Course Syllabus

V412 Leadership and Ethics Policies Fall 2026-1.pdf

Leadership and Ethics, V412

Instructor: Professor Claudia N. Avellaneda

Class time: Tuesday/Thursday 11:10 -12:25 pm

Classroom: SPEA PV A223

Drop-in Office Hours: Tuesdays 4-5 pm in person or Zoom and by appointment

Office: O’Neill 453 (4th floor SPEA Building)

Email: cavellan@iu.edu

Phone: 812.856.9026

Zoom address: https://iu.zoom.us/my/claudia.zoom

Course Description:

What is leadership? What kinds of issues do leaders need to consider? How does ethics relate to the work of a leader? If I choose to lead, how will I handle ethical dilemmas? How can I practice ethical decision making, particularly when addressing key community issues?

In this course, we will explore these questions and work through practical examples relating to the ethical dilemmas facing those who choose to lead.

Course Objectives and learning outcomes

By the end of this course:

Students will examine different facets of leadership and create a point of view on what it means to lead.
Students will examine different approaches to ethics and moral philosophy and create a point of view on what it means to act ethically.
Students will compare different ways that leaders address ethical dilemmas and practice ethical decision making grounded in values.

How much time should you be spending on this class: This is a standard 3-credit semester length class in which you are expected to spend an average of 6 or more hours outside of class per week on reading, studying, assignments, etc.

Classroom Environment:

I believe the quality of a class is determined not only by the content of the material but also by the classroom environment. For this reason, I am committed to provide an inclusive environment and "spaces” to pursue further knowledge. I implement these spaces by emphasizing critical thinking through class discussions, individual presentations, and writing assignments. My role as an educator goes beyond providing basic knowledge to that of inspiring students to be both analytical thinkers and self-directed learners. These skills should contribute to students’ academic and personal enrichment. The measure of my effort is students’ learning and further interest. Questions are welcome. There are no silly questions. We learn more in engaging environments.

With that in mind, please refrain from using your devices (laptop, tablet, phone) for non-class related activities during class time. In addition, please refrain from recording our class sessions and guest lecture presentations.

Please prioritize attending class, arriving on time, and staying in your seat for the entire 75-minute class period, out of respect for your classmates, for me, and for our guests.

Required Reading:

This class requires you to read between 50-60 pages of material each week. I expect that you will complete all the weekly reading before our class meetings. Some of these readings will be challenging: your goal should be to get through all of the reading each week and bring your questions about it to class. I do not expect that you will understand everything on your first reading. All the course readings will be posted to Canvas, organized in the Modules menu by date.

Expectations:

Setting clear expectations is the key to any successful working relationship. As students, you can expect the following from me:

I will come to our sessions prepared and ready to engage in lively (but civil) discussion.
I will respond to inquiries promptly, typically within 1 business day.
I will use Canvas announcements to communicate with you. Please correspond with me via email (cavellan@iu.edu) not through Canvas mail.
Drop-in office hours are designated specifically to meet with students, and I welcome the opportunity to meet with you outside of class. You don’t need an appointment for my office hours; just stop by. I am also happy to meet with you via Zoom prior arrangement.
I will bring other content experts into our learning environment when possible.

As the instructor, I expect the following from students:

Participation: I expect that you will participate in class. Participation grades will be based on the following:

Attending all class meetings, arriving on time, and staying for the entire class.
Completing assignments on time.
Listening actively in class.
Participating in class discussions.
Providing thoughtful and appropriate feedback to your colleagues through in-class work.
Demonstrating a working knowledge of the readings assigned for each week.
Asking appropriate questions of our guests.
Refraining from using your devices (laptop, tablet, phone) for non-class related activities during class time.

Course Communication Policy

I prefer to be contacted via IU email: cavellan@iu.edu. Please refrain from contacting me via Canvas mail. However, in case of an emergency, contact me via e-mail or phone office: (812-856-9026).

Attendance:

I expect that you will attend class regularly. I will take attendance each time we meet.

That said, life happens. I understand. If you get sick, or in the case of another kind of emergency, please reach out to me or to TA, Katherine Cooprider. Please make sure to get notes about what you missed from a classmate, and consider coming to drop-in office hours to review the material that you missed with me.

Note: if you must miss class for medical reasons, please let me know, but do NOT send me a note from your doctor as proof of absence.

You may miss 2 class meetings without any need to send me an excuse and without any deduction from your participation grade. Please use this flexibility wisely.

Assignments:

You will complete a series of in-class assignments, both individually and with a team, three discussion summaries, one class presentation, and a final exam. Key due dates are noted in Canvas and on the course outline.

Please take time at the beginning of the semester to note all assignment due dates. I accept late work for partial credit. Generally, you will lose one point per day late for assignments turned in within 7 days of the assignment due date. No late assignments after 7 days will be accepted.

Grades:

Grades will be determined by the University’s grading policy, found here:

https://policies.iu.edu/policies/aca-66-grades-and-grading/index.html

I will assign letter grades based on the following scale (the default scale displayed in Canvas):

Letter Grade	Range
A+	100% to 97.0%
A	< 96.9% to 93.0%
A-	< 92.9% to 90.0%
B+	< 89.9% to 87.0%
B	< 86.9% to 83.0%
B-	< 82.9% to 80.0%
C+	< 79.9 % to 77.0%
C	< 76.9 % to 73.0%
C-	< 72.9 % to 70.0%
D+	< 69.9% to 67.0%
D	< 66.9% to 63.0%
D-	< 62.9% to 60.0%
F	< 59.9% to 0%

I do not round grades. Note that the last day to drop this course with an auto-W is Sunday, October 25 2026.

Your grade will be calculated as follows:

Participation and in-class work – 30%
In-classroom first exam - 35%
In-classroom second exam – 35%

Academic Dishonesty:

I expect that you do your own work and that you do not try to take undue credit for the work of others. If you are working on an assignment in a group, ensure that you write your response in your own words.

A note about plagiarism: when creating written assignments or exams, if you present the ideas of others as your own, you will be committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as presenting the work of another – which can include material from books, articles, another’s student’s work, work that you purchased, works available on the Internet, works produced by AI, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar – as your own. Failure to acknowledge your source material will be penalized as academic misconduct.

https://studentcode.iu.edu/procedures/bloomington/discipline/academic-misconduct/index.html

It is important to cite your source material in all written assignments. You are free to use any recognized citation format; visit IU Libraries for more information, or ask me or our TA for help.