Welcome
We are pleased that you selected this independent study course to fulfill your unique educational needs. You are now a member of the Center’s large and diverse student body—a student body that comes from all parts of the United States and many parts of the world.
Although the freedom to choose when and where to study is a privilege, it is also a responsibility that requires motivation and self-discipline. To succeed at independent study, you will need to develop a study plan by setting realistic goals and working toward them. The following paragraphs highlight important course completion information.
About the Course
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to approaches that sociologists use to better understand society. We will seek answers for the following questions: Why do we act as we do? How do our social structures and cultures shape our behavior? Likewise, how can we shape those social structures? Underlying these questions is the assumption that with this information, not only can we better understand the realities of social living, but we can also be active agents of social change.
While the course is defined as rural sociology, it will be argued throughout that rural issues cannot be separated from general concerns facing all societies. What was once described as rural or urban fifty years ago no longer fits the world today. Improved communication and transportation, changing national and international priorities, and evolving political and economic needs have dramatically changed the world we live in. As we will discover throughout the readings, rural communities face many of the same problems their urban counterparts face. In fact, given the increasing interdependence between urban and rural communities, it is difficult to understand the problems of one without exploring the realities of the other. Thus, discussion of rural society will be placed within the broader context of sociology.
To understand changes taking place in rural and urban society, we need to examine the larger social context in which we live and in which these changes have taken place. This larger social context will take us into an exploration of the city, the state, the nation and the globe. By acquiring what is described as a sociological imagination, we will begin to see how personal problems are often rooted in larger social problems and institutionalized agendas.
Throughout the course, you will be asked to consider alternative ways of viewing social reality. You will be asked to challenge some of your assumptions, and you will need to take a more critical stance toward how social institutions and relationships are organized. While you will be required to learn the key concepts discussed in the texts and readings, your primary goal should be to apply these concepts to your life experiences and to general society.
This course is comprised of ten lessons. Each lesson contains the following sections:
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for PC users and Disinfectant is recommended for Mac users. Virus
protection software will help to protect your system (and ours)
against computer viruses. MU students can download virus protection software
at https://ea-front.missouri.edu.
Grades
Your final grade will be based on the number of points you earn in the course. The total points available are listed below:
Progress Evaluations: |
200 |
Points |
Midterm Examination: |
200 |
Points |
Final Examination: |
200 |
Points |
| Total: |
600 |
Points |
In order to pass the course, you must earn a minimum of 240 cumulative points (60 percent) on the two exams combined. The following grading scale applies only to students who meet this standard.
Check Your Progress
| Points |
Percentage |
Grade |
| 588–600 |
98–100 |
A+ |
| 558–587 |
93–97 |
A |
| 540–557 |
90–92 |
A– |
| 522–539 |
87–89 |
B+ |
| 498–521 |
83–86 |
B |
| 480–497 |
80–82 |
B– |
| 462–479 |
77–79 |
C+ |
| 438–461 |
73–76 |
C |
| 420–437 |
70–72 |
C– |
| 402–419 |
67–69 |
D+ |
| 378–401 |
63–66 |
D |
| 360–377 |
60–62 |
D– |
| 0–359 |
0–59 |
F |
Academic integrity. You are expected to follow CDIS guidelines for academic integrity and freedom. Please review your academic rights and responsibilities.
After completing the course, you will receive a grade report that gives your final exam score and your letter grade for the course. The Center will not mail your grade report until all outstanding balances have been paid.
Make a Plan to Accomplish Your Goals
Use the number of lessons, progress evaluations, and exams to create a schedule that will help you stay on track. You will have nine months to complete this course. As you complete the course, check your schedule often to make sure you’re on track to accomplish your goal.
The following forms are PDF files and require Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Note: Adobe Acrobat 6 is the latest version of Acrobat Reader. If you receive an error message from the link listed below, you may need to upgrade to a newer version of Acrobat Reader.
University Independent Study Planning Sheet (Acrobat 5.0)
