Department Policies

Student Email Addresses

The Sociology Department expects all students taking sociology courses to have an up-to-date official Immaculata University email address. All electronic correspondence with students will be sent only to their official Immaculata University email address. Notice of any class cancellation if the University at large is not closed, of any changes in assignments and the Department Online Newsletter are all transmitted to this email address. MOREOVER, over half of the Sociology Department course offerings are web-enhanced courses. Students who do not have up-to-date Immaculata University email addresses will not be able to access necessary course assignments nor be able to correspond with the faculty member in a timely manner.

Computer/Information Literacy

The Sociology Department, as part of a university-wide effort, is committed to advancing students’ critical thinking, computer literary and research skills. Freshmen will now take a basic computer information literacy test to assess whether they are at entry college skill level when they take other placement tests at summer registration. Any student who is not at a necessary skill level, can easily take a brief Library offered tutorial so that they will become skill efficient for their coursework here. The Sociology Department will check to make sure that their majors have passed this skill level. Any CLL or transfer student who takes a Soc 202: Principles of Sociology course will be assessed with this same entrance tool as a requirement for that course as it is a web-enhanced course and students must demonstrate basic proficiency here.

The Sociology Department now offers over half of its course listings in a web-enhanced format. Students are expected to use the Library-based computer lab or computers if they have personal computer problems or failures. No assignments or written work will be accepted late as a result of computer/technology failures or problems.

Letters of Recommendation

Department Faculty are happy to write letters of recommendation for its majors. Please note, however, that there are certain protocols that must be followed to facilitate this process.

Any forms, postage or addresses needed should be supplied to the faculty member in advance.
If the letter of recommendation is to be confidential, please sign for that or indicate that on the provided envelope.
Submit, as well, a current CV or data about former volunteer work, employment or facts that are relevant to the job or admissions process being solicited.
Provide ample time for the faculty member to complete this task; if not, the faculty member may have to deny the privilege of a letter of recommendation due to time constraints.

Field Placement Selection

Social Work or Criminology majors may select a field site that has not been used before by an Immaculata student. In this case, the student must meet with Dr. Franco in advance and provide the name and number of the student supervisor or site supervisor. No sites will be accepted without Dr. Franco’s approval.

Students who wish to take either Soc 343: Fundamentals of Working with People and/or Soc 346: Intensive Field Work, must meet with Dr. Franco in advance (usually during registration advisement) to gain permission to take these courses. If a field placement is not obtained and confirmed by the first week of the semester, Dr. Franco has the right to advise the student to withdraw from either course as it will not be possible to complete the necessary time requirements for field supervision hours. Students may not register for this course until Dr. Franco has indicated that they can (the registrar is so informed also).

APA Format

All Sociology courses require use of the American Psychological Association (APA) Format for citing reference sources, printing reference pages, utilization of quotations, page numbering, etc. A website for The APA format can be found on the Gabriele Library’s Homepage under Information/Computer Literacy or at www.apa.org.

Also, the bookstore sells hard copies of this format. Students will lose grade points on all assignments if APA format is not properly applied.

Class Attendance

As stated in the Immaculata University Catalog (p.46)

"Each student is expected to exercise reasonable judgment regarding class attendance and is accountable for all work missed because of absence. Instructors are under no obligation to make special arrangements for students who are absent. In cases which absences of a student in semester-long courses total the equivalent of two weeks, the student will be referred by the faculty member to the Director of Academic Advisement in the appropriate college division."

Senior students or majors in the Sociology Department who miss more than the acceptable number of classes in any sociology course, will not pass that course and may jeopardize their graduation status.

Plagiarism

Guidelines for plagiarism are reviewed in each Principles of Sociology course (required for all majors). These guidelines are also available at the Gabriele Library’s Homepage and in the University Student Handbook. Students are expected to be familiar with these guidelines. Therefore, any sociology major who fails to follow these guidelines and is found to have plagiarized will fail that course. They may also be at risk for dismissal per the Academic Dean’s review.

Summer Courses, Transfer of Credits and Independent Studies (see Advisement Section of this CD ROM).

One Credit Courses and Field Trips

Some one credit courses, often on weekends, involve field trips. In some of these courses, the faculty instructor can easily arrange carpooling or even, in some cases, a means of transportation. However, it is the responsibility of the student to check this out before registering for this type of course if a field trip is required and the student does not have their own means of transportation. The Department can not guarantee or oversee transportation directly.

Tools

Notes

Soc/Crim/Social Work or Psych majors who wish to enroll for 343 must meet with Dr. Franco prior to registration