Description
This course applies concepts, theories, and practices necessary to build, lead, and maintain high performance teams. Students will focus on team dynamics, decision-making, leadership, communication and conflict management in various organizational settings. This is a 3-credit course, requiring a minimum of 18 hours of course engagement each week in an 8-week term, or 9 hours per week in a 15-week term (refer to the Credit Hours Calculation Policy in the Student Handbook), Course engagement includes such activities as discussions, reading, study time, and assignments.
Prerequisite(s) None.
Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Differentiate among work groups and types of teams. 2. Examine the stages of team development.
3. Examine cultural and leadership competencies critical for effective team leadership.
4. Assess team dynamics relevant to team development, decision-making, communication, conflict and leadership role. 5. Evaluate the opportunities and challenges of leading virtual teams.
6. Apply tools for diagnosing, measuring, and enhancing team effectiveness. 7. Design a plan to lead a high performance team.
Deliverables
Click here (https://www.excelsior.edu/calendar/8-week-term-schedule/) to view the 8 week Term Schedules. Click here (https://www.excelsior.edu/calendar/15-week-term-schedule/) to view the 15 week Term Schedules.
Course Schedule
Weeks start on Monday,12:01 AM ET (Eastern Time) and end on Sunday, 11:59 PM ET, US (United States). Unless otherwise noted, all assigned items are due at the end of the module (by 11:59PM, Sunday).
Week Module & Title Reading/Viewing Assignments Online
Discussions Course Outcomes Related to this Module Master's · Business & Technology · Business
BUS518 LEADING TEAMS
Week 1 Module 1: Work Groups versus Teams Read: Required:
Module Notes: Work Groups versus Teams
Boundless (n.d. (no date)). Management. (v9). (Chapter 6, sections 1-4). Hollenbeck, J. R., Beersma, B., & Schouten, M. E. (2012). Beyond team types and taxonomies: a dimensional scaling conceptualization for team description. Academy Of Management Review, 37(1), 82-106.
Wu, J. B., Tsui, A. S., & KinickiI, A. J. (2010). Consequences of differentiated leadership in groups. Academy Of Management Journal, 53(1), 90-106.
View:
Video Age (Producer). (2014). Team Learning at Work [Video].
Films Media Group (Producer). (2013). Transforming SILOS: Cutting Edge Communications Comedy Series. [Video]
M (Module)1A (Assignment)1 Paper: Work Group and Team Roles M (Module)1D (Disscussion)1: Group Roles versus Team Roles 1 Week 2 Module 2: Team Development Read: Required:
Module Notes: Stages of Team Development
Adams, S. L., & Anantatmula, V. (2010). Social and behavioral influences on team process. Project Management Journal, 41(4), 89-98.
Kennedy, F., & Nilson, l. (2008). Successful strategies for teams: Team member handbook. Parts 1, 2, and 3.
Maddux, R. B., Osgood, D. A., & Wingfield, B. (2009). Team Building: Turn Personal Strengths Into Group Success. [Rochester, N.Y.]: Axzo Press. [Part 5] Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups.
Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-399.
Optional:
Maddux, R. B., Osgood, D. A., & Wingfield, B. (2009). Team Building: Turn Personal Strengths Into Group Success. [Rochester, N.Y.]: Axzo Press. [Parts 2, 3, 4]
Yang, I. (2013). When team members meet in a new team: An exploration of team development. Human Systems Management, 32(3), 181-197.
View:
Team Building [Video]. (2014). Inc. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from Academic Video Online: Premium.
Listen:
Margerison, C. (n.d.). Team Development. Team Management Systems Podcasts. [Podcast] M2A1 Case Study: Creating, Growing, and Sustaining Teams M2D1: Team Development and Leadership 2, 4 Week 3 Module 3: Leadership Competencies Read: Required:
Module Notes: Leadership Competencies for an Effective Leader
M3A1 Self-Assessment Paper: Leadership Competency M3A2 M3D1: Cultural and Leadership Competencies 3
Bellingham, R., & O'Brien, W. (2005). The Leadership Lexicon: A Handbook of Leadership Competencies with Skills and Development Action. [Chapter 1: sections 2 and 3; Chapter 2: section 1].
