Thomas Edison State College Logo

Syllabus for ENS–314

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

Description | Objectives | Materials | Structure | Assessment | Grading | Strategies | Integrity

Course Description

Global Environmental Change will enable you to develop a clear understanding of the fundamentals of global environmental science and the factors required to maintain ecological stability and preserve worldwide resources. The course materials are organized and presented from a global perspective.


Return to Top

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you should be able to: 


  1. Describe the biosphere and how it works and identify causes of environmental problems.
  2. Explain ecosystem equilibrium and how it can be disrupted by human activities.
  3. Describe the effects of population growth on the ecosystem.
  4. Explain the need to balance the human population, food, and energy resources.
  5. Explain the importance of maintaining biological diversity.
  6. Describe the importance of heritage resources such public lands and wilderness.
  7. Identify issues related to energy consumption, including use of alternative energy sources.
  8. Discuss issues related to mineral resource management and the use of nuclear power.
  9. Identify major air pollutants, their dangers to health, and ways to control this type of pollution.
  10. Identify threats to aquatic resources and the water supply and methods for protecting them.
  11. Describe dangers of and problems surrounding the disposal of hazardous waste.
  12. Explain the role of ethics in environmental decision making.


Return to Top

Course Materials

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.


Required Textbook

  • Living in the Environment, 17th ed., by G. Tyler Miller, Jr., and Scott E. Spoolman (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole CENGAGE Learning, 2012).


ISBN-13: 978-0-538-73534-6
Return to Top

Course Structure

Global Environmental Change is a six-credit online course, consisting of six (6) modules. Modules include study materials and assignments. Module titles are listed below.


  • Module 1: Environmental Sustainability

  • Module 2: Balancing Population and Food Resources

  • Module 3: Biodiversity

  • Module 4: Managing Resources

  • Module 5: Sustaining Air Quality

  • Module 6: Sustaining Water Quality

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.


Return to Top

Assessment Methods

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in six (6) graded online discussions and an ungraded "Introductions" forum, complete six (6) written assignments, take a proctored midterm examination, and submit a final project. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

In addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum, Global Environmental Change requires you to participate in six (6) graded class discussions.


Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion thread) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.


You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, concepts, and practices as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.


Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.


For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.



Written Assignments

Global Environmental Change has six (6) written assignments, one per study unit. For the assignment topics and questions, see the individual Assignment Modules.

 

The written assignments are the primary means for you to express yourself verbally, controlling content and meaning. Due dates for each assignment are listed in the Course Calendar.

 

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Assignment Modules and read through the written assignment questions before you begin each reading assignment.

 

Your answers to the assignment questions should be well developed and convey your understanding of readings, concepts, and practices. Formulate responses in your own words. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. When quoting or paraphrasing from the text or other sources, be sure to cite the source of information properly according to APA guidelines (see also Basic Documentation Rules).

 

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

 

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.


For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.



Midterm Examination

You are required to take a closed-book, proctored midterm examination.  The exam covers all reading and assignments from Modules 1–3 of the course. It is two hours long and consists of multiple choice and short essay questions.


For the midterm, you are required to use the College's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures.

Exams are administered in the Midterm Exam area of the course Web site. Consult the course Calendar for the official dates of your midterm exam week.


Statement about Cheating
You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:


  • Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.
  • Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
  • Plagiarizing answers.
  • Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.
  • Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.
  • Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.




Final Project

There is no final proctored examination in this course. A 10- to 15-page paper acts as your final assessment and is worth 20 percent of your final grade. You must complete the paper and submit it to your mentor online by the last day of the semester. Your paper will provide an answer to a particular environmental issue and will include a technical summary of the science behind the issue, using at least three (3) outside sources.


For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.


Grading and Evaluation

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:


  • Online discussions (6)—15 percent
  • Written assignments (6)—35 percent
  • Midterm exam (proctored, modules 1–3)—30 percent
  • Final project—20 percent

All assignments will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:


A = 93–100
A– = 90–92
B+ = 88–89
B = 83–87
B– = 80–82
C+ = 78–79
C = 73–77
C– = 70–72
D = 60–69
F = Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
Return to Top

Strategies for Success

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:


Return to Top

Academic Integrity

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty
Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:


Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism
Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism.  (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.


Return to Top
Thomas Edison State College. All Rights Reserved.