COVENANTECOLOGICAL AGRICULTUREFall, Winter, Spring 2005-2006 COVENANT EXPECTATIONS--EVALUATION PROCEDURES--AWARDING OF CREDIT The purpose of a covenant is to create a social environment when effective learning can take place. The learning community, a non-hierarchical structure that facilitates the intellectual growth of all its members, is basedon a covenant. Learning communities may be formed around large questions and involve learning around specific content and skills. By ensuring a conducive environment, a covenant allows all members to actualize their potential for growth. I. Expectations It is expected that all members of the Evergreen community are bound by the Social Contract (reprinted in the advising handbook). Violation of the Social Contract is a serious offense and can result in an individual being barred from the Evergreen community. For our purposes as an academic program, let us emphasize: "Evergreen can thrive only if members respect the rights of others while enjoying their own rights... All must share alike in prizing academic and interpersonal honesty, in responsibly obtaining and in providing full and accurate information and in resolving their differences through due process and with a strong will to collaborate...Civility is not just a word; it must be present in all our interactions." The social contract means many things. It means respect for the learning of others, and has implications for how we treat each other in classrooms, seminars, and other program settings. It means that students are expected to work cooperatively in most program activities (except when performance is being measured individually as in exams). It means that plagiarism will not be tolerated. Joint efforts must be identified. Students must give credit to collaborators and indicate their personal contributions. Plagiarism (unattributed copying) will result in total loss of credit for the term. Faculty have the right to ask a student to leave a program if the student is disrupting the learning environment of the group. The TESC student conduct code forbids the use of alcohol or drugs at any college activity on or off campus. Attending class events under the influence could result in loss of credit, expulsion from the program, and possibly expulsion from the College. Students are expected to participate fully in the learning community including:a. come to seminars, field work, labs and workshops with readings and written work thoughtfully prepared.b. participate actively and intelligently in seminars, workshops, and discussion sessions c. come on time to all seminars, workshops, field assignments, labs and lectures, except when explicit arrangements to miss them have been made with the student's seminar faculty.d. set personal goals in collaboration with their seminar faculty that encourage stretching beyond currentskills and abilities.e. reflect regularly on what they are learning and howf. show respect for program members and support their learning even when disagreements arise.g. think thoughtfully, creatively, and critically about issues raised in texts, presentations, and workshops, and discuss these issues in and outside of class.h. complete assigned work carefully and thoughtfully by the due date.i. maintain a program journal and complete a draft self-evaluation at the completion of each term, and an evaluation of each faculty when the student leaves the program. In order to be awarded all credit aself-evaluation must be submitted as part of the program portfolio and final self-evaluation submitted to the Registration and Records for your transcript at by the end of evaluation week when you leavethe program.j. ask peers and faculty for help when you need it.k. help those around you. l. abide by the principles of the Social Contract and the Sexual Harassment Policy.m. fully participate in class Monday to Wednesday of Thanksgiving Week.Students can expect faculty to:a. prepare and present lectures, workshops, lab exercises and field assignments to support and expand students' exploration and understandings of the program themes and to enhance their understandings of approaches to, and processes of, learning;b. convene and be prepared for seminars, lectures and labsc. read, comment on, and return student papers in a timely manner;d. provide written evaluations of seminar students;e. notify students by the end of the sixth week of each quarter if their work to date does not meet requirements for credit;h. schedule at least one office hour per week and be available for individual or small group consultation;g. abide by the principles of the Social Contract and the Sexual Harassment Policy. II. Evaluation Procedures Students will be evaluated at the end of each quarter. Evaluations will be based on the expectations detailed above, and on the quality of completed work. Before their evaluation conference students will present adraft self-evaluation, and turn in their program journals, which should be a documentation of the work of the term. This documentation is to consist of all of the student's work and all the information conveyed during the term (syllabi, handouts, notes, etc.) organized in such a way that the information could easily be retrieved in the future. The faculty will prepare a draft evaluation of the student for discussion during the evaluation conference. Each student must, in turn, write an evaluation of each faculty at the end of the program. This may be turned in to the program secretary, or brought to the evaluation conference, and will be put in the faculty's portfolio. In case of a disagreement or conflict between a student and a faculty member, the student should first tryto resolve the conflict by meeting with the faculty member in question. If such a meeting does not resolve the problem, the student may request a meeting with the faculty team. We also expect students to resolve disagreements with other students face-to-face in responsible and respectful ways. Faculty are available to help mediate disagreements, when asked, if students have trouble resolving difficult issues. In addition, students are encouraged to use the college's Mediation Services (X6656) and/or Campus Grievance Officer (x6296) to help resolve any conflict related to college life. Continued registration in the program requires that the student has read, and has agreed to be bound by,this covenant of the Ecological Agriculture Program,