Statement of Program Commitment

Online M.S. in Education in Learning Design and Technology Program Policies and Student Expectations

 

Statement of Program Commitment

The Learning Design and Technology MS online program at Purdue University is designed as a highly rigorous, challenging five-semester program. In order to accomplish the goals and maintain the academic rigor, students must follow a structured curriculum of sequenced courses. To be successful, students must recognize, accept, and strive to accomplish each of the following performance expectations.

Students are expected to:

• Follow the curriculum and the schedule of classes developed for them. If this structured plan of study is not followed (e.g., due to illness, pregnancy, vacation, military service), the consequences could include a delay in graduation as well as potential student loan difficulties.
• Devote the needed amount of effort to accomplish the course requirements. Assignments will vary from course to course; however, the work will require an average time commitment of 15-20 hours per week on readings, assignments, and discussions.
• Be actively involved in all classes and complete all of the assignments on or before the due dates listed. Failure to do so will incur a course penalty.
• Complete all of their own work and reference all material from other sources correctly per APA style guidelines.
• Discuss course-related concerns (e.g., structure, assignment directions, grades, feedback) with the instructor first. If no resolution is found, then contact the Student Services Coordinator.

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Academic Progress / Satisfactory Progress

According to Purdue’s Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual, each “student's progress should be reviewed each session by the student's department… Should the student fail to perform in either coursework or research on a level acceptable to the advisory committee, the departmental graduate committee, or the dean of the Graduate School, he or she may be asked to discontinue graduate study at Purdue” (p. VI-1).

In the College of Education, the faculty of each program area is empowered by the departmental graduate committee to review the progress of students in the program and to take action as appropriate.

Evaluation of student progress is based on an assessment of the student’s: course work, research, technical skills related to the area of study, writing skills, and professional and ethical behavior. If the student's progress is deemed to be unsatisfactory in one or more of these areas, the student shall be considered to be on probationary status in his/her graduate program.

Starting with the Fall 2017 cohort, any time a student does not successfully earn 50% of the challenges required for a competency badge-earning course and earn passing grades for the course, the student will be placed on probation. If a student on probation again earns less than 50% of required challenges in the subsequent competency badge-earning course, then the student will be dismissed from the program. If the student earns at least 50% of required challenges in the next competency badge course while on probation, the student will be removed from probation. Each competency badge-earning course is allowed to be retaken once.

A student who does not enroll for a period of 3 consecutive semesters (including summer) loses eligibility to register and may be dismissed. The student must reapply and reentry is subject to favorable approval by the program area.

Conditional Admittance

A student who is admitted to graduate study conditionally must meet all conditions (e.g., grades, other requirements) established at the time of admission. If a student fails to meet those conditions, he or she may be dismissed. Conditions can be placed by both the Department and the Graduate School. Department conditions can be found in the “Welcome” email sent from the College of Education at the time of acceptance. Graduate School conditions can be found in a student’s acceptance letter located in the ApplyYourself application system.

Grades

According to Purdue’s Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual, “A graduate student is expected to maintain a graduation index representing a B average (3.0/4.0 GPA.) or better. Indices below this level are marked ‘low’ on the grade reports” (p. VI-1). A graduate student in the College of Education whose GPA falls below 3.0 shall be considered to be on probationary status in his/her graduate program.

Students who receive a grade lower than a B- in a core course will be required to retake the course and pass with a B- or better. Grades below C- cannot be used on a Plan of Study; students who receive a grade lower than a C- in an elective course will be required to retake the course or drop the course from the Plan of Study and take another elective course in its place. Courses are allowed to be retaken once.

Degree Completion Maximum Timeframe

Students enrolled in master’s degree programs in the College of Education are required to complete their degree programs within 5 years of initial enrollment in the master’s program. This applies to students admitted to master’s degree programs in summer 2012 or later. Students who fail to obtain their degrees within the specified time period may appeal to the program area faculty for an extension. The program area faculty shall determine whether an extension should be granted and, if so, the length and conditions of the extension.

Academic Integrity

According to Purdue Regulations Governing Student Conduct, Disciplinary Proceedings, and Appeals, “dishonesty in connection with any University activity” is conduct for which students may be subject to informal action or disciplinary sanctions. “Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty.”

