Syllabus for LDR-305
FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Foundations of Leadership provides students with an academic, personal, and practical understanding of leadership. Students analyze their own personalities to discover the best avenues for developing their leadership abilities and style. This process requires examining, modeling, and adapting their own personal style and ethics for real-world practical applications. Students assess their leadership skills in order to to put into practice what they learn during the course.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
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-13 978-1452259666
This course also requires you to read several journal articles in each module. Most of the articles are available through through the research databases in the myEdison portal, but several are obtainable only through the New Jersey State Library. (The module details page will indicate from which source each article may be obtained.) Thus you will need a New Jersey State Library card to complete the requirements of this course.
As a student of Thomas Edison State University, you may receive a library card free of charge. Please obtain one as soon as possible (within the first week of this course is optimal). Information for obtaining a card is available at the link below:
Obtaining a New Jersey State Library Card
Foundations of Leadership is a three-credit online course, consisting of twelve modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final project. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
In addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum, Foundations of Leadership requires you to participate in 12 graded class discussions, one in each module.
Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.
You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, and concepts as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.
Foundations of Leadership has seven written assignments. Each of these is described fully in the module details documents of the course.
Your answers to the assignment questions should be well developed and should convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. They should also adequately answer the questions posed. If you need help in writing, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Also, formulate responses in your own words. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. When quoting or paraphrasing from the text or other sources, be sure to cite the source of information properly according to APA guidelines. If you have further questions, your mentor will guide you in accordance with the correct style of documentation.
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.
This course does not have a midterm or a final examination. Instead you will be required to write and submit a final project to your mentor. This project synthesizes what you have learned about yourself as a leader or potential leader during the course and allows you to outline a developmental plan to help you become the leader you want to be.
If you have questions about the requirements of the paper, be sure to discuss them with your mentor well in advance of the final submission. Consult the Course Calendar for this paper's due date. It must be submitted by the last day of the semester.
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 non-area of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
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.
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:
Please refer to the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Using someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism. Thomas Edison State University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. 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 originality report checking, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Originality Report Checking at Turnitin
Disciplinary Process
First-time incidents of academic dishonesty concerning plagiarism may reflect ignorance of appropriate citation requirements. Mentors will make a good faith effort to address all first-time offenses that occur in courses. In these cases, the mentor may impose sanctions that serve as a learning exercise for the offender. These may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool including a lower grade when appropriate. The mentor will notify the student by e-mail. Decisions about the sanctions applied for subsequent plagiarism offenses or other violations will be made by the appropriate dean’s office, with the advice of the mentor or staff person who reported the violation. The student will be notified via certified mail of the decision. Options for sanctions include:
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