Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
The only prerequisite is graduate standing.
Course Materials
- No textbook required. Assigned readings will be posted to Canvas.
- Some titles will require a course pack to be purchased from Harvard Business Publishing. Students will need to create an account on the website in order to purchase materials assigned to this course.
- A copy of the most recent edition of the APA Style Manual is recommended. Additional information can be found at the OU Writing Center.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Participation |
Attend and actively participate in Live Sessions |
10% |
| Quizzes (14) |
5-10 question weekly quiz |
10% |
| Mid Term Exam (1) |
Written response exam |
15% |
| Discussion |
Prompts based on assigned readings |
15% |
| Presentation (1) |
Short presentation based on one of the weeks’ readings. Includes questions/prompts to be submitted in advance for use in the week’s Discussion assignment. |
20% |
| Final Project (1) |
Select a topic/scenario directly related to your work as a professional in the field and suggest strategic tactics to address the scenario. |
30% |
| Total | 100% |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
Participation
Students are expected to attend and actively participate in the Live Sessions to engage with their colleagues and participate in the group discussion. To gain knowledge and improve your understanding and mastery of digital strategic communication, active participation is critical. The assigned readings and recorded lectures will serve as the basis for our discussions and provide important background information on many of the theories and concepts that guide our daily strategic communication-related activities and decisions (as well as inform and provide evidence for the points you may make in your discussions and board posts). Yet it will be the in-class discussions and posted discussion board responses which will serve as the basis for this course.
Quizzes
The quizzes are intended to ensure that students have the foundational knowledge needed to fully participate in the Live Sessions, where they will be asked to apply or extend their learning. This auto-graded quiz holds students accountable for the reading and video lectures. It will serve as a formative assessment to check students’ general understanding and comprehension of key concepts.
Discussion
Each week's presenters will create questions/prompts related to their reading, submitted ahead of the Live Session. Students should answer in terms of ways that show that they have an understanding of the readings and lecture materials. You should explicitly bring in elements from the assigned readings, and perhaps relate them to your personal experience and the larger discussion, citing them properly (APA style citations).
Presentation
As a seminar class, the students have a role in making this class a success. Students must take ownership of their own learning through an active role in presenting portions of the Live Sessions, along with leading class discussions. Students will be assigned to create a short presentation based on one of the week’s readings. The presentation will occur during an assigned Live Session and will include three questions/prompts to be submitted in advance for use in the week’s Discussion assignment. Detailed information is provided on the Presentation Assignment page.
Midterm Exam
Students are responsible for all of the material covered from the readings, Live Sessions, class discussions, and any other materials assigned. The format of the exam will be essay and problem-solving questions based on the readings and discussions.
Final Project
Based on what you’ve learned throughout the course, students will select a topic/scenario directly related to their work as a professional in the field and will suggest strategic tactics to address the scenario. Detailed information is provided on the Final Project Assignment page.
Live Sessions
Live Sessions will primarily consist of student-led presentations and discussions over the assigned readings. You are expected to attend all Zoom Live Sessions. Participation is expected and can occur through respectful discourse over the mic or in the chat. Students learn and interact in a variety of ways, however, it is important that you show us you are engaged in some manner. To successfully participate in the class, you need to do the required reading ahead of time so that you can critically think about, discuss, and analyze the issues we have prepared for that week.
Course Policies
Communication
The best way to communicate with me is through email. If you have a question, I will respond as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours. If you would like to schedule a call, send me an email, give me a few dates and times that work with your schedule and I will confirm a time that works for me as well.
Late Policy
All assignments (discussion responses, quizzes, exams) will be considered late if not submitted on Canvas at the date/time specified.
Every student will be allotted one flex day that can be used at any point during the semester. The flex day will allow you to submit an assignment one day late without penalty. You can use this day for any assignment except for the Presentation, due to the nature of its dependence on the Live Session. You do not need to provide a reason: simply email me in advance and tell me that you would like to use the flex day and for which assignment.
All other late assignments will lose 10% of their score for each day late.
