Northeastern
Fall 2007 syllabus for
SPCH 4623 and SPCH 5623
Nonprofit Organizational Communication
(last updated 01.04.08)
Professor: Amy
Aldridge Sanford, PhD Office:
E-mail: aldridga@nsuok.edu Office
Hours: See Contact Info
on Webpage
Webpage: http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~aldridga/ Facebook: Amy Aldridge Sanford
Class Meetings: Mondays, 5:30-8:10 p.m. in Leoser 240
Your professor’s philosophy of education: I am a facilitator of learning. The participants in any given classroom enter with different paradigms and truths. I aid in the exploration of those truths. I do NOT believe that the instructor is THE holder of Truth; therefore we must all participate to co-construct knowledge and create synergy. When a student starts to feel uncomfortable in his/her existing paradigm that means s/he is growing as a scholar. My desire is that all of my students feel the joy of discomfort from time to time.
"A grade (is)
an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge
of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of
an unknown proportion of an indefinite amount of material." (Author
Unknown)
Grading Philosophy:
I prefer intrinsic motivations, and therefore, am not a fan of
letter grades. I believe this extrinsic
reward is too often the only motivation for students to complete
assignments. A college education should
be viewed as a privilege and an opportunity to become learned and scholarly. However, until there is a better system,
grades will be assigned in this class.
Work that meets the minimum requirements of an assignment, is completed
on time and displays average involvement with the course content is deserving
of a “C.” Higher grades are awarded to
work that goes above and beyond the minimum standards to produce papers and
presentations that reflect superior intellectual effort, excellence in critical
analysis and overall creativity in the approach towards any given
assignment. In other words, grades are
earned in this class. An “A” is attainable
but will require more than minimal effort.
Required Texts:
Brinckerhoff, P.C. (2000).
Mission-based management.
(2nd ed).
ISBN: 0-471-39013-5.
Sand, Michael A.
(2005). How to manage an
effective nonprofit organization.
ISBN: 1-56414-804-1.
Description of Course: This is a special topics course on communication in nonprofit organizations. It will be taught like a graduate seminar course. Emphasis will not be placed on lecture, but on class discussion, co-construction of knowledge, and analytical thought by the students.
Pre-requisites: none
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, you will…
Class Attendance: You are expected to attend class, but are allowed three hours of unexcused absences in this course. For every hour (or fraction thereof) of unexcused absence over the three hours, there will be a 20-point deduction from your final point total. Absences will be excused only under the following circumstances:
I consider an excused absence one in which the absence is beyond your control. (For example, the time of a check up or a dental appointment CAN BE controlled). I will not excuse an absence in which you have to take somebody else to the doctor, hospital, dentist, court, etc. That is why I give you the three hours of unexcused absences. Use them wisely. I think good attendance is very important. All written documentation is due the class period before the final.
Missed/Late
Assignments:
Getting the Homework: If you miss class, please consult with one of your fellow students for the notes and/or homework. Write down to of your classmates’ names and phone numbers here:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you cannot reach either one of them after a few attempts, you should contact me.
Written Work: Assignments are due at the beginning of the hour. It is late after that. For each class session that an assignment is turned in late, you will be assessed a penalty of 10 points for that particular assignment.
E-mailing assignments/computer problems: You will need to submit most of your assignments in hard copy. On occasion, it will be possible to submit assignments via e-mail. Please note: your computer breaking, printer not working, etc. will never be accepted as an excuse for late work. It is your responsibility to begin work early enough to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. In addition, e-mailed work is recorded as “turned in” according the time stamp in the introduction to your message. “I got your address wrong” or “my e-mail wasn’t working” will not be accepted as reasons for late assignments.
Presentations: If you miss an assigned speech, we may not have time to allow you to present it later. If you know you are going to miss an assigned speech, trade speaking dates with someone in the class, and let the instructor know about the change. Failure to make a presentation will result in a zero for that assignment.
Class Participation: You are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared so that you may intelligently discuss assigned material. Proper preparation means reading the assigned chapters and completing daily assignments. Warning: This professor is well known for counting students absent when they are not prepared for class.
Food and Drink: I realize many of you probably do not have time for dinner before this
class. Feel free to bring food and drink
to class. Just be sure to dispose of it
properly when you are finished.
Classroom Climate: The success of this course is directly
related to the sense of community that we will develop in this classroom. Participation is essential to this
process. I encourage you to share your
views and listen to those of others.
