NR NR400: Public Relations in Natural Resources Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Warner College of Natural Resources COURSE SYLLABUS Name: Joshua Zaffos Sarah Vollmer Office: Wagar 209 Forestry 112 Phone: 970/443-4747 (cell) DO NOT TEXT 618/920-8683 Email: joshua.zaffos@colostate.edu sarah.vollmer@colostate.edu Ofc. Hours: Mon & Wed 2:00-4:00 (or by appt.) Tue & Thu 10:00-12:00 Term: Fall 2016 Class Meeting Days: Monday-Wednesday Class Meeting Hours: 1:00-1:50 Class Location: Wagar 231 Lab Location: Nat Res 201 Course Credits: 3 University course catalog description: Effective public relations and public information programs applicable to natural resource professions. Course credits: 3. Course Overview: NR 400 is an introduction to the people side of natural resources management. This class is designed to assist students in developing an understanding of the role of public relations in effective management and conservation of natural resources. Through this course, we will explore diverse issues in natural resources management and conservation from public relations perspectives. Through readings, case studies, class projects, and assignments, students will analyze the effectiveness of different communications approaches and develop new, creative strategies to address real-world natural resources issues. Course Goals and Objectives: 1. Students will explore various tools, terms, theory, and concepts related to public relations and how to apply them to diverse natural resources and conservation issues. 2. Students will analyze and critique case studies of natural resources public relations efforts. 3. Students will meet and learn from communications experts and natural resources managers from various fields and disciplines. 4. Students will develop public relations strategies, materials and products through group and individual efforts, and present and share those materials with the class and natural resources professionals. Required Texts: Communication Skills for Conservation Professionals. 2009. Susan Jacobson. Island Press, Washington DC 2009 461pp. (required). Additional assigned readings will be available via Canvas or in class. Library & Research Help The CSU Libraries Help Desk provides research and technical assistance in person at Morgan Library or by phone at 970/491-1841. Jocelyn Boice is the librarian supporting this course. You can reach her at jocelyn.boice@colostate.edu or 970/491-3882 to ask questions or set up an appointment for research help. Page 1
Course Organization: Course information, including announcements about class, additional readings, quizzes, worksheets, etc. will be posted on Canvas. You should check our course page daily. I will sometimes, but not always, post lecture slides. You are responsible for taking notes from lectures, discussions, and guest speakers. Recitation sessions are 50 minutes each week. These periods will be used for group exercises and work and other discussions. Reading assignments should be completed before class so you are part of the process, not an observer. Class discussion and participation are critical parts of this course and your overall grade. Course Grading: There will be a total of 1,000 points available for this course. The breakdown is as follows: 2 in-class tests 200 (total) (20%) Class Assignments & Quizzes 100 (10%) Recitation Worksheets 100 (10%) Situation Analysis section 100 (10%) Audience Analysis section 100 (10%) Deliverable A 100 (10%) Deliverable B 50 (5%) Group Presentation (GROUP) ` 100 (10%) Final PR Plan (GROUP) 100 (10%) Participation/Evaluation 50 (5%) Immersion essay* 50 ** Extra Credit TOTAL COURSE POINTS 1,000 * Students should review rubrics for major assignments for additional grading information. * Assignments and point values are subject to be changed at the discretion of the professor. Grades will be based on the following: A+ = 97-100 A = 94-96.9 A- = 90-93.9 B+ = 87-89.9 B = 84-86.9 B- = 80-83.9 C+ = 77-79.9 C = 70-76.9 D = 60-69.9 F = <59 NOTE: Tracking your grades and overall performance is your responsibility. If you are struggling, contact me or make an appointment do not wait until the last weeks of class to share concerns! Pass/Fail is not an option. Grades of "Incomplete": Per university policy, an instructor may assign temporary grade of Incomplete to a student who demonstrates that he or she could not complete the requirements of the course due to circumstances beyond the student's control and not reasonably foreseeable. A student must be passing a course at the time that an Incomplete is requested unless the instructor determines that there are extenuating circumstances to assign an Incomplete to a student who is not passing the course. When an instructor assigns an Incomplete, he or she shall specify in writing using the Department Incomplete Grade Form the requirements the student shall fulfill to complete the course as well as the reasons for granting an Incomplete when the student is not passing the course. The instructor shall retain a copy of this statement in his or her grade records and provide copies to the student and the department head or his or her designee. (Section I.6 of the Academic Faculty and Administrative Professional Manual) Zaffos, NR 400/ p2
Tests: There will be two in-class tests worth 100 points each during the semester. These will cover class material (including guest speakers presentations), readings, and assignments from the preceding weeks. In general, tests will have true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions. No electronic devices or study guides are permitted during tests. Students will not wear hats or hoods during tests. If you have questions or your grade is not registering in Canvas, or if you want to have an exam question re-evaluated, you must make your request within one week of scores being posted. If you require testing accommodations, please make me aware at least one week before the test. There is NO final exam. Quizzes & Class Assignments: 100 points will be based quizzes and other assignments administered through Canvas or during classes. In-class quizzes may be given at the start of class to review readings for that day and/or materials from