Course Syllabus
Welcome to PC 101 Life Skills
This course is part of the PathwayConnect program. This program has outcomes that are supported by the outcomes from each course. Take a moment to review these here: PathwayConnect Program Outcomes.
Overview of PC 101 Life Skills
Course Description
This course invites you to discern your pathway in life and strengthen your ability to pursue it. Your pathway is a road that you construct based on an understanding of your stewardships, your aspirations, strengths and talents. It is based on an understanding of the challenges and constraints that you need to endure, reframe, or overcome. Activities invite you to learn about and practice educational stewardship, time management, financial management, avoiding thinking errors, and talent development. You use math, writing, and other important skills to inform and strengthen your work. You also meet every week with other students in live gatherings in order to help and teach one another.
Course Outcomes
Life Skills Outcomes
The student will be able to do the following:
- Demonstrate confidence in their ability to pursue an education.
- Learn how to learn.
- Demonstrate how to get things done.
- Explain how they will overcome a thinking error.
- Apply basic financial management skills to a personal budget.
- Explain how various personal characteristics can lead to perseverance.
- Commits to applying or continue to apply two life skills from the course.
Writing Outcomes
The student will be able to write the following:
- A basic paragraph (body paragraphs of essays).
- Introductory paragraphs of essays.
- Concluding paragraphs of essays.
- Content that is original to them and avoids plagiarism.
- For the purpose of informing.
- With appropriate transitions.
- An essay that follows standard formatting practices.
Math Outcomes
The student will be able to do the following:
- Perform basic arithmetic with whole numbers, decimals, and variables.
- Demonstrate the ability to use Excel at a basic level to perform basic arithmetic using variables.
- Calculate the perimeter, area, and volume of basic geometric shapes that include variables.
- Perform basic arithmetic with fractions, percentages and variables.
Course Materials
You must have consistent access to a computer with a reliable internet connection in order to be successful in this online course. If you have not already done so, you will also need to download and install Microsoft Office from your BYU-Pathway Worldwide Student Portal. To get to your student portal, go to the BYU Pathway website and sign in. All learning materials are contained within this course; no additional textbooks are required.
Time in the Course
For each credit you are taking, you should plan on spending three hours to study. For example, PC 101 and PC 102 are three-credit courses. That means you should plan to spend about nine hours studying each week, for each of these courses. That time includes your gathering. If you know you will not be able to devote this much time to the class this semester, please consider enrolling at another time when you can make such a commitment.
Policies
Assistance for Students with Disabilities
BYU-Pathway Worldwide tries to provide help to students in need, but does not have a legal requirement to provide this help. BYU-Pathway Worldwide will provide upon request, text-to-speech software for students who are in need. If you are interested in using this software, please contact Pathway Support. For other types of assistance, communicate directly with your online instructors, missionaries, or local leaders. For more information, please read the Handbook, section 8.3.
Courtesy Expectations
As students interact with others in various assignments, they are expected to be kind, sensitive, and respectful of different opinions. Sometimes the best learning comes when others challenge thinking, in a civil and loving manner. Students should avoid using rude or abusive language in class discussions, writing assignments, or in reporting problems or concerns. Any violation of basic good manners—including interaction with peers, the instructor, or others monitoring the course—will impact the student’s grade in the course. Watch the following video to understand to importance of courtesy in your discussions.
(1:07 mins, True at All Times Transcript)
Feedback on Assignments
You will receive two types of feedback on the work you do for this course. Some assignments, such as quizzes, are automatically graded by the system and allow you to immediately know how you have done. The Application Activities require an instructor to carefully read and evaluate your responses, which take longer to grade. Remember, your instructor is required to grade not only your assignments but all of your classmates' work as well. You can expect to receive a grade and any accompanying feedback for these types of assignments within a week of their due dates.
Gathering Attendance
PathwayConnect students are expected to attend all gatherings during the semester. For those who gather in a face to face setting, this includes physical attendance every week. If you gather physically, you cannot substitute your physical presence with Skype, phone, or similar means.
If students do not attend the weekly gatherings, they will not be able to:
- Meet with peers
- Complete important assignments
- Teach one another
- Earn a full grade for attendance
If traveling, students may visit another gathering location and still obtain credit. However, this should be an exception. This exception does not apply to religion courses though. Before visiting a site, students should tell the missionaries at both sites. Contact information can be found on the BYU-Pathway Worldwide website or by contacting Pathway Support.
