Final grades will be calculated as follows: 

Assignment	Grade %
Written Assignments	60%
Discussion Forums	20%
Quizzes	20%
Total	100%

The Online MPH program follows the UW Graduate Grading System for Graduate Students (Memo 19) and the Department of Health Services Grading Policy. See here for the Grading System.

Assignments and Learning Activities

Quizzes

Each week, you will complete a quiz on the week’s content. These quizzes serve as a cumulative review and will provide you with the opportunity to revisit previous modules as needed. You should regard these quizzes as a self-assessment tool. You have two tries and will receive answer feedback after the last try. Quizzes will be available when the module opens and students are required to submit them by Sunday at 11:59 PM PT. 

Assignments

There are six assignments that are 10 points each, for a total of 60 points.  The assignments will allow you to use practical project management tools. Assignments for week 3, 4, 5 and 7 will build on each other using a common case study. 

Week 2: Needs Assessment. The purpose of this assignment is to get you to start thinking about how you might structure a needs assessment activity.

Week 3: Logic Model. For this logic model assignment, you will be thinking about what inputs, activities, and outputs are needed to achieve the project outcomes.

Week 4: Work Plan. For this assignment, you will practice creating a work plan. 

Week 5: Budget. You will prepare a budget for our case study project focusing on making sure you have the right line items in your budget. 

Week 7: Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. Using the logic model from week 3 and the case study, you will create an M&E plan based on a provided template. 

Week 10: Scenarios. Challenging situations often arise during projects. Each of the scenarios in this assignment describes a different challenge. Choose two and describe how you would handle the situation if you were the project manager, reflecting on the project management skills you have learned in this course.

Discussion Forums 

There will be six graded discussion forums and each forum is 3 points. Two points will be award for the initial post, and 1 point for a response to a fellow student. Graded discussion forums will take place during week 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10. You will be assigned, at random, to a group of peers across four separate discussion groups.

There are also optional discussion forums that are not graded, and are an opportunity for you to ask questions of your instructional team and peers during asynchronous hours.  You are not required to post in these optional forums. 

Office Hours

Office hours are by appointment. 

Synchronous Class Sessions

• Thursdays, 7-8pm PT (Zoom link)

You can log into the class sessions using the link on the Zoom page.     

During these sessions you will have the opportunity to engage with faculty and your peers. Please come prepared with any questions you have, as these sessions aim to clarify concepts and support your learning. It is helpful to view the module content prior so that you are prepared to increase your learning during these sessions. You do not have to prepare anything specific for these sessions aside from having completed most videos and readings before the session, unless the teaching team has a specific activity or request. Any requests for additional preparation needed before the synchronous sessions will be communicated to students ahead of time.

The schedule is as follows:

September 29 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
October 6 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
October 13 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
October 20 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
October 27 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
November 3 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
November 10 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
November 17 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
December 1 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 
December 8 (Thursday), 7:00-8:00pm PT 

Late Work Policy

If you are unable to turn in an assignment by the due date, please email the instructors in advance to request an extension and specify duration. You do not need to state a reason for the extension. It is at the discretion of the instructor to approve the duration of the extension. After that, assignment value will decrease 10% per day (and is capped at a total of 50% decrease). If assignments are turned in late, without prior discussion with one of the instructors, a late penalty will be determined at the discretion of the instructors.

Expectations

To gain the most out of this online course, students are highly encouraged to: 

• Log in to their courses frequently to check their required readings, activities, and assignment deadlines 
• Maintain a regular academic schedule to keep their workload manageable 
• Actively participate during presentations and in classroom discussions 
• Contact the instructor if they are unable to meet an assignment deadline or are experiencing other issues in the course. 

Land Acknowledgement

The UW School of Public Health and HSERV 590 teaching team acknowledge the land we occupy today as the traditional home of the Coast Salish people, including the Tulalip, Muckleshoot, Duwamish and Suquamish tribal nations. Without them we would not have access to this working, teaching and learning environment. We humbly take the opportunity to thank the original caretakers of this land who are still here. 

Academic Integrity Statement

Students at the University of Washington (UW) are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct, professional honesty, and personal integrity.

The UW School of Public Health (SPH) is committed to upholding standards of academic integrity consistent with the academic and professional communities of which it is a part. Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121). We expect you to know and follow the university's policies on cheating and plagiarism, and the SPH Academic Integrity Policy. Any suspected cases of academic misconduct will be handled according to University of Washington regulations. For more information, see the University of Washington Community Standards and Student Conduct.

Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

Diverse backgrounds, embodiments and experiences are essential to the critical thinking endeavor at the heart of University education. In SPH, students are expected:

1. To respect individual differences, which may include, but are not limited to, age, cultural background, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender, immigration status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and veteran status.
2. To engage respectfully in the discussion of diverse worldviews and ideologies embedded in course readings, presentations and artifacts, including those course materials that are at odds with personal beliefs and values.

I am committed to making this class an equitable learning environment. Please talk with me right away if you experience disrespect in this class from other students and/or from me, and I will work to address it in an educational manner.

Classroom Climate

We are co-creators of our learning environment.  It is our collective responsibility to develop a supportive learning environment for everyone.  Listening with respect and an open mind, striving to understand others’ views, and articulating your own point of view will help foster the creation of this environment.  We engage our differences with the intent to build community, not to put down the other and distance our self from the other.  Being mindful to not monopolize discussion and/or interrupt others will also help foster a dialogic environment.