preceding classes. Quizzes on Canvas may be announced during class and will be unavailable for completion during a set due date and time. If you have questions, a grade is missing in Canvas, or you want to have a quiz answer re-evaluated, you must make your request to the TA and me within 24 hours of the quiz closing. Make sure you check Canvas after completing each quiz to confirm it has registered properly. If you do not contact the TA within 24 hours of a quiz closing about a problem, I will not be able to give you credit. Also, do not wait until the last minute to take your online quizzes: if there is a connectivity or other problem, you may run out of time before the quiz closes. When appropriate, additional information or materials for these quizzes and worksheets will be posted on Canvas. Participation/Evaluation: 50 points will be based on your participation in class activities and discussions, attendance in class and recitation, as well as peer evaluations through your group projects. You can review the Attendance and Late Work Policy below (page 4), and for additional information about peer evaluations, see Group Project memo. Generally, absences and tardiness will not gain you favorable public relations internally in this class or externally in your career or life. Recitation Worksheets: These (10-20 points each) will be announced and distributed during recitations to help groups plan and complete the sections of your final group public relations report. Worksheets may be due during labs or the following session and will be both individual and group tasks. For deadlines and additional information, see the Group Project memo (and the course calendar on page 6). Group Project Assignments: See Group Project memo. Immersion activity and reflection essay: Students can complete this activity for up to 50 points extra credit based on your participation in and reflection on an immersion project outside of class. For more details, see the Immersion Activity memo online at Canvas under Syllabus and Course Memos. Congratulations on reading the syllabus! Here s your first assignment (for 5 EC points): Email me before start of class, August 29, with the subject I read the syllabus Answer the following question in your message: What is the common name for the species Dendroctonus ponderosae? Zaffos, NR 400/ p3
Course Policies NR 400 is an upper-level, rigorous course, and students are expected to put forth a high level of effort, including conducting yourselves professionally in service-learning environments outside of class. Professionalism is expected throughout this course. Your responses to questions, and your communications and emails with classmates and instructors should be professional in manner. This includes using respectful inperson and online etiquette and during class and group discussions. Consider your interactions in this course as practice for the real world! Disrespectful discourse will not be accepted. When emailing the instructor or TA, please include your full name and CSU ID. Do use greetings and proper punctuation and grammar on emails. Professionalism also includes each student being responsible for keeping track of due dates, tracking all of your grades on Canvas, and turning assignments in on time and in the formats outlined. Generally speaking, attend class, ask questions and take notes, do the readings, study with others from class, and keep up. On average you should be studying 6 hours per week for a 3-credit class. Per university policy, mobile phones and devices must be silenced during all classroom and lab periods. Those not heeding this rule will be asked to leave immediately. Distractive behavior, such as talking to classmates, reading outside materials, texting, and regularly coming to class late or leaving early, is not acceptable. Students who habitually disturb the class by talking, arriving late, etc., may receive a warning and could suffer a deduction in their final class grade. Attendance and Late Work Policy Class and recitation attendance is required and will factor into your participation grade. Students often mention that the questions they miss on tests and quizzes are from lectures they missed. Additionally, as many of you will graduate soon, participation and attendance are directly related to developing professional skills and habits. In the case of an anticipated absence, students should inform the TA beforehand, and may want to communicate with group members. You are responsible for reviewing notes and presentations, or making up missed work in a timely fashion when allowed by the instructor. Only students with a signed doctor s or case manager s note, or documentation for a university sanctioned event will be excused or allowed to make up the work if you miss a class when an assignment or quiz is distributed or announced. Instructors must make reasonable efforts to enable students to make up work. In the event of a conflict in regard to this policy, individuals may appeal using established University procedures. Assignments that are due in class are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will typically not be accepted, however, I may consider submissions with deductions based on circumstances. Otherwise, there are no make-ups for in-class quizzes, tests, or worksheets to be completed during recitation. Major written assignments (Situation Analysis, Audience Analysis, Deliverables, Final Report, some worksheets) that are turned in late will be assessed a penalty: a half-letter grade if it is 0-12 hours late; a full-letter grade for ½-2 days late; two letter grades for 3-5 days late. Assignments more than five days overdue will not be accepted. Immersion essays will not be accepted after posted submission date. Zaffos, NR 400/ p4