Any alleged instance of academic dishonesty involving a graduate student in the College of Education shall be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students. If the Office of the Dean of Students determines that academic dishonesty occurred, the student shall be considered to be on probationary status in his/her graduate program. Any additional instances of academic dishonesty that occur while a student is on probationary status may result in immediate dismissal from the program.

Academic dishonesty that occurs in the context of a graduate examination may result in failure of the examination as determined by the student’s examining committee. According to Purdue Policy on Research Misconduct (VIII.3.1), “Every Purdue Associate involved in any aspect of research at Purdue must encourage integrity in research, assign credit and responsibility for research appropriately, maintain careful research records, and establish and follow well-defined research protocols.” Any alleged instance of research misconduct involving a graduate student in the College of Education shall be referred to the Research Integrity Officer for the university, who will initiate a research misconduct proceeding. If the research misconduct proceeding determines that research misconduct occurred, the student may be dismissed, or, if not dismissed, he/ she shall be considered to be on probationary status in his/her graduate program.

Intellectual Property

Online educational environments, like all learning environments, should provide opportunities for students to reflect, explore new ideas, post opinions openly, and have the freedom to change those opinions over time. Students enrolled in and instructors working in online courses are the sole proprietors of their work, opinions, and ideas. It is expected that other students will not copy, reproduce or post to any other outlet (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, or other open media sources) any work in which they are not the sole author or have not obtained the permission of the author(s). Based on the success of LTD graduates, students in this course will likely be or become K-12 or university instructional technologists, instructional designers, instructors or administrators, or corporate trainers. The open, public nature of these careers is certainly unavoidable; however, our online classroom is not an open “public forum”. Therefore, all opinions, ideas, and work conducted in a password-protected online educational environment like Blackboard are owned by the author, intended for educational purposes, and are not intended for public dissemination or consumption without the permission of the author(s). This includes all areas of the online academic environment, including, but not limited to email, papers, reports, presentations, videos, chats, blogs and discussion board posts.

Copyrighted Materials

Among the materials that may be protected by copyright law are the lectures, notes, and other material presented in class or as part of the course. Always assume the materials presented by an instructor are protected by copyright unless the instructor has stated otherwise. Students enrolled in, and authorized visitors to, Purdue University courses are permitted to take notes, which they may use for individual/group study or for other non-commercial purposes reasonably arising from enrollment in the course or the University generally.

Notes taken in class are, however, generally considered to be “derivative works” of the instructor’s presentations and materials, and they are thus subject to the instructor’s copyright in such presentations and materials. No individual is permitted to sell or otherwise barter notes, either to other students or to any commercial concern, for a course without the express written permission of the course instructor. To obtain permission to sell or barter notes, the individual wishing to sell or barter the notes must be registered in the course or must be an approved visitor to the class. Course instructors may choose to grant or not grant such permission at their own discretion, and may require a review of the notes prior to their being sold or bartered. If they do grant such permission, they may revoke it at any time, if they so choose.

Dismissal & Academic Probation

A graduate student may be dismissed from graduate study in the College of Education, based on Graduate School and departmental policies, in instances where the student fails to:

1. Earn satisfactory course grades and/or maintain a satisfactory grade index;
2. Make satisfactory progress, including progress in research, and complete the program in a timely fashion;
3. Pass graduate preliminary or final examinations; or
4. Adhere to standards of academic honesty, research integrity, and student conduct.
5. Successfully earn more than 50% of the challenges and receive a passing grade in a badge-earning course while already on probation (Fall 2017 cohort and forward).

A student who fails to meet the expectations set forth above may be placed on probationary status in his/her graduate program.

• A student who is placed on probationary status shall be notified in writing by his/her advisor or program area faculty.
• A plan of remediation will be developed by the student’s advisor in collaboration with the student’s advisory committee and/or program area faculty, and a specific time frame for remediation will be identified.
• If the student fails to satisfy the conditions of the remediation plan, he or she may be dismissed from the graduate program.
• In special circumstances, program area faculty may decide that remediation is not appropriate and dismissal from the graduate program may be immediate.
• Students dismissed from the graduate program shall be notified in writing by the program area convener and/or department head.
• A student who believes a dismissal decision is unfair or who has additional information that he or she believes should be considered may appeal the decision in writing to the department’s Graduate Committee, which will consider the appeal and make a recommendation to the department head who will make a final decision.

