Course Requirements and Policies for History 121/122

History 121 and 122 are each divided into four chronological sections. Your assignments page indicates the dates when each requirement is due. The short essays are all based on documents and are good practice for other assignments. They are not graded excapt for pass/fail. Discussion forums may be done any time, but you must keep up with course progress for your discussions to be meaningful.

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 Short Essay 1 and Quiz 1, constitutes the requirement for avoiding administrative withdrawal.
• 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 up to 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.
• Grading Details.

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 1-3. 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 short (one-page) essays and three longer essays to be written outside of class. See your course writing instructions for details on each assignment. History 121 | History 122

Your site visit essay is a modified research paper, modified to the extent that you may use materials provided on this web site for your sources. You must visit an actual, physical site—virtual visits do not meet the requirement. Additional research in outside sources on longer essays should be conducted where appropriate.  In the specific course writing instructions you will find suggested sites and ideas for site visits.

Extra Credit Discussion Forums. Questions are posted in 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. Discussions are good practice for the midterm and final exam essays.

History 121 | History 122 | Updated July 20, 2010