Workforce Education and Development
WED 398
Special Problems
(Library Research Paper)
Welcome & Introduction
Welcome to the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), Workforce Education and Development (WED) Off-Campus Degree Program (OCDP). Your WED Education, Training, and Development (ETD) program is divided into two types of courses: (1) above-the-line (ATL) or your traditional seated courses and (2) below-the-line (BTL) or independent study online courses.
The BTL online courses are independent study because they do not have an instructor who stands and delivers, e.g., you, the student, is responsible for reading the required texts and Syllabi and working through the assignments. The independent study courses were designed and developed by WED professors. Although WED independent study courses were designed to be offered simultaneously with seated classes, they may be taken on their own. Our WED independent study courses have a few attributes that traditional independent study courses do not have. One is that our students actually see each other and have the opportunity to get to know and work with their fellow classmates.
WED independent study courses are primarily managed using a CD for the delivery of all of your courses. Although your site coordinator (or other faculty member) is the instructor of record for your independent study courses, your course manager is the primary contact person to help you complete the independent study course. The course manager’s initial contact will be an e-mail letter providing the course manager’s name, e-mail contact address, telephone number, office hours, and a brief background. The letter also contains specific instructions related to how you should proceed in order to complete the course. Thereafter, e-mail communication will continue to be the primary source of communication between you and your course manager.
Your course manager is not an instructor. However, your course manager does provide: (a) guidance for and clarification of the course requirements as outlined in the Syllabus, (b) feedback on assignments submitted, and (c) grading of assignments as stipulated by the scoring rubrics linked on each course syllabus.
All required written work will be submitted to the course manager via MS Word documents attached to your e-mail correspondence. Please note that you are required to first submit your written work to Turnitin.com (an external Plagiarism Prevention Web site) prior to and in addition to submitting your assignments to your course manager. Specific instructions regarding Turnitin.com will be sent to you by your course manager. You will also find more information in the FAQs section of your course.
Students are encouraged to maintain open communications with their respective course manager(s) and his or her local SIUC WED site office staff regarding issues related to the successful completion of independent study courses. Students should contact their WED site office staff and course manager to monitor any special circumstances (deployments, TDY [Temporary Duty]/TAD [Temporary Additional Duty], or personal issues) that may affect the successful completion of the course.
However, if a student deems it necessary to speak with someone in addition to the course manager and local site SIUC staff regarding an independent study matter, please contact the WED OCDP Program Manager, Dr. Gene Hall, by e-mail ghall@siu.edu or telephone at (618) 453-1989; the ISMT QA Manager Dr. Liz Lentz-Hees, by e-mail elhees@siu.edu or telephone at (618) 453-4364; the ISMT Leader, [position vacant at time of writing] by telephone at (618) 453-1971; or your site coordinator.
Course Delivery & Methods
WED 398, Special Problems (Library Research Paper), will allow students to perform a literature search on a topic of their choice related Workforce Education and Development, Human Resources, or Adult Education. The purpose of WED 398 is two-fold: (a) to explore and use a variety of academic resources and (b) to write a library research paper following APA editorial style format using the sources discovered.
Students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program should develop the ability to prepare a conventional term paper. The course will augment the student's ability to conduct library research and to report the results in a professional academic manner. The term "library" is used here in a generic sense to refer to a variety of information archives that includes commercial and government electronic databases, the World Wide Web, and traditional print-based libraries. The term “library research paper” also differentiates it from a “research paper” that is of the author’s own original research.
You may opt to work individually or to work in groups of 2, 3, but no more than 4. Five or more persons are too many; you will be asked to divide up. Please notify your course manager of your decision to work solo or send the names of you and your group members. Students should form their own groups. However, if you are having difficulties, please notify your course manager so that he or she can help you find a group to join.
Although group collaboration is encouraged, all written assignments submitted for this course must be each student’s own work. Each member of your group is responsible for the content of all product(s) submitted. If you have any questions or concerns regarding academic integrity, please refer to the section on academic dishonesty in the SIUC Undergraduate Student Catalog (see course Syllabus and Internet Resources section of your course) or contact the course manager as soon as possible.
Each group may select a representative to act as a liaison between the group and the independent study course manager. The representative’s duties are to:
- E-mail the names of everyone in the group to the course manager. Your course manager will notify you as to when to submit your group’s members’ names, however, it will be within the first couple of weeks of the trimester.
- Copy (cc) all e-mail interactions with the course manager to everyone in the group, so that everyone will receive and have access to the same information, unless the message is of a personal nature.
- Ensure that all group members’ names appear on written group work submitted for review or grading.
- Notify the course manager if there are any problems communicating with group members or group members not completing assigned work.
Be advised that if you select a representative for your group, this does not mean that the other group members do not have to communicate with the course manager. If your course manager contacts you for information, you are responsible for responding to him or her in a timely manner. All students should be aware that part of each individual final grade includes a peer evaluation of each group member’s contribution to group work. If you opt to work alone, your final grade will be calculated on your assignments only. See the grading policies section of your WED 398 Syllabus.