Groves, K., & Feyerherm, A. (2011). Leader cultural intelligence in context: Testing the moderating effects of team cultural diversity on leader and team performance. Group & Organization Management, 36(5), 535-566.
Kennedy, D. (2008). Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance. [Part 2]
Kennedy, F., & Nilson, l. (2008). Successful strategies for teams: Team member handbook. [Part 2]
Parrey, D. (2014). The global leadership competencies we aren’t teaching. Chief Learning Officer, 13(6), 52-55.
Shapiro, D. L., Von Glinow, M. Y., & Cheng, J. C. (2005). Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. [Part 1]
Optional:
Benson-Armer, R. & Stickel, D. (May/June 2000). Successful team leadership is built on trust. Ivey Business Journal 64(5), S20-S25.
Bourantas, D., & Agapitou, V. (2014). Leadership Meta-competencies: Discovering Hidden Virtues. Burlington: Gower. [Chapters 4, 5, 7] Center for Creative Leadership (2001). Leadership skills & emotional intelligence. Research Synopsis Number 1.
Mayer, J., Caruso, D., & Caruso, D. (November/December 2002). The effective leader: Understanding and applying emotional intelligence. Ivey Business Journal 67(2), 1-5.
Stahl, G., & Brannen, M. (2013). Building cross-cultural leadership competence: An interview with Carlos Ghosn. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 494-502.
Listen: Required:
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Becoming a strategic leader. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Becoming resilient: Leadership, uncertainty, and learning to thrive in times of change. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Beware of your strengths. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Build culture, build capacity. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Optional:
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). The big 6: An active listening skill set. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Crafting your leadership image Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). How to grow as a leader. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Center for Creative Leadership (n.d.). Leadership image: asset or liability. Center for Creative Leadership. [Podcast]
Individual Course Project: Team Selection
View Required:
Center for Creative Leadership (2011, July 27). A seven-country study of the importance of leadership competencies for success in organizations. [Video]
Optional:
Working constructively in a sales team: Sales and service masterclass [Video]. (2009). In Films On Demand.
Week 4 Module 4: Leadership and Team Dynamics Read: Required:
Module Notes: Leadership and Team Dynamics
Curry, K. (2014). Team Leadership: It’s Not for the Faint of Heart. Journal of Cases In Educational Leadership, 17(2), 20-40.
Kubica, T., & LaForest, S. (2014). Intrapersonal Skills. Leadership Excellence, 31(4), 70.
Maddux, R., Osgood, D., & Wingfield, B. (2009). Team Building: Turn Personal Strengths Into Group Success. [Rochester, N.Y.]: Axzo Press. [Part 4]. Sloane, P. (2007). Innovative Leader: How to Inspire your Team and Drive Creativity. London, GBR: Kogan Page Ltd. [Section 2].
Smith, W. (2015). Dynamic Decision Making: A model of senior leaders managing strategic paradoxes. Academy Of Management Journal, 1015(1), 58-89.
Tasler, N. (2013). Decide to Be Excellent. Leadership Excellence, 30(10), 24.
Optional:
Arneson, S. (2013). 5 Essential Questions. Leadership Excellence, 30(11), 5. Eyre, E. (n.d.). Benne and Sheats’ group roles: Identifying both positive and negative group behavior roles.
Hewertson, R. (2014). Four Exercises That Will Make You a Better Leader. Businessweek.Com, 1.
Hill, R. (n.d.). The Johari Window: Using self-discovery and communication to build trust.
Watch: Required:
Arsenic and old lace: A study in turnaround management [Video]. (2003). In Films On Demand. M4A1 Paper: Leadership and Communication M4D1: Leadership and Decision-Making 3, 4
Week 5 Module 5: Leadership and Conflict Read: Required:
Module Notes: Conflict Management Styles
Coleman, P. T., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. C. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (3rd Edition). Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. [Chapters 35, 39]
CPP, Inc. (2015). The TKI Tool: More than conflict management.
