Class Instruction

PC4260 Source Selection

All instruction for this class is conducted online at http://collab.itc.virginia.edu/portal

The syllabus, resources, assignments, exams, and end of semester evaluations will be accessible through UVACollab.

This course will be conducted as an online course over a period of approximately 15 weeks. Students must complete the weekly required reading and respond to weekly discussion board questions. The class lesson resources provide instructor notes and supplemental reading to enhance the week’s topic.

Contact hours will be received online through the discussion forum interaction and feedback provided from the instructor’s assessment of the written essay assignments.

Student Responsibilities: Students should expect to spend the same number of hours for an online course that they would for a face-to-face classroom in terms of preparing for classes, posting discussions, and completing assignments.

Class participation is mandatory. If unforeseeable circumstances cause students to miss two or more weeks, that student is expected to discuss the situation in advance with the instructor to make up assignments. Otherwise, work is due when scheduled. No exceptions. Failure to meet deadlines will result in grade penalties.

Instructor Responsibilities:
My job as your instructor is to help you understand Federal Government Source Selection. I will provide resources, facilitate discussions, respond to your questions, provide feedback and grades in a timely manner. 

Class Requirements

The class has four main components:

1. Required reading from the textbook

2. Weekly participation in discussion forum

3. Two essay assignments

4. Two exams: midterm and final

To complete these requirements, the course materials are organized into weekly lesson folders that contain the following information.

Weekly Lessons

Weekly resources are provided in folders for each lesson. These folders contain assignments and links to complete that week’s requirements. Each week’s lesson provides:

Required Reading. This section identifies the assigned reading for the lesson. Most topics require you to read one or two chapters in the textbook and relevant FAR parts. The required reading is also summarized in a separate, printable document.

Instructor Notes. This section contains my notes about the most important learning points in the lesson. This is the information I would share with you if we were in a traditional classroom setting. This does not replace completing the required reading assignments.

Supplemental Reading This is where you'll find extra reading materials that are related to the week's topic such as Government Accountability Office cases, reports, and relevant contract management articles. These resources are bonus reference material to help supplement your knowledge of the subject matter.

Discussion Forum 

There are weekly discussion questions relating to the previous week's reading assignment that students must answer.  Students can access the class discussion forum by clicking on the "Forums" tab on the left side of the screen or through the link provided in the lesson folder.

Students do not have to be online at the same time to participate in the discussions. Each week's discussion requires students to answer a question and respond to two other students' postings. Students must submit answers in a timely manner to permit review and responses by other students before the due date. If everyone waits until the last possible date to make their first post it doesn't allow sufficient time for others to review and respond. Thus, there are two due dates for each discussion: the first due date is the deadline for your first post. The second due date is the deadline for replies to other student posts. This structure makes class participation more interactive.

The objective of the discussion question is to encourage you to analyze the topic. There is often no right or wrong answer. Discussion posts and responses should be well thought answers to the question. An objective for each post should be at least 100 words that include analysis and a discussion of the topic. You may discuss your experience or your opinion in terms of pro and con analysis of the topic. You may introduce cases or articles you've read on the topic. One or two sentence responses are discouraged. Simply stating "I agree" will not earn credit for the response. [Note: the preceding paragraph is 101 words.]

Discussion Forum Rules.

Be professional. Keep your posts relevant to the topic and avoid offensive or insulting language. It's OK to disagree, and working out disagreements in the discussion forum makes the class interesting. But just because you disagree doesn't mean it's OK to be disagreeable. Please be polite and professional.

Your posts to the discussion board should be substantive and pertinent to the topic. Support your opinions with facts from the assigned reading and/or FAR citations.

There's frequently no one "right" answer. In source selection, there's more than one way to approach a situation and this course lets us explore those possibilities.

Discussion and Private Messages.

Please note that the discussion forum is different from the discussion and private messages tab. The private message portion is a good way to communicate directly with the instructor.

There is also a student lounge area where students can ask off topic questions and send private messages to each other. This is a site where you can ask a question about what's going on at work, in another class, or current events. Please remember to be professional on this site as well.

Evaluation Standards

Discussions are graded on meeting the minimum 100 word content and replying to 2 other student posts with a substantive response.  One point is earned for a 100 word response and one point is earned for responding to two other student’s posts.

Essays are graded based on answering the entire question and providing specific examples to support the points made.  Spelling and grammar count as well. Students are expected to cite their sources in the essays.

