Political Science 361/International Studies 361
Issues in World Politics
Summer 2023
Bill Newmann, Political Science Department
Office Hours: By Appointment only. Please email, and we can set up a zoom appointment.
Phone: Office: 828-2076 (main POLI number)
E-mail: wnewmann@vcu.edu
Newmann's home page: www.people.vcu.edu/~wnewmann with links to other Newmann syllabi and other fun stuff.
POLI 361. Issues in World
Politics. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours.
3 credits. An exploration of several significant issues in world politics.
Topics may include peacekeeping and collective security, international economic
competitiveness, global environmental politics as well as selected others.
Topics will vary with current events and trends in the international arena. Crosslisted as: INTL 361.
Structure
of the Class
This course is online asynchronous, but I’ve structured the lectures and topics as if we were in class and I was lecturing to you over the course of 8 weeks, with two classes per week. There are lectures for each day and a set of readings for each day, but when you listen to the lectures and when you do the readings are up to you. The exams and paper are due on specific days. If we were in class, we’d be on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, so we’ll use that loosely as the framework for the due dates for the quiz, exams, and papers. That means, of course, that you’ll need to finish watching the recorded lectures and reading the assignments by specific dates.
The reason I set this up to look like we’re doing this day-by-day, week-by-week in a classroom is because it’s still the best way to organize your workload so you don’t fall behind. You might be able to binge the recorded lectures the week before the exam (the Netflix version of education), but you aren’t likely to do as well as if you spread it out over the weeks before the exam. Of course, falling behind in the readings is always a bad idea.
Here are the basics:
· My introductory lecture will explain all this in detail;
· Use the course and reading schedule below to organize your work;
· All the Power Point Presentations that form the basis for the lectures are already listed week-by-week below on the syllabus. I may revise some of the PPT presentations a bit as I update them over the summer. If I do, I’ll let you know when revisions are made;
· Recorded lectures will be available at least a week before the date listed below. They will be available in the Canvas Media Gallery and linked to this syllabus;
· The map quiz and the exams are scheduled for specific days and the paper is due on a specific day. Those due dates are incorporated in the schedule below.
· After you watch the first lecture, you’ll get a sense of how all this works. Imagine the typical classroom lecture where the professor uses the PPT up on a screen and lectures based on the PPT. My face will be in the corner blabbing away. I’ll record that lecture and post it. You’ll have a recorded lecture and the PPT presentation itself to use when you study, and when you take exams.
· The map quiz and the exams will be take home. That is explained below in detail, but the short version is this: On the dates indicated for the map quiz, exam 1 and exam 2 in the course and reading schedule below, I’ll place the map quiz maps, or exam questions in the Files folder of Canvas. You’ll email me your answers by the deadline indicated. These can be typed files --word or pdfs – or jpeg if you want to write out the answers and send me a picture of the page.
· The paper will be turned in over email on the due date indicated below.
· Though we won’t be meeting, I’ll be available for you as much as you need me – over email, by zoom, or even face to face.
Introduction:
The best part of POLI/INTL 361 is that it allows a professor to teach about the subjects that they know best, even if they don’t fit into the standard course options. We’ll focus on two issues in readings and lectures: The Nuclear Arms Race and US-Chinese Relations. My dissertation and first book were on nuclear strategy and nuclear arms control. A book I just finished was on US decision making on policy toward China. Your research paper will look at a third issue: cyber conflict: the use of computers as weapons.
