Discussion forum on TESU

[LevelUP]

When I did do references, I always did exactly 2 references for forum posts.

Overall I spent, on average, about 30 min total on doing the forum post and replies for regular courses. 

The capstones took a bit more time, so I committed one hour to them, which included the readings.

[origamishuttle]

The capstones took a bit more time, so I committed one hour to them, which included the readings.

Absolutely amazing. We seem to be at two opposite ends of the spectrum. Regardless, I wish you a very well-deserved congratulations on your accomplishments!

[bjcheung77]

Hmm yeah, basically as mentioned - it's like a spectrum, some teachers are on opposite ends when it comes to specific requirements and have variables to their leniency... It really depends on the professor, that is one main reason for checking their reviews from Rate My Professor and then select the one with favorable mentions.  Concentrate on your current course and have that in the back of your mind for your final course, the Capstone.

I've randomly selected any professor that wasn't reviewed as the others were full or weren't teaching that term, and was 'docked' points for very miniscule mistakes which really shouldn't have mattered if it was another professor...  For now, just tough it out and get that Cornerstone complete with as high a grade you can.  When you get up to the Capstone, make sure to review the professors and decide on your top choices, take the courser when they're actually teaching.

[studyingfortests]

I've had points knocked off for both. Once because I made mistakes in my APA references. One week I spent 11 hours total on discussion, including three substantive responses (original, researched, referenced, carefully written), all submitted on time, and I got a 75. That's a whole point off the final grade! Discussion posts may be the hardest part of the course for me. I really wish I could figure out how it's so easy for others.

My SOS110 professor was very easy going. Responsive to questions, and if you made a genuine effort, you got the points.  Students who put "I agree" or something similar for a response got dinged, but anyone who wrote meaningful posts (at least, the ones I spoke to) got 100%.

My LIB495 professor (Augustus Black) was super picky -- he made me a much better APA format writer by the end of the class -- but also very kind, and if you got a bad grade on anything, you could redo it for a better grade. I talked to a number of folks who all had similar results with him.

It sounds like you had an overly picky professor. It's one thing to encourage quality work and reward/support students, and quite another to just give shit scores because it doesn't meet some unreachable standard.

It pays to check ratemyprofessor, and to make sure to note the issues when you evaluate the class/professor.  I don't think TESU wants professors who are going to drive its students away.

[LevelUP]

Adding an extra response (total 3) and 2 references may add around 5-10 min extra work.

In some forum posts in some courses, the way the prompts are doesn't fit doing references. But you could still try to work them in somehow.

If unsure, I would ask the professor to clarify what the requirements are in terms of responses, citations, and length of the post to get a 100% grade.

[origamishuttle]

Adding an extra response (total 3) and 2 references may add around 5-10 min extra work.

I wish there were videos that attempt to break down the mechanics of the techniques used to do this work so incredibly fast. This is literally 30-60 times faster than my slowest response, which earned me a C. Obviously I'm doing something very wrong, so I want to improve whatever I can. I've tried researching articles, discussion forums (here, reddit, etc.), and videos, but I haven't found an explanation for why some people are so fast and some are so slow.

If unsure, I would ask the professor to clarify what the requirements are in terms of responses, citations, and length of the post to get a 100% grade.

I tried to do this too. The response was almost as ambiguous as the initial explanation. I guess I should have switched to another professor at that point.

[LevelUP]

Quote:
Success is like pregnancy. Everybody congratulates you but nobody knows how many times you got fked to achieve it.

As I recall, Studyingfortests got the dreaded C on their paper due to some simple APA mistakes. I had Cruze for my business Capstone, and my APA was sloppy as well, though she only docked me 5 percentage points for it, giving me time to learn from my mistakes, which I corrected a couple of papers later.

Some professors gently correct students for mistakes, while others require academic perfection and will hammer the grades of any students who make critical mistakes, such as not following the prompt/rubric perfectly or not doing APA format correctly.

The worst thing is getting a C and not fully understanding why you received a low grade due to vague feedback.

TESU does have a writing tutor, which I believe you can turn in even forum posts to have them checked for APA or if you followed the prompt accurately. It's a free service, so it's worth trying to get a second set of eyes to look at your work before you turn it in.

[jch]

Usually, they give 100% grades for forum posts. 

I wouldn't think a small grammar or spelling mistake would affect the grade. 

Let us know if you ever receive less than 100% on a forum post and why you got a lower grade.

Forum grading drastically depends on the mentor and course. I agree that introductory and lower-level courses tend to be quite lenient. Also, quite a few mentors don't spend much time looking at discussions, simply giving full points to anything that seems decent. However, not everything is that way. 
My business capstone with Anthony Campo last year was one such example. I spent several hours each week crafting detailed multi-paragraph posts with many proper APA references and citations and then greatly surpassed the required number of substantial replies. Still, I rarely received a perfect 100% on my discussions. The mentor wanted a level of detail and source integration that wasn't feasible to do. He specifically looked for references or other linked resources in replies as well as initial posts. 
I've also seen peers admonished for academic integrity violations in discussions, though it happens rarely. Unlike the system for assignments, TESU lacks any visible anti-plagiarism detection on discussions. Some students take advantage of this hole by copying and pasting the first semi-relevant Google result, formatting and all. Though these posts are usually easy to spot, offenders seem to get away with the practice for a surprisingly long time. Eventually, someone notices and the student faces some consequences.

[RJ77]

The rubric does mention references:
"...your response is factually correct and substantive, with relevant references and examples and a clear connection to the readings."

And some professors interpret this as meaning three substantive replies is minimum:
"...meet or exceed minimum requirement for replying to classmates..."

I've had points knocked off for both. Once because I made mistakes in my APA references. One week I spent 11 hours total on discussion, including three substantive responses (original, researched, referenced, carefully written), all submitted on time, and I got a 75. That's a whole point off the final grade! Discussion posts may be the hardest part of the course for me. I really wish I could figure out how it's so easy for others.

11 hours on a discussion is insane. I'm glad I never had that mentor. Out of the 11 online classes that I've taken at TESU, I don't think I've ever spent more than 20 minutes on a discussion post, or the required 2 responses to classmates.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm... Discussion posts should technically be brownie points for the majority of professors, however, having said that... there are a few professors (at TESU and other institutions) where they treat it more as a requirement. I've seen professors use discussions for separating the ones who deserve a higher grade versus the ones who should get an assigned grade due to their 'other' graded requirements for the course. It all depends on that instructor!

Prospective students really need to review their course info and potential professors, also check the ratemyprofessor or other review sites to see how the professor is reviewed. Those who like a challenge and don't mind a lower letter grade, go crazy, do what ever you want... sometimes the easiest/fastest way to get there is best with the least amount of pushback from a professor. Basically, I just follow whatever the rubric is within each assignment.