This course will use a contract grading system. Instead of me assigning you a grade of A, B, etc. on assignments, you will commit to completing a certain number of assignments at a level I consider satisfactory for graduate work. Just as with professional academics submitting their work to a journal for publication, I may accept your assignment on first submission or I might ask you to “revise and resubmit” until the results are satisfactory.
In the first 2 weeks of the class, you will fill out the contract form or email me with your desired grade for the semester and your commitment to fulfilling the requirements to receive that grade. You must contract with me for one of the grades below. If you do not submit a contract I will assume you are contracting for a B+.
Contract for an A
To receive an A, you must contract to
1. productively and actively participate in the course each week at an A level (see https://2026hist696.jessicaotis.com/assignments/)
2. complete all required modules and at least 3 optional modules
3. complete all 10 required module blog posts at a satisfactory level
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for an A-
To receive an A-, you must contract to
1.productively and actively participate in the course each week at an A level (see https://2026hist696.jessicaotis.com/assignments/)
2. complete all required modules and at least 2 optional modules
3. complete at least 9 required module blog posts at a satisfactory level
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for a B+
1. productively and actively participate in the course each week at an B level (see https://2026hist696.jessicaotis.com/assignments/)
2. complete all required modules and at least 1 optional module
3. complete at least 8 required module blog posts at a satisfactory level
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Contract for a B
1. productively and actively participate in the course each week at an B level (see https://2026hist696.jessicaotis.com/assignments/)
2. complete all required modules
3. complete at least 7 required module blog posts at a satisfactory level
4. complete all elements of the class project (environmental scan, work plan, presentation, project, and reflection paper) at a satisfactory level
Other Grades
For students who go “above and beyond” in their course participation and/or assignments, I will award an extra 1/3 of a letter grade from their base contract (e.g. taking a B+ to an A-). For students who complete the technical parts of their contracts, but don’t productively and actively participate in the course community, I will subtract 1/3 of a letter grade from their base contract (taking a B+ to a B).
I will not contract with students for lower grades. Grades of B- and below are reserved for students who fail to complete one or more of the B level requirements for this course.