ITC-2300 Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Ben Franske
Term: Fall 2023 (8/23/2023-12/13/2023)
Meetings: W 6:00-8:30pm
Location: B144
Instructor Contact Information
E-mail:
-
ben@ihitc.net (when emailing please include your course number, section number and full name)
Text Messaging/Chat:
-
Find me on Microsoft Teams, it’s available as a Website, Desktop application, Android, and IOS application. To make the best use of it you are encouraged to have it installed on your computer as well as a smartphone.
-
Access Instructions: Get instructions for installing the latest Office 365 apps on your computer which includes Teams and/or sign on to the Teams web app at office.com with <YourStarID>@go.minnstate.edu and/or sign in to the Microsoft Teams mobile app with <YourStarID>@go.minnstate.edu
-
Office and Hours:
-
Online office hours: Tuesdays 5:00-6:00pm
-
On campus office hours: Wedenesdays 5:00-6:00pm
-
Webcam/phone/in-person meetings also available other times by appointment.
Phone:
-
Office: 651-450-3575 (leave a message with details and I will get back to you)
General Course Information
Course Description
Introduces current technologies and network applications commonly supported and used by information technology professionals above and beyond basic infrastructure or servers, operating systems, and network devices. Provides the concepts behind and hands-on lab experience with at least three technologies such as VoIP/collaboration, security monitoring, virtualization, storage networking, mobile/BYOD device management which are transforming the IT landscape.
Course Website(s)
-
ITC Info (https://info.ihitc.net)
-
ITC Class Server: http://class.ihitc.net (access via D2L link if you are logged out) Assessments, discussion forums, labs, gradebook, and readings are available here.
Lab Time
-
This class will require on campus lab resources
-
Equipment access, both physical on campus and remote Netlab, is on a first come, first served basis.
-
Additional open on campus lab time may also be available under the supervision of the lab assistant or ITC department instructors, contact the instructor or ITC lab assistant for more information. Students who do not show up for open lab hours they have scheduled may be restricted from registering for open lab hours in the future.
Course Objectives
The student will be able to:
-
Describe the changing landscape of the IT department
-
Describe at least three current technologies or network applications commonly used or supported by IT departments
-
Demonstrate the ability to perform a basic installation, configuration, and testing of at least three current technologies or network applications commonly used or supported by IT departments
-
Analyze and explain the key features and benefits of three current technologies or network applications commonly used or supported by IT departments
-
Students will practice business soft skills including written, active listening, and oral presentation.
-
Students will document evidence of business skill practice in an electronic portfolio.
Course Design
This course will be taught as a hybrid course with regular instructor meetings. This means that you and your lab partner will be meeting regularly with the instructor during the on campus course time to assess your progress unless you have received special permission from the instructor. Portions of some units and activities may be completed online but others will require on campus lab work. Additional details about this are available on the course website.
Assignments and Grading
Grades will be determined by performance on unit multiple-choice tests, lab exercises, participation, a skills exam, and a final exam. A description of assignments is available from the course website. It is expected that assignments will be completed and turned in on time and as specified.
Failure to turn in one or more assignments without approval from the instructor may result in an additional lack of participation penalty of up to 20% of your overall course grade depending on the type of the assignment.
Late Assignments and Extensions
If assignments are turned in late 10% will be deducted for each day or partial day the assignment is late. If you are turning in an assignment late you must contact the instructor for information before the due date. Failure to do so may result in additional penalties. The grading of late assignments is given a lower priority and may take longer so students are encouraged to plan ahead and turn in assignments on time. Penalty-free deadline extensions will not be given without written documentation from a licensed medical practitioner or other extenuating circumstances at the discretion of the instructor.
If you miss or do poorly on a regular unit/module/chapter exam (not a final exam or skills final exam) you may petition the instructor to retake the exam once. You will need to write a 400-500 word summary of the unit/module/chapter which is covered by the exam. This summary must be written by you personally, the use of any automatic summarization tools or summaries by others will be considered cheating on the exam and is subject to the academic integrity policies covered elsewhere. Your summary must also be written to the satisfaction of the instructor. Retakes or make-ups must be completed by the date specified by the instructor. There is generally no additional late penalty for an exam retake other than needing to write and submit the summary.