Long, C., Zhong-Ming, W., & Wei, Z. (2011). The Effects of conflict on team decision making. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 39(2), 189-198.
Optional:
Coleman, P. T., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. C. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (3rd Edition). Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. [Chapters 36, 37, 38]
Pope, S. (2008). Team Leader Workbook. Amherst, Mass: HRD Press.
View: Required:
Kilmann Diagnostics (2012). Ralph Kilmann’s Overview of the TKI. Retrieved from Kilmann Diagnostics. [Video]
Optional:
Kilmann Diagnostics (n.d.). Videos for the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). Retrieved from Kilmann Diagnostics. Select any videos from the list. M5A1 Paper: Conflict Management M5D1: Leadership Solutions to Challenges 4
Week 6 Module 6: Leading Virtual Teams Read: Required:
Module Notes: Virtual Team Leadership
Alahuhta, P., Nordbäck, E., Sivunen, A., & Surakka, T. (2014). Fostering Team Creativity in Virtual Worlds. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 7(3), 1-22. Berry, G. R. (2011). Enhancing Effectiveness on Virtual Teams. [PDF, File Size 140 KB] Journal Of Business Communication, 48(2), 186-206.
Dennis, D. J., Meola, D., & Hall, M. J. (2013). Effective leadership in a virtual workforce. T+D, 67(2), 46-51.
Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., & Rosen, B. (2007). Leading Virtual Teams. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 60-70.
Yoo, Y., & Alavi, M. (2004). Emergent leadership in virtual teams: what do emergent leaders do? Information and Organization, 1427-58.
Optional:
Aon Consulting. (2009). The reality of virtual work: Is your organization ready?
Cogliser, C. C., Gardner, W. L., Gavin, M. B., & Broberg, J. C. (2012). Big five personality factors and leader emergence in virtual teams: Relationships with team trustworthiness, member performance contributions, and team performance. Group & Organization Management, 37(6), 752.
Deloitte Consulting. (April, 2005). Calling a change in the outsourcing market: The realities for the world’s largest organizations.
Govindarajan, V. & Gupta, A. (2001, July 15). Building an effective global business team. MIT Sloan Management Review.
Ferrazzi, K. (2014, December). Getting virtual teams right. Harvard Business Review.
Hoch, J. E., & Kozlowski, S. J. (2014). Leading virtual teams: Hierarchical leadership, structural supports, and shared team leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 390-403.
Peñarroja, V., Orengo, V., Zornoza, A., Sánchez, J., & Ripoll, P. (2015). How team feedback and team trust influence information processing and learning in virtual teams: A moderated mediation model. Computers in Human Behavior, 489-16.
Siebdrat, F., Hoegl, M., & Ernst, H. (2009, July 1). How to manage virtual teams. MIT Sloan Management Review.
Ziek, P., & Smulowitz, S. (2014). The impact of emergent virtual leadership competencies on team effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 35(2), 106-120.
Listen: Optional:
Center for Creative Leadership Podcasts. You may need to subscribe but many podcasts are available without a subscription.
M6A1 Paper: New Virtual Team Leader M6A2 Individual Course Project: Outline M6D1: Virtual Team Challenges 5
Week 7 Module 7: Team Effectiveness Read Required:
Module Notes: Effective Teamwork
Huszczo, G. E. (2004). Tools for Team Leadership: Delivering the X-factor in Team Excellence. Palo Alto, Calif: Davies-Black Publishing. [Chapters 10, 11] Kohn, S. E., & O'Connell, V. D. (2007). 6 Habits of Highly Effective Teams. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. [Chapters 5-10]
Korn Ferry (2009). Driving Team Effectiveness.
Parker, G. M. (2009). Team Leadership: 20 Proven Tools for Success. Amherst, MA: HRD Press.
Tohidi, H. (2011). Teamwork productivity & effectiveness in an organization base on rewards, leadership, training, goals, wage, size, motivation, measurement, and information technology. Procedia Computer Science, 3 (World Conference on Information Technology), 1137-1146.
Waits, D. (2015). 5 Critical Mistakes That Blunt Leadership Effectiveness. Government Executive, 1.
