SCOM123 (Section)

Fundamentals of Human Communication

School of Communication Studies
Fall 2017

Katherine Harville
Wilson Hall 214
harvilkx@jmu.edu
Office hours:
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:00pm-1:00 pm
or by appointment

Required Texts:
In The Company of Others: An Introduction to Communication, 4th Edition
Course Description and Learning Objectives:
Course Description: SCOM 123. Fundamental Human Communication: Group
Presentations. Study of human communication as a process. Overview of the
principles and practices of communication in small group and public communication
contexts. Emphasis on examining the role of self-concept, perception, culture, verbal
and nonverbal dimensions in the communication process, using power and managing
conflict, applying critical listening, practicing audience analysis, and constructing
informative and persuasive group presentations. Public speaking required.
Learning Objectives:
a. Explain the fundamental processes that significantly influence
communication.
b. Construct messages consistent with the diversity of communication purpose,
audience, context, and ethics.
c. Respond to messages consistent with the diversity of communication purpose,
audience, context, and ethics.
d. Utilize digital literacy skills expected of ethical communicators.
Contacting me:
The best way to get in touch with me is through email. I will typically answer your email
within an hour. However, I do not check my email after 6pm or on the weekends; therefore,
if you email me during those times, I will likely not respond until the next morning/Monday.
Before you email me with a questions, ask yourself the following three questions:
1. Did I check the syllabus?
2. Did I check the syllabus?
3. Did I check the syllabus?

If you email me with a question and the answer is in the syllabus, I WILL respond with
simply, check the syllabus
Email etiquette:
When emailing me, do not address me as Dr. or Professor. I am neither of those things.
Please include, in the subject line, your class number and section. Please call me Ms. Harville
in emails (that is what other professors will expect), but in class its perfectly fine if you just
call me Katherinebecause thats my name.
Class Schedule:
[Insert Class Schedule Here]
Chapters covered over the course of the semester:
Part One
Fundamentals of Communication: Chapters 1-6
Part Three
Group Communication: Chapters 10-11
Part Four
Public Speaking: Chapters 12-15
Assignments:
Informative Group Presentation
Persuasive Group Presentation
Three In-Class Exams
Final
Attendance Policy:
Similar to the workplace, class attendance is mandatory; therefore, you are allowed three
unexcused absences; after three unexcused absences, I will begin taking one point off of
your final grade for every unexcused absence.
Policy on Late Work
I do not accept late work. If there extenuating circumstances, please let me know.
Otherwise, do not ask to turn anything in late. As for make-up tests, if you miss a test and
you have proper documentation, I am more than happy to accommodate a make-up test!
Add/Drop Policies
Students are responsible for registering for classes and for verifying their class schedules
on MyMadison.
[Insert 2017-2018 dates here]
Policy on Academic Honesty
Making references to the work of others strengthens your own work by granting you greater
authority and by showing that you are part of a discussion located within an intellectual
community. When you make references to the ideas of others, it is essential to provide proper
attribution and citation. Failing to do so is considered academically dishonest, as is copying or
paraphrasing someone else's work. The results of such behavior will lead to consequences
ranging from failure on an assignment to failure in the course to dismissal from the university.

Please ask if you are in doubt about the use of a citation. Honest mistakes can always be
corrected or prevented. Academic dishonesty is not limited to plagiarism. Other examples of
academic dishonesty include cheating on tests or homework, taking an exam or writing a paper
for someone else, and selling or uploading unauthorized documents from a class. Talk with your
instructor if you have questions regarding academic honesty.
The JMU Honor Code is available from the Honor Council
website: http://www.jmu.edu/honor/code.shtml.
Disability Accommodations
JMU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with
Disabilities Act, which mandate reasonable accommodations be provided for students with
documented disabilities. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the
Office of Disability Services, the designated office on campus to provide services for students
with disabilities. The office is located in the Student Success Center, room 1202, and you may
call (540) 568-6705 for more information.
If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination
accommodations, please contact your instructor early in the semester so that he/she can provide
or facilitate provision of accommodations you may need.
In the Case of Inclement Weather
James Madison University is primarily a self-contained campus with a large number of
residential students requiring a variety of support services, regardless of inclement weather
conditions or emergency situations. For the safety and well-being of its students and employees,
the university may close or limit its services based on inclement weather or other emergencies.
Refer to the following sources for information on closings or delays:
JMU Weather Line: (540) 433-5300
JMU radio station 1610AM
JMU's home page
Area radio and television stations
JMU Office of Public Safety, who in turn is responsible for announcements on
Emergency Notification System
When the university is closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies, all classes are
cancelled. Policies regarding class cancellations are specified in the syllabus for each course.
Makeup Days for Classes
When the university is closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies, all classes are
cancelled. When it is necessary to cancel classes due to weather or other emergencies, faculty
have several options for making up the missed instructional time.
Hold class at the regularly scheduled time on the official university make-up day,
normally the Saturday immediately following the missed class.
Hold class at a time acceptable to all class members other than the regularly scheduled
time or the official make-up day. Time and location will be arranged by the academic
unit.
Accommodate the missed instructional time within remaining class meeting time.

