Course Requirements and Policies for History 121/122
Modified Spring Semester 2008

History 121 and 122 are each divided into four chronological sections. Your assignment sheet indicates which requirements are due with each section. Discussion forum may be done any time, but you must keep up with course progress for your discussions to be meaningful. They are good practice for essays questions on the midterm and final exams.

For due dates for all requirements see your course assignment page: History 121 | History 122

Course Policies

Because of increased scrutiny of online courses by accrediting agencies, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), which establishes policy for all community colleges in Virginia, has mandated changes in rules governing distance courses. Accordingly NVCC has modified its policies regarding the grades of "W" (withdrawal) and "I" (incomplete.) Those changes are reflected in the assignment sheet and below.

• Completion of Part 1 of each course, including Quiz 1, constitutes the requirement for avoiding administrative withdrawal.
• You may have a one-week extension for exam and essay requirements, but you must request each extension separately before the due date.
• At the end of the course, students requesting a course extension must have completed all of sections 1 through 3.   Extensions will be granted for about 2 weeks as indicated on your semester assignment page. Further extensions will be granted only for exceptional, documented circumstances such as military deployment or prolonged illness.

Quizzes and Exams

1. Quiz 1 must be taken during week 3 of the course. It will include brief true-false or multiple choice questions based on Topic Summaries and Documents for weeks 1 and 2. You may take it at home (or anywhere) without a password but you may only take it once.
2. The Midterm Exam will consist of multiple choice/true-false questions based on Topic Summaries and Documents since Quiz 1 and several short answer (essay) questions on first half of course. You must take it at a testing center.
3. Quiz 2 will be taken between the midterm and final and will consist of multiple choice/true-false and short answer questions on readings since the Midterm exam. You may take it at home (or anywhere) without a password but you may only take it once. There is a one-hour time limit.
4. The Final Exam will consist of multiple choice/true-false questions based on readings since Quiz 2 and short answer/essay questions on the second half of the course. You must take it at a testing center.

General Writing Instructions

Each course requires 4 essays to be written outside of class, one for each part of the course. See your course writing instructions for details on each assignment. History 121 | History 122

Your longer essay is a modified research paper, modified to the extent that you may use materials provided on this web site for your sources.  Additional research in outside sources should be conducted where appropriate.  Your longer essay should also include a site visit, so selection of your topic should take that into account.  In the specific course writing instructions you will find suggested sites and ideas for site visits.

Extra Credit: In addition to the site visit part of the research project, students may make an additional site visit and write a brief (2-4 page) report for extra credit of 25-50 points.

Discussion Forums. Questions are posted in each of the discussion forums in Blackboard to stimulate conversations among students. You may answer the questions directly, respond to comments by other students, or start a thread of your own on a relevant topic. Discussion topics are good practice for the midterm and final exam essays.

History 121 | History 122 | Updated January 7, 2008