MC 365: KSDB-FM Audition ~ MC 484: KSDB-FM Participation

This course is instructor permission and is offered FALL/SPRING/SUMMER unless circumstances change. For more information contact the School of Journalism & Mass Communications at Kansas State University or the Instructor.

Instructor: Candace Walton~ Office Hours: TBA (Call for appointment)
Office: McCain 315~ Phone: 532-2971 ~ e-mail: walton@ksu.edu

Objective:

The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity for those seeking experience for performing management or on-the-air duties at KSDB, the student-run FM station.

Requirements:

Students must get permission from the instructor to enroll. You must turn in a completed KSDB staff application to the KSDB station manager before you can begin your course work. And, you must meet with the instructor to complete a personal course outline which will be described later on. Failure to complete both actions described above will result in an administrative drop by the instructor.
A weekly meeting is scheduled for 4:30p on Thursday for the FALL 2003 semesters. Attendance is required.

Goals of the Participation Course:

The desired course-end behaviors for participants include the ability to operate the equipment responsibly and in a professional manner, develop a sense of timing, flow, rate of vocalizations, the discovery and honing of vocal techniques associated with on-air work and the enhanced understanding of team work and individual responsibility within the team framework.

Method:

After successfully completing the application process, each student is required to set up a one-on-one meeting with the instructor. During the meeting the student and the instructor will develop a course outline that reflects the student’s area of interest and will be used to determine the final grade in the course. Factors affecting the course outline are amount of credit hours enrolled in and the area of interest. All area of interest must complete a final project which is weighted heavily in the final grade. Attendance is also extremely important for sustaining a professional level of broadcasting (see attendance).

Attendance:

Attendance is required at all meetings and/ or required station activities. Two unexcused absences and you fail. No exceptions, this is station policy, as well as my own. If you have one unexcused absence, your grade automatically drops 30%. At that time, you are responsible for reaching me (in person or on the phone) and explaining to me what happened and why you don’t deserve the grade drop. I will then decide whether the grade will drop or not. You have one week from the absence to make your plea and after that the 30% deduction is imposed.

An excused absence is death or serious illness of an immediate family member or yourself or prior arrangement with Candy Walton to make-up what you missed. All absences are considered unexcused unless you notify Candy Walton of illness/death or make arrangements for absences. I will accept absences for academic reasons and other unavoidable circumstances if prior arrangements are made. (Greek meetings, intramural sports, and other non-academic and avoidable reasons will not be accepted as excused.) If you have questions about this policy please contact me.

Punctuality is extremely important and will be factored into the participation portion of your grade.

Special needs:

If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, that will make it difficult for you to carry out the work in this course or that will require academic accommodations, please let me know in the first 10 days of the semester so we can develop a plan of action.

Discrimination and harassment:

The objective of the K-State educational program is to develop individuals who use enlightened judgment in their professional, personal and social lives. To achieve this goal, the university’s policy forbids discrimination against individuals or groups based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability. Please refrain from using racist or sexist language in the classroom or in your projects.

Plagiarism, cheating, "double dipping":

Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on the paper or project; by failure in the course; and/or by expulsion from the university. Plagiarism is the appropriation, either word for word or in substance, of the writings or works of another or offering the ideas as one’s own. For more information, refer to the academic dishonesty policy in the student handbook section of the campus phone book. Also prohibited and punishable is a practice called "double-dipping" (using the same paper with minor changes in two or more courses). Instructors often talk with each other about assignments and may discover unreported duplication. If you wish to use the same topic for two courses, discuss it with both instructors in advance and describe the overlaps and differences for them.

Grading:

Because of the various skill levels and experience levels of students enrolled can not be held to the same standards. Realistically, the only criterion is a committed effort at improvement. I expect improvement from week to week. If you are making an average effort to complete your duties and/or improve your skills, you will receive an average grade (C), and so on.

If a major mistake is made and broadcast or a logging error is made, a correction will be made by the person who vocalized/was responsible for the mistake within one week of the error. If this does not occur, the person who made the error will be marked down as absent. The instructor will notify you of such errors. If you find you have made an error tell the instructor immediately and together develop a plan to make the situation right.

Points:

90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59% & down = F