment scores will carry over to the next semester and you can pick up where you left off in the course. For General Education classes, you have unlimited attempts for each Mastery Assessment.

Before Your First Mastery Assessment Attempt

Before attempting a Mastery Assessment, you should complete any formative assessments (typically labeled “Practice and Apply” or “Activity” or “Lab” or “Check for Understanding”) included in the module. These formative assessments are designed to help gauge your understanding of the content and help you prepare for the Mastery Assessment.

After Your First Mastery Assessment Attempt

Instructors will grade your Mastery Assessment within 2 business days. While waiting for feedback on the assessment, continue working on your other course(s).

In the event that you do not meet the predetermined score to indicate mastery of the content, you will be given another assessment opportunity.

If your first attempt score is between 50 and 69% on a General Education course Mastery Assessment, you can self-direct your module review or meet with an instructor to close the gaps in your knowledge, skills, or abilities.

If you scored below 50% on a General Education course mastery assessment, you will need to return to the corresponding module(s) and view all lectures, complete all readings and attempt or reattempt all formative assessments.

After Your Second Mastery Assessment Attempt

If you fail to demonstrate mastery on the second and any subsequent Mastery Assessment attempt, you MUST schedule a time to meet with your instructor to review the previous attempts. The instructor will assign mandatory tasks for you to successfully complete before additional attempts can be made.

Mastery Assessments in the Gradebook

The highest score from all attempts will be recorded for each Mastery Assessment.

If you desire an additional attempt to raise your score, you must complete all Mastery Assessments in the course first and then contact your instructor for directions. Note: You cannot request an attempt to raise a score after the semester has ended. It is your responsibility to plan your coursework so that adequate time remains at the end of the semester to administer any additional assessment(s).

Deadline for Submitting Final Mastery Assessment Attempts

If your final mastery assessment has a manually graded section, the final attempt for the semester is due Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. CST the last week of the semester. This will allow your instructor the 2 business days to grade your assessment. Assessments that are computer graded will close at 5:00 p.m. CST on the last Friday of the semester.

Mastery Assessment Grade Carry Over

If you do not master an assessment before the end of the semester, you will pick up with that assessment the next semester. Any attempts on that assessment from the previous semester will reset and start over with the first attempt in the new semester. (Note: Failure to complete all mastery assessments in a course with required score will result in an ‘F’ in the course. You will need to register and pay for the course again to continue.)

Mastery Assessment scores are good for one calendar year. In other words, you have three semesters after the initial semester ends to complete the course. For example, if a student masters assessments for modules 1 and 2 in a course but not the third module in the Spring 2023 semester, they will need to finish the course by Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Spring 2024 semester to carry over the scores for Mastery Assessments 1 and 2. The student will need to repeat the entire course if they wait until the Summer 2024 semester.

Course Updates

The General Education and Academics Division seeks to continuously improve the curriculum for our courses. These curriculum updates are based on the needs of the course, requirements from our accreditation agencies, and the needs of our industry partners. Students that need to repeat a course might find additional assessments in a class that must be completed to pass the course. If you are repeating a course, discuss with your instructor possible curriculum changes as well as where to begin in the course.

Important Dates

• First Day of Class: 9 January 2023
• 11th Day of Class (Census Date): 24 January 2023
• Midterm: 03 March 2023
• Last Day to Drop with W: 31 March 2023
• End of Semester: 28 April 2023

Student and Staff Holidays

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: 16 January 2023
• Spring Break (Waco and Marshall): 06-12 March 2023
• Spring Break (all other campuses): 13-19 March 2023