Students are encouraged to maintain active contact with group members and the course manager.
CD Delivery Format and Methods
The WED OCDP recently redesigned the WED 398 course materials based on “best practice” curriculum development theory. Once you have carefully read through the information in the Start section, you will need to carefully read through the information in all of the other menu links. You will find the FAQs helpful as you get started with your course work.
Below is a list of each of the menu links used in WED 398 and a brief description of how you will use each section to complete the objectives for this course:
Start: The Start link is designed to be your first introduction to the course. It offers you a brief overview of the course in the form of a Welcome and Introduction. It also describes the Course Delivery and Methods with emphasis on course menu link descriptions to aid you in course navigation. Other topics such as: course manager roles, additional contact information, and computer specification recommendations among others are discussed.
Syllabus: The Syllabus menu link serves as your schedule and contract for the course. It presents Course Information, Course Manager Information, Textbooks and Resource Materials (a link to the MBS bookstore is included), Course Objectives, Course Requirements, Grading Policies, Submission Requirements, and SIUC Policies and Standards. Specific assignment due dates will be sent to you by your course manager. Please carefully read through each section of the Syllabus and contact your course manager or site coordinator if you have specific questions.
Lessons and Assignments: The Lessons and Assignments link includes a link to the lessons you will need to follow in order to complete the course-required assignments. The Lessons and Assignments are presented as a numerical series. You will complete: an APA e-Learning Unit, Course Overview, Lessons 1-3, Assignments 1-3, Peer Evaluations, and Final Course Evaluation.
You will complete an electronic Peer Evaluation for each group member after which the results will be sent to your course manager in order to allow them to enter your peer evaluation score.
Your Final Course Evaluation will be downloaded, completed, saved, printed, and delivered to your site coordinator or assistant coordinator. The course evaluations will be sent to campus. Your course manager will not see the results of your course evaluation until the following semester.
Glossary: The Glossary contains a general glossary that has been created for our WED independent study courses.
FAQs: Two sets of frequently asked questions (FAQs) will answer (a) general questions you may have regarding your responsibilities as a student at SIUC, as well as (b) general questions you many have regarding your independent study courses.
Internet Resources: Contains Useful Links and Web Links. The Useful Links contain a series of links to resources related your successful completion of your WED courses as well as links to help you after graduation. The Web Links contain a series of links to SIUC Web pages. You will find links to the SIUC Student Conduct Code, SIUC Writing Center, WED Homepage, SIUC Morris Library, and the SIUC Undergraduate Catalog. Please spend some time reading through all of these links. As a student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, you are responsible for information in the SIUC Undergraduate Catalog and the Student Conduct Code. Please refer to these two links as often as necessary. The SIUC Writing Center will help you with writing your papers and provides links to Other Writing Centers (link on left-hand side of page) which will help you with following APA editorial style format. The SIUC Morris Library links you directly to the SIUC Morris Library, which is the main library on the SIU Carbondale campus. We strongly encourage you to utilize Morris Library’s services available to distance education students. For answers to questions, please navigate the Morris Library Web site, ask your Course Manager, or click on the “Ask Anything” button on the Morris Library Web site for specific answers to your questions. The WED Homepage will take you directly to our department’s homepage. In the left-hand menu, click on: Course Information > OCDP Courses to access course information for all of your WED courses.
Other Delivery and Methods
Internet: In addition to the course Syllabus, you will have access to various course guidelines, scoring rubrics, and Web links that will help you to organize the course material and complete the course project. The course manager may post additional documents as links to the Syllabus.
Conference telephone and/or individual calls: In addition to the opportunity for one-on-one office hours telephone communications, your course manager may use conference phones (where available) in order to contact the class as a whole during seated-class weekends.
Videoconferencing: At predetermined times, your course manager may use videoconferencing technology in order to meet with the class as a whole during seated-class weekends (where available). Your course manager may have videoconferencing sessions in order to review relevant and useful course content. This might include samples, writing guidelines, or simply question and answer sessions.
Computer literacy: Our WED OCDP ETD program is dependent upon your ability to be proficient in both word processing and spreadsheet applications as well as be able to use e-mail and navigate the internet. We recommend you use Microsoft Office and subscribe to a reliable internet service provider (ISP).
If you are not computer literate or feel you need to brush up on your computer skills, it is advisable that you enroll in and complete the necessary beginning computer courses at a community college near you prior to your enrollment in our WED OCDP courses.
Computer specifications: Your first priority should be to acquire or gain access to a dependable and reliable computer. Without the proper tools, you will not be successful in your below-the-line (independent study online) or above-the-line (seated weekend) courses. Both sets of courses require Internet access and e-mail accounts. If you are considering purchasing a computer or if you already have a computer, please refer to the FAQs located in the Lessons and Assignments section of your course. See General FAQs for WED Off-Campus Degree Program, What technology specifications do I need before I can get started with my independent study courses (IS)?
Thank you for participating in the OCDP independent study courses. We are committed to helping you successfully complete the program.