Optional:
Adamchik, W. (2007). Three Laws of Effectiveness. Leadership Excellence, 24(7), 16.
Bond, N. (1995). A simple tool for measuring the effectiveness of organizational teams. CMA Magazine, 69(4), 8.
Davey, L. (2012). Vital Teams. Leadership Excellence, 29(11), 20.
Mackin, D. (2007). The Team Building Tool Kit: Tips and Tactics for Effective Workplace Teams. New York: AMACOM. [Any chapter of choice]
Mcmanus, K. (2014). The team formation blues. Industrial Engineer: IE, 46(7), 20.
Ohland, M. W., Loughry, M. L., Woehr, D. J., Bullard, L. G., Felder, R. M., Finelli, C. J., & Schmucker, D. G. (2012). The Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness: Development of a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale for Self- and Peer Evaluation. Academy Of Management Learning &
Education, 11(4), 609-630.
View: Required:
Choosing A Leadership Style [Video]. From Title: Supervisory Styles © 1998. Creating an Effective Team produced by Robert Cooke. In 20 Steps to Better Management, 6 (London, England: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 1996). [Video]
Optional:
Putting Leaderships Styles into Practice [Video]. From Title: Supervisory Styles © 1998 M7A1 Paper: Team Effectiveness Strategy M7D1: Team Effectiveness Models 6
The course schedule Week 8 Module 8: High Performance Teams Read: Required:
Module Notes: Leading a High Performance Work Team
Cook, S. (2009). Building a High Performance Team: Proven Techniques for Effective Team Working. Ely: IT Governance Pub. [Chapters 1, 7]
Guttmann, H. M. (2013). Building Horizontal, High-Performance Global Teams. Mworld, 12(3), 4-8.
Kennedy, D. (2008). Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. [Part 2]
Michaels, P. (2015). High performance. Smart Business Northern California, 8(2), 8.
Optional:
Conlow, R., & Watsabaugh, D. (2009). Creating a High Performance Team: Gain the Skills of Today's Successful Leaders. [Rochester, N.Y.]: Axzo Press. Daniel, L. J., & Davis, C. R. (2009). What makes high-performance teams excel? Research Technology Management, 52(4), 40-45.
Iyengar, G. V. (2008). High Performance Leadership. Mumbai [India]: Himalaya Publishing House.
Laszlo, A., Laszlo, K. C., & Johnsen, C. S. (2009). From High-Performance Teams to Evolutionary Learning Communities: New pathways in organizational development. Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, 6(1), 29-48.
Moura, I. C., Dias, P. M., Dominguez, C. E., & Varajão, J. E. (2014). What Team Members Perceive as Important to Achieve High Performance: An
Exploratory Case Study. Procedia Technology, 16 (CENTERIS 2014 Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems / ProjMAN 2014 International Conference on Project MANagement / HCIST 2014
-International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies), 1010-1016.
Schilling, J., & Schyns, B. (2014). The causes and consequences of bad leadership. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 222(4), 187-189.
Warrick, D. D. (2014). What Leaders Can Learn About Teamwork and Developing High Performance Teams From Organization Development Practitioners. OD Practitioner, 46(3), 68-75.
View: Required:
Howard, P. (Producer). (2009). Becoming a High Performance Mentor [Video]. Corwin Press. Retrieved July 15, 2015, from Academic Video Online: Premium.
Optional:
Team Management Systems podcasts: [Select any podcasts of interest]
M8A1: Final Individual Course Project M8D1: Shared Characteristics: High Performance Team 8
Evaluation
Grade Ranges A = 90-100% B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = below 60%
Breakdown
The grade breakdown
Activity/Assessment % of final grade
Discussions 25%
Team Discussions 20% Weekly Assignments 25% Individual Course Project 30%
Total 100%
Criteria
COURSE REQUIREMENTS Course Activities:
Before beginning your course work, be sure to review the Excelsior College Guidelines for Online Interaction (a.k.a. Online Etiquette or "Netiquette"). If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please feel free to direct them to your instructor. All papers in the course are subject to anti-plagiarism software.
