Course Guidelines

Getting Started

This course is presented to you using the TUI "cyber asynchronous" model. You will find most of the course materials, including readings, Case and Session Long Project assignments on the CD. The remainder of the materials you will need for the course will be found on Internet. Please follow these basic guidelines and consult your instructor for any further instructions

Resources

• This CD. Here you will find the basic course structure, module objectives, background materials including readings, video lectures and PowerPoint presentations. The CD also contains the Case and Session Long Project assignments as well as links to Course Net and the Cyber Library.

• The Internet. Use the Internet for e-mail communication, accessing the TUI Cyber Library, accessing Course Net for assignment submission and the Threaded Discussion, and for linking yourself to the wide world of information and knowledge. Powerful search tools like Google® have enormously expanded the range of material that students can tap into in pursuit of educational objectives - do not hesitate to use such tools during this course and others at TUI.

• The Cyber Library. This powerful resource provides outstanding links, scholarly articles, and electronic books for research and study. Your professor will give you specific references from this library and you can use the search engines for further individual research. Click Here to view a powerpoint presentation on Fundamentals of ProQuest and Internet Utilization.

• Your Coordinating and Core Professors. The coordinating professor is responsible for management of course content and provides oversight for the course. The core professor is responsible for clarifying assignments, answering follow-up questions, grading and feedback, extensions, etc...; you should contact him/her directly for resolution of any issues relating to the course. You may also contact the coordinating professor at any time.

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Course Structure

This course is 12 weeks long and is divided into six modules. The first five modules, each two weeks in length, cover specific topics and have specific assignments. The final module lasts one week, and while there are no new assignments, there will be material that will integrate the course topics and point you further along the path. Do your best to complete each module within the two week period. The last week is used by the professor to complete grading of assignments and submit final grades. If for any reason you fall behind in your work, it is very important that you contact your professor immediately so that we can better understand your situation and support you in successfully completing your coursework.

Module Elements

The instructional material in each Module has four consistent elements:

• Module Home Page. This section identifies the key issues and concepts of the module. It usually has some introductory text material, maybe a video or PowerPoint presentation outlining the Module's issues, and always the specific learning objectives for the module.

• Case Assignment. The heart of each module is an analytical case about the issues of the module. Case papers generally take the form of short essays ranging in page number in which you may be asked to take a position on an issue and defend it, to critique a particular analysis of a situation, to explain a case in terms of a model you have studied, or to develop some other application of the course material to the world. Case-based teaching develops critical thinking and analytic, research, argumentation and writing skills. You will write one case paper per module in each TUI course that you take, so you'll have a lot of opportunity to develop the critical thinking and especially writing skills so important in today's job market.

• Background Materials. This section may include video lectures, PowerPoint presentations with or without audio narration, Internet links, and/or Cyber Library references. Together with what is usually provided in the Case itself, these references and resources will give you the context and background information you will need to analyze and complete the case assignment. You are urged to explore further and bring in additional source material for your papers. Effective background materials are key to how we avoid using textbooks, which are expensive, cumbersome, and always out of date.

• Session Long Project. The purpose of the Session Long Project in TUI classes is to give you the opportunity to explore the applicability of the Module to your own life, work, and place in space and time, and to experiment with the ideas presented in the Module to see how the otherwise academically rigorous presentation of a topic may, with more or less work and/or trauma, become "up close and personal". This is done in a number of different ways -- sometimes cumulative papers, sometimes practical hands-on experimentation with a tool of some sort, sometimes reflections on a place of work or life. The common thread is personal application, aimed at demonstrating a cumulative knowledge and understanding of the course's material. The nature of the project assignments will be described at the beginning of the course.

• Threaded Discussion. In each module you are required to participate in a threaded discussion about some part of the Module topic. Generally your professor will put out a provocative question or comment for your response, but the subsequent discussion may evolve in different ways as you engage other students and enjoy a brisk discussion of the issues; the professor is seldom involved directly in much discussion beyond posing the original question. This is your opportunity to get to know your colleagues . If there is a problem accessing the TD, please let your professor know as soon as possible so that some alternatives may be worked out.

Remember that Module 6 consists of one week; it is set aside for reflection, integration of material, and creative thinking. Some leads to interesting material are generally provided, though you are not required to access them.

Module Expectations

1. Read the Learning Objectives and introductory text (Week 1)

2. View the Introductory Video or PowerPoint presentation where available (Week 1)

3. Review the background materials, including the video lectures, the PowerPoint presentations, the Internet links, and the CyberLibrary articles or other references. (Week 1 and 2)
   Tip: Know what the case asks you to do before you begin reading, so you can be more efficient.

4. Post your input to the threaded discussion. (Week 1 and 2)

5. Read the Case, analyze it, and prepare your paper remembering to apply the concepts learned in the module. (Week 2)

6. Complete the assignment for the Session Long Project. (Week 2)

Remember that if you fall behind, it is most important that you contact your professor as soon as possible.

Internet Access

You will need to be connected to the Internet for the following activities:

• Sending and receiving e-mail.

• Connecting to the web sites in the Background Information.

• Using the Cyber Library.

• Uploading assignments to Course Net and receiving feedback on them by e-mail.

• Accessing and participating in the Threaded Discussion via Course Net.