Make-ups
Make-up exams for exams and quizzes will only be given under the most extreme circumstances, and prior arrangements must be made before the day of the exams & quizzes.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
COURSE POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY / PLAGIARISM
The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication commits to the preparation of mass communication professionals and scholars. Such a mission demands the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Violations of academic honesty, including but not limited to plagiarism, collusion, deception, conflict of interest and theft, are not tolerated and can lead to severe penalties. Disciplinary actions are outlined in the OU Student Handbook. I do not tolerate dishonesty and will assess the harshest punishment available if you are caught cheating in any way in my course. All work must be your original work, exclusively written for this class, by you and only you (see course policy on use of AI tools below). Academic integrity is expected. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated and will result in getting 0 points for the assignment and failing the class. Lack of knowledge of academic policy is not an excuse. The policy regarding academic honesty for this course consists of the definitions and policies as stated in the OU Faculty Handbook (section 4.16, retrieved 7-19-23): “Academic integrity means honesty and responsibility in scholarship. The basic assumptions regarding student academic work at the University are:
(A) Students attend the University in order to learn and grow intellectually.
(B) Academic assignments exist for the sake of this goal and grades exist to show how fully the goal is attained.
(C) A student’s academic work and grades should result from the student’s own effort to learn and grow. Academic work completed any other way is pointless, and grades obtained any other way are fraudulent.
Academic integrity means understanding and respecting these basic truths, without which no university can exist. Academic misconduct violates the assumptions at the heart of all learning. It destroys the mutual trust and respect that should exist between student and professor. Academic misconduct is unfair to students who earn their grades honestly.”
Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication and fraud. According to the OU student handbook (https://www.ou.edu/integrity/students), “submitting any assignment that originates from another person, program, or place without proper attribution is a violation of the Academic Integrity Code. Across all disciplines, the assumption is that work submitted is a product of the student’s own understanding and expression.” Plagiarism includes “the representation of the words and ideas of another as one's own.” Fabrication includes “the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.” This includes deliberate changing of research data (e.g., misreporting scores to better fit a desired hypothesis) and the faking of research data (e.g., making up answers to a survey instead of actually interviewing respondents). Fraud includes “the falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of academic work, including the resubmission of work performed in one class for credit in another class.”
Again: All work must be your original work, written exclusively for this class. Academic integrity is expected. Plagiarism, fabrication, and/or fraud in any form will not be tolerated and will result in getting 0 points for the assignment and failing the class. I do not tolerate dishonesty and will assess the harshest punishment available if you are caught cheating in any way in the course.
Course Policy on use of ChatGPT and other AI tools:
Unless specifically directed to do otherwise, the use of any type of AI assistance for any work for this class is prohibited. It is cheating and you will be turned in for academic misconduct. We will be discussing how and when to use AI tools and some prompts that can help you in certain professional situations as the semester progresses. However, the work you turn in should be 100% your own work and thoughts. The professor and TA will be checking all work for evidence of AI assistance (as well as plagiarism) throughout the semester. The reason for this is not because I don’t believe AI can be a valuable tool. But it is vital that you fully engage with this material and have the experience of thinking through these theories, ideas and applications of skills and how to communicate your beliefs and takeaways about them yourself (without help) for you to best understand and be able to apply those skills and concepts that you are in this class in order to learn.
That’s a long way of saying, “The primary way to use AI in this course would result in shortchanging my own learning and negate a chance to gain some valuable experience,” so it’s prohibited in this class.
A Few Notes on Grading
(courtesy Dr. Jensen Moore)
Grading Procedures
Your writing will be evaluated on the quality of the finished product, with the criteria being organization, accuracy, completeness, fairness, clarity, conciseness, precision of language, correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistent style. Appropriate APA citation for ALL items included in your writing is essential. In addition, the style and content will be evaluated based on the target publics and the designated medium.
Failure to properly cite items, taking items directly from a source without attribution, or not completely paraphrasing portions taken from a source will result in immediately being reported to the Office of Academic Integrity. You will automatically receive a zero (0) for the assignment submitted that contains ANY of these plagiarism issues. You will do your own writing, thinking, and work.
Writing Assignments will be evaluated on the following:
- Properly citing all sources used (anything that you did not know from birth should have a citation).
- Putting quotation marks or paraphrasing items from all sources used.
- Providing full references for all sources used at the end of your document.
- Use of APA style in all citations and references.
- Style and content are appropriate for the target public(s).
- Sentence structure.
- Spelling and punctuation.
