100 Making of the Christian Mind DUE BY JULY 9TH MIDNIGHT EASTERN TIME

Mission Statement:
Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

Regent University

College Of Arts and Sciences

MAKING OF THE SPIRITUAL MIND

GENE 100 (3 credit hours)

Summer, 2017 Session D

June 19 – August 12 (8 weeks)

Online

Instructor: Michael Lucas, M.Div.

Location: Virginia Beach

Office hours: Online

Phone: 757-560-4574

Fax:

Email: [email protected]

[I will work to respond to email and phone in real time, and will reply within 24 hours. Extended or specific consultation by appointment.]

1. The student will be able to apply principles of effective communication.

2. The student will apply mathematical concepts and methods to solve problems and communicate solutions.

3. The student will be able formulate and apply a Biblical-Christian worldview.

4. The student will be able to evaluate the humanities and science from a Biblical-Christian perspective.

5. The student will be able to evaluate leadership from a Biblical-Christian perspective.

Mission: Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

Below are the examples—as appropriate—of how this course supports the mission.

1. Biblical Perspective: GENE 100 promotes a Christian understanding of human flourishing by providing biblical answers to the questions of “Who is God,” “What is a human being,” and “What is good, true and beautiful?” Students are taught that a flourishing person is one who “Cherishes Character,” “Challenges Culture,” and “Serves the World.”

2. Global Context: This course is premised on the understanding that the truth of the Scriptures applies to all cultures and periods of time. However, truth is applied to unique situations and contexts. Cherishing character is a universal goal as ethics is transcendent and is based on the character of God as good, holy, and loving. Christians are called to challenge whatever culture in which they find themselves. Truth can be discovered and objectively known, and the Holy Scripture, which is the Word of God, stands as the final authority of truth. Students are encouraged to serve the world through redemptive love and godly obedience.

Course Learning Outcomes (with match to Program Outcomes)

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Identity the attributes of God and the characteristics of human beings.

2. Understand importance of Christian formation.

3. Evaluate contemporary American culture and Christianity’s role in it.

4. Develop biblical answers to the enduring questions of humanity.

5. Analyze a contemporary problem and formulate a Christian solution.

Course Objectives (specific tasks/assignments with match to CLOs)

GENE 100 The Making of the Christian Mind promotes a Christian understanding of human flourishing by providing biblical answers to the questions of “Who is God,” “What is a human being,” and “What is good, true and beautiful?” Here at Regent, we believe that a flourishing person is one who “Cherishes Character,” “Challenges Culture,” and “Serves the World.”

Attendance Policy (College of Arts & Sciences)

Regent University recognizes the importance of class attendance and participation for students’ learning. While attendance alone does not guarantee learning, engagement with the class through regular attendance and participation is essential to learning, both to the individual student and to the class itself as all benefit by others’ contributions. At Regent University, class attendance, understood as the act of being present, is considered to be separate from participating in the class, understood as active engagement through discussion and other forms of interaction. Both are valuable to student learning.

Like other institutions of higher education, Regent University is required to maintain accurate attendance records by the U.S. Department of Education. Attendance is tracked weekly. For any week (7 days) in which a student does not attend class or, for online courses, participate in academic activities for the course in Blackboard, the student will be marked absent in the Blackboard grade book. The standard by which a final date of attendance in the class is measured will be the last date on which the online student engages in academic activity for the course in Blackboard or the on-campus student attends the on-campus class for a course, whichever is more recent. “Academic activity” includes submitting an assignment, taking an exam or tutorial, engaging in computer-assisted instruction, participating in online discussion about academic matters, or initiating contact with a faculty member to discuss academic matters concerning the course. Students should be aware that this date could affect their financial aid and financial obligations.

Normally, expectations for participation—such as those for quality work in the group discussions (including those in Blackboard)--differ from the minimal requirements for attendance. Thus, at the instructor's discretion, a student who is present or absent might lose participation points.   Instructors determine whether students may gain back lost participation points (for example, through additional work).   Students should be aware that instructors follow their posted policy for receiving late work from students. Work turned in late (papers, discussion board posts, etc.) could result in the loss of participation points or other components of the final course grade. Instructors are responsible to maintain accurate records regarding attendance and to follow course policies for grading student work, including students’ participation. Students are responsible to attend and participate in class and to follow campus policies.

