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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - PHC6412
Tracking Number - 2290

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Current Status: Approved, Permanent Archive - 2010-09-02
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: Change
Course Change Information (for course changes only): Change credit hours from 4 to 3. It was never supposed to be 4 credits, but there was a mistake in processing the original course proposal.
Comments: College approved 5/27/10; GS recd 6/21/10; Approved by GC 8/18/10; SCNS notified 8/25/10. Approved, posted in Banner. Effective 10/1/10


Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2010-02-12
  2. Department: Community and Family Health
  3. College: PH
  4. Budget Account Number: 640500
  5. Contact Person: Jeannine Coreil
  6. Phone: 9746698
  7. Email: jcoreil@health.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: PHC
  9. Number: 6412
  10. Full Title: Health Disparities, Diversity & Cultural Competence
  11. Credit Hours: 3
  12. Section Type: D - Discussion (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: Y
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: N
  16. Is this course repeatable?:
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 0
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Hlth Dispar Diver Cul Comp
  19. Course Online?: C - Face-to-face (0% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites:
  23. Corequisites:
  24. Course Description: Explores health disparities in the U.S. and

    multi-level strategies to reduce

    those disparities. Discussions will

    focus on a critique of the literature

    from a variety of disciplinary

    perspectives and an analysis of

    case studies.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course:
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service?
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times?
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.)
  29. Objectives: 1) To identify and describe the distribution of health disparities and their contributing factors across population groups and disease outcomes.

    2) To describe key multi level factors that are mechanisms by which health care disparities occur.

    3) Examine the strengths and weaknesses of current health disparities research, and identify the challenges in the measurement of health disparities and the successful completion of health disparities research.

    4) Understand the role of social factors such as cultural competence in health promotion, and disease prevention

    5) To be able to describe and critique current and proposed medical care, social, environmental, and public health strategies to address health disparities.

    6) To identify innovative strategies (including cultural competency training, increased diversity in the workforce, and development of culturally appropriate interventions) that may contribute substantively toward the elimination of health disparities.

  30. Learning Outcomes: Critically evaluate and apply a broad range of social and behavioral science theories to analyze public health

    problems in terms of the factors which influence problem development alternative approaches to their resolution;

    Use concepts and methods from social and behavioral sciences in the design and implementation of

    community health research and intervention programs;

    Understand the similarities and contrasts in the approaches taken by different social and behavioral

    science disciplines in the study of health-related problems;

    Exhibit an in-depth understanding of the relationships between individual, interpersonal, social, structural,

    cultural and biological factors as they impact the etiology and management of illness;

    Illustrate the knowledge and skills for translating sociocultural research into socially relevant and

    culturally competent public health intervention programs;

    Determine the appropriate level of intervention for different health problems, including individual behavior,

    family systems, community organization, complex social systems and the social and physical environment; and

  31. Major Topics: course overview: 10 things you should know about (racial/ethnic differences in) health

    What influences Health:Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Income, SES, {racism, poverty} GLT

    influences Health & The Last Straw: Residence, social integration, workforce participation, life-course trajectory

    Highlighting Health Disparities: Using Technology to Deliver Your Message

    Case Study: Reproductive Health

    Agency Interview

    Case Study: Diabetes & Obesity

    Agency Presentations

    Case Study: Cancer & Health Literacy

    Case Study: Disparities and Social Determinants of Health in the Developmental disabled

    Case Study: Mental Health

    Case Study: HIV/AIDS/

  32. Textbooks: NA
  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: May 12- course overview

    10 things you should know about (racial/ethnic differences in) health

    Horowitz CR, Davis MH, Palermo AG, Vladeck BC. Approaches to eliminating sociocultural disparities in health. Health Care Financ Rev 2000; 21:57-74.

    Kubzansky, Laura D., Nancy Krieger, Ichiro Kawachi, Beverly Rockhill, Gillian K. Steel, and Lisa Berkman "United States: Social Inequality and the Burden of Poor Health," in Challenging Inequities in Health: From Ethics to Action, Timothy Evans, et al. (eds.) New York: Oxford University Press, 2001: 105-121.

