The document provides guidance to students on frequently asked questions about an online course. It addresses questions about syllabus contents, due dates, discussion boards, submitting assignments, plagiarism software, citing sources, exams, late work, technical issues, and contacting the instructor. Key details like discussion board due dates, what constitutes an appropriate citation, and steps to take when having technical problems are explained.

1. Frequently
Asked
Questions
●YOUR GUIDE

2. fine print disclaimer*
●*Most of this information is in your
●syllabus.

3. *
What’s in
here??
Syllabus
Due Dates
Discussion Boards
Submitting Work
SafeAssign
Sources/citations for papers/projects
Respondus
Exams
Late work
Tech problems
Contacting Instructor Cortes

4. SYLLABUS
● Your syllabus is so long because
in online courses I never get to
have my “first lecture” with you
and explain all the important
aspects of the course.
● I also never get to do my second
or third lecture with you to clarify
things that may be confusing.
● So, I have to pack it all into the
syllabus. This is our contract.
Please get very familiar with it!
● To find something:
o Do a WORD SEARCH
 Type in “calendar” or
“exam” or “rubric”
 You can quickly find what
you need like that
QUESTION:
Omg, it’s so long.
Why is it so long
and how do you
expect me to find
what I need in
there?

5. DUE
DATES
● Check the Course Calendar
● Read the weekly Announcements
● All assignments, DF's, and exams are open
at the beginning of the week they are
assigned at 12:00am and are due by the
last day of the week they are assigned
by 11:59pm unless otherwise noted in the
syllabus and the Weekly Announcements,
like with papers and projects
● They become unavailable after they are
due. You will not be able to access them or
post in DF’s after the due date. You'll still
be able to see the DF's in read-only view.
● Due dates are always the same each
week.
QUESTION:
How do I know
when things are
due?

6. DISCUSSION
BOARDS
Each DF has two due dates
o Your ORIGINAL POSTS are due
by THURSDAY by 11:59pm.
o Your PEER RESPONSES and
response to the INSTRUCTOR
POST are due by SUNDAY by
11:59pm
o Instructor Post will be posted
on FRIDAYs
o Late posts are NOT graded
o Early posts are awesome!
QUESTION:
When are DF’s
due?

7. DISCUSSION
BOARDS A sentence is at least 10-
words.
● Okay:
o “The authors emphatically state that you
cannot kill two birds with one stone.”
o “Yolanda, I completely agree that a bird
in hand is better than two in a bush
because it has been empirically proven.”
● Not okay:
o “I cannot stand birds.”
o “Yolanda, I completely agree!”
● You will NOT get credit for
sentences that are not
substantive.
QUESTION:
What is
considered an
appropriate
sentence?

8. SUBMITTING
WORK
● What is likely going on is that
your computer clock and
Blackboard’s site clock are not
on the same time.
● Don’t wait until the last 10
minutes to post your responses
or submit your assignments.
● Just because it’s 11:58pm on
your computer doesn’t make it
“on time” in Blackboard.
QUESTION:
The DB and/or
SafeAssign
wouldn’t allow me
to submit but it’s
only 11:58pm?

9. SUBMITTING
WORK ● If you are having issues
submitting a document,
PLEASE CALL THE TECH
SUPPORT.
● Get a reference number
● Having challenges with
SafeAssign the night an
assignment is due is not a
“valid” excuse and will not
be grounds for an
extension.
QUESTION:
I can’t seem to
submit my
document to
SafeAssign and/or I
can’t even find it—
where is it???

10. SafeAssign
● SafeAssign is a plagiarism program that
informs me and your TA if you have gathered
your material from outside sources without
appropriate citation(s) or permissions, like:
from a paper that has been used before, DF
posts from a prior class or from another
student in a current class, uncited direct
quotes from literature, or from the internet.
● IT WILL RECOGNIZE YOUR PREVIOUS
WORK SO DO NOT REUSE IT UNLESS YOU
HAVE PERMISSION FROM ME.
● A high percentage means that you did not do
original work.
● It is considered Academic Dishonesty to turn in
work that is not original or appropriately cited
and formal procedures are in place to address
these issues through the university.
● http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity/policy
QUESTION:
What is
SafeAssign?

11. SafeAssign ● If you have a 27-30% percentage or
less, that is not high. You’re fine.
● If you utilized a checklist or a highly
formatted document where your original
narrative portion is very small, you will
have a high turnitin percentage because
your peers and prior students have
used that formatted document before.
You’re fine.
● Review the highlighting in your paper
and you will discover the content in
question and it will tell you where it was
retrieved from.
QUESTION:
I pressed on the
paper icon and it
showed a lot of
overlap.

12. HELPFUL TIPS
● Never “recycle” other student’s papers.
Turnitin picks up on this, even if you think
you have altered it significantly. This is
also Academic Dishonesty and can
involve formal disciplinary actions.
● Follow the directions for appropriate
citations. In short, you must cite all your
sources of information.
● Sometimes we just “know” things or have
heard them “somewhere,” but unless you
were there (i.e., fighting in the Civil War,
with Che Guevara in Bolivia, etc.), you
MUST formally cite your source.
QUESTION:
How can I safely
avoid a high
percentage?
SafeAssign

13. SOURCES Primary and Secondary Sources
● This is an excellent reference for primary and
secondary sources:
o http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/sources.html
DO NOT USE:
● Wikipedia
o Or any sites that are editable by
anyone
● Tabloid magazines
● Internet sources that do not cite their
sources
● Automatic deduction for any of these
Academic and peer-reviewed sources
are always best
QUESTION:
What types of
sources are
appropriate for my
paper/project?