You will be able to complete all other activities using your local computer and the course CD. If for some reasons your access to the Internet becomes severely restricted and you are unable to connect to the resources you need, contact your professor at once; often arrangements to get you the material in other ways can be made.

Submitting Assignments

Unless otherwise instructed, prepare your papers using Microsoft Word®. Papers are to be uploaded to the TUI Course Net®, and from there you can get paper grades and reviews. It's accessible through a link in the course header, at the top of every page.

Course Net also serves as a portal where you can link to the Cyber Library, including ProQuest, JSTOR, ACM, and other catalogue sites, to the Threaded Discussion for each Module, and sometimes to interesting Web links to explore and access, as well as a variety of other resources as well.

Elements of a well written paper

Click here to view a PowerPoint presentation on the Elements of a Well Written Paper.

Protocols

There are several protocols that are important in your TUI program.

APA Format

TUI requires all PhD work to be in APA form. We also encourage all other students to comply with guidelines for proper citation of references. You may use the information found at the following site:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

General Style Sheet

1. Goal: A good writing style is an essential part of college education. The general guideline is:

a. Prepare reports that are coherent, unified and have a smooth and logical flow.

2. Application.

a. Style: Unless otherwise instructed this style sheet should be applied to all reports (both cases and session long projects) that you submit to your professor.

i. Follow general guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

ii. Do not send your papers in all capitals (upper case characters).

iii. Avoid the tendency of some to send assignments with no capitalization, missing vowels, and "loose" grammar.

3. Appearance.

a. Margins. All margins, top, bottom, right, and left, should be one inch.

b. All Papers should be double spaced.

c. Fon Typet: New Times Roman

d. Font Size: 12pt

4. Cover Sheet.

a. Always include a cover sheet when submitting any report to your professor.

i. The name " TUI University (formerly Touro University International)"

ii. Your Name.

iii. The College Course # (e.g. BHS 450 or BUS 501)

iv. The title the number of the module.

v. Your professor’s name.

b. Style. Generally speaking, elements on the cover page should be centered and proportionally spaced on the page.

5. Organization.

a. Introduction and conclusion. These are the two most important paragraphs in your paper. The introduction should accomplish two things. It should grab the attention of the reader, and provide a simple roadmap for the reader to follow. The conclusion should restate the most significant point(s) in your paper.

i. You should include an executive summary whenever your paper (without any appendices) exceeds five pages. The executive summary should:

1. Never exceed one page.

2. You may use bullets and incomplete sentences.

3. The executive summary should follow the organization of your paper.

b. Outlining. Use outlining when your topic involves an organized series of topics with distinct levels of detail. For multilevel outlining, use the style in this style sheet. In Word, you will find it in Format, Bullets and Numbering, Outline Numbered. Choose the style on the top row, second from the left. Go to the next level of outline by using the Tab key and to the previous level of outline by using the Tab plus Shift keys.

i. The primary sections of your paper should be separated by main headings. These are centered in the page and are in all capital letters.

ii. A primary section can be separated into secondary sections with side headings. These headings are placed at the left-hand margin and are in lower case with the first letter of each main word capitalized.

iii. A secondary section can be further separated with the third level of headings. These headings are identical to the second level of headings except they are underlined or shown in italics.

6. Tables and Figures.

a. Tables are organized presentations of data. They should be shown identified with numbers (Table 1) with the title immediately below the table number. Both table number and title should be centered.

7. Use of bullets. Bullets have become a common method of communication. They are used when the writer wished to emphasize a series of parallel elements. It is not necessary to use complete sentences when employing bullets. However, you should be consistent in your structure. That is, if your use partial sentences for one bullet, use partial sentences for all bullets in the series.

8. Spelling and Grammar.

a. Always use the spelling and grammar checker in Word.

b. You will still need to proof read your paper. For example, the spell checker will not notice when the word "from" is spelled "form."

c. Be cautious of the grammar checker. This software is not perfect and will sometimes make recommendations that are not appropriate. Use this tool as a guide only.

9. Citations and footnotes.

a. Science and research are endeavors that build on previous knowledge.  There are at least two reasons why it is imperative to acknowledge sources of information.  One, in order to reproduce scientific or research results one must have access to the foundational information used.  Two, to understand and to build knowledge within a field it is crucial to give credit to the source of knowledge. 

b. Always cite the source when you take a quote from any source. NEVER REPRESENT THE WORK OF ANOTHER AS YOUR OWN. 

     

c. Credit is acknowledged through the use of citations, footnotes, and references.   Reference to sources occurs both within the text of the paper and at the end of the paper. 

 

d. Within the paper, one can quote, summarize, paraphrase, borrow text or state the ideas of another author or person using proper in-text formats.  Footnotes are a way to refer to exact pages used from material found in the reference section at the end of the paper. 

a. Show short quotes (up to two sentences) in quotes. 

Reference Section

•  Journals
  Arthur, D. W. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
  
  Arthur, D. W., Davis, L. B., & Wilson, T. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.

• Newspapers
  Wilson, S. (2007, January 12). Tobacco litigation revisited. The Morning report, pp. B22, B23. 

• Internet Citations
   Lopez, J., & Andrews, B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved month day, year, from http://Web address.

10. Appendices should be placed at the end of the paper and identified with capital letters (Appendix A). The Title of the appendix should be placed immediately below the letter. Appendix letter and title should be centered.