Faculty FrontDoor

Julie Stiles Mills

About Prof JSM's courses:

(1) There are NO required textbook chapter readings.

(2) Instead, there are "Guided Study" Quizzes that incorporate the concepts covered in the textbook. When a quiz question refers to content in the textbook, a link to that specific page is provided within the quiz question.

(3) Those Guided Study Quizzes are not timed, with unlimited attempts, and constitute 30% of the total grade, meaning it's possible to earn 100% on 30% of your total grade.

(4) The Guided Study Quizzes include a LOT of video clips, so if you hate watching videos, you may want to select a different class offering with a more traditional course structure that requires textbook chapter readings instead.

(5) The videos in the Guided Study Quizzes are mostly CLIPPED with a beginning and ending to eliminate wasted time. And instructions to speed up the playback are provided in every quiz prompt.

(6) Each assignment has multiple options to allow for freedom of expression. Because each option is different, each option has different - specific - instructions. The most common loss of points is when the information required in the instructions isn't included in the submission.

About Prof JSM:
My passion is to help people go from where they are, with what they have, to where they could be, with what they need. My favorite words are:

• edify [to build someone up through instruction] and
• pragmatic [focused on needs and results, rather than with ideas or theories].

If you're reading this page because you are wondering about my background and credentials, I'll just say this. It took me 9 years to get my Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Communication because I had to work full time while going to school part time (and I changed my major five times) and then it took me 2 years to get my MBA. I was a student for a long time and I remember how challenging it was to balance life. If you want to know more, you can google me. I've been hanging out on the internet for a few decades now, so there's plenty to learn about me, if you're interested. There's even a website out there with my name on it. 😎

A few things to note about the way I work:

— I read every word of every submission.
— When I read assignments, I'm looking for confirmation that a student understands the concept being taught as well as the practical application of that concept in real life.
— I provide detailed, personalized feedback in assignment comments and in individual Canvas messages with suggestions on how to earn more points on future submissions.
— I don't give away points, but I offer a lot of opportunities for students to earn them.
— I've created freakishly detailed grading rubrics. This makes grading faster and easier for me and it clarifies assignment requirements for students.

In all my courses, I've created a Discussion thread for students to report errors they may find in the content of the class and the FIRST person to post an error they find will get an extra credit point at on a Discussion Post at the end of the semester. (see what I did there?) 😎

I view student's time as valuable and I don't want to waste it. To that end, I've tried to format course content in a way that makes learning straightforward and meaningful. While completing the coursework does require some of your time and the assignments will challenge your thinking and imagination, the work itself isn't extremely difficult.

I genuinely believe the information in the courses I teach will equip you with knowledge and skills to help you successfully navigate business and professional relationships throughout your career. I know it's helped me.

Best,
Prof JSM