Welcome!
This is your virtual classroom for COMA 101 or “Introduction to Communication Theories,” a three-unit course that involves the study of principles, concepts, and theories of communication. It emphasizes the learning, analysis, and applications of communication models/paradigms and theories. By the end of the semester, you would have gained an understanding of communication theories and how to apply these in varied situations. Specifically, you should be able to:
You may access the following sources found at the University Library, or access other sources on the Internet.
The course is classified as a lecture class. However, you will also be involved in the generation of ideas for further exploration and in the production of papers. Class sessions will begin with a discussion, based on the assigned readings, leading to class/group/individual activities. Discussions and activities will be organized around particular units. Since COMA 101 involves a lot of discussions/activities, you are expected to come to class prepared for the scheduled discussion and/or activity. You must also refrain from missing classes and scheduled activities, especially since your participation in discussions/activities make up a part of your final grade. You may refer to the University’s Student Handbook regarding policies on absences and its corresponding penalties. Aside from class participation, you will take quizzes and exams and accomplish individual and group exercises. You will also submit individual final research papers that analyze a communication act or situation. Your research paper should display your ability to appropriately apply a communication theory or paradigm/model to comprehensively explain your chosen communication act or situation. Your exercises or papers submitted beyond the deadline may be deducted points for each calendar day it is late. You are also advised to avoid plagiarism. (Students commit plagiarism when they present as their own someone else’s work or ideas. Such action may result, depending on the gravity of the case, in a failing mark for the particular activity or for the course or, at the worst, may result in the possible expulsion of the student from the university.) Grades for quizzes, exercises, exams, and final papers will be computed using the following formula: Student’s score (50) / Highest possible score + 50 = Grade. To arrive at a particular rating, you may get your individual raw score and multiply it by 50 (the transmutation base). You then divide the product by the highest possible score, and add 50 to the quotient. The grade arrived at is equivalent to the University’s rating scale: 98-100 > 1.0 (Excellent); 95-97 > 1.25; 92-94 > 1.5 (Very Good); 89-91 > 1.75; 86-88 > 2.0 (Good); 83-85 > 2.25; 80-82 > 2.5 (Satisfactory); 77-79 > 2.75; 74-76 > 3.0 (Passing); and 71-73 > 4.0 (Conditional Failure). Grades 70 and below are equivalent to a 5.0 (Failure) rating. Your rating for every activity/output will then be computed according to its corresponding percentage of the final grade: quizzes and class participation (30%); exercises and exams (30%); and final research papers (40%). Topics for the rest of the semester are listed in the first sidebar to your right. | Topics
Orientation Theory in Communication
 COMA 101 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.  |
