Management 137 – Independent Contracting Instructor: Renee Phoenix Quarter: Winter 2016 January 4 – March 17, 2016 Course Location: This course is fully online. We’ll be using a Canvas classroom and the Internet. A computer and Internet access is required Course Description: An introduction to running one's own business. Students will explore the techniques and responsibilities for successfully managing an independent career. Credit Hours: 3 Textbook: No Textbook Required. We will have “Weekly Guides” and other readings, videos and relevant materials assigned each week. All will be available to you in the Canvas Classroom or online.
How Best to Contact Prof Phoenix You can use the Canvas Inbox messaging system for all class related messages. If you have not heard from me within 48 hours, please resend your message. Voice mail: 253-840-8485 In-Person or Virtual Conferences: I’m available for conversations or meetings either in person or online. Email for an appointment. I have physical offices at both Puyallup and Fort Steilacoom campuses: Puyallup: A160 Fort Steilacoom: C330 We have a question and answer discussion area (the Q&A Café) in our online classroom where you can post general questions about the class, about Canvas or about assignments. Help each other out in class by reading and responding to questions that come up during the quarter. Please try this forum first to ask questions about the course. If you know the answer to a question, please feel free to post it and help out your classmates.
Classroom Time and Location: • • •
This course is fully online. We’ll be using a Canvas classroom and the Internet. A computer and Internet access is required The course “week” is Monday through Monday. Access all materials, discussions, messages and assignments is through the Canvas online classroom or online The login URL for Canvas is https://pierce.instructure.com/
Optional online seminars: There will be at least two optional online seminars throughout the quarter – think of them as short and sweet opportunities to login and ask questions “live” about 1 Independent Contracting – MNGT 137 Online – Winter 2016
course topics. We’ll send out announcement invitations to the class at least one week before each seminar.
Feedback and Grading Time Expectations Feedback and grades will be posted within 5 days of the due date for assignments that are submitted on time. Any assignments submitted late will be graded as soon as possible, but we don’t guarantee a 5-day turn-around on late submissions.
Blogging Assignments: You will set up a blog for this course and post on a weekly basis as part of your assignments. Information and tutorials on how to set up your blog can be found in the course orientation module. You’ll have weekly questions and/or blog topics that you can use to write your blog assignments each week.
Technical Requirements: You must have reliable access to a computer with speakers and Internet access. It will be hard to complete this class if you only have access to a computer through the Pierce College computer labs or if you share a computer with family/friends. Try to find a computer of your own that you don’t need to share with anyone. •
High speed Internet access is also best, if possible, but reliable Internet connection at a lower speed or through WiFi connections will also work just fine.
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A microphone or headset/mic combination that works with your computer is highly recommended for this course - you will need this equipment for sound recording and listening to video and audio. You can find inexpensive microphone/headsets at many computer or office supply stores or on Amazon.com. An example is the Logitech H340 USB headset/microphone - relatively inexpensive and reliable.
