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online Issues and Trends course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: Issues and Trends

Course Title:
Department:
Instructor:
Phone:
Fax:		 RS570 - Issues and Trends - Capstone Course
Masters in Rehabilitation Services
Dale Mueller, EdD, RN, NHA - E-mail | Vitae
909.920.5854
909.920.6046


Required Textbooks: Online Book Store

No textbook(s) required for this capstone course.


Introduction

This course is intended as the culminating experience for future administrators and managers in the field of rehabilitation services in the Masters in Rehabilitation Administration degree program.

As the final course in the degree curriculum, students are expected to demonstrate current knowledge and administrative ability in this senior capstone opportunity..


Course Description

This capstone course is designed to allow the student an opportunity to integrate and synthesize principles, concepts, and applications covered in this program to an independent study project of specific interest to them and congruent with their chosen career goals. Projects and independent study in this course will proceed upon approval of the Dean of Health Services.


Course Project Description

Elements of the contemporary and applied course project are as follows, the defining factors to be approved by submittal of a proposed course project outline in Week One of this course. Creativity and innovation are encouraged, and scholarly scope may include new product development, feasibility studies, client advocacy, lobbying, or program development.

Scope of project may be one of the following:
  1. Selection of a pervasive problem in an area of interest in rehabilitation administration or services in need of a solution.
  2. Application of information from courses in the graduate program degree curriculum as applied to a suggested solution from the perspective of an organizational lead.
  3. Course project research such as field interviews and personal experience in a selected job role as well as secondary source literature reviews in solution of a stated problem or issue in client services or advocacy.
  4. Other innovations or projects of interest to the student with instructor approval.
All projects, regardless of content scope, will adhere to the following:
  1. Project will be a minimum of 25 pages, and a maximum of 50 pages.
  2. Work in progress will be submitted to the instructor as shown in the weekly Assignments detail for this online course.
  3. Student will use either MLA or APA style throughout this scholarly work. Follow the links below.
    MLA
    APA

Graduate Courses and Competence

The following courses are required for degree completion, in addition to the current RS570, Field Study Project: Issues and Trends.

The courses shown below are the minimum courses required for content integration in the RS570 course.

Course descriptions and learning objectives may be viewed by visiting these courses on the Canyon College Web site. If your own course of study has deviated from the listing shown below through permission or waiver from the school registrar, please alert your instructor during the Week One assignment for this RS570 Project.

Required curriculum:
RS500 - Rehabilitation Models and Special Populations
RS512 - Agency Partnerships, Placements and Services
RS550 - Legal and Ethical Aspects of Rehabilitation
RS542 - Case Management and Risk Management
RS540 - Agency Funding and Development
RS560 - Organizational Leadership
RS562 - Principles of Human Resources Management
RS525 - Finance for Not-for-Profit Agencies
RS517 - Program Design and Evaluation

Course Policies

On-Line Participation. Since this course is offered over the Internet, which allows students to participate at "any time, any where," it is important to plan your time carefully. Students are expected to pace themselves to access assignments, prepare their work and necessary research, and submit assignments to the instructor by the established due dates. Students are expected to make use of local resources as well as required readings.

Course Week and Due Dates. Generally, Monday is the first of the course week, and Sunday is the last day of the course week. Assignments scheduled for completion during a class week should be sent to the instructor via email or fax by end of the day Sunday, determined by your own time zone. If a student is sending assignments through the postal service, please make prior arrangements with instructor, as there is no postal delivery on Sunday. Given that this is a graduate level course, and that some community contact and independent research is necessary to fulfill assignments, some flexibility regarding due dates may be granted by mutual agreement between student and instructor.

Submitting Assignments - Instructions.

Students may submit work in MSWord (any version) or Excel (any version) or HTML and send as an email note or file attachment. If you use another word processing program (such as Works), please save as an .rtf file.
Formats for files received other than those specified here that your instructor cannot open using MSWord or a Word converter program for PC or Macintosh will be returned to you for reprocessing, and will be considered late. Any questions on formatting of your file attachment documents, please Email your instructor with any questions now and we can find a format that will work for your particular needs. Thanks in advance on this matter.
Please include name, reply address, title of assignment, title of course, and date submitted on the document itself, in addition to the email text. Please indicate "RS570" in the subject line of your email.