The Nuclear Arms Race The first half of the semester will focus on the impact of nuclear weapons on world politics. Scholars generally feel there are two nuclear ages. The first nuclear age is the classic cold war rivalry between the US and USSR. Both nations had the ability to wipe each other off the face of the planet, and the effect that had on both nations was, as you might guess, transformative. Or was it? We’ll look at the classic thinking on nuclear weapons and deterrence, and address whether nuclear weapons fundamentally transformed nuclear politics and great power rivalry or whether they simply represented a more efficient way of destroying your enemy. This section focuses on US and Soviet nuclear weapons deployments and capabilities, nuclear strategy, the debates about how to design the best nuclear deterrent, extended deterrence, the problems of ICBM vulnerability, ballistic missile defense, and arms control (SALT, START). The second nuclear age is the post-Cold war era. Scholars generally argue that the ultimate danger has been reduced (the probability that the US and Russia will attack each other with thousands of nuclear warheads is very low), but the politics of nuclear weapons is more complex, and the likelihood of actual use of nuclear weapons may be greater. What has changed? China has entered the arena as a growing nuclear power. India and Pakistan, countries that have fought numerous wars since their 1947 independence, both have growing nuclear arsenals. North Korea has a small, but technically sophisticated nuclear arsenal. Iran may or not be building nuclear weapons. Israel has nuclear weapons (shhhh), but denies it. The complexity is easy to see. There old US-Russian deterrent relationship still exists, but how will China enter that equation? India and Pakistan have their own deterrent relations, and China is part of that equation as well. Preventing small states like North Korea, Iran, and Iraq from developing nuclear arsenals through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation regime has been very difficult and controversial (on again off again negotiations, sanctions against Iran and North Korea, and an invasion of Iraq). Add credible ballistic missile defenses, the use of conventional warheads on ballistic missiles (Prompt Global Strike), and new hypersonic missiles, and deterrence becomes a dizzying equation. We’ll hit on all these topics in a chronological manner. We can’t understand where we are unless we know where we’ve been.
US-Chinese Relations
Are we witnessing the origins of the next cold war? Some people are absolutely
sure that the US and China are moving toward a relationship similar to the
US-Soviet relationship of the cold war. They look at China's potential, its
rapid economic growth, its huge population, its rapid increases in military
spending, and assume that China will behave as every other rising power has in
the past - its wealth will lead to power and its power will lead to expansion.
The specific disagreements may center on China's human rights record, its
actions in the South China Sea, its one-party Communist state, or its sales of
missile and nuclear weapons technology to states such as Iran or Pakistan, but
underneath it all is a struggle between the current superpower -- the US -- and
a rising challenger -- China. Others
feel US-China relations can go in any direction. The US and China can find
common ground in their economic interests or growing hostility over their
differences in ideology or their power rivalry. The issue of Taiwan, of course,
often is the beginning and end of the discussion. While the US and the USSR
fought the cold war with great intensity, they never had an issue such as
Taiwan. To China, Taiwan has been seen as a renegade province that must be
returned to mainland control to fulfill China's ambitions as a great power and
to finally end the humiliation of China's colonial era. It is a matter of
Chinese nationalism and a test of the Communist party's leadership and
legitimacy. For the US, Taiwan is a democratic ally
that can't be abandoned to a dictatorship and a test of US reliability and
willingness to remain a superpower in East Asia. In the early part of the Cold War, the US and
China were enemies who even fought directly during the Koran War (1950-1953). When relations between China and the USSR
deteriorated (mid-1950s on), the US took advantage of that growing Sino-Soviet
split to open relations with China (Nixon’s famous trip to China in 1972). From
that point until the end of the Cold War containing Soviet power in East Asia
was what brought the US and China closer. Once the Cold War ended, US-China
relations were cemented by both nation’s interest in economic growth. In the 21st century, US-China
relations have begun to deteriorate.
Both US political parties have begun to question whether US-China trade
is good or bad for the US. Once trade no
longer provides the glue to the relationship, China’s persecution of Uighurs in
Xinjiang, its crackdown on Hong Kong, its generally tightening of restrictions
on freedom of speech and the press become larger issues in US policy. Under Xi Jinping, China’s president and
Communist party leader since 2012, China has moved toward a more assertive
foreign policy. The China Dream calls
for a return to leadership in East Asia and global prominence. We’ll look at Chinese strategic thinking from
the dynastic era to today and consider how Xi Jinping’s foreign policy in the
South China Sea, toward Taiwan, and through the Belt and Road Initiative will
impact East Asia and the global balance of power.
