Assignment Cover Sheet to the assignment.For some courses, you may submit assignments via e-mail. Courses for which e-mail assignment submission is available will note this availability in the “Introduction” of your study guide. Whatever method of assignment submission you choose, always submit assignments to the Office of Correspondence Studies, not directly to your instructor. Assignments will follow this routing procedure:
- You submit your assignment to the Office of Correspondence Studies.
- We post your assignment and send it to your instructor for grading.
- Your instructor grades your assignment and returns it to the Office of Correspondence Studies.
- We return the graded assignment to you.
You should normally wait for your assignment to be returned with a grade before submitting the next assignment. If you would rather pick up your graded assignment in the Office of Correspondence Studies, write “For Pick Up” in the address box on the assignment cover sheet. Pay close attention to the professor’s comments on graded assignments. This practice is one of the primary ways that learning takes place in correspondence study. Some students—either because of deadlines or because they have an excellent understanding of the course material—may wish to submit assignments at a faster rate. Unless otherwise stated in the course study guide, you may submit no more than two assignments per week. Because assignments are received in the Office of Correspondence Studies and then forwarded to the instructor for grading, be sure to retain a copy of all assignments you submit. Though it rarely happens, assignments are sometimes lost or damaged in the mail. Because the Office of Correspondence Studies must receive all assignments in acceptable condition before an exam can be administered or released to a proctor, the best protection you have against delays and extra work is to retain duplicate copies of your work.
The Office of Correspondence Studies
The drop box is located on the first floor outside the entrance of the Academic Services Building North. This box is checked Monday through Friday.
J.C. Kellam Building
A campus mail drop box is located on the first floor of the J.C. Kellam Building in the campus post office. Make sure that all assignments are sealed in an envelope and addressed to the Office of Correspondence Studies. No postage is necessary for items sent through campus mail.
You are responsible for arranging the time and location of your exam(s). Each study guide contains Exam Request Forms and instructions for enlisting a proctor and scheduling an exam. Students who live in or near San Marcos may take exams at the Office of Correspondence Studies. You may sign up for an exam in person or by phone. A minimum of twenty-four hours notice is required to set up an exam in our office. Exams are given Monday-Friday between 8:30 am and 5 pm. Because of time constraints, no student may begin an exam after 2:30 pm. Students may use other testing sites; however, the Office of Correspondence Studies must approve sites in advance. If you reside in Texas, consult Testing Sites in Texas for a partial list of testing sites in Texas.
Proctors may be located in other correspondence or independent study offices and in university or private testing centers. Librarians and military educational service officers may also act as exam proctors. You are responsible for paying any proctor fees required at the location you choose. Out-of-country students may contact the closest U.S. school or embassy. If you need assistance locating an acceptable site, you may contact the Office of Correspondence Studies for help in locating one. The Office of Correspondence Studies reserves the right to reject any exam proctor.
Any student taking an exam at a location other than the Office of Correspondence Studies should allow three additional weeks to meet any deadline. The Office of Correspondence Studies will send an exam to another location only after receiving a completed exam request form, verifying the proctor and testing site, receiving all assignments (and receiving grades from the instructor if specifically required for the course), and returning previously completed exams to the student. If the chosen exam site charges a fee for administering the test, it is your responsibility to pay the fee. Regardless of location, you must present a valid photo I.D. before you will be allowed to take an exam.
As stated in the Texas State Student Handbook, “Learning and teaching take place best in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and openness. All members of the academic community are responsible for supporting freedom and openness through rigorous personal standards of honesty and fairness. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the very purpose of the university and diminish the value of an education. Students who have committed academic dishonesty, which includes cheating on an examination or other academic work to be submitted, plagiarism, collusion, or abuse of resource materials, are subject to disciplinary action.
Academic work means the preparation of an essay, thesis, report, problem, assignments, or other projects, which are to be submitted for purposes of grade determination.
Cheating means
- copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report or computer files, data listing, and/or programs;
- using materials during a test unauthorized by the person giving the test;
- collaborating, without authorization, with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work;
- knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying, or possessing, in whole or part, the content of an unadministered test;
- substituting for another student—or permitting another person to substitute for oneself in taking an exam or preparing academic work; and
- bribing another person to obtain an unadministered test or information about an unadministered test.
Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.
Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit.
Abuse of resource materials means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft, or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course materials."
- Develop a reasonable study plan and stick to it.
- Work on assignments and take exams while the material is fresh in your mind.
- Take notes as you study, particularly with material you find difficult. You can refer to these notes when completing your assignments.
- Don’t skip a planned study session. Once you develop a routine, it’s important not to break it.
- Be assertive. If you don’t understand something, ask. You may not be in a classroom, but you do have an instructor who wants you to succeed. Your instructor is the single best resource for helping you to understand challenging material.
- Form a study group. If you know someone who is taking the same course, study together. While the work you submit must be your own, it helps to discuss the material and get feedback from someone else.
- Make the material relevant to you. Read related articles, watch related TV programs, and discuss what you are learning with others.
- If you find that you have a problem staying motivated, review your study skills. Decide what works and what doesn’t. Then, make necessary changes in your study routine.
- Remain positive. It is easy to get discouraged when you’re trying to learn something new. Remember all the resources available to you and put them to use.