Participation in Online Discussions- 25%
Your instructor will post questions and topics for discussion in each module. Before participating in the discussions, review The School of Business and Technology Discussion Guidelines.
The discussions are intended to help you further explore and think critically about the information you are reading and viewing. Critical thinking is that mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is directed, disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. To think critically, here is what I expect: clarify assumptions and misconceptions, present different perspectives or viewpoints, come to a consensus, and include scholarly literature to support critical thinking.
Please be sure to respond to the discussion question in a way so as to assess and evaluate it, or relate to it, and also do the same when responding to comments posted by your colleagues. You must post your comments and questions in response to at least two initial postings by other students. In addition, you are responsible for responding to the comments and questions posted about your own initial posting.
The length of each initial post should have a minimum of 300 words (this does not include diagrams, pictures, charts, tables, graphs, etc.), include two or more cited scholarly references, and follow APA 6 guidelines. (American Psychological Association) To lessen the risk of losing your work, do not write major discussion postings directly into a discussion posting. Instead, compose and check your work in other software (such as Microsoft Word) and then use the Create Message button and paste your text into the new posting.
Keep the following in mind when making your posts to the discussion area: Did you complete the elements required in your initial discussion post? Did you respond to the initial posts of at least two of your fellow students? Did you acknowledge those who responded to you?
Were all of your posts made on time? That is, was your initial post made before midnight (11:59 pm) Eastern Time on Wednesday and were your follow-up posts made before midnight Eastern Time on Sunday?
By registering for a web-based course, you have made a commitment to participate regularly with your instructor and other students in online discussions. You will be expected to use online course tools (Discussions and Chat rooms) to interact with your peers and work collaboratively to improve your understanding of underlying course ideas and issues.
Discussions in total account for 25% of your grade and are graded according to the SBT (School of Business and Technology) Discussion Grading Rubric.
Team Discussions - 20%
This class is about leadership and teams and there are two (2) discussions in this course in which you will work on a team. These are intended to help you further explore and think critically about leadership and teams. To think critically, here is what I expect: clarify assumptions and misconceptions, present different perspectives or viewpoints, and come to a consensus.
Please be sure to participate to the team discussions in a way so as to gain value in your work and so your team members can depend on you to help complete the tasks.
The length of each initial post should have a minimum of 500 words (this does not include diagrams, pictures, charts, tables, graphs, etc.), include two or more cited scholarly references, and follow APA 6 guidelines.
To lessen the risk of losing your work, do not write major discussion postings directly into a discussion posting. Instead, compose and check your work in other software (such as Microsoft Word) and then use the Create Message button and paste your text into the new posting.
Keep the following in mind when making your posts to the discussion area: Did you fully participate on your team?
Did you complete the elements required in your team discussion post? Did you respond to the initial posts of at least two of your fellow teams? Did you acknowledge those who responded to you?
Were all of your posts made on time? That is, was your team post made before midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday and were your follow-up posts made before midnight Eastern Time on Sunday?
By registering for a web-based course, you have made a commitment to participate regularly with your instructor and other students in online discussions. You will be expected to use online course tools (Discussions and Chat rooms) to interact with your peers and work collaboratively to improve your understanding of underlying course ideas and issues.
Team discussions in total account for 20% of your grade and are graded according to the SBT Discussion Grading Rubric. Weekly Assignments - 25%
Seven (7) weekly assignments consist of case studies (1) and papers (6). The assignments are designed to further develop leadership skills and abilities while also building on material from prior courses. Complete the assignments on time. They are due each week on Sunday, before midnight Eastern Time.
Upload (submit) your weekly assignment using a file name that contains your name, course number and the assignment identification.
I prefer that you submit your assignments as Word Documents or PDF files (but not picture files), and try to keep the size down.
All assignments must be submitted via your online course site (Excelsior College needs to keep an electronic copy of your assignments, quizzes, and exams).
M1A1: Work Group and Team Roles
For this paper, you analyze a work group, determine the roles of each member, and examine the advantages or disadvantages of the group being a team instead of a group.