The Research Paper: Cyber conflict. One of the big debates today in international politics is
whether cyberwar (the use of computers as a key component of an attack) is as
fundamentally game changing as nuclear weapons were after World War II. Will we
talk about the cyber age the same way we talk about the nuclear age? Or do computers simply give us a new way of
waging the same old types of conflicts?
The way we’ll approach this topic is by having you read a book, and
write an analytical book review that will include some research to back up your
analysis. More detailed instructions are
in the paper instructions link. The short version is this: You’ll read Thomas
Rid. Cyberwar Will Not Take Place (Oxford
University Press, 2017). Rid makes a strong and clear argument. Your job is to
agree with him or disagree with him and explain why.
Learning
Outcomes
1.
Students
will be able to differentiate between the complexities of the first and second
nuclear ages, and be able to evaluate the relationship between technological
developments and national security strategies
2.
Students
will be able to differentiate between the nuclear strategies of various nations
and be able to evaluate the nuclear relationships between nation states of
varying nuclear capability.
3.
Students
will be able to differentiate between and evaluate the range of nuclear
non-proliferation strategies.
4.
Students
will be able to identify and analyze the complexity of US and Chinese national
interests, national security strategies, and historical foreign policy
legacies.
5.
Students
will be able to identify and analyze the complexity of the issues where the US
and China may come into conflict, including the rules of the international and regional
order, trade, human rights, the South China Sea, North Korea, and overall
leadership in East Asia
6.
Students
will demonstrate the ability to research and write a paper for political
science
Texts
You
need to read them, but you don’t have to buy them. The books are available at
the VCU Bookstore, and maybe Bookholders. If anyone has problems getting access to the
texts, for any reason, let me know as soon as possible so you don't get too far
behind in the reading. I will try to get the books on reserve at Cabell
Library, but a couple of them are not available yet. Shambaugh,
Hayton, Panda, and Rid are available online through the library.
Grading
System: Grades
will be determined through the following:
|
June
20 This will be a take home quiz. I will put the maps in the Files folder
of Canvas at about 9:00 AM on Tuesday June 20. The answer sheets are due back
to me at midnight on Wednesday June 21 (as Wednesday June 21 becomes Thursday
June 22), but this is a soft deadline, so don’t sweat an extra
few hours. |
5% of the grade |
|
|
Exam
1 |
Wednesday
July 5 to Friday July 7 This will be a take home exam. I will place the
exam in the Files folder in Canvas at 9:00 AM July 5. It will be due back to
me (emailed) by midnight on July 7 (as July 7 becomes July 8). |
30%
of the grade |
|
Paper
Due: Tuesday July 25: At Midnight (as the 25h becomes the 26th;
a soft deadline though) |
35%
of the grade |
|
|
Exam
2 |
Wednesday August 2 to Friday
August 4: This will be a take home exam. I will place the
exam in the Files folder of Canvas at about 9:00 AM on Wednesday August 2. It
will be due back to me (emailed) by midnight on Friday August 4 (as August 4
becomes August 5). |
30%
of the grade |
|
|
|
How do you calculate your grade? Use the percentages from the above table. So, if you received the following grades, you would calculate your grades in the following manner:
I give you this very detailed formula for a number of reasons. You should never be unaware of what your class average is. You can calculate it at any point in the semester. If your grade is not what you'd like it to be, you should know, and you should come see me about it. Do not come to me after Exam 2 and say that you're having trouble in the class. It's too late at that point. But any time in the semester that you feel you are having trouble, or not doing as well as you feel you should, come talk to me. During my office hours and by appointment I am happy to talk to you about the class
Grading scale: I use a typical scale: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 55-69. Borderline grades are considered in the following manner.
· If your grade is 69.5, 79.5, or 89.5 or higher, then you may be a candidate for a round up to the higher grade (Notice those numbers in the sentence; do not ask for a higher grade if your average is a 68 or 78 or 88 or lower; those are not borderline averages).
· You may become a candidate if your grades are borderline and if your grades have been going up during the semester.
