GENERAL FAQ’s

My office is located in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) building, Office 135A. You are welcome to visit me during my open office hours. Those times change every semester, but usually are Tuesday and/or Thursday afternoons. You can also reach me on my office phone at 903.566.7432.

If you have questions outside of normal business hours, please email me at dbailey@uttyler.edu.

I try to respond to all emails and voicemails within one business day. I do not regularly check emails on weekends, holidays, and school breaks, so response time may be longer at these times.

When emailing me, I request that you do the following:

  1. Use a subject header that describes the topic of your email
  2. Include the course number and/or name somewhere in email
  3. Use professional correspondence format (greeting, email body, closing signature)
  4. Include your full name in the closing signature
  5. Provide specific details about what you would like me to do, explain, or discuss with you in my email response.
  6. Before sending the email, make sure you have checked the course syllabus, Canvas announcements, and your school email account to make sure I have not already addressed your concern. If the response to your email can be located in one of these three areas, I will not consider your email as requiring a priority response.

Believe in Yourself and Your Ability to Learn.
Being a student means opening yourself up to new ideas, new concepts, and new worlds. Remember that all of this new information is a lot to take in, and I do not expect you to master the material overnight. However, learning is an active process. While I do not expect that you will read over the text one time and become an expert, I do expect you to actively seek out answers to questions you have. “I don’t know” is not an endpoint, it’s a beginning.

Be Respectful of Your Classmates and Myself.
As your professor, my job is to help foster a positive learning environment for all of my students. To that end, I expect students to work together in an open, honest, and respectful manner at all times. You are free to, even encouraged to, disagree with one another. However, be sure to use a respectful tone at all times, even if you are on opposite sides of a debate. Proof-read anything you write to make sure it is worded professionally and contains appropriate language/content. If you would not say it or send it to your boss, then don’t say it and/or send it to me or your classmates.

Be Prepared to Learn & Participate.
In order to fully participate, you be prepared for class. For on-campus and hybrid courses, that means completing the assigned reading and any online assignments ahead of class as well as coming to class prepared with the textbook and any other requested material. For online courses, being prepared means that you will complete the assigned reading before participating in the online lecture videos and/or the online activities.

Be Responsible for Missed Class(work).
I expect my students to be organized and stay on top of the schedules and deadlines in this course. While I understand that life happens and this class may not always be your number one priority, I expect you to take responsibility for any missed class and to actively seek out ways to learn the missed material and/or make up the missed points. If you have to miss class for any reason, I encourage you to visit my office hours or meet with me before/after class to discuss the material.

Bring Your Best Self to the Classroom.
You learn more when you are excited about the topic, and you become excited when you get to learn about something that interests you. For this reason, I have developed ways to allow student creativity and freedom in this course in order to help you find a topic you are interested in and explore it in more detail. I expect that you will bring that interest and excitement into the face to face or online classroom to help create an enthusiastic and energetic learning environment for everyone.

You can expect me to be a HARD professor: Helpful; Accessible; Respectful; Diligent.

Helpful:
As your professor, I am here to help you be successful in the course. If you have questions about the material, or if you need clarification on a specific assignment, handout, requirement, etc., I am here to help. Depending on the question, I may be able to provide you with the specific answer, or I may direct you to the appropriate resources.

Accessible:
In order to be helpful, it’s important for you to be able to get into contact with me. I am available by email and during drop-in hours each week.

Respectful:
Just like my expectations of you, you can also expect me to communicate with you in an open, honest, and respectful manner at all times. I respect your right to challenge the course material and discuss opposing viewpoints. You can also expect that all written communications from me will be worded professionally and contain appropriate language and content.

Diligent:
Teaching is my job, and I am very passionate about it. Part of that job is being focused on providing you the best experience in my classroom that I can. To that end, you can expect me to go beyond the textbook during class, bringing you videos, articles, guest lectures, handouts, and other material that will enhance your learning. You can also expect me to respect your time by providing quality feedback on submitted assignments within a timely manner.

If you are unable to visit me on campus and require assistance, we can arrange a videoconference through Zoom. Please email me to schedule an appointment and let me know that you need it to be through Zoom.

All video-conference appointments will take place in my personal meeting room on Zoom. To log in, please visit www.zoom.us/join. Use my office phone number as the meeting ID (903 566 7432) and it will log you into my personal meeting room. You will need a microphone and a webcam to participate in Zoom meetings.

CLASS FAQ’s

The following technology is mandatory for most of my online and hybrid courses. I may also have course-specific technology requirements that will be shared with you as needed.