Blackboard Requirements

Blackboard has four primary purposes in our courses: (1) to provide a means for students to receive timely information about the course in general, assignments, grades, and announcements from the instructor; (2) to promote thoughtful interaction between the instructor and students and among students themselves as they work through course materials; (3) to provide a means for students to complete quizzes and other forms of evaluation; and (4) to enhance the learning process by providing a variety of materials.

Students are expected to log in to Blackboard and check the Announcements section of Blackboard at least once a week beginning one week before the start of the course. Students must keep their e-mail address current in Blackboard; they are expected to check their Regent e-mail daily to ensure timely receipt of messages from the professor.

For courses with online discussions, they will be posted in Blackboard. See each dialogue for instructions and word counts. The purpose of these parameters is to promote writing that is both thorough and concise. The instructor will post questions and activities weekly. Discussion questions will be posted in advance. Since not everyone will see things identically, students are to review one another’s postings in order to further their insight and learning. This is an important benefit of dialogue.

Note that the expectations for quality work in the Blackboard group discussions differ from the minimal requirements for attendance.

Please check the Start Here link in Blackboard for University Library information and Academic Support information, Blackboard Tutorials and Resources, Academic Honor Code, Writing Styles, Discipline Policies, and Disability Services.

Some basic computer skills you are expected to have mastered before taking an online course include the following: sending and receiving emails, opening or sending an email attachment, searching the Internet, using Microsoft Word and downloading files. Numerous online tutorials are available to teach you how to use Blackboard. When you log into Blackboard, access the RU Resources tab at the top right of your screen.

If you have technical problems with Blackboard and/or are not able to log in, please contact the Help Desk/IT department.  You can e-mail the Help Desk at: [email protected] or call at (757) 352-4076.

Late Assignment Penalties

Quizzes: Quizzes submitted 1-7 days late will receive a 5% reduction. Quizzes submitted 8-14 days late will receive a 10% reduction. Quizzes submitted 14 days late or more will receive a 0%. No work submitted past the last day of the course can be accepted.

Written Assignments: Written Assignments submitted 1-7 days late will receive a 5% reduction. Written Assignments submitted 8-14 days late will receive a 10% reduction. Written Assignments submitted 14 days late or more will receive a 0%. No work submitted past the last day of the course can be accepted.

Dialogue Posts: Due to the time-sensitive nature of dialogue, dialogue posts must be submitted on time.

Required Work Hours

As per Regent University’s Credit Hour policy, 45 hours of total student work are minimally required for each credit hour earned in a course; therefore, you should calculate the average number of work hours per week required by this course (e.g., a 3-credit course lasting 15 weeks requires at least 9 hours per week of student work) in order to give you an approximate understanding of the amount of time you should devote to its requirements. For online, 8 week classes, the student work effort per week is in effect doubled to about 17 hours per week (vs. 9 hours per week for 15-week courses).

Writing

All papers and essays at Regent University must follow the writing style format required by the degree specialty for which they are being written. The student may use any writing style they want but theu must remain consistent throughout each assignment.

SafeAssign™

In order to support students and faculty in reducing plagiarism, the College of Arts & Sciences utilizes SafeAssign™, a plagiarism prevention service offered through Blackboard. SafeAssign™ detects unoriginal content in student assignments and provides an easily identifiable report for faculty to distinguish between original and plagiarized content. This service helps educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers.

College of Arts & Sciences Academic Policies

For additional academic policies, please review the latest college catalog here.

Required and Supplemental Resources

Students are responsible for acquiring the following books and materials for this course by the time the course begins:

The College of Arts & Sciences has partnered with the Regent Bookstore to have textbooks available for purchase for all students, including distance students. Items may be ordered using the secured online catalog found at http://www.cbamatthews.com/regent/.

Additional materials (e.g., PowerPoint files, quizzes, media, and the like) may be found on Blackboard. Students are responsible for the information and materials distributed through Blackboard and, for on-ground students, in class.

Method of Evaluating Student Performance

Grading Scale

The following grading system is followed in the College of Arts & Sciences:

Letter grades indicate the following:

Work of superior quality in all areas. Work displays a mastery of course content at the highest level of attainment appropriate for the undergraduate level: outstanding quality of thought; excellent understanding of the course content and demonstration of skills associated with the course; a creative and critical engagement with the material; and an ability to analyze and evaluate the knowledge and ideas that shows talent for undergraduate work. Work shows practical or personal application of course content in specific assignments, as appropriate. The grade for such work will vary from A to A- according to the quality and quantity of the work.

