Grading

• Course grades will be assigned based on the following distribution.
  • Written Assignments: (60%)
    Paper rubrics will be distributed in class.  In addition, grades will be affected by format requirements and deadlines.  One paper revision is required but more than one is recommended.  Follow the revision requirements.
  • Presentations & Participation: (30%)
    Presentation rubrics will be distributed in class.  Participation grades will be based on your brilliant questions (as assigned) and assessing the presentations in class. 
  • Final: (10%)
• Dropping an assignment:  You can choose to not turn in one paper OR to not do one presentation on an assigned day.  However, your top four paper grades and top four presentation grades will be used for your final grade.  You must notify the professor by 4pm the day of class if you intend to use this option.  If you skip a paper or presentation, it is your responsibility to insure that you still have four submissions of each for your final grade. 
• Swapping assignments:  You can choose to swap submission dates for either presentations or papers with a member of another group.  Email must be sent to the professor by 4pm the day of class, with both students included in the mail header, if you intend to use this option. 

Collaboration

• In papers and presentations, you are allowed to consult the professor,  your other classmates, and/or any other individuals to obtain assistance in formulating a response.  If anyone other than the professor, has been consulted on any portion of the assignment, you are required to identify these individuals by name at the beginning of the assignment. While such consultation is allowed, it is important that the final written preparation of papers is done by yourself, using your own explanations. It is strictly forbidden to submit someone else's work as your own or to copy someone else's work (either verbatim or with slight notation changes). A good rule of thumb is "don't write down anything that you don't understand."
• In the exams, you may not consult with anyone other than the professor, who will only answer questions of clarification about the problem wording. You will be asked to sign an honor code in each exam indicating that the work is your own.

Grading discrepancies

• If a grading error is found in a homework, the student should bring it to my attention. If I agree that an error has been made, I will update the records. 
• Students are responsible for reporting any grading errors within one week of when the respective homework or exam is returned.  When grade summaries are given, discrepancies must be identified and reported within one week.

Make-ups, Incompletes, etc.

• Make-up exams will be given only if you have a legitimate excuse, such as a serious illness as documented by a doctor's note. If you do not have a legitimate excuse, you will be given a grade of zero for the exam.
• Incompletes will not be given to students who wish to improve their grade by taking the course a subsequent semester. (An incomplete may be given for medical reasons where a doctor's note is provided.) Students will not be given an opportunity to improve their grade by doing "extra work".   Extra-credit is available in the form of additional papers or presentations on weeks other than those assigned to you.
• Papers are due at 4pm the day of class unless the deadline is changed on the course website.  No late homeworks will be accepted, unless there is a legitimate excuse and you have obtained permission in advance from the professor. No homework scores will be dropped.  Electronic submission of lab work will have an automatic cut off, at which time, no further submissions will be accepted.
• Students are responsible for being aware of the add and drop dates for the current semester. Forms will not be back-dated.