Academic Integrity: The Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship takes academic integrity seriously. At minimum, academic integrity means that no one will use another's work as their own. The CSU writing center defines plagiarism to be: Plagiarism is the unauthorized or unacknowledged use of another person's academic or scholarly work. Done on purpose, it is cheating. Done accidentally, it is no less serious. Regardless of how it occurs, plagiarism is a theft of intellectual property and a violation of an ironclad rule demanding "credit be given where credit is due." Source: (Writing Guides: Understanding Plagiarism. http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=17) If you plagiarize in your work you could lose credit for the plagiarized work, fail the assignment, or fail the course. Each instance of plagiarism, classroom cheating, and other types of academic dishonesty will be addressed according to the principles published in the CSU General Catalog (under Academic Integrity/Misconduct: http://catalog.colostate.edu/general-catalog/policies/students-responsibilities/.) Academic integrity also involves doing your own reading and studying. It includes regular class attendance, careful consideration of all class materials, and engagement with the class and your fellow students. Academic integrity lies at the core of our common goal: to create an intellectually honest and rigorous community. Because academic integrity, and the personal and social integrity of which academic integrity is an integral part, is so central to our mission as students, teachers, scholars, and citizens, we will ask to you sign the CSU Honor Pledge as part of completing all of our major assignments. While you will not be required to sign the honor pledge, I may ask each of you to write and sign the following statement on your papers and exams: "I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance." Disability Access: CSU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need accommodations must first contact Resources for Disabled Students before requesting accommodations from the professor. Resources for Disabled Students (RDS; http://rds.colostate.edu/home) is located in room 100 of the General Services Building. Their phone is (970) 491-6385 (V/TDD). Students who need accommodations in this course must contact the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss needed accommodations. Religious Accommodation: Participation in official University activities, e.g., an out-of-town athletic event, or special religious observances may provide a legitimate reason for an excused absence. The student is responsible for discussing this with the instructor at the beginning of the semester. Title IX Information CSU s Student Sexual Harassment and Violence policy, following national guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, requires that faculty follow CSU policy as a mandatory reporter of any personal disclosure of sexual harassment, abuse, and/or violence related experiences or incidents shared with the faculty member in person, via email, and/or in classroom papers or homework exercises. These disclosures include but are not limited to reports of personal relational abuse, relational/domestic violence, and stalking. While faculty are often able to help students locate appropriate channels of assistance on campus (e.g., see the CSU Health Network link below), disclosure by the student to the faculty member requires that the faculty member inform appropriate CSU channels to help ensure that the student s safety and welfare is being addressed, even if the student requests that the disclosure not be shared. Non-Discrimination Statement Colorado State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or pregnancy. The University complies with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, related Executive Orders 11246 and 11375, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, and all civil rights laws of the State of Colorado. Accordingly, equal opportunity of employment and admission shall be extended to all persons. The University shall promote equal opportunity and treatment in employment through a positive and continuing affirmative action program for ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans. The Office of Equal Opportunity is located in 101 Student Services, and this statement is online at http://oeo.colostate.edu/non-discrimination-statement. Zaffos, NR 400/ p5
Month Day Lecture Topics Readings & Assignments Group/ Recitation AUG 22 Syllabus & course overview / Read syllabus Group project introduction PR definitions, roles & concepts 24 Group problem solving Jacobson: Intro and Ch. 1/ Jacobson: Ch. 7 (p207-224)/ Class Survey (link on Canvas) 29 Writing on natural resources (for Group selection people) 31 Situation analysis: Missions and Jacobson, Ch. 2 SWOT SEP 5 NO CLASS LABOR DAY NO RECITATION 7 Publics & Audience segmentation Jacobson, Ch. 3; Climate Change in the American Mind, (Canvas) 12 14 Diversity in natural resources communications PR research methods & case studies Diversity readings & Implicit Association Test via Canvas Jacobson, Ch. 4-5 Mission/ work plan AND Research & Audience wrkshts (Both DUE next lab) 19 Goals & Objectives / Communications Jacobson, Ch. 6 & leadership strategies & actions 21 Strategies & actions (continued) 26 Speaker TBA 28 TEST #1 OCT 3 Messaging & sticky ideas Canvas readings (tentative) SWOT Revision worksheet 5 Written media and communications Jacobson, Ch. 8 10 Visual media Jacobson, Ch. 9 Situation And Audience 12 Interpretive materials Analysis Papers DUE Goals, etc. worksheet (DUE next lab) 17 Social media use & engagement Speaker: Rob Novak, WCNR Media Breakdown worksheet 19 Evaluations & Monitoring Jacobson, Ch. 11 24 Presentations & meetings 26 Working with media/ science communications SPEAKER: TBA 31 Conflict resolution and management Jacobson, Ch. 7 (p224-239) Deliverables first draft DUE NOV 2 SPEAKERS: Kristin Powell & Bridget Clark, City of Fort Collins Natural Last day to submit Immersion idea Presentation planning worksheet Areas 7 Crisis management and response Readings via Canvas?? Action calendar worksheet 9 SPEAKER: TBA (DUE next lab) 14 Environmental ethics/ Catch-up day 16 Test #2 Immersion essays (EC) DUE 21 NO CLASS FALL RECESS 23 NO CLASS FALL RECESS 28 Group presentations 30 Group presentations Readings via Canvas DEC 5 Group presentations FINAL PLAN & 7 Group presentations Group evaluations/ wrap-up DELIVERABLES DUE, DEC 5, 5:00PM, WAGAR 209 All dates and assignments are tentative, and can be changed at the discretion of the professor. Zaffos, NR 400/ p6