I.  Course Objectives

Sociology 3327 is designed to:

• Enhance the student's basic understanding of society.
• Help the student appreciate that our identities are to a large extent a product of the groups to which we belong.
• Encourage the student to recognize the complex network of social relationships.
• Aid the student in the appreciation of the historical roots of race relations.
• Help the student understand man's place, as an individual, in relation to the powerful conditioning forces of culture.
• Encourage the student to discover the problematic character of trying to define race/ethnicity. 
• Learn to see value conflict as a natural process in the evolution of human society.

II.  Internet  Requirement 

To complete this course successfully, the student is required to: 
 

• READ the assigned chapters in the textbook.
• READ the chapter lectures and visit the web sites embedded in the lectures.
• SUBMIT three responses to posted questions. 
• TAKE mid-term and final exams by the assigned dates. 
• COMPLY with all College, District, and State policies regarding registration and attendance in a state- supported institution.

III.  Course Components

A. Required Textbook - McLemore, Romo and Gonzalez (2005) Racial and Ethnic Relations in America 7th ed.  Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
 Dates for reading assignments are on the  Assignments   page.

B. Lectures 
After reading each assigned chapter in the textbook, you, the student, will read lectures and will be directed by hyper text links to  web sites embedded in the lectures.  These lectures will provide you with an overview of the material presented in the textbook, clarify topics the instructor judges to be difficult, and give you the opportunity to visit relevant web sites.

The purpose of the lectures is to enhance the basic information presented in the text. The web sites, which are required reading, will provide the most current information available to further your experience of the exciting discipline of sociology.

C. Responses to Questions
Your instructor has posted questions concerning  the chapter and the lecture.  The questions are on the "Assignment" page, and students will have until Sunday of a specific week to respond. Responses to questions are to be sent to the instructors email as an email. Do not send as an attachment.  For dates due, check the Assignments page.

Based on your ability to respond to the question using the material you have read you will be given 25 points for the first two and 50 points for the third assignment.   There will be three questions  which will be averaged for a total of 100 points.  The instructor will grade the responses and contact you by private email.  If you do not hear from your instructor privately within one week, you should make sure your assignment was received by emailing or calling the instructor to inquire. Students are required to save copies of the responses they have written with the original date. Should there be a problem with the instructor receiving the answers, students will have to reproduce their work.

When responding to the questions send to instructors personal email LL16@txstate.edu.  When asking questions or participating in an open dialogue with classmates or your instructor, communications should be sent to the distribution list for reading by the entire class.  You are required to be on the distribution list as part of the course.  The instructor will add you to the list.

D. E-mail and Listserv
Throughout the semester, E-mails will serve as a means of constant communication. Your instructor will send notices to provide you with:  current schedule reminders; any changes that might require your attention; and information about upcoming exams, therefore check your email daily.  You should E-mail the instructor with any questions or for assistance with problems you may have in the course. You are required to have a TXSTATE email for the course. This is free to you, the student. 

E. Examinations
In this course, there will be two major exams designed to evaluate your understanding of the material presented in the textbook and the  lectures.  Exams will consist of  50 multiple choice questions.

For dates, times, and locations for the two exams, go to the Exams page.

For each exam, you must bring the following: 
1. valid picture ID (driver's license, military ID, passport), 
2. #2 pencil with eraser, 
3. scan-Tron form No. 882-E 
Students without the correct Scan-Tron Form, a #2 pencil and a valid ID will not be allowed to take the exam.  These supplies are mandatory. 

If you have a name change during the semester, notify your instructor immediately.  Testing personnel have no authorization to issue exams if there is an inconsistency between name and identification.

The use of a dictionary will not be allowed for testing . Nor will you be allowed to use Liquid Paper (white-out) or other such products for corrections on the Scan-Tron form.  Please bring a pencil with a good eraser should there be a need for corrections.  You will not be given credit for bad erasures that the machine marks wrong.

Any student caught cheating on an Internet exam or not complying with the testing rules will receive a grade of zero (0) on that examination and is subject to dismissal from the class with a failing grade.  You are obligated to reasonably protect your test paper from those who might be tempted to cheat.

Exams will be graded and the test results posted within one week. 

Exams will not be returned to you.  Should  you wish to review your exam, please schedule an appointment to do so.  Scan-Trons will be stored for six months, then destroyed.  Any questions over grades should be resolved before that time.

No children or adults (not registered for this course) will be allowed in the testing room.  Neither should children be left unattended in the area outside the testing room.  Please do not bring telephones, pagers, or other electronic devices to the testing room.

IV. Make-Up Examinations

Make-up exams will be given only in extenuating circumstances.  You will need to provide official documentation as well as prior notice in order to take a make up exam.   All make-ups must have the instructor's approval.  The make-up test will be designed to be more difficult than the original exam and will be scheduled on a day and time convenient for the instructor.  If an exam is missed, you must inform the instructor immediately.   Should you schedule a make-up examination and fail to appear at the designated time, a grade of zero will be assigned for that test.

V. Final Semester Grade

The final semester grade will be determined using the following point system: 
Two Major Examinations 100 points each =200 points 
Three on-line questions=100 points

There will be no "extra credit" given in this course. The semester letter grade values are as follows:
 

270-300	= A
239-269	= B
208- 238	= C
177-207	= D
Below  176	= F

VI. Availability of Instructor

Your instructor is available to you anytime at her E-mail address; LL16@txstate.edu .  You may also call her voice mail #210-367-8780 and leave a message with your name and time when you can be reached.  Your E-mail or telephone call will be returned at the instructors' earliest opportunity.  If you are calling or E-mailing on the weekend, it will be Monday before your message is received.

VII. Course Evaluation
Near the end of the semester, you will be requested to a course evaluation. This evaluation will be used to identify those aspects of the course and related services that you found helpful or successful and those aspects that may have caused you some difficulty.  Your comments are valued and will be used for the improvement of the Internet course.

VII. Statement on Retention

The faculty members of the Sociology department are committed to your successful completion of our classes without lowering the college's academic standards.   As faculty (and former college students), we have discussed the many pressures (work, financial, family) that our students must face.  Certainly, some of these issues are beyond your control.  However, there may be something that can be done that would make the difference in whether you complete my course.  If  I am made aware of circumstances that impact your participation in my class, I can be of assistance.  Although this syllabus is full of requirements and policies, I am not inflexible.  Please do not stop coming to my class or drop the class without first talking with me.  Dropping a course should be your last step.  Be aware that dropping may impact your grade point average, financial aid, and health insurance policies (some require you to be a full time 12 hours student).  As an experienced instructor, there may be options that I can point out that have not occurred to you.  I am here to help you, but you must be willing to help yourself.  Do not wait until the end of the semester to ask for advice.  When you are successful as my student, I am successful as your instructor.