Grading Scale
Letter Grade | Percentage Range | Description |
---|---|---|
A |
100%-90% |
achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements |
B |
89%-80% |
achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements |
C |
79%-70% |
achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect |
D |
69%-65% |
achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements |
F |
64%-0% |
Represents failure and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I) |
N |
Represents no credit and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I) |
|
I |
Represents incomplete and is assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student. Students must request an incomplete from the instructor. |
Grading Method and Availability
Grades for this course are calculated based on a weighted points system. Each assignment, quiz or test is assigned to one of the weighted categories below and is graded on a points system. Your percentage is calculated for each category by dividing the points earned in that category by the points available. Finally, your percentage earned in each category is multiplied by the weight of that category and these are added together. The instructor may round up based on student participation and individual improvement.
Category | Percent of Final Grade |
---|---|
Topic Assessments |
20% |
Lab/Homework Assignments |
40% |
Regular Final Exam |
15% |
Case Study Project |
15% |
Participation Activities |
10% |
Detailed information about assignments and which category they are included in is on the "Assignments" page of the course website.
Mid-Term grades are not officially distributed but assignment scores are made available in the online grade book as assignments are graded and you may calculate your current course grade at any time using the above instructions and weighting. It is strongly suggested that if you want to know where you stand in the class you re-create your own copy of the gradebook with appropriate weights in a spreadsheet program such as OpenOffice Calc, Microsoft Excel, or Google Sheets where you can estimate scores you will likely get on future assignments and run other "what-if" scenarios.
Be aware that the final grade in online gradebooks may be calculated in a way which ignores any assignments you have not turned in. At the end of the semester assignments which have not been turned in will have scores of 0 recorded in the gradebook. If you have missing assignments this may cause your grade to suddenly drop from what was previously shown. It is your responsibility to know what assignments you have not completed, that those will become 0s if not turned in, and how that will affect your grade. |
Extra Credit
Students should not rely on extra credit to boost their grade and should instead complete each assignment to the best of their ability. However, from time to time extra credit opportunities may arise at which time they will be announced in class, by email and/or through the course website. Unless otherwise noted extra credit will be added to the Lab/Homework Assignments category.
Special Note on Lab Cheating
In the case of lab activities which are designed to use physical lab equipment you must work on physical lab equipment, no simulators are allowed. Unless specific permission is given by the instructor this means you must use the IHCC lab equipment on campus or the IHCC Netlab remote lab system. Any evidence that you have turned in a lab report for a lab which is designed to be completed on physical equipment without using physical equipment will be treated as cheating.
See the course and campus policies section below for additional information on cheating policies.
Course and Campus Policies
Attendance
After the first class meeting formal attendance will not be taken; however, students are expected to arrive to class on time and participate in class. Students are expected to attend all sessions of each class in which they are enrolled. If attendance is a problem participation assignments may be given and included in the course grade. If an illness or emergency results in an absence, students should contact their instructors as soon as possible to determine if missed work can be completed. A student may receive a course grade of FN or NC after two consecutive weeks of unexcused absence at any time during the semester. Class attendance is defined as being physically present in the classroom. Online attendance is defined as having submitted an assignment, taken a quiz, or posted/made a course content-related comment on the discussion/chat board for the course in which the student is registered.
Use and Access to Technology
You will need daily access to a high-speed internet connection (DSL, cable modem, 4G, fiber, or equivalent) and a modern computer to successfully complete this course.
Academic Integrity (Plagiarism and Cheating)
Academic integrity is one of the most important values in higher education. This principle requires that each student’s work represents his or her own personal efforts and that the student acknowledges the intellectual contributions of others. The foundation for this principle is student academic honesty. IHCC students are expected to honor the requirements of the College Academic Integrity Policy. The following are some examples of unacceptable academic practices that will be viewed as policy violations.
For the purposes of this policy artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT or automatic summarization systems are "another person". As such they are prohibted unless authorized in advance by your instructor.
