Course Description

Course Format

The more flexibly designed distance-learning courses permit students to maintain their own learning paces and set their own course schedules to better fit their lifestyles. However, in many cases there is a sacrifice of effective instructor-student and student-student communication and timely evaluative feedback, and a self-paced learning environment can lead students down a destructive path of procrastination.

This online course, Earth Science 100, attempts to unite the best from both learning environments. Great effort has been expended to provide the means to a valuable, interesting, and meaningful learning experience. The following components of the course have been designed toward that end.

Course Materials

Textbook:
Foundations of Earth Science, 2nd Edition by F. K. Lutgens and E. J. Tarbuck
1999 by Prentice-Hall, Inc
ISBN: 0-13-914037-9

What to Expect From This Course

1. Visually identify minerals that have importance in the formation of rocks and as ore minerals.
2. Visually identify and classify (at an elementary level) igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and describe their relationships with various geological processes.
3. Explain the theory of plate tectonics and how it has influenced evolution, climate, and earthquakes and volcanoes.
4. Describe the processes which alter the earth's surface.
5. Identify and describe the composition, features, and dynamic processes of the oceans and their coastal regions.
6. Describe the origin of the earth and the solar system.
7. Explain earth-sun relationships.
8. Identify and describe the atmospheric variables of temperature, moisture, pressure, and wind and how they influence weather and climate.
9. Explain how human development has affected the environment.

Exams and Evaluations

Grading Policy

GRADING SCALE
A	90-100%
B	80-89%
C	70-79%
D	60-69%
F	Lower than 60%

GRADE CALCULATION:

You may calculate your grade at any point in the course by doing the following.

1. Add all the points you have earned to that point.
2. Add the point values of each course component completed.
3. Perform the following calculation.
   (1) divided by (2) times 100% = percentage out of 100%

   Compare this percentage to the percentage range in the grading scale above to determine your letter grade.

GRADE COMMUNICATIONS:

After you have completed and/or submitted a course requirement, the instructor will evaluate it and inform you of the grade by e-mail.

Grades are submitted to the Records Office immediately after the last week of the quarter. Take special note of the deadline dates for course materials subject to evaluation on the Course Information web page. These dates are firm and apply to all students. Exceptions can be made with official medical documentation only.

Satisfactory/Fail(S/F) Grade Option

1. The student must request it prior to midquarter via e-mail.
2. A written statement sent to the student and returned to the instructor within 7 days of the instructors e-mail assent to the request, must be signed and returned to the instructor.
3. The student must have achieved the equivalent of a grade of "C" or better in the course to receive a Satisfactory(S) grade. The grade of "C" or better must also include the completed Project grade. If the total grade, Project included, is valued at a "D" or less, the final grade will be an "F". The student should be aware that some schools do not honor a grade of "S" when a student transfers.
4. Once an S/F grade has been registered with the Records Office, it cannot be changed.
5. An "S" grade will not be computed in the GPA; the "F" grade will be used in computing the GPA.

Incomplete Policy

In order to request an incomplete grade, you must obtain permission from the instructor, satisfy minimum completion requirements, and sign an incomplete contract. A minimum amount of completed work may be required to request an Incomplete grade. Contact the instructor if you are interested in receiving an incomplete grade. If you do not complete the remaining coursework by the deadline specified in the incomplete contract, then you still receive an "F".

An "I" grade will be given only when all the following conditions are met:

1. The student must request it prior to the last two weeks of the end of the quarter via e-mail. The instructor must agree to the request.
2. A contract must be filled out and signed, indicating work to be completed, the grade to be recorded, and the completion date. The instructor will send the contract to the student, who must sign it and return it within 7 days.
3. The student must have completed at least one-half of the course requirements by the end of the quarter with a grade of "C" or better.
4. All incomplete work must be completed by the contracted date.

Exceptions to the above may be made by special arrangements with the instructor. Students should be aware that an "I" grade left on a transcript may be interpreted by other colleges as an "F". It may also affect other aspects of a student's college experience, such as financial aid.

Withdrawal Policy

If you choose to withdraw from the course you may do so without your instructor's permission according to the College Policy, which is no later than 8 days after midquarter. Check with registration and records for the exact deadline or see the Course Information page for this course. If you decide to withdraw from the course after that date, you may withdraw with the instructor's permission until the end of the quarter. The instructor must sign a withdrawal form. Once the quarter of registration is over, no withdrawal (W) is permitted.

Plagiarism Policy

C.O.D. Online