M2A1: Case Study: Creating, Growing, and Sustaining Teams
Furthering your knowledge of the stages of development for teams means you will be a more effective leader of teams. You prepare for your paper by reading the case study Creating, Growing, and Sustaining Teams, and then assess the nature of the founding teams.
M3A1: Self-Assessment: Leadership Competency
Part of leadership competency is being self-aware of your own dimensions of leadership. When you can recognize your own skills and behavior, then you can recognize skills and behaviors in others. In this activity, you complete the Campbell Leadership Descriptor Survey and develop a personal plan for leadership improvement.
M4A1: Leadership and Communication
It is useful to learn team dynamics as an observer in other situations because there is no bias on your part; you can be neutral in the situational analysis. For this activity, you are an observer of a team and its dynamics. You analyze the team dynamics, assess its communication, and distinguish techniques that were effective and ineffective by the leader.
M5A1: Conflict Management
Knowing your conflict management style is but one part of being a successful leader. Knowing how to manage a team conflict is the other part. In this activity you complete the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) and research strategies you would use to improve your conflict management style. You also develop a plan to resolve the conflict that is occurring in a team. M6A1: New Virtual Team Leader
As a leader of a virtual team, it can often be up to you to train and develop your team. This can present challenges, yet provide opportunities. In this activity, you demonstrate your leadership skills and abilities and apply what you have learned from Modules 1-5.
M7A1: Team Effectiveness Strategy
As a leader, you may be assigned to an existing team or be asked to create a team. In either situation, you may encounter a team that is not performing effectively. For this paper, you continue with the team scenario from Module 6 to improve team
effectiveness by implementing a model for team effectiveness for this activity. Individual Course Project – 30%
During this course, you are developing a team for high performance. Your individual course project is the culmination of your understanding and application of knowledge in the field of team leadership. Your evaluation (report) integrates course materials (e.g. readings, videos, presentations), class discussions, outside resources (e.g. articles, journals, websites), and past personal and professional life experiences, as well as providing implications for future applications.
The individual course project in total accounts for 30% of your grade and is graded according to the SBT Project Grading Rubric. Module 3: Individual Course Project: Team Selection – 5%
For this assignment, select a team you would like to investigate. Write a one-page paper that briefly describes the overall scope/purpose of your team, as well as the reason(s) you chose this particular team for your project, and submit it to your instructor for approval.
Module 6: Individual Course Project: Outline – 10%
Prepare your outline in accordance with the following requirements: Team selection description (as approved by your instructor in Module 3), 1 to 2 pages long, in APA format, and at least five credible bibliographic resources you will use.
You submitted your team selection in Module 3 and the report outline in Module 6. Now, in Module 8, you submit your completed individual course project report. Incorporate the following when developing your report: A paper 8-10 pages in length, addresses the topics of the project with critical thought, uses in-text citations, includes at least one table and/or figure within the body of the paper, uses proper APA formatting for the caption of your table(s) or figure(s), and includes reference page with at least five credible bibliographic resources.
Formatting and Style for Written Assignments:
All assignments are to be in APA 6 format unless otherwise stated.
Institutional Policies
STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Weekly course participation is required. Please see the Student Participation Policy
(https://info.excelsior.edu/student-policies/student-participation-policy-for-online-courses/) for more details. INSTRUCTOR PARTICIPATION
Your instructor will:
Post a welcome message during the first 24 hours of the course.
Schedule real time office hours through Canvas tools and/or by individual appointment.
Communicate with you through the Canvas communication tools, including internal course messaging. Respond to student communications within two business days.
Log into the course to review and participate at least three different days a week in 15-week courses, or four different days a week in 8-week courses.
Provide you with formative feedback midway through the course based on work submitted to that point.
Grade all formative assignments within 7 business days in 15-week courses and 4 business days in 8-week courses, and will grade final summative work within 5 business days after the end of the term.
LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY
All assignments (e.g. papers, projects, etc.) are expected to be submitted on time. If unplanned or extenuating* circumstances prevent on time submission, then students should follow these guidelines:
Contact your instructor with details about the extenuating circumstances if you are requesting permission to submit late. If a student submits an assignment late without permission, it will not be graded until the student communicates with the instructor. If there is no communication with the instructor before the assignment grade is due, a grade of zero will be assigned. The first late submission in the course will be accepted and graded without penalty up to 5 days after the due date. After 5 days of no submission, the instructor may assess a late penalty of 5 percent per day.