Professional Attitude and Conduct

Working within the field of instructional design, you will have many opportunities to interact with individuals in various settings (particularly school and business environments) and in numerous capacities (friends, co-workers). In all areas of interaction, conscious civility, respect, and professionalism are expected from the faculty, students, and graduates of our LDT program. It is important that we exhibit these attitudes and behaviors at all times during our LDT program and beyond.

Students are expected to:

• Read, understand, and follow the Code of Ethics as outlined by the national Association of Educational Communication and Technology (AECT). In particular, note the significance of Section 1:9 which states, “… shall refrain from any behavior that would be judged to be discriminatory, harassing, insensitive, or offensive and, thus, is in conflict with valuing and promoting each individual’s integrity, rights, and opportunity within a diverse profession and society.”
• Always seek clarification and potential solutions when misunderstandings, disagreements, or problems occur. Do not focus on placing blame.
• Seek assignment feedback and strive to understand its constructive value, even if the feedback is critical.
• When needed, deliver any feedback in a constructive, professional manner, regardless of the setting (face to face, phone, e-mail, online discussion forum, etc.).
• Avoid any statement or action (e.g., made via verbal statements, emails, online discussions) that could be interpreted as discriminatory, harassing, insensitive, offensive, or disrespectful against any other student, staff or faculty member.

Procedure for addressing attitude/disposition professionalism problems

Within the LDT program, faculty members and course instructors will monitor student disposition and behavior. Any deficiencies in professionalism will be reported and addressed using the following procedure:

• On the first offense:
  • The faculty member/instructor will discuss the incident directly with the student and explain the problem that was noted and potential ways for it to be addressed. In addition, the faculty advisor (the chair of the student’s graduate plan of study) will discuss the ramifications/consequences of continued problems in this area. 
• On the second offense (or if the first continues to be a problem):
  • The faculty member/instructor will again discuss the incident directly with the student.
  • A written description of the incident will be submitted to the program convener by the faculty member/instructor (including a copy of any document that contains the incident).
  • The faculty member/instructor will meet with the program convener and the student’s faculty advisor and discuss the incident and determine additional actions needed.
  • The incident report will be placed in the student’s permanent file and the student will be informed of any steps that must be taken in order to correct the problem. 
• On the third offense:
  • A new incident report will be completed and copies sent to the department head, program convener, and student committee chair.
  • The student will meet (face to face or via conference call/Skype) with the department head, convener of the LDT program, and the student’s faculty advisor to discuss the repeated professionalism disposition problems and the ramifications of those continued problems.
  • The department head, program convener, and faculty advisor will meet to determine the continued enrollment status of the student.

Dean of Students

Information regarding student’s rights and responsibilities, code of conduct and disability resources can be found on the Dean of Students website http://www.purdue.edu/odos/.

Guidelines for Student Concerns with an Instructor or Course

Steps for students with concerns regarding an instructor or course:

• Students should contact the course instructor and attempt to resolve the issue outside of class communications (e.g. – discussion board, Blackboard email). Students should provide to the instructor in writing, their concerns including information such as the dates, assignments, other concerns, and the requested change.
• Second, if the issue is not resolved with the instructor, the student should contact the Student Services Coordinator (Currently Jared Miles). Students should contact the Student Services Coordinator in writing providing the information noted above and evidence that they have already attempted to resolve the issue with their instructor. The Student Services Coordinator will serve as the liaison to resolve the issue potentially addressing the issue with the student, contacting the instructor, the lead instructor or the program conveners as needed.
• Third, if the student concern(s) is/are not resolved with the assistance of the Student Services Coordinator, the student should contact the course lead instructor whose name and contact information can be found in Blackboard and myPurdue. As the course lead instructor is most familiar with the course, they will know the course best and may be able to resolve some issues before they escalate further. Students should contact the course lead instructor in writing providing the information noted above and evidence that they have already attempted to resolve the issue with their instructor and the Student Services Coordinator.
• Fourth, if the student concern(s) are not resolved after the instructor, the Student Services Coordinator, and the lead instructor have investigated the student’s grievance, the student can contact the Online Program Coordinator: Lora Wilson. The Coordinator will contact the instructor and the Student Services Coordinator regarding the issue.
• Fifth, student will contact Tim Newby, LDT program convener.

I have read and agree with these LDT MS online program policies and expectations.

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