Writing Component:

Northern Oklahoma College is committed to helping students improve their writing skills.  The college expects all courses to contain a writing component as part of the evaluation of student progress.  We expect students to produce written work that is focused, well developed, organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors. 

 Use of Cell Phones & Electronic Devices:

The use of cell phones, palm pilots, walkie-talkies, pagers, cameras, or other communication devices will not be permitted during in-session classes at Northern Oklahoma College.  Because of safe-campus policies and the text messaging system, cell phones may be allowed by your instructor to be set to “silent” or “vibrate” and used only for emergencies so that our emergency text alert system can be employed if needed.  (Alternately instructors may indicate that they will have a cell phone accessible for any text messaging alerts so that they can require students to have phones turned off and put away.)  In the event a student is caught using an electronic device of any nature during exams, quizzes, or other confidential circumstances, the student will receive a zero grade for that portion of the coursework.

The use of laptop computers is permissible in Northern Oklahoma College classes only upon prior approval by the specific instructor for that course.  Any use of laptop computers or any other similar learning aids that are used in a dishonest manner by the student will result in forfeiture of the privilege to use such items in class and the student will receive a zero grade for that portion of the coursework.

It will be at the discretion of NOC to determine additional consequences, which can include removal from the course and/or removal from the institution for the dishonest act or acts.  (Refer to the NOC Student Handbook for additional information.)

         Assessment of Student Learning:

Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning.  It involves making the course objectives measurable and explicit.  It is our intent to systematically measure the process of student learning within each course being taught at Northern, by setting appropriate high standards for learning quality and interpreting evidence to determine how well student performance matches the course objectives and standards, then utilizing the resulting information to improve student performance.  Assessment of each student’s learning within the class will be conducted at least every two weeks or six hours of class.

The following examples are measures that will provide evidence of student learning: written and oral assignments and projects, unit, chapter, mid-term, and comprehensive examinations, pre- and post-tests, quizzes, competency based projects, observation of student behavior, internally and externally juried reviews, portfolios, internships, case studies, research papers, journals, essays, large and small group projects, one on one communications between faculty and students, standardized or national licensure tests, capstone projects, student satisfaction surveys, national standardized tests, employer surveys on the quality of program graduates, and others.

Identification of Student Learning Styles:

The Northern faculty believes that all students should have the opportunity to learn in an environment conducive to their dominant learning style.  It is our goal to provide diverse pedagogy within each course to address the identified learning styles for the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.