The following guidelines can add to the richness of our discussion:

• We assume that persons are always doing the best that they can, including the persons in this learning environment.
• We acknowledge that systematic oppression exists based on privileged positions and specific to race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and other social variables and identities.
• We posit that assigning blame to persons in socially marginal positions is counter-productive to our practice. We can learn much about the dominant culture by looking at how it constructs the lives of those on its social margins.
• While we may question or take issue with another class member’s ideology, we will not demean, devalue, or attempt to humiliate another person based on her/his experiences, value system, or construction of meaning.
• We have a professional obligation to actively challenge myths and stereotypes about our own groups and other groups so we can break down the walls that prohibit group cooperation and growth.
  [Adapted from Lynn Weber Cannon (1990). Fostering positive race, class and gender dynamics in the classroom. Women Studies Quarterly, 1 & 2, 126-134.]

We are a learning community.  As such, we are expected to engage with difference.  Part of functioning as a learning community is to engage in dialogue in respectful ways that supports learning for all of us and that holds us accountable to each other.  Our learning community asks us to trust and take risks in being vulnerable.

Here are some guidelines that we try to use in our learning process: 

• LISTEN WELL and be present to each member of our group and class. 
• Assume that I might miss things others see and see things others miss. 
• Raise my views in such a way that I encourage others to raise theirs. 
• Inquire into others’ views while inviting them to inquire into mine. 
• Extend the same listening to others I would wish them to extend to me. 
• Surface my feelings in such a way that I make it easier for others to surface theirs. 
• Regard my views as a perspective onto the world, not the world itself. 
• Beware of either-or thinking. 
• Beware of my assumptions of others and their motivations. 
• Test my assumptions about how and why people say or do things. 
• Be authentic in my engagement with all members of our class. 

Reporting Learning Center Environment Concerns

The Office of the Dean has a student concern policy, a faculty concern policy and standard HR procedures for staff concerns. Students are encouraged to report any incidents of bias in any of the following ways: 

• Report the incident to someone they feel comfortable with (including teaching staff,  advisor or department staff)

  • Contact School of Public Health (SPH) leadership – reports are tracked for resolution and areas for further training are identified.
    • Email dcinfo@uw.edu for immediate follow-up.
    • Bias concerns can be anonymously and confidentially reported at this link: https://sph.washington.edu/about/diversity/bias-concerns. Data is collected by the Assistant Dean for EDI and the Assistant Dean for Students and tracked for resolution and identifying areas for further training.

Access and Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but are not limited to mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious Accommodations

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (Links to an external site.).”

Pronouns

We share our pronouns because we strive to cultivate an inclusive environment where people of all genders feel safe and respected. We cannot assume we know someone’s gender just by looking at them. So we invite everyone to share their pronouns.

Writing Skills Resources

Writing is an important transferable skill for all career pathways. Establishing a strong foundation in writing skills will help you be successful throughout your future course work and career. Therefore, this course includes written assignments with the goal to help you identify areas of strength and improvement in your writing. However, if you feel that you could benefit from additional opportunities to improve your writing skills, a list of resources at the UW and others accessible online can be found on the SPH website.

Zoom Privacy Statement

This course is scheduled to run synchronously at your scheduled class time via Zoom. These Zoom class sessions will be recorded. The recording will capture the presenter’s audio, video and computer screen. Student audio and video will be recorded if they share their computer audio and video during the recorded session. The recordings will only be accessible to students enrolled in the course to review materials. These recordings will not be shared with or accessible to the public.

The University and Zoom have FERPA-compliant agreements in place to protect the security and privacy of UW Zoom accounts. Students who do not wish to be recorded should not share their computer audio or video during their Zoom sessions.

Guidance to Students Taking Courses Outside the U.S.

Faculty members at U.S. universities – including the University of Washington – have the right to academic freedom which includes presenting and exploring topics and content that other governments may consider to be illegal and, therefore, choose to censor. Examples may include topics and content involving religion, gender and sexuality, human rights, democracy and representative government, and historic events.

If, as a UW student, you are living outside of the United States while taking courses remotely, you are subject to the laws of your local jurisdiction. Local authorities may limit your access to course material and take punitive action towards you. Unfortunately, the University of Washington has no authority over the laws in your jurisdictions or how local authorities enforce those laws.

If you are taking UW courses outside of the United States, you have reason to exercise caution when enrolling in courses that cover topics and issues censored in your jurisdiction. If you have concerns regarding a course or courses that you have registered for, please contact your academic advisor who will assist you in exploring options.

Statement on SimCheck (Turnitin)

 The University has a license agreement with SimCheck, an educational tool that helps prevent or identify plagiarism from Internet resources. Your instructor may use the service in this class by requiring that assignments are submitted electronically to be checked by SimCheck. The Similarity Report will indicate the amount of original text in your work and whether all material that you quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from another source is appropriately referenced.

Copyright Statement

All content associated with this course is copyrighted. This includes the syllabus, assignments, reading lists, and lectures, as well as any material generated by your fellow students. Within the constraints of "fair use", you may copy these materials for your personal use in support of your education. For example, you may download materials to your computer for study, but you may not copy the materials and distribute or upload to a website. Such “fair use” by you does not include further distribution by any means of copying, performance or presentation beyond the circle of your close acquaintances, student colleagues in this class and your family.

Schedule