Welcome

Welcome to the 18-week, hybrid section of GEOL 212—Environmental Geology (CRN: 32823) for Spring 2022! This letter is to inform you of important details prior to the beginning of this hybrid class. The full syllabus with the most up-to-date details and policies will be available in the first week of classes. Please read the contents of this letter carefully.

Introduction

My name is Jennifer Shellhorn, and I am your instructor for this course. If you need to correspond with me before, during, and/or after the semester, the best way to reach me is by emailing jennifer_shellhorn@cuesta.edu. Note that our class does not start prior to January 18^th, 2021, but I will make our course available for student access the weekend before via Canvas, the campus Learning Management System (LMS). If you’re new to the Canvas LMS, Cuesta College has provided students a quick access guide to Canvas. Anticipate effective contact between you and myself twice weekly, including weekly lab interactions and assignment feedback.

Course Description

Environmental Geology is an introductory course that aims to develop your ability to critically assess your local geologic environment and the associated geologic risks. Further, you will become aware of global geologic hazards and human relationships. We will analyze the geologic processes that drive the interaction(s) of earth systems. Together we will explore volcanoes, earthquakes, climate change, mass wasting, groundwater, energy resources, and more! By the end of this course, you will be a better steward of the earth.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Content provided by the instructors is intended to be inclusive of all diverse backgrounds and perspectives, regardless of sexuality, gender identity, disability, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, religion, and/or culture. If you, the student, feel that your instructors can improve their representation of diverse backgrounds, your suggestions are both encouraged and appreciated; please contact us via e-mail and/or during office hours. 

Additionally, in correspondence with Campus Policies, students are expected to uphold respectful language and behaviors in consideration of all backgrounds both inside the course, when collaborating on activities or lab assignments and participating in discussions, and outside the course, or face disciplinary actions. 

Student Learning Outcomes

• Describe the scientific method and how it applies to the development of plate tectonics, the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes, the formation and evolution of Earth’s crust, and the distribution and availability of earth resources.
• Assess the geologic hazards associated with flooding, mass movement, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and climate change, and discuss mitigation strategies for each geologic process.
• Evaluate the environmental problems associated with surface water, groundwater, energy and mineral resource extraction, coastal processes, waste disposal, and appropriate land-use planning.

Required Meetings

This course has both online and in-person meeting times. We will meet in person in the first week of the semester of class (01/20/22) in room 2607 at 11:30 am. Students should expect to meet on campus, in person on the specific days listed in the detailed syllabus provided at the beginning of the semester. If there is no in-person meeting scheduled for a specific day, students will still have academic responsibilities.

Example: Week 2; Asynchronous instructional content is available on Monday morning. Students are expected to review all instructional content prior to the scheduled Thursday campus meeting. 

Students will have lecture assignments due only on either Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Sundays unless there are holidays or instructor granted extensions.

All exams or class presentations must be taken on campus during the scheduled class meeting time unless the student has DSPS accommodations to take an exam in a low-distraction environment.

Course Materials

Lecture Materials

This course has a textbook that you are expected to have by the first week of classes to stay on schedule in this course. Students may buy or rent either a hardcopy or digital copy Environmental Geology, C. Montgomery; McGraw-Hill 11^th edition. You may elect to obtain a copy externally from the bookstore. If you drop this course on or before the course drop date, June 20^th, you will receive a refund for this access, otherwise, you will be charged directly by the Bursar’s Office.

There is an Inclusive Access option for this course's textbook. On the first day of class, you will have access to the e-book for this course. You will be charged from the bursar's office only after the census date. If you prefer to have a hard copy whether, from the bookstore, external purchases, or by borrowing the library copy, students must opt-out of the first-day access otherwise they will be charged for the e-book. Inclusive Access provides students a discounted price for the textbook which is why the option is provided for this course. If you intend to keep the Inclusive Access, on the first day of the semester, access the Navigation Panel in our course (GEOL 212) Canvas shell, select Course Materials (First Day Access), and finish any required setup.

If you have any concerns regarding the cost of the textbook, do not hesitate to reach out to your instructor to find a solution!

Technological Materials

You will need to be able to open and edit documents. Course materials will be provided to you digitally, as such, they require you have reliable access to technology that will allow you to open the documents. Cuesta College has provided a resource with the computer requirements for online education students.

While I cannot require you to use a computer in this course, multiple programs we will utilize in lectures/discussion groups will work best on a computer, instead of a tablet or smartphone. If you do not have reliable access to a computer, consider checking out a Chromebook from the Cuesta College Library.

Additionally, there will be numerous videos recorded and embedded throughout our educational content. Be sure you have the means to watch these videos.

Suggested Materials

Geology uses a considerable amount of discipline-related terms students may not have heard of before. Thus, I suggest considering buying or renting the Dictionary of Technical Terms from the Cuesta College Bookstore, or externally if available (ISBN: 9780385181013) for the semester, though the dictionary is not required.

Student Readiness

Enrollment in GEOL 212 does not have any prerequisites. This course is intensive in a face-to-face format and thus, you should anticipate spending ±10 hours a week on this course including lecture instruction, homework assignments, activities or projects both individual and group, studying, and/or assessments. I suggest you should consider whether you are a good candidate for online learning by reviewing the informal online education readiness assessment provided by Cuesta College to determine if online education is for you. Please assess honestly, I would love for you to be enrolled in my course, but I want you to be prepared to meet my expectations.

Add/Drop Policy

Drop Policy

Students are expected to maintain an ongoing online presence in our course by participating in course-related activities. If you are not maintaining a weekly presence, you can be dropped from the course. This weekly presence includes missing six in-person meetings or any combination of missed presence in the course which results in missing an equivalent nine class hours.

Waitlist/Add Policy

If you are a student on the course waitlist, you must meet the same requirements as outlined in the first paragraph of the Drop Policy to receive an official add code. If you are on the waitlist I will manually add you to the Canvas course page so you may meet these requirements, if you are not on the waitlist you must email me with your credentials so I may add you to the Canvas page.

Add codes will be provided in order (one to five) from students on the waitlist and then any students not on the waitlist with interest in adding the course. All students interested in adding the course must meet the requirements outlined in the first paragraph of the Drop Policy or they will not be considered for an add code. It is the responsibility of the student to complete the course adding process once administered an add code by the instructor.

Additional Policies and Resources

Academic Honesty and Student Conduct

Neither acts of cheating, plagiarism, and/or collusion, nor hateful or discriminatory behavior and/or language towards any backgrounds whether they are represented by the student or faculty population in the course will be tolerated as they are in violation of the Cuesta College Student Code of Conduct. Violations may result in but are not limited to a warning, automatic failure of the related assignment or the course, censure, or dismissal from the college. Academic honesty applies to online education, not just face-to-face learning! Additional student judicial and student conduct resources are available for you to understand your rights as a student.

Student Accommodations

This course has been designed to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act by meeting the minimum requirements. If further accommodations are needed, it is your responsibility to me so I can prepare accordingly. This statement is incredibly important regarding labs that are highly visible and require hands-on activities.

If this applies to you and you have not filed for accommodations with Cuesta College’s Disabled Students Programs and Services but think you may need accommodations or are unsure if you may need accommodations, contact DSPS via email or via phone at (805) 546-3148.