· That means that if you are borderline, but your last exam is lower than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a C for example), you will probably get the lower grade.
· If you are borderline, and your last exam is higher than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a B), you may get the higher grade.
· Another factor I consider is the typical grade you receive. Let’s say we have four grades for the class and three are grades of B and one is a C (bad day) and your average is a 79.6, you are a candidate for receiving a B. If you have four grades and three are grades of C and one is a grade of B, you are probably not a candidate for the higher grade
· There is no extra credit for this class. Please do not ask.
Speaking of grades: The withdrawal date is July 11
You will be asked to identify a total of 100
different countries,
cities, regions, or bodies of water spread out over seven different maps. These countries, cities, regions, or
bodies of water are listed in the link
above. There is a separate list for each
map. On June 20, I will place seven maps in
the Files folder on Canvas. On those
maps, all the countries, cities, regions, or bodies of water you need to identify will be marked with a
letter. Your job will be to match the
letter with the countries, regions, or bodies of water. Use
the lists in the link as your answer sheet. You’ll see a space to put in the
letter. Then save it and email it to me
by the deadline. Please see the
instructions about how to name the file.
I will
put the actual maps in the Course Documents folder on Tuesday June 20 at about
9:00 AM. Your answers are due at
midnight Wednesday June 21 (as June 21 becomes June 22), but that is a soft
deadline, so don’t sweat an extra hour or two.
This assignment is super easy, and, of course, it is open book. Given the in class/online nature of the
course, this won’t be tough. It just forces you to take a little time to look
at a map.
Paper Due: July 25: Emailed to me by midnight (as July 25 becomes July
26), but this is a soft deadline so don’t sweat an extra few
hours.
I will review rough drafts, outlines, and even
completed papers, if emailed to me by July 18.
This is not required, but an opportunity for you let me review your
paper and get it back to you so you can use my comments to rewrite your
paper.
The
following instructions are important. Please pay attention to them. If you don't you
will wind up hurting your grade:
·
LATE PAPERS: The
late penalty is ten points per day, meaning that after class begins your paper,
if a 95, is now an 85, after two days it is a 75, after three it is a 65, and
so on down to zero.
EXAMS: The exams are take home exams. You will have roughly two days to complete each exam. The exams will be short answer and essay. At least one week before the exam I will put a review sheet online. It will be linked to the syllabus below this paragraph. In general, the review sheets should be used as your study guide for the exam. The review sheet will include some terms that are from the readings only, so that you can go back and review those items from the readings. Once you have the review sheet, feel free to ask me questions about the terms. This is the best way to study for the exam. If you understand the terms on the review sheet, you can define each one and see how each one relates to the larger concepts and issues we've discussed in class, you should do just fine on the exam.
How does a take home exam work?
Basics
·
Midterm: I will place the exam in the Files folder in Canvas
at about 9:00 AM on July 5. It will be due back to me (emailed) at midnight
July 7 (as July 7 becomes July 8).
·
Final: I will place the exam in Files folder of Canvas at
about 9:00 AM on August 2. It will be due back to me (emailed) by midnight on
August 4 (as August 4 becomes August 5).
·
Type or write the exam.
·
Either way, email me a file or pdf or even jpeg of the written
answers by the deadline
·
11- or 12-point font
·
One-inch margins
·
Double-spaced
·
Please use your name as the name of the file you send me. I’d be happiest if you named the file like
this: Exam 1 POLI 361 Newmann (so if it was my exam, it would be Exam 1 POLI
361 Newmann)
·
The exam is open notes (so you can use your notes, the book, the
review sheet, and the PPT slides)
·
I do not expect any outside research on this at all
·
Each exam will consist of two parts.
o
The first part will be short answers (a choice of 2 out of 8-10).
I’m looking for about a half page for a short answer. Identify the term and
tell me why it is important. All terms are lifted directly from the review
sheet.
o
The second part of the exam will be an essay question. There will be multiple questions to choose
from here too. As we get closer to the exams, I will talk more about the essay
format.