Class Schedule

• Discussion board participation expected weekly
• Orientation assignment due 9/10 by 11:00 pm
• Assignment 1 due  On or before Oct 12 11:00 pm
• Midterm exam due on or before October 20 by 11:00 pm EST
• Optional extra credit essay due on or before Nov 30 by 11:00 pm EST
• Assignment 2 due on or before Dec 7 by 11:00 pm EST
• Final exam due on or before December 11 at 11:00 pm EST

Communication

Most of our communications will occur directly on the UVACollab course site. Please use the private message feature or email to contact me. My office phone number is (610) 670-9153.

If you have a question or will miss classes for any reason, please contact me. Please note that approval for late assignments must be done in advance.

My virtual office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 – 3:00 Eastern Standard Time. You'll get the most prompt response from an email during those hours.  Although I check email in the evenings and on weekends, it may take more than 24 hours to receive a response. So if you send an email Friday night, I might not respond until Monday morning.

Please check announcements on the course site regularly. This is where I will post important information about the class.

Assignments

Assignments are provided in the “assignments” folder on the course site and students will submit their assignments through this site as well.

The orientation assignment is designed to make sure you can navigate the course site and understand the course requirements. This brief assignment is worth one point.

Students must also complete two essay questions in this class. The first is due before the midterm exam and the second is due before the final exam. Each essay assignment is worth five points.

Contract management is a field that requires good communication skills, especially written communication.  The source selection process from writing an acquisition plan and RFP to preparing a proposal and source selection decision document requires good writing skills.  These assignments require students to demonstrate good written communication skills.

The assignment grades are based on meeting these evaluation standards:

• An introductory paragraph that is not simply a restatement of the question.
• The body of the essay must have at least three complete paragraphs. Complete paragraphs must be more than 3 sentences long. Each paragraph has a topic sentence and the sentences that follow it are on the same topic. The paragraphs must have examples to support the points made.
• All references must be cited in the text. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade.
• All elements of the question must be answered to receive full credit.
• There must be a concluding paragraph that summarizes the points and makes a conclusion to the assignment question
• Correct terminology must be used throughout. This class is about negotiated source selection. The solicitation document is an RFP and the response to the RFP is a proposal submitted by an offeror. Points will be deducted for using bid/bidder.
• Essays must be at least one full page, and no more than two full pages. The completed assignment pages will have one inch margins, single spaced, 12 point font.

Students who need a refresher on writing essays may consider referring the Online Writing Lab website at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/ This website contains helpful information on writing essays.

Students may complete one additional essay for up to five points extra credit.

Resources

The required textbook is:  Understanding Government Contract Source Selection, Margaret G. Rumbaugh, CPCM. © 2010 Management Concepts. Vienna, Virginia.

There are also required reading assignments from the Federal Acquisition Regulation available online through a link provided on the class site.

Weekly resources are provided in folders for each lesson. These folders contain assignments and links to complete that week’s requirements.

Additional website resources are also provided such as access to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and other research websites.

Gradebook

Grades for discussion forum participation and essay assignments will be posted in the gradebook. 

Technical Support Contacts

• Login/Password: scpshelpdesk@virginia.edu
• UVA Collab:  collab-support@virginia.edu

University Email Policies:  Students are expected to check their official U.Va. email addresses on a frequent and consistent basis to remain informed of University communications, as certain communications may be time sensitive. Students who fail to check their email on a regular basis are responsible for any resulting consequences.

University of Virginia Honor System: All work should be pledged in the spirit of the Honor System of the University of Virginia. The instructor will indicate which assignments and activities are to be done individually and which permit collaboration. The following pledge should be written out at the end of all quizzes, examinations, individual assignments and papers: “I pledge that I have neither given nor received help on this examination (quiz, assignment, etc.)”.   The pledge should be signed by the student. For more information concerning the Honor system http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/content.php?catoid=28&navoid=747. 

Special Needs

It is the policy of the University of Virginia to accommodate students with disabilities in accordance with federal and state laws. Any student with a disability enrolled through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies who needs accommodation (e.g., in arrangements for seating, extended time for examinations, or note-taking, etc.), should  contact the Learning Needs and Evaluation Center (LNEC) and provide them with appropriate medical or psychological documentation of his/her condition. Once accommodations are provided, it is the student’s responsibility to follow up with the instructor about logistics and implementation of accommodations.

Accommodations for test taking should be arranged at least 14 business days in advance of the date of the test(s).  Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the LNEC: 434-243-5180/voice, 434-465-6579/ video phone, 434-243-5188/fax. Further policies and statements available: http://www.scps.virginia.edu/audience/students/academic-disabilities-services