Rick,
yes, exactly & I personally like the idea of the signature page. I've had students come back to me & challenge me on why they received a lower participation grade & I can pull out the syllabus & show them the policy. If they say they didn't know about it, I pull out the signature page & show them that they said they read it. The problem is that (as I'm sure you've seen) not all syllabi are created equally; some are nothing more than a list of assignments. So, yes, if you have a well written & thorough syllabus I would call this a performance contract.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Dr. Meers -
Wouldn't that be what the course syllabus is for? At our school, we issue the syllabus and have a signature page that the student will sign and turn in, but schools really would just hand out the syllabus and the student is expected to follow the conditions and standards laid out in the syllabus. Seems to me that we're saying that as long as we have a well written syllabus that focuses on objectives rather than subjectives, we've achieved the goals of the "Performance Contract", yes?
-R
Rick,
I'm sorry you've had such a negative feeling about this. The performance contract is not meant to cater to the Gen Y student, but rather it is intended to do what you've outlined here, establish definite boundaries & expectations for them to fulfill. This way they understand up front what they have to do to earn a particular grade & that they are not just handed out. Hope that helps clarify a little.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