All subsequent late assignments may be assessed a late penalty of 5 percent per day, starting on day one. There will be no 5-day grace period.
This policy does not pertain to discussion posts. Please review the course specific discussion rubric for further guidance. Please note that course structure may result in exceptions to the late policy. In this case, the instructor will either clarify or arrange guidelines for submission of assignments with the student(s).
No work will be accepted after the final day of the term unless an official course extension has been granted. Excelsior College Extension Policy (https://www.excelsior.edu/policy/course-extensions/)
LATE QUIZ/EXAM POLICY
It is recommended students begin quizzes and exams prior to 9:00 PM Eastern Time. All quizzes and exams must be completed by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Most quizzes and exams are automatically submitted at 11:59 Eastern Time. If you have unplanned circumstances that prevent you from completing, please contact your instructor. Please note that some course differences and certain circumstances may result in exceptions to the quiz/exam policy. Your grade will be based on completed work. Students with prior approval for accommodations must plan their start time accordingly. If you have questions, please contact your instructor. Extenuating circumstances* are considered without penalty.
* Some types of extenuating circumstances that will be considered, if they prevent the student from completing the assignment or assessment on time, are the following:
an illness or injury
a death of a family member or significant other a significant change in employment or military status a trauma in the student’s life
technical issues
a natural disaster Assistance to Students in Disaster and Emergency Areas
(https://www.excelsior.edu/policy/assistance-to-students-in-disaster-and-emergency-areas/) unplanned events
Please note: What will not be considered are some planned events such as weddings, vacations, etc. Documentation for extenuating circumstances may be required.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Cheating and Plagiarism
Academic Integrity is a valued part of your education, and the college expects you to submit work that is your own. Intentional plagiarism, and online cheating, including the purchasing of papers or sharing course materials, examinations or quizzes with outside vendors/websites in an unauthorized manner is a serious offense. To ensure the high standards of the college are upheld, all work will be processed through anti-plagiarism software available in the course. Please see the policy on Academic Integrity
(https://www.excelsior.edu/policy/academic-integrity/) for more details. We want you to be successful! If you need assistance in writing a paper or studying, please contact your course instructor or advisor.
Copyright Protections
In addition, you should be aware that content in Excelsior College courses is owned by the College or third parties and is typically subject to some form of copyright protection. Therefore, these materials may only be used by you for educational purposes as part of your participation in Excelsior College courses. It is your responsibility to properly use the information and materials in each course. GENERAL POLICIES
You are responsible for being familiar with all the policies that are related to your activity in this course. Complete information on Excelsior College policies can be found in your course or by visiting Excelsior College Policies (https://www.excelsior.edu/policies/).
Technology Requirements
Please be sure to review System Requirements and Required Software
(http://help.excelsior.edu/system-requirements-and-required-software/). This is especially important if you are taking a course that contains any interactive components, such as games and simulations.
Accessibility
Accessibility statements for each technology utilized within a course can be found on this Technology Accessibility
(https://www.excelsior.edu/page/accessibility/) page. If you have questions on the accessibility of technologies, contact
Accessibility Services (https://www.excelsior.edu/support-resources/accessibility-services/).
Privacy on External Websites
In some courses, the use of applications or certain websites may require providing personal information. Click each link to view the application’s privacy statement.
Additional Items
Accessibility
This course contains the technologies listed below. Click each link to view each technology's accessibility statement.
Privacy
In some courses, you may be required to provide information such as a name and email address to log in to external websites. In these cases, the privacy policy for each website is listed below. Click the link to view the privacy policy.
Canvas (https://www.canvaslms.com/policies/privacy)
Technology Requirements
Please be sure to review System Requirements and Required Software
(http://help.excelsior.edu/system-requirements-and-required-software/). This is especially important if you are taking a course that contains any interactive components, such as games and simulations.