·
You have choice of what you want to answer in each part,
so read the directions carefully
·
Each question has a specific page number target. You can go
over the limit, not a problem, but don’t go too far over the limit. You don’t
need to.
·
I think two to three hours will be enough time
for you to write the exam and do well. You can take more time of course, as
much as you need. The point here is that I don't think you end to spend
hours and hours.
·
It might be helpful to read the questions, then review your notes,
and the review sheet. Maybe make an outline of the essay. And then start
to write.
·
As always, the review sheets should be very helpful. You can use
the review sheets while you take the exam. It might be a good organizational tool.
·
Feel free to email me questions if you have them, but as usual,
there are limits to how I can help you.
And, important:
·
Sharing this exam with anyone outside the class is a violation of
the VCU Honor Code
·
Working with another student in the class or anyone else while you
take this exam is a violation of the VCU Honor Code
·
As with any take home, the plagiarism rules that
exist for research papers apply here. Your exams must be your written
work. I will run this through the standard plagiarism programs as I do with all
research papers.
Preliminary Review Sheets
Use these to study for exams. They
are an outline of everything I will discuss in the class. I may make
adjustments to them based on events and any changes I make in the lectures. But
they can be used as an outline of everything we’ll discuss in class, and an
outline of key terms from the readings. If I make any changes to them, I will
let you know. Also, any changes will be made at least a week before the exam
except in the case where I eliminate terms from the review sheet. I might do
that after the last lecture for that section of the class. I’ll let you know if
I do.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence Programs on the Paper
and Exams
The short version: Don’t. You cannot use these programs in an exam. That is cheating. See the paper instructions for more about the paper and AI.
You’ve heard all the buzz and you might have used these programs already for different things. New technology is fun, and it can be used as an excellent tool in lots of situations. But in a class like this, the rules of plagiarism haven’t changed just because new technology has arrived: If you didn’t write it and you say that you did write it, that is plagiarism, a violation of the VCU Honor Code. Then you fail the assignment, maybe the class, and there is an Honor Code violation on your record. For exams, it’s simple. You are supposed to be writing these exams. Anything other than that is cheating. Also:
1. If you didn’t write it, you don’t learn anything (and that’s why you’re here);
2. You’ll likely get caught. The companies that make the AI also make free AI-detection programs. I use them.
3. AI programs use the entire internet to find information and they are not very good at sorting good information from bad information. Even worse, AI programs are notorious for picking up disinformation and putting it into their writing. Disinformation is information that is wrong, but is deliberately placed on the internet by governments or political parties trying to fool people with propaganda. There is an information war going on 24 hours a day. Some people refer to it as a “firehose of falsehood” used by people who want to rewrite the history of the world as a path to controlling what people think. In the fight against propaganda, we used to think that facts would always win out. It was a battle between people who wanted to hide the facts and people who wanted the facts to be revealed so everyone could make their own judgments. But the internet has accelerated and expanded the other problem. What if the actual facts are surrounded by lies masquerading as facts? How do you sort the facts from the lies? That’s where we live right now. It’s hard for the any human to sort this all out. It takes some effort and some factchecking. AI systems don’t do this well. They can be fooled by the disinformation. Your paper will suffer if your AI program gets fooled.
4. In short, it’s a bad idea for lots of reasons. And, of course, it’s cheating.
COURSE AND READING SCHEDULE
Week
1: June 13-16
Day 1:
Introduction to the Class and Intro to Nuclear Weapons
· Kaplan, Introduction and Chapters 1-3
Day 2: Strategy and Arms Control in the First Nuclear Age I
· Kaplan, Chapters 4-7
·
Weapons
in the First Nuclear Age PPT
·
Lecture
4: Weapons in the First Nuclear Age
Week
2: June 19-23
Map
Quiz:
This will be a take home quiz. I will put the maps in the Files folder
of Canvas at about 9:00 AM on Tuesday June 20. The answer sheets are due back
to me at midnight on Wednesday June 21 (as Wednesday June 21 becomes Thursday
June 22), but this is a soft deadline, so don’t sweat an extra
few hours.
