The mission of the Alamogordo Branch of New Mexico State University, a comprehensive community college, is to:

1. provide quality education that includes academic, technical, vocational, developmental, and career-oriented skills;
2. promote student competence, confidence, and success and provide personal enrichment programs through continued response to the cultural, intellectual, and economic needs of the community;
3. maintain active ties and continuity with the main campus; and
4. afford equal opportunity for individuals who meet admission criteria to receive educational services within the community without regard to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Detailed Assignment Information, including Supplemental Readings and Websites Assignment of Summary (and eventually Analysis) of an article in a scientific journal Assignment of Descriptive Report or Instructions

• Master enough computer skills to word-process reports, research reports, illustrate reports with graphics, and build basic websites.
• Demonstrate the ability to summarize and analyze sophisticated scientific arguments.
• Achieve the ability to write to different audiences.
• Achieve the ability to match the tone of  texts with specific purposes.
• Become competent revisers of  texts to achieve standard edited English, as promulgated in technical and scientific publications.
• Gain team-building, team-maintaining, and team-facilitating abilities.
• Increase civic literacy and civic participation through service learning projects.
• Demonstrate basic abilities of document design, including the effective inclusion of design elements and graphics in texts.
• Demonstrate abilities in the use of research in technical reporting.
• Exhibit effective oral communication techniques, including the use of sophisticated audio-visual aids.

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Assignments & Grading
Your semester grade will be figured as follows:

Grade Worth  Assignments
 

Attendance
Attendance will be taken daily at the beginning of class.  Absences will be reported to the financial aid office, possibly resulting in loss of financial aid.

Together we will make an effort to learn how internet connections and the WebCT platform can create productive attendance and participation in the event that students cannot physically attend, but can  access the internet.  Students may therefore make up absences using WebCT chat, in approved situations; WebCT presentations, in approved situations; quizzes on WebCT or at the textbook website.  However, this is not an online course--yet.  We need everyone attending in order to participate in group projects.  If you miss 3 sessions without making up the absences in approved ways, the highest grade you can get will be a C.  If you miss 5 sessions without making up the absences in approved ways, the highest grade you can get will be a D.  If you miss 6 sessions without making up the absences in approved ways, you will fail the course.
If you come to class late 4 times or more, you will lose a letter grade.  Tardies cannot be made up electronically.

 Chapter quizzes may be unannounced.  Make-up quizzes will require medical or work-related documentation concerning absences.

Instructor Contact Information
 
 

Mr. Ron McNeel Humanities Coordinator Professor of English Technical Communications Program Facilitator	Office #115, Faculty Office Building Office phone, 439-3742 Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:45-6:00 Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9-10:45 & 1-1:45      and by appointment Office #115, Faculty Office Building  Office Phone:  439-3742 email: mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu
Books and Materials Technical Communications:  Situations and Strategies.  Markel, 2002 Update edition A Pocket Manual, Hacker Handbook for Technical Writers, optional Dictionary 2 computer disks NMSU-A computer lab account, and/or a web-mail account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Netscape, Zianet, etc.) Notebooks, paper, pens, and pencils	Prerequisites English 111G, or its equivalent first year college writing course, is a prerequisite for ENGL 218G  Computer experience is not a requirement, but a positive attitude toward experimenting with computer-mediated communications will be very helpful.

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Classroom, Attendance, and Grading Policies

1) The university administration and the Air Force insist that you do not smoke, eat, chew, or drink in the classrooms or laboratories.
 2) Excessive absences that are not made up will affect your final semester grade. See the grading policies above.
 3) Chronic tardiness is unacceptable. If--on a rare occasion--you happen to be late, quietly take a seat in the row of desks nearest the door. This row is to be left vacant for just this contingency. See the grading policies above. Please don't walk in front of me while I am lecturing.
 4) You are responsible for the information presented at each class session whether or not you are there. In the case of some personal emergency, you must make an appointment with me, preferably in advance of the absence, to determine whether or not the absence will be excused and whether or not make-up work will be allowed.
 5) Plagiarized papers will receive a grade of zero.  Disciplinary action may be initiated against students who engage in academic dishonesty.  You should familiarize yourselves with the Student Code of Conduct in the NMSU-A Student Handbook.  A plagiarized formal written report is sufficient cause for a failure grade for the entire course. In such a case, disciplinary action at the University level will be initiated. In case I have a question about whether or not your formal written report is indeed authored by you, keep all pre-final drafts, notes, bibliography cards, and other research and drafting materials.
 6) The formal written report is a requirement for passing the course.
7) ALL late papers will lose 10% of the possible points. Please consider getting work in as email attachments if you cannot deliver it personally. Dates for revisions will be negotiated with everyone in one class session, and then made absolute. I will not take late papers or revisions after Thursday, April 17.
 9) So that NMSU-A may engage in assessment activities, the instructor reserves the right to keep final drafts of your assignments, after showing them to you. Therefore, if you want to keep a copy of this report, photocopy it before you turn in the original copy.
 

Students with Disabilities:

  If you have or believe you have a disability, you may wish to self-identify. You can do so by providing documentation to the Counselor for Special Populations,  (phone: 439-3720). Appropriate accommodations may then be provided for you.

If you have a condition which may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency or which may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or the ADA Coordinator. If you have general questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), call the ADA Coordinator, Doris Lynch, at 439-3717.

In Case of Holloman Air Force Base Closure
National or international events may cause Holloman Air Force Base to close, keeping students from leaving the base to attend classes on campus, and keeping instructors from entering the base to teach classes there.  To alleviate the problems a closure would cause,
• the instructor may collect student phone numbers and email addresses;
• the instructor may use email addresses to create a distribution list to keep students up-to-date on assignments and activities;
• students should note the instructor’s email address and be adept at sending word-processed assignments as attachments via computer;
• instructors and students may need to mutually agree on a make-up class or classes, times, places, and modes of instruction (including email or chat room discussions), in order to abide by state requirements of 750 minutes of class time per credit hour.

Classroom Conduct
• You are not allowed to use tobacco products in classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• You are not allowed to eat or drink in computer classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• Any student engaging in disruptive behavior will be required to leave the class.

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