It is unacceptable to submit the work of another person as your own. If you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or use the ideas of another, you must accurately attribute that information. If you do not acknowledge the source, you are plagiarizing. Academic dishonesty also includes unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting the same assignment for multiple classes without instructor permission; taking an examination for another person and many other situations. If you are unsure whether you are plagiarizing or how to cite a source please ask an instructor or staff member for help prior to turning in the assignment.
In this course, the first offense of plagiarism and/or cheating will result in a score of zero on the assignment, quiz or test and reporting of the incident to college administration. Further plagiarism and/or cheating may result in immediate failure of the course and additional consequences determined by college administration.
If you have cheated in other ITC courses that will count as your first offense. In other words, if you have cheated in ITC courses before cheating in this course may result in immediately failing the course and additional consequences determined by college administration.
All instances of cheating will be reported to the college administration. In addition, plagiarism and cheating are covered by the Student Code of Conduct. Please see the Catalog or IHCC website for details.
Withdrawing from the Course
Students must initiate requests for withdrawal from a course by filing the appropriate form with Enrollment Services. Students who stop attending classes without completing the withdrawal process may receive a grade of “F,” and are responsible for all tuition/fees associated with the course registration. The last day to withdraw from your course will be the date on which 80% of the course has elapsed. The last day to withdraw for each course can be viewed in E-Services by searching for the course at the following link: https://webproc.mnscu.edu/registration/search/basic.html?campusid=157. Click on the course title to view additional details about the course, including last day to withdraw.
There are limits as to the latest date you can withdraw from the course and still receive a refund as well as the last date to withdraw from the course at all. Please see the Add, Drop and Withdraw page on the IHCC website: https://inverhills.edu/Registration/AddDropWithdraw.aspx
E-mail Communications
Recognizing the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail Inver Hills Community College has designated e-mail as an official mode of communication. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. Therefore, students are asked to regularly check and utilize the email address they have registered with the college. If your email address has changed it is your responsibility to make sure the college has an up-to date email address where you can be contacted. You should check your email on a regular basis as course changes and communications may be sent by email.
Pass/Fail Grade Option
A student may elect to take a course on a pass/fail (P/F) grading basis by contacting the instructor within the first 5 business days of the semester, or within 1 business day of the start date for a course beginning after the first week of the semester. If the instructor approves, they will submit approval to the Enrollment Center. Not all courses are approved for students to elect the P/F grading method and there may be limits to the total number of classes which can be taken pass/fail in your degree or certificate program. Contact your instructor for details about what level of achievement in the course will be required to receive a pass in the course.
Access and Accommodations
Inver Hills values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to fostering mutual respect and full participation for all students. My goal is to create a learning environment that is equitable, inclusive and welcoming. If any aspects of instruction or course design result in barriers to your inclusion or learning, please notify me. The Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) provides reasonable accommodations and assistive technologies for students who encounter barriers in the learning environment. Services are available to students with a wide range of disabilities including, but not limited to, physical disabilities, medical conditions, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, depression, and anxiety. If you have already registered with OAR and have your Letter of Accommodation, please meet with me early in the course to discuss, plan, and implement your accommodations in the course. For additional information, please contact OAR located within the Learning Center (L207), 651-450-3884, accessibilityresources@inverhills.edu or https://www.inverhills.edu/LearningSupport/AccessibilityResources/index.aspx
Religious Accommodation Statement
In accordance with federal and state laws, Inver Hills Community College is committed to a policy of free expression and respect for the diversity of beliefs, including religious observances, among our academic community. It is the policy of the college to provide reasonable accommodations for students when religious beliefs and/or observances conflict with classroom activities or course requirements.
It is the responsibility of students to notify instructors of the need for accommodation at the beginning of the course or as soon as a situation arises. If a mutually agreed accommodation is not made, a student may initiate a complaint. The procedure for filing a complaint is described in the Catalog and on the Inver Hills website. The complaint must be filed within 15 days of a denied accommodation request.
Updates to this Syllabus
The instructor reserves the right to modify and adjust this syllabus as needed during the course of this class. The most up to date version will always be available on the course website or from the instructor.
Document Build Time: 2024-10-30 23:55:40 UTC
Page Version: 2023.08
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License