Frederick Community College SD100NET–Career Assessment and Planning SPRING 2011
Course begins: Jan. 24	Course ends: May 13	Last Day to Withdraw: April 9

You must send your email address and phone number to the instructor before class begins

Instructor Information:
Name: Milt Tipperman	Office: at home; call anytime
E-mail: mtipperman@frederick.edu	Phone Number: 301-698-0128
Office Hours: by appointment	Campus Mail Box #: 302

The instructor can be expected to respond to most student e-mail and phone inquiries within 24 hours; weekends may be longer. Grades for assignments are posted in the coursesite within 7 days of the assignment due date.

Course Information:
Credits: 3 Self-paced course: No
On-campus Meetings: None	On-campus Exams: None
Prerequisites: EN 50 and EN51	Co-requisites: None

Course Description:

Develops critical methods needed to make a satisfying career decision based on research and goal setting strategies that lead to personal and professional success. By the conclusion of the course, students acquire the skills needed to make informed choices about their education and career. Students evaluate their strengths, values, interests, and personality in order to identify possible career options. Students learn techniques for researching career options and making decisions about their future. Students also begin creating a learning/career portfolio upon which they can build throughout their college career.

Core Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course students will . . .

1. Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for choosing a career.
2. Identify and demonstrate core strengths and talents which can be enhanced by further education.
3. Identify personal interests, values, and personality style and how they relate to one’s life work.
4. Explore possible career options and utilize a number of methods for researching these career options, taking into consideration the changing and diverse nature of the workforce.
5. Apply methods for making decisions and establishing a plan of action to achieve one’s goals.

Instructional Methods:

READ the textbook and some articles on the Internet

DO exercises and reports

RESEARCH information on the Internet

INTERVIEW people for information regarding career and college options
DISCUSS on-line via Blackboard’s Discussion Board. Discuss with other students and instructor the key learning points and your career issues. You are a resource for other members of the class and for the instructor.

REFLECT about what you are learning and how it applies to you and your decisions. This is a class about self-discovery, as well as factual research and analysis, so you are expected to participate fully in online discussions and other assigned learning activities.

 How Course Is Organized:

This is NOT a “work-at-your-pace” course. The course is organized in 6 units. Each unit is scheduled by the instructor for a 2 or 3 week period. A letter or report is submitted at the end of each unit. The units consist of reading, on-line discussion, and other assignments – all designed to help you learn and do well on the graded letters and reports.

Tip: Keeping up each week with the weekly assignments will help you do the graded reports and participate in on-line discussions.

ASSIGNMENT DEADLINES:

v The 6 reports/letters must be turned in by the date DUE to receive full credit.

v Late assignments will be accepted up to one week beyond the due date, with a 10% reduction in points.

v Graded assignments will not be accepted after 7 days past the due date. Exceptions may be requested.

Textbook for Course:

Turning Points, by Diane Ducat, second edition. Prentice Hall publisher, 2002.

Keeping up each week with the assigned reading and activities in the textbook will help you to complete your projects and to participate in on-line discussions.

Progress Report:

Your grades are always available to you in the Blackboard course site. Also in the Blackboard Gradebook, you will receive specific, written feedback from the instructor on your letters and reports. Therefore you have opportunities to evaluate your progress in this course and decide if you need to make any adjustments (such as additional study or talking with instructor) to assure your success in this course.

Evaluation Methods:
There are no tests. Your final grade is based on your mastery of the course learning outcomes as demonstrated by successful letters, reports, and online class discussion. Students submit graded letters and reports in MS Word to the instructor electronically in the Blackboard course site. Class discussion is conducted in the Blackboard course site.
Course Evaluation Methods	Point Value	Final Grade Scale
Inspirational quote 1 @ 5 points On-line discussions 6 @ 40 points Letters 2 @ 50 points Reports 4 @ 100 points Feedback to instructor 1 @ 5 points Meetings with instructor 2 @ 25 points TOTAL	5 240 100 400 5 50 800	720 to 800 = A (90%) 640 to 719 = B (80%) 560 to 639 = C (70%) 480 to 559 = D (60%) Below 480 = F

Student Services:

A variety of services are available to assist students in succeeding at FCC. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Student Services web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/index.aspx.

Students with disabilities who are in need of accommodations or who have questions related to disabilities services should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at 301-846-2408. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Services for Students with Disabilities web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/disability.aspx.

Participation Policy:

To maintain the highest quality of academic work, students are expected to participate fully in all course activities. In case of serious illness, emergency, religious holidays, or participation in official college functions, students remain responsible for completing the requirements of the course. 

Full participation means visiting the Blackboard course site at least three times a week – four times a week is better.

Visiting the on-line course includes:
Do each week's assignments
Participate in on-line class discussions at least twice a week

Submit an assigned letter or report at the end of each multi-week unit

Check grades and feedback from instructor after each unit

Email Policy:

Email is an instructional tool essential to student-instructor and student-student communication. In the Blackboard environment by default, your email address is available to all students in this course. However, students are permitted to use email addresses of other students in this course only for the purpose and the duration of this course. Students who are concerned about the privacy of their personal email address are reminded of commercially available products that allow them to create unique email addresses specifically for the purpose and duration of this course.

The instructor can be expected to respond to regular student email inquiries (grades, posted assignments, and tests excluded) within the time frame of 24 to 36 hours.

Academic Honesty:

Work in this course is subject to the provisions of the FCC Code of Academic Honesty. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. As a student, it is your job to practice academic honesty at ALL times. Make sure that all sources, particularly Internet sources, get proper credit for quotations, paraphrases, and ideas. More information about this and the Student Conduct Code are available at http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/studentpolicies.aspx

You must send your Academic Integrity Pledge to the instructor. The form is available at http://courses.frederick.edu/_utilities/regform.htm

Topical Outline:

UNIT	WEEK	TOPIC	REQUIRED
1. What are My Career Issues?	1	Identify my education and career concerns	Discussion Board
	2	Set my goal(s) for this course	Discussion Board Letter 1
2. What are My Career Strengths?	3	Identify my values	Discussion Board Feedback Survey
	4	Identify my skills & traits	Discussion Board
	5	Identify my preferences	Discussion Board Report 1
3. What are My Career Possibilities?	6	Connect my strengths to occupations	Discussion Board Meet instructor
	7	Research occupations	Discussion Board
	8	More research	Discussion Board Report 2
4. How Can I Improve My Decisions?	9	Analyze how I made decisions in the past	Discussion Board
	10	Apply methods to improve how I make decisions	Discussion Board Report 3
5. How Can I Find Jobs I Want?	11	Identify where to find the work I want to do	Discussion Board Meet instructor
	12	Write resumes and cover letters to get interviews	Discussion Board
	13	Interview and stand out	Discussion Board Report 4
6. How Do I Create My Future?	14	Set educational and career goals	Discussion Board
	15	Develop action plans to achieve goals	Discussion Board Letter 2

NOTE: Instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as needed.