Late Assignment Penalties. Weekly assignments must be received by the instructor not later than Sunday midnight (your time zone) of the week assigned. Students who anticipate that their schedule may cause assignments to be out of compliance are advised to contact instructor at least one week in advance, as an extension may be permitted with prior mutual agreement. Instructor discretion regarding point penalties for any late work will be considered final .

Absentee Policy. While this course is designed to be completed through independent study, "attendance" is recorded through assignment submissions in a timely manner to the instructor's email address (or via post or fax). However, please note that any student who has not participated (completed assignments) for 14 consecutive days without prior discussion with the instructor regarding such absence shall be recommended for administrative withdrawal. The school shall make recommendations to the instructor as to what action will be taken .

Academic Honesty. Canyon College policies are in effect. All work must be your own. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism, and will not be tolerated.


Grading Procedure
Assignments will be graded based on completeness, correctness and timeliness of submissions.

Given that graduate courses are designed to support development of competencies and integration of theory with practical applications, the following criteria will be used by your instructor to assign both midterm and final letter grades based on assignments in aggregate. Please note that there are no letter or point grades for weekly assignments, as the learner's work is assessed in aggregate based on demonstrated achievements toward the course project fulfillment and compliance with writing style requirements.

Categories for assessment by the instructor of the graduate student's work are as follows:

UNDERSTANDING
Content of graduate curriculum materials should be reflected by critical analysis and choices of application in work submitted. Intellectual depth of understanding also applies, by evidence of the depth, sophistication and complexity of the selected project scope and work. Innovation and accountability in a leadership role is also a factor in evaluating student work.

APPLICATION
Selection of materials to solutions, research or innovations in a selected area of the rehabilitation field should demonstrate graduate level knowledge and sophistication of approach. Application should demonstrate integration of concepts and methodologies from course curriculum, including but not limited to systems and dynamics, leadership initiatives, diversity and cultural competence, needs of clients served, agency and community partnerships, funding issues, and principles of organizational sustainability present in rehabilitation or habilitation services today.

CLARITY OF EXPRESSION
Written work should be presented in a scholarly manner, with evidence of logic and coherence, including introduction and conclusion as appropriate. Mechanics of writing, such as spelling, grammar, and citations should also be evident.

RESEARCH and SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Examples or evidence as requested should match the level of the assignment, level of inquiry, and depth of investigative endeavor as requested. Textbooks from prior courses may be uses as sources, as well as other secondary sources, and primary sources such as information from a current job setting or personal interview

Categories for assessment by the instructor of the graduate student's work are as follows:

A = Excellent
Work that may be described as superior, excellent, or outstanding. The student demonstrates accuracy, depth of understanding and illustration, and provides original thought and analysis beyond the basic information requested in the assignment.

B = Very Good
Demonstrates high level of competence relative to the assessment criteria, but falls short of the consistent excellence required for A/Excellent category. The B/Very Good category allows for some minor weaknesses in presentation but the content is effectively demonstrated.

C = Satisfactory
Demonstrates the information requested in the assignment, but less completely than B/Very Good work. The major points are expressed, but less complete topic development, and minimal original thought and analysis. Work that contains significant issues with spelling or grammar may fit this category even though development of ideas are of higher levels of synthesis.

D = Flawed
Information digresses and is not adequately focused. Persistent work of D/Flawed level may indicate the student is not ready for graduate level work.
Midterm and Final Weeks
The Midterm grade is determined by aggregate point performance of work submitted for assignments designated in weeks 1-4.

The Final point allocation is determined through aggregate performance on assignments submitted for all weeks of the course.

Final Letter Grade
Letter grades will be assigned at the conclusion of the eight weeks based on cumulative points achieved over the entirety of the eight week course. The grading scale based on 100 possible points is as follows:

A = 95 - 100 %
A- = 90 - 94.5 %
B+ = 86 - 89.5 %
B = 83 - 85.5 %
B- = 80 - 82.5 %
C+ = 76 - 79.5 %
C = 73 - 75.5 %
C- = 70 - 72.5 %
D = 60 - 69.5 %