This document provides advice for students who are falling behind in their coursework. It recommends creating a plan to become current by identifying outstanding assignments, setting a deadline to complete them, and dividing the work over several days. Students are encouraged to access their course daily to stay on track, communicate with their teacher if issues arise, and work to become current within a week if joining late or maintain current status. The plan involves reviewing grades, downloading assignment schedules, counting outstanding work, and setting daily completion goals.

1. W H A T T O D O I F Y O U ’ R E N O T C U R R E N T W I T H
Y O U R W O R K I N J O U R N A L I S M
Plan for Becoming Current with
Assignments

2. Why is it important to have a plan?
 Remember the saying: If you’re failing to plan,
you’re planning to fail!
 If you know what you need to do each day to get
your work done, you’ll have a goal…right?

3. What’s the plan?
Open Grades to see which assignments you have completed and which
you haven’t completed.
Download and open your Assignment Schedule. See Course Documents.
 If you have a grade on an assignment, you know you’ve
completed that assignment. (Remember to read my
comments)
 If you don’t have a grade and you don’t see an assignment file
waiting to be graded, mark that on your Assignment Schedule
as an assignment you need to complete to become current.

4. What do I do next?
 Count the number of assignments you need to complete to become current.
(Check your Assignment Schedule…Every assignment is listed with a due date).
Set a date when you plan to be current.
 Divide the number of assignments you need to complete to become current by
the number of days you have given yourself to become current.
 Example: If you need to complete 3 assignments in Module One, and, to
become current with all your work, you need to complete 3 more assignments in
Module Two and you have 3 days to be on target with your work, you have 6
assignments to complete in 3 days…so…you’ll need to complete 2 assignments a
day for 3 days to be up-to-date with your work.
 It’s that easy!

5. How can I be successful in this class?
 When you do “something” every day, you form the habit of going into
your course regularly.
 Remember, this is a class just like those you attend on your high school
campus. When you don’t access your course, you haven’t attended class
that day.
 A report within your course gives your teacher information about how
many pages you’ve covered in the course, how many assignments
you’ve completed, and how many assignments are due but have not
been submitted.
 Don’t fall so far behind that you feel overwhelmed by the remaining
work due.

6. Working together
 Remember, if you have a questions, send an e-mail, text me, or call.
 Find me in Blackboard IM or e-mail me using the course Inbox.
 If you need to instant message with me, text me or send an e-mail to
let me know when you’ll be on the computer and that you need to
instant message about an assignment and I’ll open Blackboard IM
and message with you.
 You can also go to the Inbox in your course and e-mail me.
 If you were a week or more late getting into the class, you should
work towards being up-to-date by Monday, September 21.
 If you were in the course from the first week, you should be current
with your work now.
 Bottom line: Communicate! Find my contact info on the Home page.