Curriculum Delivery

Attendance Policy

The participation of students in all courses is considered an important part of the academic procedure. Students are responsible for ascertaining attendance requirements for each course in which they are enrolled. Accordingly, each instructor shall make known to all students (preferably, as part of the syllabus), the policies on attendance for the class, including how attendance is used in grade computation. Instructors shall also make explicitly clear the extent to which class participation is requisite to the learning experience in that class. It is assumed that students will conscientiously fulfill this responsibility when courses are scheduled and will contribute to class activities. Instructors may consider irregular attendance in his/her evaluation of students' educational achievement. 

Specific policies related to excused and unexcused absences can be found in the Student Handbook and on program pages in the Catalog. Programs offered entirely online are considered nonattendance taking programs. 

Online Class Etiquette

Online course delivery is dependent on effective use of class meetings to deliver content, facilitate discussion, and answer questions. Recognizing that learners have a variety of unique needs, the following requirements ensure students are actively engaged in the learning and instructors are able to provide meaningful class sessions.

1. Attendance to class meetings is required. If students are unable to attend, prior permission must be granted from the instructor to receive an excused absence. Unexcused absences may lead to removal from the course.
2. Class meetings will be recorded so students may review the session. Students who were absent are responsible for viewing the recording and will be given an alternate task to compensate for missing class.
3. Preferably, students should use a computer or tablet for class meetings. Participating in class meetings is possible with a cell phone but is not ideal. Landlines should be used only when other devices aren’t working.
4. Students should mute their microphone upon entering the class meeting and unmute their mic to participate in discussion or to ask a question.
5. Students should have the camera on during the entire class meeting. If an emergency arrives, students may send a chat message privately to the instructor and turn off the video. Exceptions should be discussed with the instructor prior to the first class meeting if possible. Exceptions include:
   • Students have limited bandwidth or no webcam
   • Students are in an environment with a lot of visual distractions
   • Students need a private moment
   • The instructor sees issues with bandwidth and requests cameras be turned off
6. Use a headset if possible to improve audio quality.
7. All additional apps and screens should be closed unless they are essential to the class discussion. Students should also turn off music or other background noise.
8. When speaking, say your name then add your question or comment.
9. Use the chat window for questions and comments that are relevant to class discussion. The chat window is not a place for socializing or posting comments that distract from the course activities.
10. Reaction buttons, raising hands, and other emoticons are encouraged to show you are participating the discussion even though you are not speaking. Instructors may require use of reaction buttons, chat box, polling, discussion groups, or other options to encourage active engagement.
11. Interruptions as well as awkward silences may occur. The instructor will work through these issues as needed.
12. Privacy concerns:
    • Students who will be sharing their screens should open relevant documents ahead of class meeting time. Avoid showing the entire desktop.
    • Use the virtual background options or move to a location that doesn’t reveal your living space.
    • Students are able to click on Hide Self-View or place a sticky note over their faces if they are uncomfortable seeing themselves.
    • Avoid using names of colleagues, students, or school districts to maintain professional confidentiality.
13. Sharing the recording, taking screen shots, or distributing course content and discussion is not authorized and may violate FERPA, copyright, or other personal rights of students and instructors.

Course and Program Cancellation

The University of Jamestown is committed to offering all of its courses and programs to enrolled students but reserves the right to modify programmatic offerings. In the unlikely event that the university is not able to offer all of the courses or programs described in this catalog, the university will do the following:

• Courses: The university reserves the right to offer an appropriate course as a substitution for a required course and count the substituted course toward program requirements if it is unable to offer a required course.
• Programs: If the university deactivates a program, the university will continue to offer all of the required courses for the program, or appropriate substitutions for them, in a timely manner to allow currently enrolled students to complete the program. For the purposes of this policy, “timely manner” means up to two terms beyond the period of time it would normally take an enrolled student to complete the program and/or until the last currently enrolled student completes the program, whichever comes first. If the university is forced to declare financial exigency, the university reserves the right to partner with other accredited institutions for a “teach out” in alignment with Higher Learning Commission requirements.

Credit Hour Policy

The University of Jamestown follows the “Carnegie Definition” of credit hour. A unit of credit (one credit hour) is defined as the equivalent of one 50-minute in-class period with a minimum of two hours of additional student work outside of class per week for approximately 15 weeks; or

The equivalent amount of student work over a different amount of time; or

The equivalent amount of student work by other instructional modes of delivery such as distance education (online), hybrid learning, or independent and directed studies.

Hence, a three-credit course would require the equivalent of 45 hours of class time and 90 hours of outside work. In the online accelerated (eight-week) environment, this translates to approximately 18 hours of student work per week for a three-credit course. Student work includes preparation time, reading, research, discussion board participation, assignments, exams, and practical application of materials.

Details of the policy:

• Laboratory Courses: Practical application type courses where the major focus is on ‘hands on’ experience to support student learning using equipment, activities, tools, machines etc. 1 credit hour is approximately 2-3 laboratory hours.
• Applied Music Lessons: Courses are individual lessons which meet once per week. Students receive 1-2 credits with lessons lasting 30-60 minutes. Additional independent practice is expected.
• Internships and Practicums: A pre-professional practical learning experience in an appropriate work environment that will benefit the student. 1 credit per 40 hours of internship, with an additional 2 hours or more of coursework, not to exceed 8 credits in one experience with the exception of student teaching.

Delivery Methods

The University of Jamestown offers programs in on-campus, online, and hybrid formats. On-campus and hybrid programs are offered at the Jamestown and Fargo locations. See individual program pages for details.

Directed/Independent Studies and Special Topics

Directed and independent studies are non- classroom programs of study, arranged for and undertaken by a student under the supervision of a faculty member and at the discretion of that faculty member. Such studies must be judged to be of substantial weight, equal to or exceeding the merit, time, and attention given to a classroom course of equivalent credit. The purpose of these studies is to allow a student to do research beyond what is offered in the normal curriculum or to assist a student in resolving a serious scheduling conflict outside of his/her control that cannot be resolved by other means. All directed and independent study courses must be approved by the student's faculty advisor, the department chair or program director, and the Dean.

Directed Study courses are individualized offerings of courses currently approved and listed in the catalog. These are often offered to assist a student in resolving a serious scheduling conflict outside of his/her control that cannot be resolved by other means.

Independent Study are individualized courses that allow a student to work with a faculty member to do research beyond what is offered in the normal curriculum. 

Directed and independent studies are subject to the following requirements:

1. Contact hours: A directed study must have scheduled faculty-student contact hours equal to at least one third of the contact hours of a classroom course of equivalent credit. Contact hours for an independent study are at the instructing faculty member’s discretion.
2. GPA: A student taking a directed study must have a GPA of at least 2.75. A student taking an independent study must have a GPA of at least 3.5.
3. Class standing: Students taking directed or independent studies must have completed at least twenty-four college semester credits.
4. A student who has received a D or F in a course may not take a directed or independent study in order to replace the grade for that course.

Special Topics are classroom-based courses for topics outside the normal curriculum. These are often used to address new questions in a field or to test whether the course should be approved for permanent listing in the catalog.