In addition to office hours, I will be available by appointment,
and will often be able to spend some time with you if you drop
by my office unannounced. I will also be happy to answer short
questions or make appointments over the phone or via email. Suggestions
or comments about such issues as my teaching style, grading, and
course management issues are also welcome. Good communication
between students and the instructor is crucial to the success
of a class, and I sincerely hope that we will communicate well.
The following table gives the percentage of points needed
to guarantee the associated final grade in the course. However,
I may lower these percentages when assigning final grades, depending
on student performance and the difficulty of exams, homework,
and programs. For example, a student who accumulates 85% of the
points possible is guaranteed a B- for the course, and may receive
an A.
Points will not be weighted, so a point on a homework assignment
or program has the same impact on a student's grade as a point
on an exam. However, more points will be possible on an exam
than on a homework or program. Typically, an exam will be worth
100 or 150 points, a homework assignment will be worth 10 to 20
points, and a program will be worth 10 to 50 points.
Questions or concerns about the grading of an assignment or exam
must be brought to my attention within one week after the assignment
or exam is returned. I will expect a clear explanation of the
reasons for disagreement with the grade given.
Late Assignments
Assignments (homework and programs) will be due at the beginning
of class on the due date. Assignments turned in before or at
the beginning of the next class meeting will have 10% deducted.
Assignments will not be accepted after the beginning of the next
class meeting or after the last day of class. Exceptions to these
rules can be made in case of emergencies or by prior arrangement.
Emergencies include sudden illness or injury (student or family
member), or events such as automobile breakdowns, that prevent
the student from completing an assignment or attending class to
turn in an assignment. Events under the control of the student,
such as oversleeping or appointments of any kind, do not constitute
emergencies. In cases that seem questionable, I will require
proof that an emergency occurred.
Makeup Exams
Makeup exams will only be given if arranged with me prior to
the exam or in case of emergencies.
Academic Dishonesty
The forms of academic dishonesty include plagiarism, allowing
another student to copy your work or your ideas, submitting work
previously used in anther class without informing the instructor,
or tampering with the work of others. For purposes of this course,
plagiarism is defined as in the Statement of Policy on Plagiarism
-- "... the act of stealing the ideas and/or the expression
of another and representing them as your own". Academic
dishonesty may result in a reduced grade on a particular assignment
or exam, or in severe cases, penalties such as disciplinary action
at the university level. See Section 49-20 (pages 43 through 45)
of the Student Guide to University Policies and Rules for
more information on what constitutes academic dishonesty and the
process though which suspected acts of academic dishonesty are
handled.
Individual vs. Group Assignments
Unless otherwise specified, all homework and programs
are individual assignments. Students are expected to turn in
their own work. Discussion of problems is permitted, but I will
consider collaboration on solutions to be an act of academic dishonesty.
For group assignments, I will usually set a deadline for reporting
concerns about members of the group not contributing equally or
disrupting the group. At least one member of a group must inform
me of such concerns before the deadline. I will then meet with
the entire group to discuss the problem and to make whatever arrangements
are needed to solve the problem. Unless some other arrangement
is made in such a meeting, all members will receive the same grade
for the assignment.