Accommodations

The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Five College Center for World Languages are committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students.  If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with UMass Disability Services (DS) or your home campus, you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course.  If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify the program director within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements.  For further information, please visit Disability Services at https://www.umass.edu/disability/ or your home campus office of disability services. 

Academic Honesty Policy

Students must adhere to all University of Massachusetts Amherst and Five College policies regarding professional conduct and ethics, including policies covering non-discrimination, sexual harassment, and academic honesty. University of Massachusetts Amherst Academy Honesty Policy: Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University.  Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty.  Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty.  Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct.  Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible.  Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair.  Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. More information about the Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures may be found online here: https://www.umass.edu/honesty/.

Importance of Communication

Practice communication skills similar to what you would need in a professional work or internship situation: check email twice per day; read email carefully and respond in a timely manner; contact the office by email or phone about questions or issues; take a proactive approach to solving any problems or issues that come up. Save fcmlp2@umass.edu in your address book to help ensure that important messages about your course do not end up in your spam folder.

Schedules and Schedule Changes

Regular Meeting Times

Regular conversation session meeting times are set at the beginning of the semester.  Students send schedule information to the conversation partner.  The conversation partner chooses a time that will work for all members of the group.  That time then becomes the regular meeting time for the semester and will remain consistent throughout the semester.  (See your syllabus attachment for details about the process of scheduling conversation sessions.)

Missed Sessions

Regular conversation session attendance and preparation constitutes 10% of your final grade.  Students who miss a regular meeting time do NOT get a make-up session.  Missing a conversation session is similar to missing a regular class session.  It is the responsibility of the student to spend extra time on the material to catch up after missing a session.  If you are ill, have a job or graduate school interview, or a religious holiday, you can be excused from the conversation session so that you are not penalized for missing a session.  Students who need excused absences should email the Center staff AND their conversation partners as early as possible.

Permanent Changes to the Regular Meeting Time

Conversation groups may change to a different regular meeting time during the semester if the conversation partner and all students in the group agree upon a new meeting time that works well for all involved.  Requests to change to a new time must be communicated to the Center office by the conversation partner.  The program staff will only approve the change after verifying with the conversation partner and each individual student that the change in time will work.

Extended Absences Due to Health or Personal Emergencies

Students who experience serious health problems or other personal emergencies need to consult with the health services and/or appropriate deans on their home campus.  If extended absences are necessary, the program director will work with the student and appropriate deans to determine the best course of action.