Students should contact the instructor in cases of extenuating circumstances such as the following:
- Death in the family
- Medical emergency
- Birth of a child
- Other serious or unsafe situations
For virtual students, regional power or internet outages where you can't reasonably find an internet connection may keep you from a gathering. However, you should consider one or two emergency alternatives for access to the internet in case something happens to your connection.
Pathway missionaries may cancel a gathering due to a national holiday, severe weather, or other unsafe situations. If such a situation occurs, students should complete the gathering attendance report and mark that the gathering was cancelled. All other assignments should be completed that week.
For more information on the attendance policy, please read the Handbook, section 5.5 or contact Pathway Support.
Grading
Grading Categories: Students are expected to be active learners. This means completing assignments on time, being prepared for the weekly gathering, and actively participating in the course.
| Letter Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 100%–94% |
| A- | 93%–90% |
| B+ | 89%–87% |
| B | 86%–83% |
| B- | 82%–80% |
| C+ | 79%–77% |
| C | 76%–73% |
| C- | 72%–70% |
| D+ | 69%–67% |
| D | 66%–63% |
| D- | 62%–60% |
| F | 59%–00% |
Note: You will need a B average in order to enroll into the BYU-Idaho Online Certificate or Degree Program.
Instructor Issues
While the vast majority of PathwayConnect students are pleased with their online instructors, students may occasionally have a complaint or issue with an instructor that needs attention. If this applies to you, visit the Courses and Gathering page here.
Late Work
Turning work in on time is a sign of professionalism and respect for the instructor as well as the other students in the class. Students are expected to submit all work on time. It is good practice to reserve time in your schedule to work on your assignments several days before assignments are due. This time will allow you to appropriately handle interruptions to your schedule (such as unforeseen work or family obligations) or to resolve any technical issues that may arise and still submit your work in a timely manner.
If you have a situation in which you need to submit work later than the due date, contact your instructor for assistance. Your instructor will inform you of your options and the specific consequences of late work. Due to the interactive nature of discussion board activities and the requirement to attend all PathwayConnect Gatherings in person, late work will not be accepted on those course activities.
If you do not submit an assignment or graded quiz by the due date, that assignment/quiz will automatically be given a score of zero. If you choose to submit work late, you may receive points for that late work. However, the points will be automatically reduced by a certain percentage each day that it is late. Also, most assignments and graded quizzes close for submission 7 days after the due date. After this time, you will no longer be able to submit and will receive zero points for the missing assignment. To prevent losing points on late assignments or graded quizzes, it is best to submit your work early.
Participation Expectations
The Learning Model emphasizes teaching one another. Teaching and learning from each other helps students to understand the content more effectively. It also fosters unselfish service. Students will teach one another in the gathering and in any online discussions. This can be effectively done by doing the following:
- Arriving early to the gathering, staying until the end, and being an active learner. See the Gathering Guide for more information
- Participating in any online discussions by responding to posts with meaningful information or personal application, and asking follow-up questions.
Student Honor
The Student Honor Code is based upon principles of honesty and integrity. Pathway Connect students are expected to have high academic integrity and strive to live by the CES Honor Code.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be honest in their coursework and complete all of their own work. Students are also expected to avoid plagiarism, cheating, and fabrication/falsification. The most common examples of these are copying another person’s work or not citing a source of information. You are responsible for following all of the guidelines found below:
Use of any language translation software, apps, or online programs, (such as Google Translate) to translate sentences, paragraphs, or whole essays in this course is strictly prohibited. However, students may use these to understand definitions for words or single phrases.
View the video below to better understand the challenges and blessings of being honest in your studies.
(3:25 mins, Academic Honesty Transcript)
Student Conduct
Students are also expected to avoid Disruptive behavior when communicating with employees, missionaries, and students of BYU-Pathway Worldwide. BYU-Pathway Worldwide does not allow harassment, Hazing, Intimidation, or Aggressive Behavior (spoken, physical, mental, or sexual misconduct), rude behavior, or abusive language. Students behaving in these ways may need to leave the program for a period of time. BYU-Pathway Worldwide may even completely dismiss these students from the program and may refer these students to local police.
Disclaimer Statement
BYU-Pathway Worldwide or the instructor may change this syllabus. If any changes are made, students will be notified through email or through the course site. If a student remains in this course, BYU-Pathway Worldwide and the online instructor will assume that the student has read and understood the information in this document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|