Recommended Browsers and Operating Systems: For best results, the latest versions of these web browsers are recommended: • Firefox • Chrome • Safari For best results the following operating systems are recommended: • Windows 7 or newer on a PC • Mac OSX Mountain Lion or newer Have a backup plan for computer crashes, Internet downtime or software problems. Keep copies of all your work on a flash drive or CD in case of computer disk failure or in case the Internet, as we know it, mysteriously disappears. Virus protection for your computer is highly recommended. 2 Independent Contracting – MNGT 137 Online – Winter 2016
Recommended Software Applications: Many of your written projects can be submitted in a .doc or .docx format unless otherwise required by the assignment. The following applications can save documents in .doc and .docx format: • • • •
PC Users: Microsoft Word 2010 or newer (part of MS Office Suite) Mac Users: Microsoft Word for Mac; iWork Pages; Google Docs: you already have a Google account if you have a Pierce student email account Open Office: Similar to MS Office Suite - free download available at http://www.openoffice.org/
General Course Information Success depends a lot on you. This class may a little different than any you’ve had before. You may have questions at first because things are new to you, but once you get familiar with it, we hope you’ll agree that it’s designed for you to have choices, exercise your creative problem solving muscles and be successful. There are deadlines throughout the course by which all work must be completed. March 17, 2016 is the last day of instruction. To start out strong and become successful in this course, mark your calendar with deadlines, or print out the course schedule and put it in plain sight in your home office or work area. The most important thing to understand about this class is that you can’t fail unless you stop participating or stop trying. You also choose the effort you want to put into the class and the grade you want to earn. We’ll give you the opportunities to get to where you want to be, and as long as you are sincerely working toward your goals, we’ll do what we can to help you. Last Day to Drop - 100% Refund If, after reading the syllabus, you decide the course just doesn’t seem right for you, you have until January 8, 2016 to drop the class with a full 100% refund of your tuition payment and to find another class that suits you better. How the Course Works This is an online course, where all work happens over the Internet using the Canvas course management system. There are no requirements to come to campus. However, you’ll still work as hard (or harder) as you would in a face-to-face class. Expect to spend 6-9 hours per week reading, brainstorming, testing, investigating, researching, writing, re-writing, tweaking, discussing and finally completing and posting your work. We use the Canvas course Announcements very regularly. You are required to set your Canvas Notifications to receive alerts ASAP or Daily. Always check the Announcements area when you login to the course. You should check in to the Canvas classroom regularly – we suggest at least three times per week - and be active in the discussion areas to be successful. 3 Independent Contracting – MNGT 137 Online – Winter 2016
Course Learning Outcomes By the time you finish this course, you should be able to: 1. Select a legal business format to use and support decision. 2. Explain requirements for setting up basic bookkeeping, including taxes, expenses and purchases. 3. Scan contracts for critical points, such as payment schedule, delivery requirements, rights and responsibilities, and propose reasonable amendments. 4. Create a time management plan that includes effective amounts of time for completing professional activities and business operations. 5. Analyze your own personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to becoming an independent business owner. 6. Create a marketing plan of action, including networking and social media strategies. 7. Create a written viable business model plan using external research.
Assessments and Grading This course is based on an accumulated point system. There is a grading scale with point ranges for each grade level in this syllabus. Be sure you understand the assessments and grading scale and how they will work for you. Your final grade will depend on how many total points you earn throughout the quarter. You earn points by successfully completing discussions, assignments, blog posts and an IC Business Model project. There are three types of assessments you’ll have in this course each week– discussions, assignments and blog posts. These are all required activities so you need to be clear on what happens if you miss any of them. 1. Weekly "Mastermind" Forums: You will always be expected to participate in weekly discussions in a timely manner. Discussions are locked 5 days after the final deadline to post. You cannot submit comments or posts after discussions are locked and will lose full points. Be part of the conversation! Post on time! 2. Weekly Assignments: There are 8 assignments due during the quarter. Assignments can be submitted late, but you will lose points (see Late Work Policy). This is where you and your business and personal creativity can shine! Don’t skip submissions! 3. Learning Blog: You will create a blog at the beginning of this course and post each week based on question prompts from your instructor. Blog posts can be submitted late, but you will lose points (see Late Work Policy). This is where you get to show and share what you think about a variety of topics! Don’t skip submissions!
Late Work Policy The main things that can trip you up in MNGT 137 are missing assignments, missing blog posts and missing discussion deadlines. Doing the work is most important, so I do have late work policies listed below that allow for some leeway. However, your life will be much happier and easier if you just meet deadlines in the first go-around.
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You must submit a Business Model Plan! This project is so important that failure to submit it will result in a zero for the course! It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you can’t say you completed the course if you don’t do this plan.
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If you submit anything late, you’ll lose 10% from the overall grade for the activity for each day it is late. Assignments, discussions or blog posts submitted 4 days or more after the deadline are eligible for no more than 40% of points possible and may receive less depending on the quality of work submitted.