  1. Desktop or Laptop computer
  2. A web browser (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.). If your browser is not working with a particular software, try using an alternative browser.
  3. Reliable internet (strong WiFi or hardwire connection)
  4. Webcam
  5. Microsoft Office (free download available here for UT Tyler students)
  6. Mobile scanning app (popular mobile scanning apps) or a document scanner
  7. Google Docs
  8. PDF Reader (free PDF reader programs)

Every class is unique, but typically I encourage students to use AI programs to help complete their coursework. These programs can be powerful tools for learning and other productive pursuits, including completing assignments in less time, helping you generate new ideas, and serving as a personalized learning tool. However, your ethical responsibilities as a student remain the same using AI as they do when creating your assignments without AI. You must follow UT Tyler’s Honor Code and uphold the highest standards of academic honesty. This applies to all uncited or improperly cited content, whether created by a human or in collaboration with an AI tool. If you use an AI tool to develop content for an assignment, you must cite the tool’s contribution to your work. Because AI-generate content is not necessarily accurate or appropriate, you must assess the validity and applicability of any submitted AI output. You will not earn full credit if inaccurate, invalid, or inappropriate information is found in your work.

If AI is allowed in your course, you will be required to submit an AI Use Statement explaining how AI was used, if at all, for the assignment. You should provide details on what your goals were for the AI program, what prompts you used, and how you used the results from AI to create your submission. This statement can be submitted as a separate page at the end of the assignment, a separate document attached to the Canvas submission form, or as a comment on the Canvas submission form.

I prefer to use points-based systems for all of my courses, so there is no assignment weighting involved. Instead, every time you complete an assignment, the points you earn are added to the total points column in the gradebook. This process is handled automatically by Canvas. At the end of the course, I will use the total score shown in Canvas to determine your final course letter grade.

The points-based system makes it easier for you to maintain responsibility for your grade at all times. Your syllabus outlines the total possible points available in your class and identifies cut off points for each letter grade. You can see your current total points at all times in the Canvas gradebook. To identify how many points you need to reach your desired letter grade, take the cut off point for that letter grade and subtract your current total.

If you are struggling in one of my courses, please reach out for help! The earlier you ask for help, the quicker we can get you back on the path to success. You can do any/all of the following:

  • Visit me during Open Office Hours.
    I hold open office hours three hours a week. These hours are designed for you, and you are encouraged to make use of them! Use this time to ask me to clarify lecture material, work through additional practice problems, or review your course assignments to help you be successful.
  • Set up an appointment with me in my office.
    If you are not able to make my drop-in hours, email me and we can schedule a time to meet one on one in my office. I am usually available between 8AM and 3PM Monday through Friday, and I can schedule evening Zoom appointments if needed as well.
  • Visit the Helpful Resources page on my website for your course.
    On my website, I have a separate page dedicated to each course that I teach. On that page are several links, including a Helpful Resources page. Here I post videos, documents, and other materials that will help you review the important course material and learn about concepts more in depth.
  • Start a study group with other students.
    Study groups are a wonderful opportunity for you to practice course concepts and network with other students. You can arrange a study group on campus or you can set up an online study group through Zoom. If you use the Social Science Study Room, you will have quick access to me for questions!
  • Visit the UT Tyler Writing Center.
    If you are struggling with the written assignments in the course, I encourage you to reach out to the UT Tyler Writing Center. They offer on-campus appointments in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) building, Room 212. They also offer online appointments for those students who cannot come onto campus. You can schedule an appointment anytime by visiting www.uttyler.edu/writingcenter.

No matter which of the suggestions you use above, remember that I am here to help you! I want you all to be successful in my courses, so I am happy to provide help as much as I can.

In most of my courses, I offer extra credit opportunities throughout the semester. These opportunities may include one or more of the following:

  • Extra credit opportunities on exams
  • Extra credit writing assignments
  • Extra credit for attending University-sponsored lectures, workshops, and/or activities

I do not offer extra extra credit. I will not offer last minute assignments at the end of the semester to students requesting extra points. You must take advantage of the extra credit opportunities as they are assigned.

If you miss an in-person class or an online module, you should first review the Course Schedule so you can see what assignments and activities were missed. If the absence is due to a personal emergency or school-related activity, you will be given the opportunity to make up the assignment. Please email me to discuss arrangements. If the absence is due to other reasons, please consult the Late Assignments policy in your Syllabus for guidance.

ASSIGNMENT FAQ’s

Criminal Justice as a discipline uses APA format so unless otherwise specified, all papers submitted in my courses should use APA as well. I encourage you to visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab’s APA Formatting and Style Guide, available at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html.

Unless otherwise specified, references should be cited correctly in APA format in-text and be noted in both in-text citations and reference pages. Lack of in-text citations is considered plagiarism, even if the material is not a direct quote from the resource. If you did not know the information prior to starting your research, you should include an in-text citation for it. Copying your own words from other papers is also considered plagiarism, so please make sure all submitting assignments are original work.