    Steinbrook, R. (2004). Disparities in Health Care – From politics to policy. New England Journal of Medicine, 350, 1486-1488.

    *Lillie-Blanton, M., Martinez, R. M., Taylor, A. K., & Robinson, B. G. (2005). Latina and African American women: Continuing disparities in health. In N. Krieger (Ed.), Embodying Inequality: Epidemiologic Perspectives (pp. 453-481). Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company. (*)

    Recommended

    Healthy People 2010 (excerpts A systematic approach to health improvement and Leading Health Indicators)

    Reynolds, P. P. (2004). Professional and Hospital Discrimination and the US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit 196-1967. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 710-720.

    Barbeau, E. M., Krieger, N. & Soobader, M. (2004). Working class matters: Socioeconomic disadvantage, race/ethnicity, gender, and smoking in NHIS 2000. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 269-278.

    Healton, C. & Nelson, K. (2004). Reversal of misfortune: Viewing tobacco as a social justice issue. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 186-191.

    May 14 – What influences Health –

    Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Income, SES, {racism, poverty} GLT

    Adler NE, Newman K. Socioeconomic disparities in health: pathways and policies. Inequality in education, income, and occupation exacerbates the gaps between the health "haves" and "have-nots." Health Aff (Millwood) 2002; 21:60-76.

    Gee GC. A multilevel analysis of the relationship between institutional and individual racial discrimination and health status. Am J Public Health 2002; 92:615-23.

    Mays VM, Yancey AK, Cochran SD, Weber M, Fielding JE. Heterogeneity of health disparities among African American, Hispanic, and Asian American women: unrecognized influences of sexual orientation. Am J Public Health 2002; 92:632-9.

    *Kawachi, I., Daniels, N., Robinson, D. E. (2005). Health disparities by race and class: Why both matter. Health Affairs, 24(2), 343-352.

    Dean, L, Meyer IH, Robinson K, et al. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health: findings and concerns. J GAY LESBIAN MED ASSOC 2000;4:101-151. Available online at http://www.glma.org/pub/jglma/vol4/3/j43toc.pdf.

    Recommended

    Baum A, Garofalo JP, Yali AM. Socioeconomic status and chronic stress. Does stress account for SES effects on health? Ann N Y Acad Sci 1999; 896:131-44.

    Thomas, S.B. The Color Line: Race Matters in the Elimination of Health Disparities, American Journal

    of Public Health, 91(7):1046-1048, 2001.

    Potter, Jennifer E. Do Ask, Do Tell. Ann Intern Med 2002;137:341-343.

    *Neuhouser, M. L., Thompson, B., Coronado, G. & Solomon, C. C. (2004). Higher fat intake and lower fruit and vegetables intake are associated with greater acculturation among Mexicans living in Washington state. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104, 51-57.

    As an assignment prior to class, each student should find one resource available on the web for public health professionals regarding LGBT issues. It can be any topic as long as it is 1)related to LGBT communities and issues and 2) would be useful to public health professionals. They should print this resource and bring it to class with them.

    May 19 – What influences Health & The Last Straw

    Residence, social integration, workforce participation, life-course trajectory

    Arcia, E., Skinner, M., Bailey, D., & Correa, V. (2001). Models of

    acculturation and health behaviors among Latino immigrants to the US. Social

    Science and Medicine, 53, 41-53

    *Graham, H. (2003). From science to policy: Options for reducing health inequalities. (pp. 522-541). In R. Hofrichter (Ed.)., Health and Social Justice: Politics, Ideology, and Inequity in the Distribution of Disease. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Chu, S., Baker, L.E. & Smith, P. (2004) Racial/Ethnic disparities in preschool immunizations: United States, 1996-2001. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 973-977.

    Adler, Nancy E. (2003). Community preventive services: Do we know what we need to know to improve health and reduce disparities? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 24, 10-11.

    Recommended:

    Perez-Stable, E.J., Ramirez, A., Villareal, R., Talavera, G.A., Trapido,

    E., Suarez, L., Marti, J., & McAlister, A. (2001). Cigarette smoking behavior

    among US Latino men and women from different countries of origin. American

    Journal of Public Health, 91(9), 1424-1430.

