Course Syllabus

CEE 6800 – Course Syllabus

Civil & Environmental Engineering Departmental Seminar        
CEE 6800 Sylabus Spring 2024.pdf   

Instructors:
Jim Bay (Structures, Transportation, Geotech; jim.bay@usu.edu)                                           

Sierra Young (Water and Environmental sierra.young@usu.edu)

Kyle  Moor (Water and Environmental kyle.moor@usu.edu)

Class Delivery Method & Hours. Face to Face. Thursday [4:30-5:20 PM]

Locations:

ENGR 108 (Combined CEE Seminars; Water and Environmental)

ENGR 106 (Combined Structures, Transportation, Geotech)

ENGR 201 (Transportation)

ENGR 205 (Geotech)

Seminar Overview and Objectives.

Overview. The departmental seminar is intended to provide an opportunity to broaden your understanding and exposure to a variety of topics within and adjacent to engineering that are not covered within a classroom setting. This seminar provides exposure to a broad variety of disciplinary topics presented by researchers, consultants, governmental organizations, NGOs, etc. It is also intended to bring different CEE programs together and illustrate the overlap between Structures, Geotech, Transportation, Water, and Environmental programs.

Objectives. At the end of this seminar students should be able to listen to a presentation and distill how the information presented relates to and/or expands their understanding of engineering and the sciences.

• Students will be able to formulate a concise personalized summary of presented material.
• Students will be able to determine aspects of effective presentations and integrate those effective components into a short presentation.

Course Schedule.

The schedule is posted at CEEseminar.usu.edu and on the class Canvas page. Please note that there are weeks where all programs will be in the same room and weeks where individual programs will meet in separate rooms.

Assignments, Expectations, and Grading Policy

Assignments & Presentations – All assignments should be done on a computer and submitted as a single PDF. Good organization and formatting are required. The course assignments consist of 10 write ups and 1 lightning presentation. A passing grade for seminar will be given for attending 12/14 seminars, the submission of 10 write ups and the one presentation.

Write ups – Your write up will take the form of an abstract or executive summary with a strict word count between 80-150 words. Each write up must answer the following questions: (1) What is the seminar about?, (2) What are the seminar speaker’s qualifications or expertise, or put another way why should we trust this information?, (3) How does the presentation relate to and broaden your research, career, or classroom experience?, and (4) What does the seminar information mean for society?

The ability to write a personalized informative and brief summary is an important communication skill that you will be asked to do throughout your career. Use this seminar and assignment as an opportunity to hone and practice this skill. We will provide feedback on your write ups to encourage you to improve throughout the course. You must figure out how each seminar is relevant to your career or research, answers that ignore this component will be returned for resubmission without credit. Mastering this skill, will allow you to effectively engage with others throughout your career, because you now can understand how to relate ‘what you do’ to ‘what they do’.

Presentation – All enrolled students will be required to present a brief presentation consisting of a minimal number of slides. The time limit on the presentation will be strictly enforced and your slides must be submitted to the instructor by Friday before the assigned presentation day. The time limit will be determined based on the number of enrolled students but will be no more than 5 minutes. The presentation should be about your research or career subject. This assignment may be dropped at the instructors discretion.

Due dates & Late assignments – All written assignments are due on Friday following the seminar at 11:59 pm. Unexcused late assignments will not be accepted. The submission time on Canvas is the official clock for this course, if you are unsure about the due date of an assignment contact the instructor prior to the due date. If canvas is inoperable, email your assignment to the instructor and then resubmit it to canvas when the technical issue is resolved. If you anticipate turning an assignment in late, notify the instructor prior to the due date and time. In many cases no penalty will be applied so long as you submit your work on a reasonable timeline, but you must communicate early and effectively.

Communication

A key component of the modern workforce and being a successful researcher is timely communication between you, your team/mentor, your client and/or your funder. Timely communication is also key in this course, if you anticipate turning an assignment in late contact the instructor prior to the assigned due date.

Email – In all email communication with the instructors, please include the course number CEE6800 at the start of your subject line (this allows us to find your emails faster). Where relevant in the body of the email include: your question or problem, what you think might be a potential direction forward, and any other information you feel is pertinent. More information is appreciated and allows us to address questions more efficiently.

