Course Policies
A university course is a very special learning experience. To
justify the assembly of students and professor at a specified place and time
week after week, something must happen there that cannot happen in any other
way -- not by reading textbooks, not by reading the notes of others, not by
conversing informally with the professor or with other students. What happens
is that minds work together: the attention of many is focused on the words of
one -- usually, but not always, the professor. It is not the same as viewing a
lecture on television or even attending one in a large auditorium. I consider
it my responsibility as a teacher to read your reactions to what I and others
say. If I do not sense comprehension, I will restate, rephrase, re-exemplify.
Your responsibility as students is to act
on the information between the time it enters your eyes and ears and is
stored in your mind. If something is not clear to you, please say so. Force me
to make it clear. If enough of you do this, the time we spend together this
term will indeed be special.
Throughout the semester, please keep this firmly in mind: Teaching
is not just a job to me; it is a vocation (a calling). As a college professor,
I am also required to do research and writing, and administrative and committee
work, but nothing in my professional life is more important than helping you
learn. If you have any problems of any kind related to this course, please talk
to me. You may do so after class, you may come during my office hours, you may
make an appointment, or you may call me either in my office or at home. I promise
to do my very best to help you in every way that I can to get the most from
this course.
Please also keep this in mind: If, during the term, you have to
miss any classes, remember that you will learn less. A course grade is a
measure of knowledge gained through full
participation in the course experience, and you cannot earn a given grade
unless you participate to the degree that grade demands. Even a doctor's
appointment or personal crises that keep you from class will necessarily affect
how much you learn. In such cases, I will do everything that I can to help you
compensate for lost time, but you have to face reality. Just as you cannot
physically be in two places at one time, neither can your mind. You have to be
here to experience the stimulus and growth necessary to earn university credit.
(Please don't make any decisions about dropping the course without first
getting my advice.)
And finally, please keep this in mind: Only one person may speak
at a time in this class. If you have something to say, please raise your hand,
and I will give you the floor. If you need to consult with another student
privately, please politely leave the room to do so. I find it impossible to
stay focused on what I am teaching if other conversations are going on, even
brief and quiet ones. I and your fellow students will greatly appreciate your
cooperation on this matter!
In order to assure the intellectual integrity of the course and
fairness to all, I will follow these policies:
A. Grading: The final letter grade will be assigned on the basis
of a percentage of the total points available. (See the course outline for this
total and for the breakdown.) 93-100=A, 90-92.99=A-, 87-89.99=B+,83-86.99=B,
80-82.99=B-, 77-79.99=C+, 73-76.99=C, 70-72.99=C-, 67-69.99=D+, 63-66.99=D, 60-62.99=D-,
0-59.99=F.
B. No extra credit.
C. You cannot be sure of credit for any test or assignment unless
you take the test or hand in the assignment on time. However, you may arrange a
make-up with me within one week of the due date. I will accept such make-ups,
but I will not grade them, and I do not commit myself to grade them. I will
file them and decide at the end of the semester, on the basis of other work you
have done, whether to grade them or not and whether to count them as more than
zero. If I do decide to grade them, I will do so without prejudice; i.e., you
will not be penalized because of lateness. Late tests and assignments, even if
I do eventually grade them, will never be
returned. (Quizzes are an integral part of the class experience, and
therefore cannot be made up, no matter what the reason for absence.)
D. You are required to know about all matters treated in every
class, whether you are there or not. This includes the lecture, class
discussion, handouts, announcements about changes in the course outline, and
announcements about changes in test dates or test matter.
E. A
reminder about the university policy on withdrawal from classes (please see p.
52 of the 2002-2004 Catalog for details): If you formally withdraw before the
end of the 6th day of the semester, no record of the course will appear on your
transcript. If you formally withdraw
before the end of the eighth week of the semester (or similar fraction of a
nonsemester course), the grade of W will be assigned. Withdrawal after that date is not normally permitted. However, you may withdraw after that date if
you submit a formal petition (that I and the department chair must both approve
and sign) in which you provide evidence of illness or other severe
hardship. If you stop attending and do
not submit and have the formal petition approved, then the grade of WF will be
assigned, unless your performance up to the date you stopped attending was F,
in which case F will be assigned. The grade
of WF will carry no grade points but will be computed in the grade point
average.
F. Please see pp. 14 and 15 of the 2002-2004 Catalog for a
complete description of ODU’s Honor System.
The following honor pledge applies to all work that you do in this
course: "I pledge to support the
Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of
academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware
that as a member of the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in
all suspected violators of the Honor System. I will report to an Honor Council
hearing if summoned." (It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism
is and to avoid even the appearance of it.)