    May 21 – Highlighting Health Disparities: Using Technology to Deliver Your Message

    Computer Lab Training

    May 26 – Case Study: Reproductive Health

    Anachebe NF, Sutton MY (2003). Racial disparities in reproductive health outcomes. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 188, s37-s42.

    Lu MC, Halfon N (2003). Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: A life-course perspective. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 7(1), 13-30.

    Tian L, Li J, Zhang, K, Guest P (2007). Women's status, institutional barriers and reproductive health care: a case study in Yunnan, China. Health Policy, 84, 284-97.

    World Health Organization (1999). Progress in reproductive health research. No. 50, part 1. http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/hrp/progress/50/news50_1.en.html

    Recommended

    Pearl M, Braverman P, Abrams B The relationship of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics to birthweight among five ethnic groups in California. American Journal of Public Health ,(2001)91(11):1808-1814 (LaVeist text, Chapter 23)

    Culhane JF, Rauh V, McCollum KF, Hogan VK, Agnew K, Wadhwa PD. Maternal stress is associated with bacterial vaginosis in human pregnancy. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:127-34.

    Peacock NR, Kelley MA, Carpenter C, et al. Pregnancy discovery and acceptance among low-income primiparous women: a multicultural exploration. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:109-18.

    Berg CJ, Wilcox LS, d'Almada PJ. The prevalence of socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics and their impact on very low birth weight in black and white infants in Georgia. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:75-84.

    Fang J, Madhavan S, Alderman MH. Low birth weight: race and maternal nativity--impact of community income. Pediatrics 1999; 103:E5.

    Jackson FM, Phillips MT, Hogue CJ, Curry-Owens TY. Examining the burdens of gendered racism: implications for pregnancy outcomes among college-educated African American women. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:95-107.

    Hogan VK, Ferre CD. The social context of pregnancy for African American women: implications for the study and prevention of adverse perinatal outcomes. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:67-9.

    Hogan VK, Njoroge T, Durant TM, Ferre CD. Eliminating disparities in perinatal outcomes--lessons learned. Matern Child Health J 2001; 5:135-40.

    Hogue CJ, Vasquez C. Toward a strategic approach for reducing disparities in infant mortality. Am J Public Health 2002; 92:552-6.

    *S. Mustillo, et al. (2005) Self-Reported Experiences of Racial Discrimination and Black-

    White Differences in Preterm and Low-Birthweight Deliveries. American Journal of Public Health 94(12):2125-2131. (*)

    May 28 - Agency Interview

    Jun 2: - Case Study: Diabetes & Obesity

    Morland K, Wing S, Diez Roux A, Poole C. Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (2002), 22(1):23 9. (LaVeist text, Chapter 24)

    Satia-Abouta J, Patterson RE, Neuhouser ML, Elder J. Dietary Acculturation: Applications to Nutrition Research and Dietetics. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; 102:1105-1118.

    Black SA. Diabetes, diversity, and disparity: what do we do with the evidence? Am J Public Health 2002; 92:543-8.

    * Neuhouser, M. L., Thompson, B., Coronado, G. & Solomon, C. C. (2004). Higher fat intake and lower fruit and vegetables intake are associated with greater acculturation among Mexicans living in Washington state. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104, 51-57.

    Wong, MD et al., Contribution of Major Diseases to Disparities in Mortality,

    N Engl J Med, Vol 347, No 20, Nov 14, 2002 Pages 1585-1592.

    Recommended:

    Xie, B., Gilliland, F., Li, Y., Rockett, H. (2002). Effects of Ethnicity, Family Income, & Education on dietary intake among adolescents. Preventive Medicine 36, 30-40.

    Sloane, D. C. et al. (2003). Journal of General Internal Medicine 18, 568-575.

    Kieffer E, Carman W, Gillespie B, Nolan G, Worley S, Guzman R. Obesity and Gestational Diabetes among African-American and Latino Women: Implications for Disparities in Women's Health. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association. 56: 181-187; 2001.