Day 3:
Strategy and Arms Control in the First Nuclear Age II
· Kaplan, Chapters 8-10
·
Nuclear
Strategy PPT
·
Arms
Control PPT
·
Lecture
6: Arms Control and Stability
Day 4: The Second Nuclear Age I:
Russia, China, and Ballistic Missile Defense
· Kaplan, Chapter 11
· Panda, Introduction and Chapters 1-3
·
Second
Nuclear Age: US Russia China PPT
·
Lecture
7: Second Nuclear Age: US, Russia, China
Week 3: June 26-30
Day 5: The Second Nuclear Age II: India and Pakistan
· Panda, Chapters 3-6
· Non-Proliferation Basics PPT
·
India and Pakistan
PPT
·
Lecture
8: Non-Proliferation Basics
·
Lecture
9: India and Pakistan
Day 6: The Second Nuclear Age III:
Iran and North Korea
· Panda, Chapters 7-9
·
Outliers:
South Africa, Taiwan, Israel PPT
·
Iraq and Iran PPT
Week 4: July 3-7
Day 7: The Second Nuclear Age IV: New Threats and New Weapons
· Panda, Chapters 10-11
Day 8: Exam 1: July 5 to 7 (This will be a take home exam. I will place
the exam in the Files folder in Canvas at 9:00 AM on July 5. It will be due
back to me (emailed) by midnight PM on July 7 (as July 7 becomes July 8). This is a soft deadline, so don’t sweat some
extra hours.
Withdrawal Date: July 11
Week 5: July 10-14
Day 9: Hegemony and Great Power
Conflict: Western and Chinese Views
· Shambaugh, Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 10
·
US-China
Relations and IR Theory PPT
·
Lecture
13A: US China Relations Theory Part One
·
Lecture
13 B: US China Relations Theory Part Two
Day 10: Cold War US and Chinese Foreign Policy
Week
6: July 17-21
Last day for turning in optional
rough drafts: July 18
Day 11: Post-Cold War US-China Relations One
Day 12: Post-Cold War US-China Relations Two
Week
7: July 24-28
Paper
Due: Tuesday July 25: At Midnight (as the 25h becomes the 26th;
a soft deadline though)
Day 13: US-China Trade
·
Hayton, Chapters 5-7
Day 14: The South China Sea
·
Hayton, Chapters 8, 9, and Epilogue
·
China
and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine PPT
·
Lecture
20: China and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Week 8: July 31- August 4
Day 15: Finishing anything leftover and exam 2 review.
·
No
readings
Exam
2: August 2 to 4:
This will be a take home exam. I will place the exam in Canvas in the Files
folder at about 9:00 AM on August 2. It will be due back to me (emailed) by
midnight on August 4 (as August 4 becomes August 5).
July
11: Withdrawal date.
Other Important Stuff
Political Science Advising
If you are a Political Science major, we highly recommend that you
meet with your friendly and helpful POLI advisors, Nathan Bickett
and Jen Clayton, at least once a semester to make sure you are on track - doing
what you need to do and not doing what you don’t need to do - and to discuss
your academic and professional goals. Current minors and those considering a
POLI major or minor are also encouraged to visit.
You may make an appointment through the
Navigator app or through a link on your VCU Portal. You may also reach us at poliadvisor@vcu.edu
Political Science Librarian
Nia Rodgers is the librarian for Political Science.
She can help you find peer-reviewed materials to use in your research. She can
be reached at: slrodgers@vcu.edu
or you can make an appointment at: https://vcu.libcal.com/appointment/8778
Where can you find
information on international affairs?
This is the
questions students always ask me: “Where do I find good information on international
affairs. I’m looking for something unbiased and something that doesn’t always
look at the world through American eyes (as in how do these developments affect
the US).
Here’s
the short answer: For day by day
coverage of events in the world:
On a weekly basis:
The
Economist: www.economist.com. This is a Britain-based weekly which covers
world politics and world business. There
really is nothing else like it in the comprehensive nature of its coverage. You can also buy it on the newsstand, but the
web is free. It covers world politics
very well.
