Syllabus
Course Description:
The course is designed to provide an examination and discussion of ethical, managerial and moral issues related to individuals who work and participate in the area of sport and physical activity. A primary focus of this course will be significant social issues involving interpersonal, small group, and mass communication as applied to youth, collegiate, and professional sports. Topics include race and ethnicity, gender and masculine hegemony, sports fandom and fan identification, communication between athletes and parents, communication between coaches and athletes, fantasy sports and sports gaming, crisis communication in sports, and social media in sports.
This course is required for the Sports Communication certificate, and also serves as an elective for all communication bachelor’s degree paths.
Required Materials:
APA 7th Manual Made Easy
Sports Ethics for Sports Management Professionals (2nd ed.)
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able:
- To identify, explain and discuss a variety of ethical and multicultural societal implications in sport.
- To reflect on their personal and professional ethical orientation.
- To demonstrate informed ethical decisions through the application of various decision-making models.
- To compare and contrast selected past and present sport ethics, diversity and management issues.
- To distinguish the relationship between sport participation, sportsmanship, gamesmanship, and character development.
- To recognize gender and racial equity issues when applied to sport programs.
- To examine the development of various cultural and individual racial identities through sport.
- To examine issues of sexual orientation within sports.
- To examine the relationship between violence and aggression in sport.
- To discover ethical and sport management issues associated with performance enhancing drugs.
- To differentiate ethical and sport management issues associated with the commercialization of sport as it relates to youth, school, collegiate, and professional sport.
- To evaluate ethical and sport management issues related to individuals with disabilities.
- To identify ethical and management issues confronting youth and scholastic sport.
- To identify ethical and sport management issues associated with sports training and competition.
Student Responsibilities:
As this is an online course your attendance will be measured by your participation and completion of course activities.
Because we are trying to simulate a realistic work environment in this course, late work will not be accepted. All work is due on the day indicated on the course calendar. Late assignments are not acceptable in this course and will receive a grade of zero.
This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and to attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam. It will be up to you to complete all readings, learning assessments, videos, quizzes, and exams on your own. Every assignment in this course is designed to take multiple hours and test your knowledge of the week’s readings, so please don’t think you can get everything done on a Saturday night.
Assignments:
In order to accomplish the diverse learning objectives of this course, a variety of assignments will be utilized. Some of these assignments will include the following:
Position Papers: Every two weeks you will write a position 2-4 page paper on a topic we’ve been discussing in class. A position paper presents an arguable opinion about a topic. The goal of a position paper is to convince the audience (me) that your opinion is valid and worth listening to. These papers will be written in APA 7, including a title page, an introduction, a conclusion, and a references page. More details can be found on Canvas.
Discussion Boards: I know everyone hates them, but when used effectively, discussion boards are a very useful tool to facilitate learning. Occasionally, you will be required to post your thoughts on a discussion board and “reply to two of your classmates’ posts.”
Quizzes: Weekly quizzes covering the week’s reading assignments will be be due by midnight on most Wednesdays. Some exceptions will apply.
Exams: There are four exams in the course. All exams are cumulative which means that some information from previous exam material may be included.
Major Projects: You will have two major projects due throughout this course. These will occur during midterms and finals. These projects will be prepared and submitted in a document according to APA 7 style. More details for these assignments can be found on Canvas.
Statements Required in Course Syllabi
Per SUU Policy 6.36
ATTENDANCE & COVID-19:
Website: https://www.suu.edu/coronavirus/
The following are general guidelines for the classroom environment.
– Class Attendance is Required:If you are registered for a Face-to-Face, Synchronous Remote, or Hybrid course, attendance is required. If you are ill or instructed to isolate or quarantine, you may request a faculty member record the class and share it with you or you may request other reasonable accommodations. Your instructor will work with you to develop a plan for completing coursework while you are isolated/quarantined. In order for you to receive academic accommodations and ensure that your request is communicated to faculty, you must submit this self report form.
– Course delivery modalities are posted online for each course, but may be modified in response to emerging COVID conditions: SUU is employing every effort to maintain a learning environment that is engaging and safe. The course modality listed when you registered for courses should remain for the semester; however, due to COVID conditions, the delivery of modality for a specific course may change during the semester. Normally, these changes will be short term (possibly the length of a quarantine or isolation time period), or in some cases longer. When such a modification is needed, faculty members will work with their department chair and/or dean and the students to maintain an effective learning environment.
ZOOM ETIQUETTE:
If your instructor utilizes the Zoom online conference system, you will need to have a way to communicate (a webcam, a microphone, a smartphone/landline, or using chat within the Zoom app). We will adopt the same rules and norms as in a physical classroom (take notes; participate by asking and answering questions; wear classroom-ready clothing). For everyone’s benefit, please:
– Join the course in a quiet, distraction free location;
– Be aware of your background if you have video enabled;
– Mute your microphone or phone unless you are speaking;
– Close browser tabs and software not required for participating in class; and
– Remember that SUU classes are in the Mountain Time zone. The success of this class will depend on the same commitment to learning we all typically bring to the physical classroom.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.
ADA STATEMENT:
Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services. If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STATEMENT:
In case of emergency, the University’s Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University’s emergency management plan can be found at http://www.suu.edu/emergency.
HEOA COMPLIANCE STATEMENT:
For a full set of HigherEducation Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visithttps://www.suu.edu/heoa.The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found athttps://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan. You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:
Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor. (optional)SUUSA STATEMENT:As a student at SUU, you have representation from the SUU Student Association (SUUSA) which advocates for student interests and helps work as a liaison between the students and the university administration. You can submit T-Bird Squawks feedback by going to https://www.suu.edu/suusa/voice. Likewise, you can learn more about SUUSA’s Executive Council at https://www.suu.edu/suusa/executive-counciland about all of SUUSA’s Student Senators at https://www.suu.edu/suusa/senate.
Hayden Coombs 