    Kieffer E. Maternal Obesity and Glucose Intolerance during Pregnancy among Mexican Americans. Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. 14(1):14-19; 2000.

    Littlefield, D., Robinson, C.C., Engelbrecht, L., González, B., Hutcheson, H. Mobilizing Women for

    Minority Health and Social Justice in California. American Journal of Public Health, 92:576-579. 2002.

    *Garvin, C. C., Cheadle, A., Chrisman, N., Chen, R., & Brunson, E. (2004). A community-based approach to diabetes control in multiple cultural groups. Ethnicity and Disease, 14 (3), Supplement 1, S1-83 – S1-92. (*)

    *Kieffer, E. C., Willis, S. K., Odoms-Young, A. M., Guzman, J. R., Allen, A. J., Two Feathers, J., Loveluck, J. (2004). Reducing disparities in diabetes among African-American and Latino residents of Detroit: The essential role of community planning focus groups. Ethnicity and Disease, 14 (3), Supplement 1, S1-27 – S1-37. (*)

    June 4 – Agency Presentations

    June 9 - "Breaking the Cycle: Investigating the Intersection of Educational

    Inequities and Health Disparities"

    15th Annual Summer Public Health Research Videoconference on Minority Health, UNC

    Readings TBA

    June 11 - Case Study: Cancer & Health Literacy

    Betancourt, J.R. & Maina, A.W. (2004). The Institute of Medicine Report “Unequal Treatment”: Implications for Academic Health Centers. The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 17(5), 314-321.

    Collins, D., Villagran, M.M., & Sparks, L. (2008). Crossing borders, crossing cultures: Barriers to communication about cancer prevention and treatment along the U.S./Mexico Border. Patient Education and Communication, 71, 333-339.

    Ward, E., Jemal, A., Cokkinides, V., Singh, G.K., Cardinez, C., Ghafoor, A., & Thun, M. (2004). Cancer Dispartities by Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 54, 78-93.

    Westin, S. N., Bustillos, D., Gano, J.B., Fields, M.M., Coker, A.L., Sun, C.C. & Ramondetta, L.M. (2008). Social Factors Affecting Treatment of Cervical Cancer: Ethical Issues and Policy Implications. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 111 (3), 747-751.

    Recommended:

    Earp JA, Eng E, O'Malley MS, et al. Increasing use of mammography among older, rural African American women: results from a community trial. Am J Public Health 2002; 92:646-54.

    *Davis, T. C., Williams, M. V., Marin, E., Parker, R. M., & Glass, J. (2002). Health literacy and cancer communication. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 52(3), 134-149.

    *Brach & Frasier (2000). Can cultural competency reduce racial and ethnic health disparities: A review and conceptual model. Medical Care Research and Review, 57, 181-217. (*)

    June 16 -Jun 9 - Case Study: Disparities and Social Determinants of Health in the

    Developmental disabled

    Case Study: Mental Health

    Haley, W.E., Perkins, E.A. (2004). Current Status and Future Directions in Family Caregiving and Aging People with Intellectual Disabilities. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 1 (1), 24-30.

    Lewis, M.A., Lewis, C.E., Leake, B., King, B.H., & Lindemann, R. (2002). The Quality of Health Care for Adults with Developmental Disabilities. Public Health Reports, 117, 174-184.

    LaVeist TA, Wallace JM Jr. (2000) Health risk and inequitable distribution of liquor stores in African American neighborhood. Social Science and Medicine Aug;51(4):613 7. (LaVeist text, Chapter 27)

    Braithwaite, R.L., Taylor, S.E., Austin, J.N., Coalitions Combating Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug

    Use. In Building Health Coalitions in the Black Community, Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks,

    CA, 2000, pp.39-60.

    Jun 18 - student video presentations

    TENATIVE FINAL EXAM DATE: Tuesday June 23, 12-3pm

    OTHER: Exam Preparation

    Case Study: HIV/AIDS/

    Robles, A.M., & Stringer, H.G. (2006). HIV-AIDS in Minorities. Clinics in Chest Medicine, 27; 511-519.

