BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is an upper division course for psychology majors that should be taken when most major requirements are finished. The prerequisites for the course are completion of 15 units of upper division psychology. There are no formal (including introductory) meetings. All course material is on the web. You may start the course now and finish early. Grade is based primarily on the final exam, taken as soon as all units are mastered, in my office Wednesdays, 2-4 PM.

PREREQUISITES: Completion of 15 units of upper division psychology, or obtain the permission of the instructor. Those who do not meet prerequisites may be dropped. These should include the Core and Areas 1 and 2 courses (e.g. Statistics, Research, Current Issues, Learning, Perception, Motivation, Physiological, Developmental, Theories of Personality, or Social. (The double listed Segment III Sex courses should not be counted as prerequisites). This course meets the requirement for an Area II course in the major. Or, it can count as one of the 15 upper division psychology electives for the major.

COURSE CLOSED? You may add your name to the registration wait list, which will be used to add if there are drops, but not after the first day of class, Some exceptions may be made for those with high GPA's and UD units in psychology.

DIFFICULT COURSE: Psy 601 is dificult. It will require at least 9-10 hours of study per week which is the requirement for a 3 unit course. Many students mistakenly think that an online course will be easy, but that is not necessarily true.

This is a history of psychology course which will cover the two thousand year background of psychology. Much of that includes how philosophical and physiological issues contributed to the development of modern psychology. Since this course attempts to integrate all fields of psychology, including the philosophical and physiological past, it is helpful to have completed a broad background of academic courses (e.g. courses in philosophy, biology, and the social sciences).

SELF PACED COURSE: Students work independently and may work ahead, But they must not get behind the posted schedule. They need to be self motivated and self disciplined. There are no lectures. The only on campus attendance is the comprehensive final. NOTE: The course grade is the grade you get on the on campus final comprehensive exam, if units are mastered and deadlines met.

ELECTRONIC ILearn TESTS; To maintain enrollment in the course one must show weekly progress through electronic tests on ILearn, according to the outline dates. Tests should be completed by 5:00 PM. But there will be a grace period until midnight to accomodate any computer or other problems. There will be no make-ups or extensions. If your own computer is unreliable, campus computers are available. Location and hours of the numerous computer labs on campus can be obtained from the Computer Labs page on the web.

Students may be dropped who do not master the units by the posted dates. It is the student's responsibility, however, to "drop" the course before the drop deadline to avoid a failing grade in the course. Mastery of each unit is 80% right on the ILearn tests, demonstrated by the deadline date.

EMAIL ACCOUNTS: A SFSU email account is required and may be obtained through the New Account page of the Computer Services Center on the web. If you wish to use your own private account, the university provides a way for you to link your private account to the SFSU account. Any account may be used to access the course material and write to instructor. But only SFSU accounts will be used in sending messages to students.

WRITING TO INSTRUCTOR: When sending email messages to instructor, the subject line must contain the following: "601 -- Your Last Name -- topic (e.g.,question about Unit 4)". Otherwise it is impossible to file and retrieve student messages. When responding, include the instructor's message to which you are responding. Write again in a couple days if no answer. With many students, responding usually takes several days. Voice mail is difficult to answer. I will also be available during office hours for those needing help.

EXAMS AND GRADES: The "Syllabus" contains information about final exams and grading. An on-campus comprehensive final is the basis for the course grade, assuming all unit tests are mastered. . Three different forms may be taken to attempt a higher score. The exam is offered any Wednesday afternoon 2-4 PM by appointment; the last one not later than May 21 of finals week. No computers, notes, special aides, people, etc. may accompany students. Plan to start earlier than deadline dates. No extension or make-up is offered for rain, sleet, snow, or dying grandmothers.

HOW TO START: Go to the Psych 601 web page for information about getting started and for all the course materials. All the information about the course should be there. You can always find that page by going to the link on ILearn or by typing in my name "Ronald Mayer" on GOOGLE. You will be responsible for following the Syllabus. The "Getting Started" link tells you how to begin. You may start the course right now. The text, workbook, practice quizzes etc. are all there, online.

Contact Dr. Mayer at "mayer@sfsu.edu" if you have any questions.

Good luck!

Return to Dr. Mayer's home page.

January 15, 2008