Course Delivery Method & Absences

This seminar is offered as a face-to-face course and you are required to sign in for your attendance to count. You will receive the greatest benefit from this seminar by attending in person and interacting with your classmates, faculty, and invited speakers. You will be excused from attending seminar 2 times during the semester. Any other absences will need prior approval from the course instructor. Please do not attend class if you are ill or feeling unwell. You will still be expected to complete the assignments, however, you will not be penalized for a late submission. Please contact the instructor for your program if there are extenuating circumstances that need to be considered.

IF YOU ARE SICK, PLEASE STAY HOME. CONTACT YOUR PROGRAM INSTRUCTOR AND THEY WILL WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE UP THE MISSED SEMINAR.

Academic Integrity - "The Honor System"

The University expects that students and faculty alike maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University (Student Conduct) addresses academic integrity and honesty and notes the following:

Academic Integrity: Students have a responsibility to promote academic integrity at the University by not participating in or facilitating others' participation in any act of academic dishonesty and by reporting all violations or suspected violations of the Academic Integrity Standard to their instructors.

The Honor Pledge: To enhance the learning environment at Utah State University and to develop student academic integrity, each student agrees to the following Honor Pledge: "I pledge, on my honor, to conduct myself with the foremost level of academic integrity". Violations of the Academic Integrity Standard (academic violations) include, but are not limited to cheating, falsification, and plagiarism

Ethics – Familiarize yourself with Student Code Article V – University Regulations Regarding Student Conduct (see section V-3) and the ASCE code of ethics. As engineers or future engineers, you will be expected to meet the ASCE standards.

• Student Code Article V – https://www.usu.edu/student-conduct/student-code/article5
• ASCE code of ethics – https://www.asce.org/career-growth/ethics/code-of-ethics

All cases violating USU’s academic integrity policy will result in the submission of a formal Academic Integrity Violation form and referred to the college. The process is time consuming, serious, and not fun.

A note on course ethics – Grading of assignments, reports, and projects is a time consuming and serious undertaking. As such, academic integrity is of the utmost importance. We ask you to take your academic integrity seriously. We understand that learning new concepts or unclear concepts can sometimes be challenging with the limited time that we all have, and that you may get frustrated. However, before making the decision to pursue alternate options (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, AI writing tools), please contact us. We will do our best to help you identify resources in compliance with our code of conduct and help you achieve success.

Seminar etiquette – Please arrive to seminar on time each day prepared to learn. Every seminar has something that can be learned from it, however, what you gain from seminar will depend on your ability to extract information. Please silence cell phones prior to class, and refrain from non-class related activities. If you must respond to email, take a call, or write a text, please excuse yourself from seminar. You may utilize your computer to take notes, however, there are those among the faculty who will frown upon this practice and developing or relearning the ability to take meaningful notes from which you can write a cogent summary is a worthy skill to add to your toolbelt.

Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct

USU strives to provide an environment for students and employees that is free from discrimination and sexual misconduct. If you experience sexual misconduct or discrimination at any point during the semester inside or outside of class, you are encouraged to contact the USU Title IX Coordinator via Old Main room 161 in Logan, 435-797-1266, titleix@usu.edu, or at equity.usu.edu/report. You can learn more about the USU resources available for individuals who have experienced sexual misconduct at sexualrespect.usu.edu. Resources for individuals who have experienced discrimination are listed at equity.usu.edu.

Required Reporting of Sexual Misconduct

Instructors are designated by USU as a "reporting employee." This means that if you share information about sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship violence, or sex-based stalking) with me, the instructor will report that information to the USU Title IX Coordinator. The instructors are also required to tell you about designated confidential resources, supportive measures, and how you can file a report with the USU Title IX Coordinator.

 Students with Disabilities

USU welcomes students with disabilities. If you have, or suspect you may have, a physical, mental health, or learning disability that may require accommodations in this course, please contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) as early in the semester as possible (University Inn # 101, 435‐797‐2444, drc@usu.edu). All disability related accommodations must be approved by the DRC. Once approved, the DRC will coordinate with faculty to provide accommodations. Alternate format materials (Braille, large print or digital) are available with advance notice.

 Mental Health

Mental health is critically important for the success of USU students. As a student, you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. Utah State University provides free services for students to assist them with addressing these and other concerns. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Students are also encouraged to download the “SafeUT App” to their smartphones. The SafeUT application is a 24/7 statewide crisis text and tip service that provides real-time crisis intervention to students through texting and a confidential tip program that can help anyone with emotional crises, bullying, relationship problems, mental health, or suicide related issues.