Debate and discussion are an important part of the learning
process. While there will no doubt be
disagreements, I expect the members of this community (including myself) to
challenge ideas in a manner that reflects respect and recognition of opposing
viewpoints without attacking individuals.
There is no doubt in my mind that
controversial topics will come up during the course of this class. They always do. If you are a person who is
easily offended by the topics of sex, alcohol, abortion, the death penalty,
racial stereotypes, and other potentially controversial topics, then it is
advised that you enroll in another communication course not taught by this
instructor.
Outline of Course: All of the following assignments and point totals are considered
tentative and may change over the course of the semester due to your progress
and interests. The readings provided here are for educational purposes
only. We will use them for teaching,
scholarship, research, criticism, and comment.
You cannot financially profit from these works.
|
Date |
Topic |
Activities |
|
Supplemental Materials |
Guest Lecturer |
Due |
|
|
Orientation |
Syllabus; Name tents |
|
Matt Starcke, NSU Student Affairs |
|
|
|
|
Boards of Directors and The |
|
Sand Ch 1 & 2; Brinckerhoff Ch 3 & 4 |
IRS Information for
Charities & Nonprofits
|
|
RR1 (S 1,2 & B 3,4) |
|
|
Boards of Directors and The |
Return Service Learning contract |
Brinckerhoff Ch 1 & 2 |
NSU Development &
CASA documents
|
John Gyllin and Anita
Thompson, NSU Development;
Jo Prout, CASA |
RR2 (B 1,2) |
|
|
Finances, Grant Writing and Managing Grants |
|
Sand Ch 3 & 4; Brinckerhoff Ch 5 & Ch 10 |
|
RR3 (S 3,4 & B 5,10) |
|
|
|
Finances, Grant Writing and Managing Grants (cont) |
|
|
Bring to class: |
Melanie Buchleiter, NSU Sponsored Programs |
|
|
|
Strategic Plans |
|
Sand Ch 5; Brinckerhoff Ch 11 |
|
RR 4 (S 5 & B 11) |
|
|
|
Strategic Plans (cont) |
|
Jackson Ch 6 & 7 (need link) |
|
Reva Crawford, Cherokee Nation; |
|
|
|
Leadership, Supervising and Personnel Issues |
|
Sand Ch 6 & 7; Brinckerhoff Ch 6 |
|
|
RR5 (S 6, 7 & B 6) |
|
|
Leadership, Supervising and Personnel Issues (cont) |
|
|
|
David Moore,
Chamber of Commerce; Delphine Martin, |
|
|
|
Managing Volunteers & Policies |
|
Sand Ch 8; Brinckerhoff Ch 12 |
|
|
RR6 (S 8 & B 12) |
|
|
Managing Volunteers & Policies (cont) |
|
|
|
Linda Cheatham, Habitat for Humanity |
|
|
|
Community Coalitions, Marketing and Technology |
Talk about final paper presentations |
Sand Ch 9; Brinckerhoff Ch 9 & 7 |
|
|
RR7 (S 9 & B 9,7) |
|
|
Community Coalitions, Marketing, and Technology (cont) |
|
|
|
Janice Randall,
Boys & Girls Club; |
|
|
|
Presentations |
|
|
|
|
Final paper presentations |
|
|
Conclusion |
|
Sand Conclusion & Appendix; Brinckerhoff Ch 13 & 14 |
|
|
RR8 (S Conclusion, Appendix & B 13,14) |
|
|
Final |
|
|
|
|
Final papers due |
Grading:
Service Learning (20%): You are required to complete a minimum of 20 service learning hours at one nonprofit organization during the course of this semester. Activities during that time should include visiting the office of the nonprofit, attending board meetings and functions, attending volunteer training if applicable, etc. The 20 hours should not include the time you spend typing, printing, or writing your paper. Please keep a log of your hours and turn it in with your final paper. You must return your contract by the 3rd week of this class.
Final Paper (30%): Graduate students’ papers should be at least 14 pages in length (not including cover pages and reference pages). Undergraduate papers must be a minimum of 8 pages (not including cover pages and reference pages). They should be formatted in APA style (i.e., double spaced, 12 point TNR font, 1” margins). Ideally I’d like to see some of your papers submitted to a scholarly conference. Please pay attention to deadlines throughout the semester pertaining to this paper.