 Hold class through electronic means.

For additional information, refer to http://www.jmu.edu/JMUpolicy/1309.shtml.
Religious Accommodations
All faculty are required to give reasonable and appropriate accommodations to students
requesting them on grounds of religious observation. The faculty member determines what
accommodations are appropriate for his/her course. Students should notify the faculty by no later
than the end of the Drop-Add period the first week of the semester of potential scheduled
absences and determine with the instructor if mutually acceptable alternative methods exist for
completing the missed classroom time, lab or activity. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity at
(540) 568-6991 if you have additional questions.
Information literacy requirement
Incoming first year and transfer students required to complete General Education must successfully
complete the Madison Research Essential Skills Test, JMUs Information Literacy Competency, test
by the end of their first academic year at JMU. This means that you are going to have to make sure
that the students in your SCOM classes (in both the fall and spring semesters) take the MREST test in
the Ashby computer lab.
James Madison University believes that the fundamental knowledge and skills students need to
navigate the landscape of scholarly information are necessary for successful completion of their
university classes. Information literacy skills are foundational to their university coursework and as
such are included in Cluster One of General Education. All students enrolled or completing General
Education courses at JMU are required to pass the MREST within the first academic year at JMU.
The Madison Research Essential Skills tutorial will be completed by students enrolled in SCOM.
MREST is a proctored, secured competency test given only in Ashby Lab during lab hours. Students
must successfully pass the MREST prior to Spring Break of your first academic year.
Successful passing of the MREST will be noted on a students transcript. Students who score high will
be earn an advanced status. Students who fail may review the Madison Research Toolkit. Students
who do not pass by the deadline will have a registration hold placed on their academic record. This
registration hold will prevent them from dropping, adding or swapping courses. Within two weeks of
successful completion of this graduation milestone students will be able to view their passing scores
via MyMadison (on the drop down menu labeled Other Academic, Academic Requirements,
View Test Scores, or Transcript: View Unofficial).
SONA research participation requirement
Most introductory courses in the social sciences include experiences in which the student is exposed
to the research methods of the discipline by demonstration or actual repetition of well-established
phenomena. Because of the unique quality of the communication discipline, it is possible to introduce
students to research methods by direct participation in ongoing studies. These studies are designed to
contribute to the contemporary research literature, and it is quite possible that the results of this work
will be reported in future presentations or publications.
Although direct exposure to laboratory research is invaluable, an alternate means for learning about
methods in communication (as recommended by the APA Committee for the Protection of Human
Participants in Research, 1982) will be available in the form of reading and reporting on papers found

in the research literature or attending and reporting on department and university forensics events,
debate events, or colloquia that are related to communication.
All SCOM students at James Madison University must accumulate research credit during the
semester. This requirement will count for 2.5% of the final grade.
This research credit may be obtained by completing the following activities:
1. Participating in communication studies either online surveys, online experiments, faceto-face experiments, face-to-face interviews, and/or focus groups.
2. Attending and summarizing a debate or forensics event and answering specific questions
about those events.
3. Attending and summarizing one approved research or colloquium presentation and
answering specific questions related to those colloquia.
4. Reading one or more of five approved journal articles and answering specific questions
with regard to those articles.
Each of these credit opportunities is described in more detail in the SONA system.