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Leopold, Aldo (1996) A Sand County Almanac. New York, NY: Ballantine Publishers.

This course is designed with the intent of giving students the opportunity to participate in the University Colloquium at a distance. Students are provided exercises that they may participate in the field and/or over the internet. All students will be expected to prepare for each class by being able to answer the set of questions posed for each class session. Class attendance is very important in this course. Class participation centers around participation in completing and posting homework and posting under the correct sessions on the course Lesson board. Homework, as class participation and attendance, counts as 35% of the course grade . Students must receive permission from the instructor to miss a class. Missing (i.e. nonparticipation or inadequate participation in class activities on the course Lesson board) for 2 classes or more without instructor permission will result in students being withdrawn from the class. Distance learning students will be expected to deliver their responses to the questions posed by Saturday noon at the end of each week-long class session. Work turned in late (late at all!) will receive no credit for their work. In this way, students are provided with a common set of class learning assignments, which can be demonstrated in a written fashion.

We have made a commitment as a university to make environmental education an integral part of our identity. One of our university-wide outcomes is that all students will develop "an ecological perspective." A way to accomplish this perspective is to devise a course, or group of experiences, with an environmental focus that all FGCU students must complete, and in which faculty from all four colleges would be involved. Because "ecology" applies to our total living space and interrelationships, human and natural, it is relevant to all our disciplines and professions. Thus, an ecology course would touch on all nine of the university-wide goals and outcomes, and more. Students would not only be introduced to FGCU values, they would participate in them.

The University Colloquium is an interdisciplinary course designed to explore the concept of sustainability as it relates to a variety of considerations and forces in the environment. In particular, we will consider ecological , social, ethical, historical, scientific, economic, and political influences. The course goals are:

Study will be through reading and discussion, writing, and extensive field experiences. Students will reflect upon and demonstrate their learning through analysis in short papers and a reflective journal. The integration of these learning experiences will be expressed in the form of a final paper as specified by the instructor. Successful completion of the course requirements will earn three-credit hours and completion of this requirement for graduation from Florida Gulf Coast University. Grades will be earned based on an assessment rubric which provides the weighting of the standards for assignments.

Attend and participate in class on a regular basis. Students must be prepared to answer weekly assigned questions in class. Weekly study questions will be utilized to determine if students have read and understand the content of reading assignments. All questions will be posted by 5 pm on the last day of each class session in the drop box on the Lesson board. Questions WILL NOT be mailed to the instructor or emailed. Likewise, work that is posted in the Lesson Board "Session" folders (which are reserved for the instructor) will not be graded.
Complete all weekly questions & homework in a timely and thorough fashion and weekly post study question and homework answers to the bulletin board. All homework assignments, regardless of whether students participate in each class or choose to study independently, must be completed weekly.
Successfully complete the Web Tutorial (for no points) to complete the course.
Successfully complete all assigned field trips.
Sucessfully complete all assigned papers.
Sucessfully complete the class project.

Students participating in class sessions will, on a weekly basis, prepare their homework assignments and post their responses on the course Lesson board in the drop boxes (not the "session" folders which are reserved for the instructor). All posted attachments must be in Word or rich text format. E-mail communications should be within the ANGEL "in touch" email feature and are strictly limited to communications to and from the professor relative to problems accessing information, class absences, and other issues relating to the management of the course. All other communications must be directed through the Lesson board. The instructor will review the responses and the homework posted on the board and will make responses on assignments to the entire class over the board, based upon the nature of the responses and work provided by students.

All homework must be completed weekly and must include APA source documentation. Additionally, each week's homework must include the students name, the course name, the assignment number and the date. Work failing to fully meet these criteria will receive no credit. Likewise work turned in late will receive no credit. Homework submitted later than 5 pm on the final date of the class session (each Saturday) will will be considered late homework and will not be credited toward class attendance and participation. The dates for each class session can be found in the course schedule located on the course home page. Distance learning course are considered to operate over a seven day week period.

Students are expected to devote at least as much time in preparing written responses to the study questions as they would have normally spent in traveling to the university and sitting through classes. Time spent on homework is beyond that one would normally spend traveling to and participating in class, and should consume that amount of time required to completely the homework successfully. Finally, since thoroughly reading the required texts and documents is essential to effectively completing the course, time spent in reading for the class should be integrated into the time spent responding to study questions which are drawn directly from web and textbook readings.

Typically, students should be prepared to spend 2 - 3 hours of preparation & study for every 1 hour of classroom time. This formula, which applies to general time commitment for both classroom and distant learners, should yield approximately 6 to 9 hours of course effort weekly. Some week's assignments may entail less time investment, while other class periods may entail more effort.

Communications & Consultation: When to Use E-Mail, Telephone, Bulletin Board and Office Consultations

All homework , exam, and study questions responses should be directed to the instructor via the bulletin board.. The only exception to this is when the instructor contacts a student relative to a particular learning or teaching issue, or comment. Otherwise, when students have questions regarding the assignment or wish to make a comment for the benefit of the class, they will be expected to use the bulletin board designed for the class. Use the telephone for personal communications, such as notification about missing the class, or needing a specific appointment to discuss the class. It is important for all students to adhere to this policy for communication and consultation. Excessive direct communication with the instructor alone (via telephone or e-mail) can tend to undercut useful class interaction, and can overload the instructor with answering the same or common questions repetitively. The Bulletin Board, used in conjunction with study groups, is specifically intended to provide a means by which questions and comments can be efficiently addressed by the instructor and classmates without creating an overload on the e-mail or telephone system The instructor will also use the bulletin board to post class information.

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Home | Information | Schedule | Links | Communication

Sessions: 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7 8 9 10