Syllabus

Course Description

Catalog: A senior-level seminar course. Students investigate a specialized topic or topics related to the fashion industry. Research, discussion, and weekly readings culminate in a final paper and presentation. Themes vary each semester.

Fall 2020 Theme: Examine current practices in the apparel industry, with a close look at Fair Trade, Sustainability, and Smart Textiles.

Module 1: Ethics and Fair trade in apparel manufacturing
Module 2: Sustainability issues in fashion, including environmental problems and solutions
Module 3: Smart textiles as a rapidly developing sector in the apparel industry that overlaps with science and technology
Module 4: You will create your own business plan for an apparel company that addresses two or more of the issues covered in the class, based on original research

Course Pre- or Corequisite (s) One BUF 4000-level course

Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Outcome	Assessment
Identify and explain current trends, and developments within the specialized topic	Online discussions, course assignments, term paper & presentation
Communicate comprehensively about the specialized fashion topic.	Course assignments, term paper & oral presentation
Recognize how this particular topic impacts the fashion business.	Online discussions, course assignments, term paper & presentations
Predict future possible directions of the topic area based on acquired knowledge.	Blog, term paper & oral presentation
Write a major research paper on a selected topic	Term paper, based on scaffolded assignments
Gain experience in a seminar, graduate level style course	Online discussions & course assignments

General Education Learning Outcomes

Outcome	Assessment
Demonstrate intellectual honesty and personal responsibility	Online discussions, written demeanor, term paper & presentations
Gather, interpret, evaluate, and apply information discerningly from a variety of sources	Term paper & presentation

Required Textbook In lieu of a textbook, this course will utilize a course reader with Open Educational Resources (OERs): online readings, videos, and web sites that you can easily access via laptop, tablet or mobile device. For each module, a separate course reader will be posted on Blackboard with links. Since we are working with current events, additional readings may be assigned—these will be posted on Blackboard and also through announcements. Recommendations for further reading for each module in the course is posted on Blackboard as a separate document under “Content.”

Technology Prerequisites: This is a fully online asynchronous course. In order to participate, you will need access to some basic technology. Please see below.

Email You will need access to your City Tech email account and should be comfortable using it. The college provides an email account to all students. This will be the account at which you will receive information, such as announcements, about the course.
Tech Specs You need access to a computer with at least 256 MB RAM and an Internet connection via a 56k modem or, ideally, the college T1 line. You should have access to and be able to use the Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer browsers (Chrome, Firefox and Safari preferred). A complete list of supported versions is found here: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student/Getting_Started/Browser_Support
Blackboard As a starting point, you should be comfortable using Blackboard for discussions and uploading homework. We will also work on blogs and wikis; how to locate and use these tools will be explained for students who are not familiar with them. A Blackboard tutorial for students can be downloaded here: http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/student_pdf/bb/Student-BB_9.pdf
Workshops If you’d like to receive additional training in Blackboard, Student training is also available in the open student lab in the General Building, sixth floor, room G600. The phone number for the lab is (718) 254-8565 and the email is itec@citytech.cuny.edu. Student workshops are listed here: http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/workshops.html#student

Attendance Policy: This is an asynchronous online course, so attendance is documented by your participation online in discussion boards and other communication tools in Blackboard. All due dates, including time of day, are noted on the course schedule. All submitted assignments are time/date stamped through Blackboard. Late posts are counted as a late arrival; absence of online participation is counted as an absence.

Assessment and Grading: This course is a senior level seminar course, with topics determined by the professor prior to the scheduling of each section. This includes written components, research presentations, and class participation in online discussion boards or other formats. The professor for each section of this course will determine the weighting of the individual assignments. However, they must ensure that all Student Learning Outcomes are met. See course grade breakdown in the next category.

Grading: The following list represents the total percentage calculated towards your final grade. Each module in the course includes different elements, as specified on the course schedule.

Module 1: Fair Trade & Ethics, Sustainability (20%)
Module 2: Sustainable Alternatives (30%)
Module 3: Smart Textiles & Future Fashion (20%)
Final project: Research paper & presentation (30%)

Grading System: All grades will be based in proportion to the following scale: A = 93 – 100 A- = 90 – 92 B+ = 87 – 89 B = 83 – 86 B- = 80 – 82 C+ = 77 – 79 C = 70 – 76 D = 60 – 69 F = 59 and below. If a final grade is not a whole number, any decimal greater than .5 will be rounded up (e.g. 82.51 becomes an 83). Each assignment includes a clear rubric.

Midterm Reports: All students will be notified through their CUNY- NYC College of Technology e-mail accounts and/or posted on Blackboard about their progress in this course by the mid-semester point. Mid-term grades are assessed as follows, per recommendation by the Office of the Provost: P-Passing, BL-Borderline, U-Unsatisfactory, SA-Stopped Attending.

Accessibility Statement: City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies, and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state, and/or city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility and/or would like to seek accommodation services and/or academic adjustments, please contact:

Student Accessibility Center (SAC) at 300 Jay Street, room L-237; telephone: 718-260-5143

NYCCT Academic Integrity Policy: Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.

