Description & Objectives
Communication strategies employed by leaders in business, industry, education, and health professions; practice in writing effective memos, letters, and reports; oral communication skills required for influencing group decisions, conducting interviews, and making presentations. (2006-2007 AASU Graduate Catalog description of ENGL 7100)

Professional Communication Strategies is one of four graduate core courses in AASU's masters program in Liberal and Professional Studies.  With attention to the interrelationship of written communication, speech communication, and new communication technologies, English 7100 responds to the needs of university graduates who seek to advance to leadership positions in the contemporary workplace.  Interactive and participatory, the course will devote special attention to composing effective short messages, researching and writing proposals, delivering presentations, managing meetings, conducting interviews, and developing case reports.  Each student will have an opportunity to make a class presentation and lead a class discussion on a communication topic or issue of particular interest. 

By the end of the term, you should have achieved several key goals:

You should have a clear understanding of the communication skills required of effective leaders, and you should be able to demonstrate an ability to apply and further develop those skills.

You should be familiar with the conventions of typical written communications in business, government, and industry: in particular, letters, memos, reports, and proposals.

You should be able to analyze a variety of communication situations and respond to these situations effectively. 

You should be able to respond to writing projects with effective discovery and revision strategies, with confident drafting, and with effective consultation (one-on-one and in groups).

You should be able to design communications that are appropriate in format and that your colleagues, your instructor, and others find to be clear, complete, correct, considerate, and convincing.

You should understand and appreciate how the study of effective communication strategies is consistent with the spirit and tradition of the liberal arts.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to help shape the design and content of the course for future students.  Enjoy! 

Grading, Attendance, and Participation

Final grades will be determined according to the following scale: 
--exercises, short reports, presentations, minutes, class (and online) participation:   35%
--final project:  35%
--final exam :  30%
All work should be turned in on time.  A late assignment will be docked one letter grade per day.  An assignment that is not turned in at all will receive a grade of 0 (the equivalent of a double-F on the grade scale).

Class begins at 6:00 p.m.: to avoid distracting others, please make every effort to arrive on time.  Because discussion (as a class and in small groups) is the primary form of teaching and learning in ENGL 7100, regular attendance is essential. Though the course web site should serve as an important resource, English 7100 is not an online course, and work on the web is not an alternative to regular class attendance and participation.

Class attendance means arriving and leaving at the scheduled class times.  You're permitted up to four cuts during the term without penalty--except for the penalty of not participating in the class.  (These four cuts anticipate disease, despair, carburetor problems, and other disasters.  In other words, your reasons for taking the cuts are entirely your business: no need for e-mails, phone calls, or letters from the doctor.)  If you must miss a class, it's your responsibility to get in touch with a classmate to collect any handouts and to find out what assignments have been given and what changes (if any) have been made in the syllabus.  There will be no "make-up" work.  If serious medical problems arise during the semester, please consult with the staff in Student Affairs and, if necessary, consider requesting a special medical withdrawal to avoid academic penalties. (See also Disability Services, below.)

Your final course grade will drop a full letter grade (i.e., 10%) for each absence beyond the allotted four.   

Disability Services
If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability that might affect your performance in this class, please contact Ms. Amelia Castilian, Director of Disability Services (MCC 207A), no later than the first week of the semester.  The Office of Disability Services will determine appropriate accommodations based on testing and medical documentation.  Within two weeks of the start of the semester, please let me know (privately, after class or by appointment in my office) if the Office of Disability Services has determined that you need special  accommodations.   Notification after the start of an exam or last minute notification on an assignment will not be accepted.

Handouts
I encourage you to purchase a pocket folder or ring binder to manage the handouts that I'll be distributing throughout the term.   If you misplace any handouts (or if you're not present to collect them), please borrow them from a classmate and make photocopies.

Course Web Site
The course web site (located at www.nt.armstrong.edu/pcs.htm) includes updates on weekly reading & writing assignments, supplementary class notes, and materials at other professional communication sites (Resources). The online Bulletin Board will be used for short out-of-class assignments.  To stay current with class activities, please check the NEWS link frequently (at least twice a week): the NEWS page will alert you to updates on any of the other course web pages.  During the term, we will be augmenting these web pages with materials collected and developed by the class.

Ethics
For all course work that you do, reliance on uncredited secondary sources of any kind (whether direct or indirect) will be treated as plagiarism and a violation of the Armstrong Atlantic Honor Code.   Put simply, do the right thing.

Final Project
Your final project will be an extensive report, proposal, or portfolio on a subject related to your current work or to your professional goals.  I'll work with each of you individually to focus a topic and develop a project that is meaningful to you and that meets the broad expectations of the course.  Topics should be submitted for approval by midterm.

Exams
The final exam will provide you with opportunities to apply the communication strategies that we will have practiced during the term.  Sample questions and tips on preparing for the final exam will appear on this web site approximately one week before the night of the exam.  In addition, you will have an opportunity to develop (and share with your classmates) questions that may be used on the final exam.

Communications
While working on any course project, please don't hesitate to send me questions via e-mail (engl7100@yahoo.com).    I usually  check class e-mails in the evening, not during the day.   Weekdays, you can generally expect to hear back from me within 24 hours; over the weekend, I should get back to you by Sunday evening.  I'm also available for individual conferences, but because committee meetings frequently call me out of the office during weekday afternoons, I can’t provide the certainty of formal office hours.  So just send me an e-mail or call the office (921 5991), and we’ll arrange a mutually convenient meeting time. 

A Few Key Dates in Spring 2007
January 11: first class meeting
January 18: online activities in place of regular class meeting
March 1: midterm (last day to withdraw without penalty)
March 15: spring break (no class meeting)
April 26: final class meeting of the term: final exam
May 3: final project due