Strong performance demonstrating a high level of attainment appropriate for the undergraduate level: high quality of thought; solid understanding of the course content and demonstration of skills associated with the course; an engagement with the material that shows good comprehension of the subject; and an ability to analyze and evaluate the knowledge and ideas in the course. Work shows practical or personal application of course content in specific assignments, as appropriate. The grade for such work will vary from B+ to B- according to the quality and quantity of the work.

Satisfactory performance demonstrating an adequate level of attainment appropriate for the undergraduate level: competent quality of thought; acceptable understanding of the course content and demonstration of skills associated with the course; an engagement with the course that shows adequate ability to analyze and evaluate; and adequate comprehension of the subject. Work shows practical or personal application of course content in specific assignments, as appropriate The grade will vary from C+ to C- according to the quality and quantity of the work.

Marginal performance demonstrating a minimal passing level of attainment appropriate for the undergraduate level. The student’s work indicates poor quality of thought and poor comprehension of course content. Work shows practical or personal application of course content in specific assignments, as appropriate.

Unacceptable performance. The student’s work indicates major deficiencies in learning and reveals little or no understanding of course content. This grade denotes either unacceptable performance in spite of some effort, or failure to complete the assigned work.

Course Schedule

This section covers policies related to academic integrity, accommodations, and University policies and procedures.

Christian Foundations of Academic Integrity

Biblical. Regent University affirms the Biblical commandment of “thou shalt not steal” (Ex. 20:15). In the context of academic integrity, this must be understood in the larger framework of “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:39) as well as “render therefore unto Caesar what are Caesar’s; and unto God what are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). Paul writes from this framework of love and respect when he says, “Pay to all what is owed them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Rom. 13:7). Each of these passages conveys the social obligation to respect the dignity of both the personhood and the property of those in society. Paul thus prescribes the biblical standard of honest, hard work as a key to respecting each other’s personhood and property. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul even provides counsel to those who have committed theft, stating, “Let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (4:28). As such, the God of the Bible mandates a higher life than the world requires, a life in which Christians participate in the love and dignity God holds for himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. Indeed, even as Christ honors and acknowledges the will of his Father and the works of his Spirit, so should Christians honor and acknowledge the wills and works of those that provide opportunities to edify their minds and hearts with the knowledge and wisdom of sound scholarship. In doing so, Christians follow the biblical precept of integrity that is founded on love and respect and enables them to learn both from one another and those outside the faith.

Philosophical. Regent University also affirms the necessity of recognizing the classical virtues when deriving a foundation for academic integrity, particularly the virtue of diligence. The virtues dictate that researchers should consider morality first. In other words, one’s sense of expediency must always follow from that which is right, not from that which is convenient. Cicero comments that, in order to act morally, individuals must act in a manner that prevents themselves from being placed in a position where they must choose between convenience and morality, or, stated differently, into a position where they “consider one thing to be right but not expedient, and another to be expedient but not right” (102). The virtues, therefore, require diligence in order to act morally upright—diligence to plan ahead, diligence to rationally consider the context of the moral situation, and diligence to act biblically not just ethically. For that which is ethical to the world is never necessarily moral before Christ. (Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Moral Obligations. Trans. John Higginbotham. London: Faber and Faber LTD, 1967. Print.)

Legal. Finally, Regent University affirms the necessity of equipping students for the reality of functioning within a society bound by laws, including copyright laws. Paul speaks clearly about a Christian’s responsibility to abide by the laws of the land. He concludes that authority is ultimately from God, so believers must work within that God-ordained system (Rom. 13). Thus, in mastering the art and science of proper attribution of sources, students are participating in the Biblical tradition of exhibiting reverence for the divine institute of law as well as giving honor where honor is due.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The policy and intent of Regent University is to fully and completely comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, to the extent that they apply to the university. Regent University will not discriminate against an otherwise qualified student with a disability in the admissions process, or any academic activity or program, including student-oriented services. Regent University will provide reasonable accommodation to the known physical and mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability, unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the university, or unless it would fundamentally alter a degree or course requirement. Qualified students must request reasonable accommodations for disabilities through the Disability Services Coordinator in Student Services. http://www.regent.edu/admin/stusrv/student_life/disabilities.cfm

University Policies and Procedures

For information about student records, privacy, and other University policies and procedures, students are directed to the most recent version of the Student Handbook located at http://www.regent.edu/admin/stusrv/docs/StudentHandbook.pdf

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