General Class Requirements
Welcome to MSU Denver and to the History Department. Take a moment to read this information. For a fuller explanation of some of these policies please see the Student Handbook which is available online through ConnectU. Your instructor will inform you of her or his individual requirements. We have also posted departmental information including advising sheets on our History Department website. We hope the semester goes well for you.
— Stephen J. Leonard, History Chair leonards@msudenver.edu Central Classroom 211, 303 556-3113.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Metropolitan State University of Denver is committed to making reasonable accommodations to assist individuals with disabilities in reaching their academic potential. If you have a disability which may impact your performance, attendance, or grades in this class and are requesting accommodations, then you must first register with the Access Center, located in the Auraria Library, Suite 116, 303-556-8387.
The Access Center is the designated department responsible for coordinating accommodations and services for students with disabilities. Accommodations will not be granted prior to the faculty members’ receipt of your faculty notification letter from the Access Center. Please note that accommodations are never provided retroactively (i.e., prior to the receipt of your faculty notification letter.) Once the faculty member is in receipt of your official Access Center faculty notification letter, he/she would be happy to meet with you to discuss your accommodations. All discussions will remain confidential. For more information see the Access Center website.
Attendance/Deportment/Academic Dishonesty:
Students are expected to personally attend all classes, to arrive on time, and to follow deportment standards that may be included on class syllabi/requirements given out by individual instructors. Students who disrupt classes by talking, noisy eating, or other disruptive behavior will be subject to university disciplinary action as detailed in the Student Handbook. As a courtesy to other students and the instructor please turn ringers on cell phones off before the class begins. Academic dishonesty may lead to serious consequences for the student including a reduction in grade (up to and including a permanent F for the course), probation, suspension, or expulsion. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, submitting the same paper or work for more than one class, and facilitating academic dishonesty. For more information see the Student Handbook.
General Studies: All MSU Denver Students must have a course in the Historical General Studies Category. Not all history classes count toward fulfilling this requirement. As of Fall 2012 the following are history General Studies courses: HIS 1000 American Civilization, 1010* Western Civilization to 1603, 1020* Western Civilization since 1603, 1030* World History to 1500, 1040* World History since 1500, 1060* World History since 1900, 1100 American West, 1110 Colorado History I, 1210 American History to 1865, 1220 American History since 1865, 1250* China, Japan, Korea since 1800, 1650 Women in U.S. History, 1910 History of Meso-American: Pre-Columbian and Colonial Periods, 1920 History of the Chicano in the Southwest: Mexico and U.S. Periods, 1930 History of Indigenous/Hispanic Americans, 1940* Survey of African History, 3060* Rome and the Caesars, 3090 Native Americans in American History, 3120* Medieval History, 3140 Renaissance and Reformation, 3320* England Since 1714, 3590 American Immigration History, 3700* Modern China, 3740* Modern Japan, 3770* World of Islam, 3810* Latin America: Republics. Courses marked with an asterisk count as Global Diversity courses. HIS 3090 and 3590 count as Multicultural courses.
If you mistakenly registered for a history course that is not a General Studies course, you may be able to switch into a General Studies course if you do it very early in the semester. For a fuller explanation of Historical General Studies courses including Student Learning Outcomes see the "General Studies Historical Category" under "Advising" on this website. Students who enrolled before Fall 2012 may gradate under the Catalog rules in effect at the time they enrolled, if they have not substantially interrupted their enrollment at MSU Denver.
History Majors and Minors:
Students considering a major or minor in history should check requirements in the catalog and get advising from the department. History majors must have a minor (or second major) in some other discipline. We strongly advise history minors to select the regular minor option. Majors and minors should check the “Requirements for All Bachelor’s Degrees” section and the General Studies requirements in the catalog.
Multicultural Courses:
HIS 3090--Native Americans, and HIS 3590--American Immigration History count for the multicultural course requirement and for the historical general studies course requirement.
Incompletes:
Under unusual circumstances which occur late in the term such as medical emergencies students may request to take an Incomplete (I). These must be approved by the instructor and the department. Departmental forms specifying due dates and other specifics for completion must be signed by the student asking for an Incomplete. Incompletes are given at the discretion of the instructor and must be completed within the time limits specified by the instructor. An Incomplete becomes an F, if not properly completed.
University/Department Policy – NC Notation:
1--The NC notation shall be available to students in all instances through the 10th week of classes for fall and spring semesters.
2--Students are responsible for logging on to ConnectU and indicating an NC for the appropriate courses.
3--Under no circumstances can an NC request be processed following the end of the 10th week of a 16-week semester (11:59 p.m. on the Friday of the 10th week of the semester submitted electronically).
4--Proportional time frames are applied for modular courses, weekend courses, workshops, and summer terms.
5--Students can still apply for a tuition refund using the Tuition and Fees Appeal Form if the NC was necessary due to extenuating circumstances such as illness, a death in the family or employment changes beyond their control. This policy is included in the online University Catalog in the Academic Policies and Procedures section: http://catalog.msudenver.edu/content.php?catoid=2&navoid=62.
Registration and Class Lists:
From time to time instructors may check attendance to make sure that their class lists are correct. Please know the CRN number for the class you are attending and have proof that you have registered for that CRN number.
Religious Holidays:
1--Students at MSCD who, because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, are unable to attend classes, take examinations, participate in graded activities, or submit graded assignments on particular days shall, without penalty, be excused from such classes and be given a meaningful opportunity to make up such examinations and graded activities or assignments provided that advance written notice that the students will be absent for religious reasons is given to faculty members during the first two weeks of the semester.
2--Nothing in paragraph 1 of this policy shall require MSCD faculty members to reschedule classes, repeat lectures or other ungraded activities, or provide ungraded individualized instruction solely for the benefit of students, who for religious reasons, are unable to attend regularly scheduled classes or activities. However, presentations, critiques, conferences, and similar activities involving individual students shall be scheduled to avoid conflicts with such students’ religious observances or holidays, provided that reasonable advance notice of scheduling conflicts is given to faculty members.
3--Because classroom attendance and participation is an important aspect of learning, MSCD students should not register for courses if regularly scheduled classes or activities routinely conflict with their religious observances or holidays (e.g., conflicts resulting in weekly absences for an entire semester).
4--Any MSCD student who believes that an MSCD faculty member has violated this policy is entitled to seek relief under section VII of the MSCD Affirmative Action Plan.
Student Organizations:
The History Department sponsors two student organizations: Phi Psi Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta and the History Club. Please contact the department for information.
Writing:
History instructors usually require writing assignments. Students should be aware that they will be graded on the quality of their writing, including their use of correct grammar, as well as upon their grasp of history. Information on writing is under “Student Resources” on the History Department’s website. This “General Class Requirements and Information” document is also available on the History Department’s website.