SAFEASSIGN as a Learning Tool: SafeAssign helps prevent plagiarism by providing both the student and the professor a feedback report that compares any student work submitted through the software with a comprehensive database of books, journals, websites and papers written by other students. The assignments in this course will use Blackboard’s SafeAssign software to help students improve their skill at paraphrasing statements contained in research on a topic and to help increase awareness of the proper use of citation when a student writes a paper using ideas or statements taken from a research source. All submissions will be added to the SafeAssign database.

Prior to submitting a final draft of an assignment, students will have the opportunity to submit drafts of that assignment to SafeAssign in order to get sufficient feedback from SafeAssign reports to help minimize the risk of plagiarism. If the assignment continues to have evidence of plagiarism in the final draft of the assignment, the professor will file a report to the Department Chair documenting the use of the paper as an action of academic dishonesty. Please note that by submitting a paper to SafeAssign, that paper will become source material included in the SafeAssign database.

Academic Writing Center (AG-18): Available for any student needing help will find an array of services such as: study skills training; support for reading and writing skills; and assistance with mathematics, oral communication and computer applications. Both peer and faculty tutors are available for assistance. The Academic Support Center offers academic assistance to all students through the use of services including tutoring, workshops and access to computer-based programs. For further information, please visit the Academic Support Center on campus and on Blackboard.

Credit Hour Assignment Policy: Course work performed outside of the classroom (such as reading, studying, writing papers, doing projects or receiving tutoring) is critical to academic success. While the time requirements for individual students may vary somewhat, a general rule of thumb is that students should spend about two hours outside the classroom for every credit hour; this is still true of online courses. Please plan accordingly.

E-Portfolios/Open Lab: CUNY-College of Technology asks all students to participate in building a program-long ePortfolio of the work that they complete while taking classes at the College. Through a process of collect, select, reflect, and connect, students learn to judge the quality of their own work, speak about their learning, and present evidence of their current knowledge and skills. College faculty will assist with this process by recommending that you store at least one significant piece of work from each course in your Blackboard content collection.

For sample Open Lab portfolios, see: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/portfolios/

Homework is expected to be turned in on time and fully completed. Partially completed homework will be reflected in the grade for the assignment. Late homework defaults to a 0 for that assignment, and is only accepted on an individual basis on the approval of the instructor, accompanied by documentation that demonstrates an emergency situation approved by the college. If you have questions or issues with the homework, you are responsible for contacting the instructor during office hours, or via email at least 24 hours before the start of class, for assistance. If your homework will be late due to a personal issue or other emergency, you MUST email the professor BEFORE the start of class.

Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are an integral aspect of online learning, as they represent conversations that would traditionally take place in the classroom. Plan to visit the discussion board several times per week to respond to peer postings in a timely manner. You will find the discussion board on the left-hand side navigation of any Black Board page. If you work in groups, I will create a “Group Discussion Board” which will be found further down the left navigation pane under “Groups” and a group leader will be designated.

As with any class discussion, your thread posting and comments to your peers show participation as well as demonstrating a thorough review of the reading materials. Please see below for an explanation of how discussion boards are graded.

Discussion Board Rubric: Total 100 points/100% (see below for explanations of each category)

Criteria Total: 100 Points (100%)	Excellent (A)	Good (B)	Average (C)	Poor (D)	Incomplete (F)
Relevance (40%)	35 – 40 points	32 – 34 points	28 – 31 points	24 – 27 points	0 – 23 points
Substance (20%)	17.5 – 20 points	16 – 17 points	14 – 15.5 points	12 – 13.5 points	0 – 11.5 points
Netiquette (20%)	17.5 – 20 points	16 – 17 points	14 – 15.5 points	12 – 13.5 points	0 – 11.5 points
Timeliness and word count (20%)	17.5 – 20 points	16 – 17 points	14 – 15.5 points	12 – 13.5 points	0 – 11.5 points

Relevance: Your posts should reply directly to the discussion board question, or directly to another student’s posting. Off-topic comments will not count. More than one off-topic comment will deduct points from your total grade. You MUST reply to your peers to complete the assignment–incomplete submissions will be reflected in the grade. See “Timeliness” section for more information on creating a post and replying to peers.

Substance: Please use complete sentences when posting. Simple comments like “I agree,” “Yes” or “No” do not count towards participation. Be thoughtful, and don’t repeat what’s already been posted (especially for latecomers: please be sure to read all the posts before adding your own). All posts must be directly added to Black Board as text; uploaded attachments will NOT count towards your posting. Links may be added.

Netiquette: Comments must be well written, correct in grammar/spelling, and professional and polite in tone. No profanities, hate speech, impolite, or inappropriate comments will be tolerated. Using ALL CAPS is indicative of a raised voice/yelling in netiquette terms, so please avoid this at all times. Students who persist in inappropriate comments after one warning from the instructor will fail that assignment.

Timeliness: Postings must be made in a timely manner, relative to the due date of the assignment. For a discussion question that is posted for one week, postings within 1-2 days constitute “A” work, 3-4 days “B” work, 5-6 days “C” work, due date/last minute postings are “D” work. Timeliness may vary per assignment. You are expected to reply to peer postings within your thread in a timely manner, i.e. within 24 hours.

Recommended word count vary per assignment for posts and will be indicated in the rubric. Minimum one thread posting and two replies per Discussion Board. You can post up to 5 times in one thread. If you don’t post anything by the assignment due date/time, you receive a 0.

Spring 2022 Course Schedule Assignments Readings

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