Syllabus for SOC-210
MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
Marriage and the Family is an introductory course in the sociology of the family. The course takes an in-depth look at the history of the family, mate selection, love, social class characteristics and marriage, marital crises, alternative marriage forms, and human sexuality. An important thread throughout the course is the diversity expressed in modern marriage and family experiences. From this smorgasbord of possibilities you may choose or reject components with respect to your own relationships. Keep in mind, however, that these alternatives are working satisfactorily for various groups of people around the world.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO1 Develop an understanding of the family life cycle, relevant sociological perspectives, and the
significant variations that occur within the family system from culture to culture and even within
our own culture.
CO2 Explore the stages that the family goes through and analyze the tasks that family members
must accomplish at each stage.
CO3 Investigate aspects of marriage and the family by using different perspectives, approaches, and
theories discussed throughout the course.
CO4 Examine the diverse families presented in this course to gain information that will be useful in
your own relationships.
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN-13: 978-1305503106
Marriage and the Family is a three-credit, online course consisting of six modules. Modules include study materials and activities.
Each of the course's six modules include a written assignment and a blog post. The course also includes three proctored online examinations. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
You are required to complete six written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. For specific details consult the individual course modules. Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.
Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.
You are required to complete six blog entries. Blogging is a fundamental digital media practice and a significant means by which people communicate about particular issues, establish credibility, and construct online identities. These blog entries provide you the opportunity to practice and refine your blogging skills and offer another platform to engage in discussions of course topics. Everyone is encouraged to read their classmates’ blog entries and comment on them.
Note: The blog in this course is a collection of individual blog entries. As such, you will receive one grade for all required blog entries at the end of the course. Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
This course contains interactive study guides that allow you to take notes and answer sample questions in preparation for your exams. The links to the interactive study guides are in the module sections of the course website.
This course has three proctored examinations during weeks 4, 8, and 12. See the Course Calendar for the dates of your exam weeks.
For all of these online examinations, you are required to use the University’s Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see the General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to make your scheduling arrangements for exams within the first week of the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course website.
The first exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is one hour long and covers material from Modules 1 and 2 of the course (Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the textbook). It consists of multiple-choice questions.
The second exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is one hour long and covers material from Modules 3 and 4 of the course (Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in the textbook). It consists of multiple-choice questions.
The third exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is one hour long and covers material from Modules 5 and 6 of the course (Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 in the textbook). It consists of multiple-choice questions.
You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and report checking, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Similarity Report Checking at Turnitin
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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