Rhetoric Studio Account Agreement

Welcome to the The Rhetoric Studio. This account agreement was developed because of concerns that, without an account agreement, a user might do something that is so thoughtless and/or malicious that we would need to terminate this website. The agreement follows. If you accept the invitation to join the website for your class, you will see it only once. You can choose to view it again through the Account tab on your personal page or through the About page.

Introduction

The Rhetoric Studio (RS) is a free, private learning environment where writers can engage with one another's ideas and foster a writing community. All policies for class conduct apply within the website, for this site is a digital extension of the face-to-face classroom. The RS is hosted and maintained by your professor, Christine Robinson Coon. If you have concerns about this website that are not satisfactorily addressed by your professor, you have the right to decline her invitation to join the Rhetoric Studio class website and discuss alternatives with her.

General Regulations

Information found on the Rhetoric Studio is intended to support student writers. Please do not use this information for commercial, political, or business purposes, such as selling products or sending broadcast email. Copyrighted material may be saved in Rhetoric Studio accounts and displayed on Rhetoric Studio pages only with written (print or digital) permission of the owner of the copyright. The owner of this website reserves the right to suspend or terminate the accounts of any individuals who misuse the information contained or who violate copyright laws on the Rhetoric Studio.

Privacy

Your privacy is very important to us and we take it very seriously. This is strictly a private website (meaning, it is a closed system). We never share information about any of our account holders (e.g., email addresses, names, institutional affiliations) with any individuals or organizations. The website host will, however, record and analyze aggregate statistics about account holders' activities on the site to assess the effectiveness of the instructional materials and to identify potential problems with the Rhetoric Studio. (Translation: We will analyze how students use the site in an attempt to improve it.)

Grades for all major writing assignments will be posted confidentially to the Gradebook feature of the RS by the end of the semester. Current grades for participation and process work will be posted to the Gradebook at mid-semester and semester's end. Please let your professor know if you do NOT want your grades posted to the Gradebook and she will offer an alternative.

While we will keep user accounts active for up to three years after a class has concluded so you continue to have access to class materials and resources during your academic career, you are welcome to delete your account once final grades have been submitted. Please understand that once you delete your account, you end your access to everything on the website.

Your Rhetoric Studio Account Password

Your professor created an account for you so please change your Rhetoric Studio account password immediately. Doing so will increase the security of your account and help guard your privacy.

Once you have changed your Rhetoric Studio account password, please do not share it with anyone. Together with the email address used to log in to your account, your password is your key to managing your account information and any work you have saved in any folders you create.

Please use a strong password for this site. It is general considered good practice to use a long password string such as mattdamonisahotie, opposed to a string of letters and numbers you might find difficult to remember. Should you forget your password, however, you can have it sent to you from the login page. It will be emailed to the email addressed associated with your account.

To guard your identity, please avoid using passwords that include sensitive personal information, such as your social security number or student ID. It is also a good idea, whenever you create an account on the web, to avoid the same password you use for accounts that contain sensitive information, such as accounts with banks, universities, colleges, and so on.

Email

Your professor may send periodic news and information to Rhetoric Studio account holders through email. Most often, this news and information will provide notice of new features. Your professor and students with Rhetoric Studio accounts will also periodically send email to students enrolled in classes supported by the Rhetoric Studio. This email should address issues related to the class.

Class Discussion Forums

Your professor may allow access to the forums feature on your Rhetoric Studio class webpage. Neither the professor for the classes nor the administrators of the Rhetoric Studio are responsible for the privacy practices of any account holder. Remember that all information that is disclosed in these forums is accessible to members of your class and to your professor Please exercise caution when deciding to share any personal information and please exercise restraint when posting information that might be considered objectionable or offensive. Any account holder who finds material posted by another account holder objectionable is encouraged to contact your professor. Offensive content posted to Rhetoric Studio forums may be removed or modified if it appears to be in violation of the class policies.

Links to Other Sites

This site may contain links to other Web sites and documents. Your professor has no control over the content of other sites and cannot ensure it will not be offensive or objectionable. If links to inappropriate content are discovered, they will be removed from the Rhetoric Studio.

Disclaimer

The administrator, Christine Robinson Coon, reserves the right to revise this account agreement at any time. Any updates will be communicated to current Rhetoric Studio account holders via email.

By pressing the "I Agree" button (which is shown only if you are logged in), you agree that you are fully responsible for any information or file supplied through this account. You also agree that you will not post any copyrighted material that is not owned by you without written permission (print or digital) of the copyright holder. In your use of the Rhetoric Studio, you agree that you will not post any information which is vulgar, harassing, hateful, threatening, invasive of others' privacy, sexually oriented, or in violation of any laws.

If you have any questions about this account agreement or the use of the Rhetoric Studio, contact the administrator at ccoon@uccs.edu.