Long Term Views of Crisis and Conflict:
International Crisis Group: www.crisisweb.org.
This is the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization that
studies, analyzes, and makes recommendations about how to resolve various
crises in the world. There is nothing
better for the in-depth examination of current world events and the dilemmas of
problem solving and peace making. It has
reports (30-50 pages), briefings (10-30), and a weekly briefing (Crisis Watch),
which you can get on the web site or sign up for e-mail delivery.
VCU Syllabus Statements
Campus
emergency information
Sign up to receive at alert.vcu.edu/signup/.
It is essential to keep your information up-to-date within VCU Alert and to
keep your permanent address and emergency contact information current in eServices.
VCU uses a
variety of communication methods to alert the campus community about emergency
situations and safety threats. Learn more about types of alerts at alert.vcu.edu/know/typesofalerts.php
Know the
emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234), and report suspicious
activities and objects.
Class
registration required for attendance
Students may attend only those classes for which they have registered. Faculty
may not add students to class rosters or Blackboard. If students are attending
a class for which they have not registered, they must stop attending.
Honor
System: upholding academic integrity
The VCU Honor System policy describes the responsibilities of students, faculty
and administration in upholding academic integrity. According to this policy,
"Members of the academic community are required to conduct themselves in
accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty, ethics and integrity
at all times." Students are expected to read the policy in full and learn
about requirements here: https://conduct.students.vcu.edu/vcu-honor-system/
Computer
and network use
All students are expected to know and comply with VCU's Computer and Network
Use policy, which can be reviewed at policy.vcu.edu/universitywide-policies/policies/computer-and-network-resources-use.html.
Important
dates
Important dates for the semester are listed in the VCU Academic Calendar: https://academiccalendars.vcu.edu/
We
care about your success!
Virginia Commonwealth University has launched an Early Alert initiative to
support student success. As your professor, if I am concerned about your
academic performance in the first few weeks of this class, you and your
academic advisor may receive a Progress Report email with links to appropriate
academic support resources. You are encouraged to reach out to me after class
or during my office hours for additional support. Your academic advisor, the
Writing Center, and the Campus Learning Center may also follow up to provide
additional layers of support to you.
Attendance
and consequences of poor attendance
The instructional programs at VCU are based upon a series of class meetings
involving lectures, discussions, field experiences, special readings and
reporting assignments. Therefore it is important for
each student to be in attendance on a regular basis. A student who misses a
class session is responsible for completing all material covered or assignments
made during the absence.
Students
having attendance problems should contact their instructor to explain the
reasons for nonattendance and to discuss the feasibility of continuing in the
course. If the student has fallen so far behind that the successful completion
of the course is impossible, the student should withdraw from the course before
the end of the first 10 weeks of classes.
If the
student continues to miss class and does not officially withdraw from the
course, the instructor may withdraw the student for nonattendance with a mark
of W before the end of the first 10 weeks of classes or may assign an academic
grade at the end. Withdrawals are not permitted after the end of the first 10
weeks of classes. For classes that do not conform to the semester calendar, the
final withdrawal date occurs when half of the course has been completed.
Withdrawal dates for summer session classes are provided on the Summer
Studies calendar.
Career
Services
Looking for ways to tie what you are learning in your class to your future
career or professional goals? VCU Career Services provides career planning
services for all current VCU students and alumni. Career Services can help
students with finding a work-study job on/off campus, resume writing,
internship development, interviewing, preparing for graduate school,
networking, or job searching,. Students are invited to
attend career events and workshops, and schedule individualized career advising
appointments. Career Services is located on the ground floor of University
Commons, in room 143. For more information and to make a career advising
appointment, visit
the VCU Career Services website.
