Analysis/Application Assignments (Does not apply to Doctoral level classes)
The analysis and application assignments are major performance assessments in all courses. The assignments are research-based, practical, and relevant projects to apply immediately in your work setting or to a future work setting.
Assignments/Course Components
It’s important to familiarize yourself with Canvas, ACE’s LMS early in the process. In addition to the Orientation and Next Steps Webinar, a Canvas Student Quickstart Guide can be accessed here.
Attendance Policy
Maximum learning outcomes are achieved through course attendance and interaction. You are responsible for regular attendance. Engagement is defined as participation in a course requirement as defined in the syllabus. You may expect poor attendance or lack of participation and interaction to negatively impact your course grades. For all electronically delivered credit hour courses at American College of Education, attendance is measured by engagement in the course at least once in the first five days of the term.
Note: You must complete the Mandatory Attendance Verification form in all courses by the Friday of Week 1. If you do not demonstrate activity in your course or complete the Mandatory Attendance Verification by this deadline, you will be administratively withdrawn from the College or dropped from the appropriate course (if enrolled in multiple courses).
If you are administratively withdrawn from the College during this time, and would like to be re-instated, you can do so through the Tuesday of Week 2. Please see information about re-reinstatement fees and procedures under Tuition/Refund Policies.
Coffee Chat Area
The Coffee Chat area is designed as a place where you can connect informally to share information that may or may not be directly related to course content. This is a more “social” area.
Discussion Boards
The course discussion board promotes collaboration and debate among students and course faculty members. The discussion typically revolves around open-ended prompts and questions designed to stimulate interest, promote critical thinking, and invite differing viewpoints.
*Best Practice Recommendation: To help ensure appropriate citations, grammar, spelling, etc., it is recommended to construct your discussions posts in a word processing document before posting in the discussion board.
Enrollment and Registration
Once admitted, you will be registered for courses in your degree or certificate program. You will continue to be registered for courses in accordance to the Course Registration Policy. You will be able to see your scheduled courses in the MyACE Portal at that time. In Canvas, you will see these courses as future courses until the Friday before the term start. At this time, you will be able to view your courses until the term start date. On the term start, you will be able to start participating in your courses in Canvas (your Learning Management System - LMS).
To retain access to your course(s), you will need to ensure that you complete your Mandatory Attendance Verification and pay tuition prior to the published deadlines.
Examinations
Quizzes and exams are written to reflect a clear alignment between test items, the course objectives, and the concepts presented in the curriculum. Multimedia presentations and review slides can help you prepare for your exams, but test items may also reflect the major concepts of the readings and the intended outcomes of the analysis and application assignments.
You must complete each quiz and examination on your own. Failure to do so will result in examination per the Academic Integrity Policy. Exams are designed to assess the successful attainment of course objectives. It is important to thoroughly complete the required readings and multimedia presentations. One of the best ways to ensure you are prepared for the examinations is to review the course objectives, anticipate questions that may be asked in relation to those objectives, and to prepare responses for those anticipated questions.
Exam Deadlines
Bachelor’s and Master’s Levels
The Final Exam is taken at the end of Module 5 . The exam is available online between 12:01 a.m. Monday and 11:59 a.m. PT on Sunday, the last week of the course. Once you begin the exam, you have a three-hour window in which to complete it. Please set aside an appropriate amount of time to complete the exam by the deadline. Failure to do so may result in Canvas locking you out of the exam before you’ve finished it.
Doctoral Level
Assessment components vary at this level of study. When they are present in a course, the exam is available online during designated times with appropriate time limits determined by the type of examination.
Faculty Members
ACE has dedicated faculty members committed to your success. We are proud of our distinguished faculty. Below you will find what you can expect of your faculty.
The primary role of your course faculty is to:
- Ensure high quality delivery of course content.
- Contribute to the academic learning environment though the sharing of professional knowledge and experiences.
- Respond to all student requests for information or clarification of course content within 24 hours.
- Provide feedback regarding student performance as measured by progress monitors, quizzes, discussion threads, assignments and exams.
Course faculty contribute to your success by:
- Facilitating a safe and comfortable learning environment for students.
- Sharing supplementary course content, professional insight, application assignment tips, and exam preparation guidance.
- Participating in each week’s online threaded discussions.
- Responding to all student inquiries.
- Designing just-in-time instruction as needed to further guide student learning or capitalize on significant current events.
- Monitoring completion of assignments and assessments.
- Grading application assignments.
- Contacting students who have not turned in assignments or assessments.
- Clarifying course content.
Frequency of Posts
To ensure a meaningful exchange, students are expected to post at least one original post and two responses to peers per week. The rubric for grading the discussion boards focuses primarily on the quality of your discussion posts, although it is important to complete the required number of posts. Please make sure to check the course syllabus and Instructor’s Studio or first announcements for your faculty member’s expectations for your discussion board postings.
How to write an effective discussion board post
When posting:
- Stay on topic. Do not digress or diverge.
- Enhance the quality of the professional discussion by introducing resources, sharing experiences, or expanding beyond the content already provided.
- Consider what is useful in the information being shared and how it is similar to and different from your own knowledge base and experiences.
- Be respectful of others’ ideas and comments.
- Choose words carefully, and consider how other readers might interpret them.
- Proofread your response before posting.
- Reference your multimedia presentations, readings, and other course resources when appropriate.
- Use a professional tone as this is a scholarly exchange. Other boards, such as the Coffee Chat, are available for more informal and personal sharing.
Guest Lecturers
The guest lecturer for each course is a highly-respected expert in the course content. This person serves as the lecturer in the video clips inside each course. The guest lecturer may or may not be your course faculty.
Peer Review Application
A Peer Review Application best displays the knowledge and skills essential to the course objectives and serves as a milestone in your progress toward fulfilling the program outcomes. As a Peer Review Application, the identified assignment moves through a number of steps, including creation of a draft document, submission of the document for peer review, peer review and rubric grading, submission in the course and self-grading.
Reflection Assignment
The Reflection assignment provides you with the opportunity to reflect on the knowledge and skills you have gained or further developed in the context of the course. The Reflection also encourages you to identify ways you can take what you have learned and apply it in the present and future. This culminating piece is an important component in transferring new knowledge into practice.
Self-Evaluations
The Self-Evaluation is an instrument used at the beginning and the end of the course. This instrument personalizes the course content and gives you a relevant framework for goal setting. Comparing your results at the beginning and the end of the course allows you to evaluate the knowledge you have gained. The instrument’s items align with the course objectives, course content, and exams and directly relate to what you are expected to be able to do as a result of participating in the course. While the self-assessments are not graded, they count towards your participation grade in the course. And most importantly, each opportunity you take to interact with course content will increase your learning.
Q&A Discussion Board
The Q&A discussion board is designed as a place where you can ask procedural questions and get answers from other students or the faculty member. This is an open forum; personal questions should be sent via email.
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