Assignment submission policy depends on the specific course you are taking. In my online courses, all submissions will be completed through Canvas. Hybrid and Face-to-Face courses may include both online submissions and in-class submissions. I provide all of my students with a detailed course schedule that outlines where each assignments is submitted so you will know from Day 1 where to submit all of your assignments.

If the submission is online, you should submit by the time/date listed on the syllabus. Please check the assignment instructions to ensure that each assignment is submitted appropriately. To avoid confusion, I do not accept assignments submitted via email.

I try to grade all assignments, activities, and exams within two weeks of the due date. Much of the time you will be able to see grades sooner that the times listed. However, there are times when it takes longer to grade assignments, so please be patient if you do not see your grades immediately.

Academic honesty is very important to me. As Criminal Justice majors, many of you will be responsible for decisions that impact personal freedom, so it is imperative that you hold yourself to the highest ethical standard. That includes making ethical decisions in your education.

All written assignments submitted through Canvas will be will be checked using TurnItIn plagiarism software, which checks the submitted essay against other student papers, books, and online content. Papers with significant overlap in wording/content with other sources will be subject to an automatic zero on the assignment and may be subject to other penalties in accordance with the UT Tyler’s Standards of Student Conduct. These penalties include, but are not limited to, failure of the course and/or referrals to a formal disciplinary hearing.

It is very common for students (and professors!) to experience technical problems throughout the semester. This can include computer access problems, computer failures, internet connection problems, browser issues, etc. while I understand that technology issues can be frustrating, they do not automatically guarantee you an extension or do-over for the assignment. Most of my assignments are designed so that you can submit them early, meaning that you should avoid cramming all of your module assignments in on the last day. Working on your assignments early ensures you have time to contact the appropriate person(s) if unforeseen technological issues impacts your ability to complete your assignment.

If you do experience a last-minute technology problem that impacts your ability to complete and/or submit an assignment, you may reach out to me via email. Based on the specific situation and the specific assignment, you may or may not be granted an alternative submission option. If you are not given an alternative submission option, I encourage you to consider any extra credit opportunities available in your course as a way of making up for the missed points.

I do not have access in Canvas to student profiles. This means I cannot help you with upload failures or login problems. However, here are several resources that may help you resolve your technology problem. If the issue is going to affect your ability to submit your assignment, please contact me by email to discuss the situation.

  • Canvas Help Guide.
    For answers about how to use Canvas and the various personalization options, visit the Canvas Community Guides by copying/pasting this link into your browser: https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/guides
  • Canvas Help.
    You have access to 24/7 support using Canvas’ Help tab. The Help button is located at the bottom of the Global Navigation menu on the left-hand side of the Canvas screen.
  • UT Tyler Student Technology Center.
    The Student Technology Center can help you with Canvas, campus email, and your personal laptop. You can create an IT support ticket by emailing itsupport@uttyler.edu, calling 903.565.5555, or visiting RBN 3022.

I do not discriminate for any reason in my classroom, whether it be for race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or any other difference. The allocation of points on any given assignment is based solely on the assignment requirements as outlined in the grading rubric. To ensure grading transparency, I provide written feedback on all assignments to explain why the points were assigned or deducted and I review all final grades to ensure consistency between submissions.

GROUP ACTIVITY FAQ’s

I believe that learning to work together in small groups is an integral skill for your future employment, as most careers require collaboration and partnership activities. For that reason, I include group activities in most of my courses and participation in a group is not optional.

I do understand that working in a group can be a challenging situation. For that reason, I try to include a variety of evaluative assignments in my courses so I can identify existing problems in group projects and make adjustments as needed.

I expect you to adhere to the following conditions during group activities:

  • Notify me and your group members as early as possible if you are unable or unwilling to participate in any part of the group activity.
  • Participate in your group to the best of your ability. You should expect to meet outside of class time (in person or virtually) to complete group assignments.
  • Split group work evenly between all group members so that all group members contribute equally to the final product.
  • Provide all requested contributions to your group before the assignment due date so that the group activity can be compiled, edited, and finalized together.
  • Do not wait until the deadline to bring concerns to your group members and/or the professor.
  • Bring your best self to your group.

In order to promote a positive group environment, I try to keep groups stable throughout the course. This stability usually allows group members to become more familiar and more comfortable working together as a team. However, if you have concerns at any time throughout the semester relating to your group’s progress or group member productivity, please feel free to visit with me during open office hours or after class. You can also email me with your concerns. I will do my best to address group issues by means at my discretion, including but not limited to emailing or meeting with group members as a team or individually, grade reductions, and/or group reformulations.