Managing
stress
Students may experience situations or challenges that can interfere with
learning and interpersonal functioning including stress, anxiety, depression,
alcohol and/or other drug use, concern for a friend or family member, loss,
sleep difficulties, feeling hopeless or relationship problems. There are
numerous campus resources available to students including University Counseling
Services (804-828-6200 MPC Campus, 804-828-3964 MCV Campus) which provides
brief therapy treatment, University Student Health Services (MPC 804 828-8828,
MCV Campus 804 828-9220) and the Health Promotion and Well-Being Center
[The Well] (804-828-9355). 24 hour emergency mental
health support is available by calling (804) 828-6200 or utilizing the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-784-2433).
Mandatory
responsibility of faculty members to report incidents of sexual misconduct
All employees, including faculty, department chairs and deans, are required to
report any incidents of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and partner or relationship
violence to the university's Title IX Coordinator.
Confidential
offices which can provide support at VCU are: University Counseling Services
(804) 828-6200
For more information
about Title IX, please visit please visit https://equity.vcu.edu/.
Military
short-term training or deployment
If military students receive orders for short-term training or for
deployment/mobilization, they should inform and present their orders to
Military Student Services and to their professor(s). For further information on
policies and procedures contact Military Student Services at 828-5993 or access
the corresponding policies.
Student
email standard
Email is considered an official method for communication at VCU. Students are
expected to check their official VCU email on a frequent and consistent basis
(the university recommends daily) in order to remain informed of
university-related communications. Students are responsible for the
consequences of not reading, in a timely fashion, university-related
communications sent to their official VCU student email account. Mail sent to
the VCU email address may include notification of university-related actions,
including disciplinary action. Students must read this standard in its entirety
at https://ts.vcu.edu/media/technology-services/content-assets/university-resources/ts-groups/information-security/StudentEmailStandard.pdf
Student
financial responsibility
Students assume the responsibility of full payment of tuition and fees
generated from their registration, all charges for housing and dining services
and other applicable miscellaneous charges. Students are ultimately responsible
for any unpaid balance on their account as a result of the University Financial
Aid Office or their third party sponsor canceling or
reducing their award(s).
Students
representing the university – excused absences
Students who represent the university (athletes and others) do not choose their
schedules. All student athletes should provide their schedules to their
instructors at the beginning of the semester. The Intercollegiate Athletic
Council strongly encourages faculty to treat missed classes or exams (because
of a scheduling conflict) as excused absences and urges faculty to work with
the students to make up the work or exam.
Students
with disabilities
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, require that VCU provide "academic
adjustments" or "reasonable accommodations" to any student who
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life
activity. To receive accommodations, students must register with the Office
of Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity on the Monroe
Park Campus (828-2253) or the Division for Academic Success on the MCV campus
(828-9782). Please also visit the Student Accessibility and Educational
Opportunity website via https://saeo.vcu.edu/ and/or
the Division for Academic Success website via https://das.vcu.edu/ for additional
information.
Once
students have completed the registration process, they should schedule a
meeting with their instructor (s) and provide their instructor (s) with an
official accommodation letter. Students should follow this procedure for all
courses in the academic semester.
Withdrawal
from classes
Before withdrawing from classes, students should consult their instructor as
well as other appropriate university offices. Withdrawing from classes may
negatively impact a student’s financial aid award and his or her semester
charges. To discuss financial aid and the student bill, visit the Student
Services Center at 1015 Floyd Avenue (Harris Hall) and/or contact your
financial aid counselor regarding the impact on your financial aid.
Faculty
communication about students
VCU instructional faculty, administrators and staff maintain confidentiality of
student records and disclose information in accordance with the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This means that VCU officials may
disclose student record information without the consent of the student in
certain situations. To support university operations, for example, VCU
officials share information about students with other educational officials as
necessary to perform their job duties. FERPA permits this disclosure to school
officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the student
information. In addition, VCU officials have obligations to report information
shared by a student depending on the content of that information, for example,
in compliance with VCU’s policy on the duty to report. Unless FERPA permits a
certain disclosure, VCU generally requires consent from a student to disclose
information from their education record to another individual. You may find
additional information on the VCU FERPA website: http://rar.vcu.edu/records/family-educational-rights-and-privacy-act/.