    Giuliano, M., & Vella, S. (2007). Inequalities in health: Access to treatment for HIV/AIDS. Ann Ist Super Sanità , 43( 4); 313-316.

    Wingood & DiClemente (2000). Application of the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine HIV-Related Exposures, Risk Factors, and Effective Interventions for Women Health Educ Behav 2000; 27; 539

    Lichtenstein (2005). Domestic violence, sexual ownership, and HIV risk in women in the American deep south. Social Science & Medicine, 60:701-714.

    Supplemental

    Bozzette, et al., “The Care of HIV-Infected Adults in the United States,” New England Journal of Medicine, 339, 26; 1998;

    Schuster, et al., “HIV-Infected Parents and Their Children in the United States,” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 90, No. 7: 2000;

    Shapiro, et al., “Variations in the Care of HIV-Infected Adults in the United States,” Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 281, No. 24;

    Fleishman, et al., “Hospital and Outpatient Heath Services Utilization Among HIV-Infected Adults in Care 2000-2002,” Medical Care, Vol. 43, No. 9 suppl; September 2005.

    *Marin, B. V., Diaz, R. M. (2002). Collaborative HIV prevention research in minority communities program: A model for developing investigators of color. Public Health Reports, 117, 218-230. (*)

  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: Reflection Papers (3@ 5% each) 15%

    Facilitation of Article Critique and Discussion 10%

    Interview Assignment: Activities in Progress to Reduce Health Disparities 20% (report) 10% (presentation)

    Local Health Disparities Video Assignment 25%

    Final Exam 20%

    EVALUATION OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE

    Numerical grades ranging from 0.00 to 100 will be assigned to evaluate your performance in each of the above course requirements. The interpretive statements provided below will be used as a basis for assigning these grades.

    LETTER GRADE NUMERICAL GRADE SAMPLE INTERPRETIVE STATEMENTS

    A+

    A 97-100

    94-96 Exceptional work for a doctoral student; work at this level is creative, thorough, well-reasoned, insightful, well-written, and shows clear recognition and an incisive understanding of the salient issues. Work of good professional quality.

    A- 90-93

    B+ 87-89

    B 84-86 Competent and sound work for a doctoral student; well-reasoned and thorough, but not especially creative or insightful (or creativity is poorly developed); shows adequate understanding of the issues, although that understanding may be somewhat incomplete. This is the grade that indicates neither exceptional strength nor exceptional weakness for doctoral-level work.

    B- 80-83

    C+ 77-79

    C 74-76 Borderline work for a doctoral student; barely meets the minimal expectations for the course; understanding of salient issues is incomplete, and overall performance, if consistently at this level, would be below the level of adequate graduate-level performance.

    C- 70-73

    D+

    D

    D-

    F 67-69

    65-67

    60-64

  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

    Reflection Papers: Students will be asked to complete 3 reflection papers in response to readings, activities, and films viewed in class. Papers will have a limit of 3 pages, and specific instructions and topics for each paper will be provided as the course progresses. These papers will be due electronically and in paper copy 1 week from assignment date.

    Facilitation of Article Critique & Class Discussion

    As the course progresses, each student will be assigned an article to critique from the list of required course readings. Students will then prepare and lead small group discussions on the goals of the article, its strengths and weaknesses, implications for policy and practice, and directions for future research. Students may find power point slides a helpful tool in work. As part of this assignment each student will prepare 3 thoughtful questions that encourage their peers to think about applications of the article for policy, practice and future research. Students will then prepare a 1-2 page summary highlighting the 3 questions asked and the groups responses. These papers will be due in the class following the facilitation activity.

    Interview Assignment: Activities in Progress to Reduce Health Disparities

    The purpose of the interview project is to identify and critique activities in progress (research, medical care, intervention programs, policies, etc.) for the elimination of health disparities at the state or local level in Florida; nationally through the NIH, CDC, or other Federal agency; through the AMA, ACOG, APHA, and/or some other professional organization. Students are expected to accomplish the following activities:

    (a) Interview a professional dealing with health disparities at one of the varying levels of intervention (personal care, program design or implementation, research, policy-making, funding) to determine:

    • description of their program/research/ policy/funding vis-a –vis health disparities.

    i. How are they funded, who do they fund; how much, population affected, etc…what do they do, how do they do it….