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No late work will be accepted after March 17, 2016
The One-Time Only “Life Happens Pass” We all know that life can sometimes get in the way of getting things done. IF you need a onetime only “Life Happens Pass” on a deadline for an assignment or project, • send Professor Phoenix a message at least 1 day BEFORE the deadline and no points will be deducted for late submission. • You can use this “pass” only one time, and you must get your late assignment in within 5 days of the original deadline. Important Reminder! Posting your thoughts and ideas in the discussions and on your blogs is a BIG participation requirement in this online course. Turning in assignments is also part of being in this course. Failing to participate fully and thoughtfully in each activity is the same as missing class in a face-to-face course. It is the number one reason why some students have failed the class in the past. Assessment Type
Total
Points for Each
Total Points Possible
Required: EKA Survey: Experience, Knowledge & Abilities survey. Taken in Week 1
1
5
5
Required: Week 10 XEKA survey: Exit experience, knowledge and abilities survey. Required: Syllabus Quiz: You will not be able to access the class modules until you complete the Syllabus Quiz
1
5
5
1
10
10
Required: Weekly "Mastermind" Forums: You will always be expected to participate in weekly discussions during the quarter. Discussions are locked 5 days after the final deadline to post. You cannot submit comments or posts after discussions are locked and will lose all points for the discussion.
10
20
200
Required: Weekly Assignments: There are 8 assignments due during the quarter. Assignments can be submitted late, but you will lose points.
8
20
160
Required: Learning Blog: You will create a blog at the beginning of this course and post each week based on question prompts from your instructor. Blog posts can be submitted late, but you will lose points.
8
20
160
Required: Independent Contractor (IC) Business Model Plan Project: Due no later than March 17, 2016. Failure to submit an IC Business Model Plan will result in a zero for the course.
1
100
100
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Total points possible for the course is 640. Please see the grading scale below for how decimal grades are determined.
Grading Scale: Decimal/Percentage/Letter Decimal
Percentage
Letter
3.5-4.0 2.5-3.4
90-100% 80-89% 70-79% 60-69% Under 60%
A B C D F
1.5-2.4 1.0-1.4
0
Technical Support If you have technical problems with accessing the Canvas classroom, follow these quick steps first: Login issues: 1. Be sure you are using the correct login ID and password to access the course 2. Be sure you are logging in to pierce.instructure.com 3. If you forgot your password, use the link on the login page to recover/reset it. You can login, but Canvas isn’t working right: 1. Check the Help area of Canvas by clicking the “Help” link (available on the login-page and in the classroom) Use the “Report A Problem” link to email the eLearning dept. about the issue. 2. Try a different browser if possible. Firefox, Chrome and Safari work best with Canvas If you are still experiencing difficulty, contact the eLearning department directly: By phone: 253-964-6244 Email: distedu@pierce.ctc.edu Policy Regarding Academic Dishonesty Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable in all classes at Pierce College and you are subject to disciplinary action by the college. Any suspect documents or work will be returned with no credit given and you may fail the course. If you cheat or plagiarize, you may face disciplinary actions as stated in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy/Code of Conduct. For more information on what constitutes plagiarism and the steps you can take to avoid it, review this information on the Pierce College Library site: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/library/plagiarizing Library Support The libraries at Pierce College provide access to materials and services that support academic programs. Online access is at: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/library/. This site has access to the library’s extensive catalogue and databases, as well as links to library staff phone and online assistance.
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Access & Disability Services/ Accommodations Students with disabilities who believe they may need academic adjustments, auxiliary aids or services to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements are encouraged to register with the Access and Disability Services (ADS) Office. Online information is available at http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/dist/supportservices/ads/ Emergency Closure Information If the college closes for any extended time during the quarter, we will continue along our regular schedule, since this is an online class and is not dependent on the physical campus. Due dates may be adjusted if appropriate. This policy may also apply in the case of an extended Canvas outage. Syllabus Changes This syllabus is subject to change as needed throughout the quarter. I will do my best to inform everyone of changes and post a revised syllabus as soon as possible if changes do occur.
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