You have two choices for your final paper: a consultation report or a strategic plan.
Student Example of a Consultation Report—Fall 2007
Student
Example of a Strategic Plan—Fall 2007
Final Paper Presentation (10%)
In a 6-8 minute speech, educate your audience with the material you gathered in your final paper. This gives your cohorts an opportunity to learn from your research efforts. Remember, you are the expert in this room on your particular topic. You will be required to submit both an outline and bibliography before your presentation. You may only use the outline during your presentation. Please see the rubric for the grading criteria. Visiting the Communication Lab (ext. 2875) will help your performance.
Class Participation (20%):
Students will receive a zero (no credit), 5 (half credit), or 10 (full credit) during each class to represent his/her participation during that class session. Simply talking does not guarantee full credit for class participation. Students are expected to make intelligent verbal contributions to the class. A student’s discourse should reflect his/her knowledge of the text and his/her ability to synthesize that knowledge with further theoretical implications and application.
Class Grievances:
I am willing to meet with you to discuss our class and/or particular assignments. I ask that you please wait 24 hours after you have received a graded assignment to come see me. Before we discuss your work, you are required to type out a document detailing what particular elements of your work you feel merit discussion.
Students with Disabilities: If any member of the class feels that he or she has a disability and requires special accommodations, of any nature whatsoever, I will work with you to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please advise me of such disability and the desired accommodations at the close of the first class period. Students with disabilities who need accommodations to achieve course objectives should visit the Office of Student Affairs, Ext. 2120.
Plagiarism: According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1983, 2nd Ed.), to plagiarize is “to steal or pass of ideas or words of another as one’s own…to use created productions without crediting the source…to commit literary theft…to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (p.1371). Students in this course will be responsible for authenticating any assignment submitted to the instructor. If asked, you must be able to produce proof that the assignment you submitted is in fact your own work. Therefore, it is recommended that you engage in a verifiable working process on assignments. Keep copies of all drafts of your work, make photocopies of research materials, write summaries of research materials, keep logs or journals of your work on assignments and papers, learn to save drafts or versions of assignments under individual file names on computer diskettes, etc. In addition to requiring a student to authenticate his/her work, the instructor may employ various other means of ascertaining authenticity—such as engaging in internet searches, creating quizzes based on student work, requiring students to explain their work and/or process orally, etc.
NSU’s policy on Academic Misconduct (from http://www.nsuok.edu/policies/academic/misconduct.html): Academic misconduct includes cheating (using unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise), plagiarism, falsification of records, unauthorized possession of examinations, intimidation, and any and all other actions that may improperly affect the evaluation of a student’s academic performance or achievement, or assisting others in any such act or attempts to engage in such acts. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the University and therefore is unacceptable and prohibited. Any faculty member, administrator or staff member may identify an act of academic misconduct and should report that act to the department head/college dean, Vice President for Academic Affairs or administrative supervisor. Students violating the standards of academic honesty are subject to disciplinary action including reduction of a grade(s) in a specific course, assignment, paper, or project; a formal or informal reprimand at the professorial, dean, or academic vice president level; expulsion from the class in which the violation occurred; expulsion from a program; or expulsion from the University.
Inclement
Weather/Disaster Policy: The following are basic premises for the inclement
weather policy at Northeastern State University:
1.
Classes are expected to be held if at all possible.
2. It is the student's responsibility to receive
the information when weather is questionable.
3. Neither students nor faculty are expected to
risk life or limb.
4. Faculty members are obligated to hold classes if
the University is not closed, unless the faculty member is unable to get to
campus.
Policy:
During times of inclement weather, decisions concerning day classes will be
made by 6:00 a.m. in order for the media to be notified and for students to
receive the announcement before they leave home. Decisions concerning night
classes will be made by 3:00 p.m.
The
following media will be notified regarding closing of the campus:
|
Radio Stations |
Television Stations |
|
KRMG 740 AM Tulsa |
KJRH Channel 2 Tulsa |
|
KAYI 107 FM Tulsa |
KOTV Channel 6 Tulsa |
|
KTLQ 1350 AM Tahlequah |
KTUL Channel 8 Tulsa |
|
KEOK 102 FM Tahlequah |
KFSM Channel 5 Fort Smith |
|
KBIX 1490 AM Muskogee |
|
Common
courtesies: