Policies

Email

Email me early and often! However, please note that I generally don’t respond to email on evenings or weekends. You can reach me at mposner@humnet.ucla.edu.

Meeting with me

I’m always happy to meet with you. Please use my appointment-booker to grab a slot. Generally, I’m available on Mondays and Fridays. If you absolutely can’t find a time on my calendar, please email me so we can work something out.

Where is the reading?

You’ll find your reading in one of two places.

  1. If it is freely available on the web, it’s linked directly from the reading schedule.
  2. If I can’t link to it, it will be posted in our class’s BruinLearn site, under the appropriate week.

How do I turn things in?

You turn things in via BruinLearn, using the assignment listed under the appropriate week. If for some reason you don’t see the assignment, please let me know ASAP.

Attendance

We only meet once a week, so we have a lot to get done in each class! While I don’t take attendance, it’s really important you try to miss as few classes as possible. Classes will be recorded and posted to BruinLearn so that you can catch up if necessary.

Late work

Please let me know ASAP if you suspect a deadline won’t work for you. We can talk about it. There are a few things we’ll need to take into consideration, including whether this has become a pattern that we need to address, whether it’s realistic to meet a later deadline in addition to all other upcoming deadlines, and whether I can work a later deadline into my grading schedule.

Syllabus changes

I want to keep the class relevant to your needs and interests as they evolve, so there is some possibility that the readings or assignments may change over the course of the quarter. I will always let you know about changes as soon as I possibly can.

Recording

I will be recording our discussions, so that you can go back and refer to them later. But I will not make those recordings publicly available. Instead, I’ll place them on our password-protected BruinLearn site, within the file for the appropriate week.

Accessibility

I take accessibility seriously. I am by no means an expert (I may need your help), but every time I teach I learn something new about how best to accommodate students. I aim to teach in accordance with universal design principles, which treat accessibility not as an add-on, but as a core function that makes the experience better for everyone.

Here is UCLA’s recommended accessibility statement, which I endorse: Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Accessible Education (CAE) at (310)825-1501 or in person at Murphy Hall A255. When possible, students should contact the CAE within the first two weeks of the term as reasonable notice is needed to coordinate accommodations.

In addition to CAE accommodations, I am willing to work with you to accommodate other accessibility needs. Online learning is new to us all, and I will likely need your help to co-design accommodations, but I am happy to do so; just get in touch.

Life stuff

You don’t need me to tell you that these are incredibly stressful times. UCLA maintains a centralized list of resources available for students in need. UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services is open and providing all services through telehealth. You may also wish to be aware of free crisis counseling hotlines. For financial emergencies, UCLA can offer short-term loans as well as a range of other services for students experiencing economic crisis.

Many of my students have experienced crisis while in my class; you would not be the first and need not feel shame. I am not trained to, and cannot, provide counseling. But if something in your life is interfering with your ability to complete your work for me, it is very helpful if you tell me that this is the case. Together, we can develop a plan to help you successfully complete the class.