- Interesting and informative writing.
- Completeness: Reader is not left with any unanswered questions.
- Style and format are appropriate for the medium you are using.
- Content meets objectives.
- Structure is appropriate: introduction, organization, transitions.
- Grammar and syntax.
Please note that "B" is a typical grade for a good quality assignment. Papers must show exceptional understanding that includes integration of readings, lectures, and the text as appropriate. Assignments that do not contain all the required elements or incomplete answers will receive lower grades.
You will earn an “A” on an assignment if all of the following are met: The work is rigorous, creative, and shows a thorough knowledge of the materials. It is an excellent piece of work written in a clear and concise manner. Few, if any, errors of fact or writing are present. All aspects of the assignment are present and exceptionally completed.
You will earn a “B” on an assignment if any of the following occur: The work has a few errors but shows a good effort at comprehending the material. It contains clear, understandable writing with some care and expression of knowledge. The writing needs more clarity, more development and/or more examples. The work may be missing some of the subtleties of the assignment.
You will earn a “C” on an assignment if any of the following occur: It is an adequate but superficial completion of the assignment. A number of assignment’s components are missing or not completed adequately. The argument is unsubstantiated or examples are missing. Sources are poorly cited, many errors of fact are present, or writing and grammar are inadequate.
You will earn a “D” or less on an assignment if you: 1) fail to follow assignment directions/suggestions, 2) fail to complete at least ¾ of the assignment, or 3) fail to show an understanding of the materials (indicating you did not do the readings or you are not applying them).
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Course Catalog
Search the OU Course Catalog.
Student Handbook
Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.
Student Support Services
OU offers a variety of services to support students. For more information, please refer to the Student Support Module in your Orientation course.
Online Library
Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.
Copyright Statement and Privacy Information
Sessions of this course may be recorded or live-streamed. These recordings are the intellectual property of the individual faculty member and may not be shared or reproduced without the explicit, written consent of the faculty member. In addition, the privacy rights of others such as students, guest lecturers, and providers of copyrighted material displayed in the recording may be of concern. Students may not share any course recordings with individuals not enrolled in the class or upload them to any other online environment.
Academic Integrity
As a member of the OU community, it is your responsibility to protect your educational investment by knowing and following the rules. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.
Academic honesty is incredibly important in this course. Cheating is strictly prohibited at the University of Oklahoma because it devalues the degree you are working hard to get. Should you know of someone else engaging in academic misconduct, please report it to your instructor or directly to the Office of Academic Integrity. Your instructor has a professional obligation to report academic misconduct.
In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook.
Religious Observance
It is the policy of the University to excuse the absences of students that result from religious observances and to reschedule examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays, without penalty. [See Faculty Handbook 3.15.2].
Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) is committed to supporting students with disabilities to ensure that they can enjoy equal access to all components of their education. This includes your academics, housing, and community events. Please review OU's Accessibility Policy.
If you are experiencing a disability or a mental/medical health condition that has a significant impact on one or more life functions, you can receive accommodations to provide equal access. Possible disabilities include but are not limited to learning disabilities, AD(H)D, mental health, and chronic health. Additionally, we support students with temporary medical conditions (broken wrist, shoulder surgery, etc.) and pregnancy.
To discuss potential accommodations, please contact the ADRC at 730 College Avenue, (phone) 405-325-3852, or adrc@ou.edu.
Title IX Resources
For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no-contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. To learn more or to report an incident, please contact the Institutional Equity Office (M-F, from 8-5, at 405-325-3546) or OU Advocates (available 24/7 at 405-615-0013).
Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth-Related Issues
Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact your instructor as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.
Mental Health Support Services
If you are experiencing any mental health issues that are impacting your academic performance, counseling is available at the University Counseling Center (UCC). The Center is located on the second floor of the Goddard Health Center, at 620 Elm Rm. 201, Norman, OK 73019. To schedule an appointment, call 405-325-2911. For more information, please visit the University Counseling Center.
All OU online students have access to 24/7/365 mental health counseling and support through TELUS Health.
Final Exam Preparation Period
Pre-finals week will be defined as the seven calendar days before the first day of finals. Faculty may cover new course material throughout this week. For specific provisions of the policy please refer to OU's Final Exam Preparation Period policy.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|