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LIST 4093 Syllabus

Course Syllabus

LIST 4093 - Special Topics and Leadership

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

Every arena in our society has leaders. There are leaders in business, government, education, non-profit organizations, religious institutions, etc. Despite the prevalence of leadership in our everyday lives, we rarely think of leadership in systematic or cross-disciplinary ways (for example, through the lens of social science or cutting across disciplinary boundaries). The purpose of this course is to encourage you to think about leadership in new ways. We will examine leadership as a function of 1) the leader, 2) the followers, 3) the situation in which leadership occurs, and, most importantly, 4) the multifaceted interactions among these components. We will do this together through the use of case studies, scientific studies of leadership and experiential exercises.

Course Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

  1. Describe the relationship between leader characteristics and leader performance.
  2. Describe the relationship between follower characteristics and leader performance.
  3. Describe the relationship between situational characteristics and leader performance.
  4. Describe the ways in which leader, follower, and situational characteristics interact to influence leader performance.
  5. Apply this learning through the analysis of organizational situations. 
Prerequisites & Co-requisites:

None

Course Topics:
  1. Leadership as a process
  2. Leader characteristics
  3. Follower characteristics
  4. Situational characteristics 
Specific Course Requirements:
None

 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."

Supplementary Materials:

Smarthinking will be used as a part of the course. Smartthinking is a virtual tutoring service available FREE of charge. To access Smartthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smartthinking under Course Resources. You may also view sample sessions  [opens in a new window]  to see what Smartthinking offers and how it works.

 

Hardware and Software Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.

Minimum software requirements can be found here.

Common applications you might need:

Web Resources:

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)

The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook

Student Resources:
  • Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
  • Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
  • Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.

Instructor Information

Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.

Participation, Assessments, & Grading

Testing Procedures:

 

Grading Procedures:

Letter grades for this course will be assigned based on the following scale.

Assigned Grade

Point RangeAssigned Grade
900 - 1000 pointsA
800 - 899.9 pointsB
700 - 799.9 pointsC
600 - 699.9 pointsD
under 600 pointsF

Graded Items

DescriptionPoints
10 discussions @ 10 points each100
10 homework assignments @ 20 points each200
3 major projects @ 200 points each600
10 quizzes @ 10 points each100
Total points1000

 

Grading Scale:
 
Assignments and Projects:

Major Projects (600 Points)

  • Leader Paper (Project 1): 200 Points -  In this assignment, you will pick a real leader from any field (e.g. business, education, religion, military, etc.) You task will be to study the leader and describe him/her from the perspective of the first part (Leadership) of your textbook. This project must be between 8-10 pages (not including the title page or work cited page). The project must be submitted to Smarthinking to receive maximum credit.  The grading rubric is located in the Dropbox folder for the Project.
  • Make a Difference Project (MAD Project): 200 Points - In this project, you will plan and actually implement a project to make a difference in your community. You must spend at least 5 hours actually doing the project. After you have completed the project, you will prepare a PowerPoint explaining what you did and why, leadership skills you used from your text, and lessons you learned. The PowerPoint must be 20-25 slides. The grading rubric is located in the Dropbox folder for the Project.
  • Follower/Situation Paper (Project 2): 200 points - In this assignment, you will explore the characteristics of the followers and the characteristics of the situation that complete the picture of the leader you studied in Project 1. The project must be submitted to Smarthinking to receive maximum credit. The grading rubric is located Dropbox folder for the Project.

As these three projects demonstrate your overall understanding of the material, all three ARE REQUIRED. Failure to turn in these assignments will result in an automatic F in this course!

Homework Assignments (200 Points) 

Each Module will have a homework assignment that will ask you to apply that module's readings to a real-life scenario (in most modules a mini-case).
Only the highest 10 homework assignment grades will count towards your overall grade.

Quizzes (100 points)

  • A quiz per module will ensure the course assignments are finished on a timely matter.
  • Only the highest 10 quizzes grades will count towards your overall grade.

Discussions (100 points)

  • Modules 1 & 2 will have a combined Discussion Thread which will be due at the end of Module 2. This discussion will be worth 20 points since it covers two modules.
  • Modules 3-10 will each have individual Discussion Threads due at the end of module.
  • All 10 modules will count towards your overall grade.

Final Discussion (Bonus Credit)

  • A final voluntary discussion thread that encompasses the whole course will be posted during Module 11 and be due at the end of Module 12.
  • This will be the only Extra Credit opportunity in this course.
Class Participation:

Leadership requires integrity, visibility, and credibility. Merely showing up will not make you a leader. This is why all assignments, quizzes and discussions have hard deadlines that assure active participation.

Late Policy:

All weekly work (Quizzes, Discussions and Homework) will not be accepted late as 2 quizzes and 2 homework assignments will be dropped. In addition, a bonus discussion thread will be provided.

To receive full credit for Major Projects, they must be in the Dropbox by the deadline. From 1 minute past due to 23.59 hours, 20 points will be deducted. From 24 hours to 47.59 hours, I will deducted 40 points. For 48 hours to 71.59 hours, 50 points will be deducted. For 72 hours to 95.59 hours, I will deducted 60 points. After 4 days, the assignment will not be accepted. This "Major Projects" Late Policy can be waived with official documentation of circumstances beyond the students control (such as a natural disaster, immediate family member's death or hospitalization).

Course Ground Rules

The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

Read the document in its entirety here.

1. Standards of Conduct:

  • Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.

2. Review the TN eCampus Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy:

  • In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.

Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
  • to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
  • or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.

Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution.  Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.

In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.

Other Course Rules:

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in all aspects of the course
  • Communicate with other students
  • Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
  • Keep abreast of course announcements
  • Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
  • Address technical problems immediately:
  • Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussions:

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.


Last Revised on July 12, 2021