Course Description: This s course provides students with the opportunity to study the nature and scope of career transition for athletes by working with professionals currently working with active and former college or professional athletes. Students will (1) review or participate in a case study on athlete transition, (2) integrate existing and emerging technology into a final product designed to help athletes in transition, (3) focus on best-practices for career counseling and career transition events (e.g. job fairs, workshops, networking events, etc., and (4) develop critical thinking, group discussion and presentation skills.
Process of Evaluation: Final grading will be determined by student performance as outlined below. Curving a final grade for the entire cohort is at the instructor’s discretion.
Class Participation 140
Exercises 160
Annotated Bibliography Presentation 200
Exams (3 x 100*) 300
Final Project 200
Total 1,000
Grades will be assigned as follows: A=90% and above; B=80%; C=70%; D=60%
Textbook : Counseling Adults in Transition: Linking Practice with Theory. 3rd Edition; Springer Publishing Company; Goodman, Schlossberg & Anderson, 2006.
Attendance: Distance learning lectures are required for this course. Lectures are designed to enhance students understanding of relevant material. A record of online attendance will documented through a verified user login procedure. Course exams are based solely on online lectures and the class textbook—failure to participate in online class on a regular basis is very likely to lead to poor performance in the class. Pop quizzes may occur during online lecture.
Email: Professor will often use e-mail to communicate important course information. Student is responsible for having a valid email address and providing the address to the professor the first week of class.
Grammar/Writing Component: Student ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing is vital to course success, work experience and career long-term career trajectory. Proper written communication will be emphasized in all class assignments, presentations and correspondence throughout this course. Ten common mistakes (or “fatal flaws”) have been identified in writing: misspelled words, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, erroneous capitalizations, incorrect punctuation, mistakes in verb tense or subject/verb agreement, improper citations, incorrect word usage, awkward writing, and lack of conformity with assignment format.
Student Responsibility: If you miss an online lecture for any reason, it is your responsibility to get the lecture notes from a classmate. Professor will not go over the lectures individually if student misses the online lecture.
Nature of Exams: Exams will cover material drawn directly from the course lectures and class exercises. In general, some exam questions are designed to assess your understanding of fundamental concepts while others are intended to challenge students to apply material learned to a real-world scenario. Therefore, in order to perform well in the exams, you need to know key concepts and understand how they apply to career transition.
Make-Up Exams: Students may drop their lowest exam score, no make-up exams will be given.
Annotated Bibliography Presentation: Student must submit an APA style annotated bibliography with ten citations related to career transition. Student will lead online a PowerPoint presentation that incorporates key terms, concepts and implications for athlete transition. Students will be graded on the following;
- communication/presentation of material
- content
- professionalism
The lecture should also facilitate a classroom discussion on:
- research presented
- major findings of the authors
- relevance of the content to current trends and topics
Final Project : Student must (a) schedule a shadowing experience with an amateur or professional sports organization in the functional area they are most interested in working or arrange to shadow an athlete, (b) shadow at least five four-hour days, and (c) journal daily reflections. The final journal must be submitted with a (1) cover page, (2) a summary of the shadowing experience, and (3) five dated journal entries ranging between 100 and 200 words per entry.
Technology: Student must have access to a computer with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Professor and student recognize that advances in technology may allow for the development of technologically innovative methods of instruction. The term distance learning as used herein refers to instruction where the teacher and the student are separated geographically so that face-to-face communication is absent; communication is accomplished instead by one or more technological media. This communication consists of live or recorded visual presentations and material using direct signal or cable, transmission by telephone line, fiber-optic line, digital and/or analog videotape, audiotape, CD-ROM, computer or internet technology, email or other electronic means, now known or hereafter developed.
Changes to the syllabus: The professor reserves the right to modify this syllabus, if necessary, but will make every effort to avoid any changes and will give prior notice of any modifications.
Academic Integrity Policy: We are committed to the maintenance of the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. This level of ethical behavior and integrity will be maintained in this course. Participating in a behavior that violates academic integrity (e.g., unauthorized collaboration on homework or assignments, plagiarism, multiple submissions of the same assignment, cheating on examinations, fabricating information, helping another person cheat, having unauthorized advance access to examinations, altering or destroying the work of others, and fraudulently altering academic records) will result in your being expelled from the course without the ability to earn a passing grade or receive a refund for tuition. Academic integrity revolves around managing the expectations of students and the processor.
Students can expect that the professor will:
- Login on time for every online lecture
- Be prepared to teach and lead classroom discussions
- Be fair and impartial
- Do my best to enhance your learning experience
- Act in a professional manner
- Respect your comments and opinions
- Address your questions and concerns
- Begin and adjourn at the scheduled times
- Return graded assignments/exams promptly
Professor expects that students will:
- Login for online lectures on the specified dates and times
- Read and be prepared to discuss all assigned readings
- Actively participate in classroom discussions
- Respect and be courteous to your peers and myself
- Turn in completed assignments on time
- Perform to the fullest of your abilities
- Be honest and display academic integrity
- Actively participate in all learning activities and online lectures
- Ask questions when something is unclear
Important Terms and Definitions