14. SOURCES ● Use APA format for papers
● ALWAYS include a separate reference
page (not included in your page total)
● An abstract is NOT needed
● For powerpoints, include your references
on the slide AND at the end of your
presentation (just like a regular paper).
o You MUST have a final reference
slide.
o See examples
● Good website on APA formatting
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
QUESTION:
How do I cite?

15. Respondus
o Call the Tech Support immediately
o Be prepared to stay on the phone (not
IM chat) with the Tech Support for an
extended period of time, as they will
attempt to troubleshoot with you. This
can take anywhere from 15 minutes to
an hour or more.
o Give yourself ample time before you
do your first quiz to install it
o Please DO NOT contact me or your
TA regarding Respondus. We won’t
be able to help!
QUESTION:
I can’t get
Respondus
LockDown
Browser to
work. What do
I do?

16. EXAMS
● CALL THE TECH SUPPORT FIRST
● Get a reference number for your call
● Then contact me and let me know
what they told you. Do this SECOND.
● Sometimes they can walk you through
it and solve the problem. If they can
solve it, you don’t need to contact me.
Other times you need my assistance
resetting it.
QUESTION:
I’m having
technological
difficulties and I
can’t take my
exam. What
do I do?

17. EXAMS
o See previous slide
o Email me prior to the deadline
o If you email me after 9pm, you
will have to wait until the next
day.
o The ONLY way I will reset your
exam is if you have a reference
number from the TECH
SUPPORT.
 That is my verification that you
tried prior to the deadline.
QUESTION:
If I need your
assistance
resetting my
exam what
do I do?

18. EXAMS For Technological issues:
o You only get ONE reset during the Session
o You must have documentation that you
called the Tech Support by getting a
reference number when you call
o You must email me (not your TA) and
include that reference number prior to the
due date/time.
For “valid” reasons:
o You must contact me within 24-hours of the
incident that prohibited you from taking the
exam
o You must have written documentation of
said event
QUESTION:
Can I
retake/make-up
my exam?

19. EXAMS
Please contact me to set up a phone or
skype conference.
Why?
 I cannot leave the exams open
indefinitely as there are people each
week that have “valid” excuses (as
outlined in the syllabus) that need to
take make-up exams. I cannot give
make-up exams with the corrected
answers open. This is also for test
integrity.
QUESTION:
How do I see
my exam with
the corrected
answers?

20. LATE WORK
● I accept only certain assignments late
with notable deductions
● Your syllabus indicates which
assignments will be accepted late
● I do not give extensions
● If you have a “valid” reason, as
outlined in the syllabus, please contact
me directly
For “valid” excuses:
● You must contact me within 24-hours
of the incident that prohibited you from
taking the exam
● You must have written documentation
of said event
● “valid” is defined in your syllabus
QUESTION:
Can I turn in my
work late? Even
for partial credit?

21. TECH
PROBLEMS ALWAYS CALL THE TECH
SUPPORT FIRST
Tech Issues include:
● Can’t submit to SafeAssign
● Can’t submit to the DB
● Can’t see a past submission
● Can’t access part of the site or the entire
site
● Problems with Respondus
● Anything prohibiting you from doing your
work
●The one issue that the Tech Support
cannot help you with is if you are having an
issue with a video(s). Please post in the
Course Questions regarding those issues.
QUESTION:
What do I do if
I’m having
technological
difficulties on
the site?

22. CONTACTING
PROFESSOR
CORTES
● Please email me
● Please give me 24-hours to respond;
48-hours if you contact me on a
weekend or during busy times
(outages, end of session)
● Please follow the 3-Before-Me rule.
1.Check the syllabus
2.Check the FAQs
3.Post in Course Questions
● Sometimes students don’t like this, but
then they understand why I suggest it
when they follow it. Often your fellow
students are your best resources (i.e.,
posting questions in the Course
Questions)
QUESTION:
How do I
contact
Professor
Cortes

23. ● Please format your email SUBECT LINE:
COURSE #_Your Name_Your Issue
● Insert YOUR name and issue. For example:
 SOC 123_Jane Doe_Mind Blank
 SOC 123_John Doe_EMERGENCY
o For "valid" emergencies
o Forgetting to take an exam is not
a "valid" emergency
 Sometimes students put my name in
the subject line or “Issue” at the end.
No, put your name and issue.
● If you do NOT format your subject line
appropriately, your email can (and will) get
easily overlooked.
● I prioritize student emails so I always look for
those subject lines during the day.
QUESTION:
If I want to ensure
Professor Cortes
responds in a
timely manner,
what should I do?
CONTACTING
PROFESSOR
CORTES

24. ● I am NOT available after 5pm
on weekdays
● I am intermittently accessible
on the weekends. If you
send me an email after 9pm
on Friday, please expect a
response on Monday
morning.
● If you don’t hear from me
within the stated time frames,
please email me again. I’m
human ☺
QUESTION:
When is Professor
Cortes not
available?
CONTACTING
PROFESSOR
CORTES

25. The End
●
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