    • What they think are the contributors to health disparities in their health outcome

    • Their operating conceptual model of how they expect the things they do to address health disparities in the specific health outcome

    • What they think are some limiting factors in achieving their goals

    • When they expect to see results

    • What are some of the successes to date?

    • Others

    Interviews should be completed by May 30, 2009 and class time will be provided to conduct these interviews during normal business hours to assist students with full work and course loads during the week. Be sure to plan your interview well in advance as it may be very challenging to coordinate your schedule with those of busy professionals, and you may need more than one conversation to complete your interviews.

    (b) Present a written report (12-15 pages) that describes the activity in the context of health disparities. The report should include some background on the health outcome, including any relevant medical, social, etiologic and epidemiologic information; a detailed description of the agency, its activities, goals and operational structure; and the professionals’ thinking on its relevance to eliminating health disparities. The next section should focus on your interpretation of the agency and/or program What are the strengths? Limitations? Do you think this activity will reduce health disparities? By how much? By when? What might be needed to improve effectiveness by Yr 2015? What would you recommend to the professional for improving effectiveness on elimination of health disparities?

    (c) Students will present their findings briefly in class June 4th. Specific time frame and formatting instructions will be provided.

    The deadline for papers is no later than June 9th. Papers will be accepted and appreciated before

    that date.

    Health Disparities in Our Community Video

    Students will be expected to make a short 10 minute video illustrating a health disparity in our local community. Students are encouraged to be very creative with this assignment and are free to use power point, live interviews, or any mechanism that would be helpful in raising awareness and concern about the impact and nature of the health disparity, with the goal of encouraging viewers to take action to change it. Examples of such videos will be shown in class, and can be found online through resources such as www.youtube.com. Videos will be judged based on creativity, as well as on ability to educate and inform viewers about the disparity identified. In addition to feedback from the instructor, students will critique and give feedback on the quality of each others work. These videos will be presented in class on June 18th, 2009. To supplement this activity, students will write a 3 page summary outlining the health disparity they have focused on. These papers should identify the reason why they focused on this disparity (ie: incidence and prevalence information if known, impact on the person and community, micro, meso, and macro influences on the disparity) and possible avenues for prevention and intervention locally.

    Final Exam

    Students will complete a final exam based on readings, class discussion, and presentations. Format of the exam will be discussed in class closer to the end of the course, but will be primarily focused on short answer and essay formats.

  36. Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,

    http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)

    Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)

    In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.

  37. Policy on Make-up Work: COURSE POLICIES

    Late Assignments: All late assignments will be assessed a penalty of half a grade per day (ex. A- instead of A, etc.). Failure to complete any assignment will not constitute an excuse for being assigned an "I" grade in the course. Exceptions to this policy will be made only in the case of severe illness, documented family emergency, or similar problem.

    Attendance: Class attendance will be taken into consideration when evaluating students’ participation in the course. Students who miss more than one class session will, in general, have difficulty achieving the level of active participation expected on a consistent basis. Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.

    Academic Dishonesty: The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. The instructor reserves the right to 1) request that assignments be submitted to me as electronic files; and 2) electronically submit assignments to Turnitin.com or similar anti-plagiarism software. Assignments are compared automatically with a huge database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized. For more information, go to www.turnitin.com and http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0304/adadap.htm#plagiarism.

    Disability: Any student with a disability is encouraged to meet with me privately during the first week of class to discuss accommodations. Each student must bring a current Memorandum of Accommodations from the Office of Student Disability Services which is prerequisite for receiving accommodations. Accommodated examinations through the Office of Student Disability Services require two weeks notice. All course documents are available in alternate format if requested in the student’s Memorandum of Accommodations.

  38. Program This Course Supports: Socio-health Sciences
  39. Course Concurrence Information:


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.