Your grade in this course will be determined by your Final Average -- which will be the weighted average of your scores on the following:
Weekly Points Score- on-line quizzes and class participation- weight for calculating Final Average is 40%;
Midterm Exam- on-line-- weight for calculating Final Average is 25%;
Final Exam- ON CAMPUS- weight for calculating Final Average is 35%.Described below are the details:
Requirement of ON CAMPUS final exam
Format of quizzes and exams
Dates/times of weekly quizzes and the midterm exam
Conversion of your Final Average to a letter grade
Class participation and Bonus Points
What counts -- and what doesn't count -- for Bonus Points
Weekly Points Score -- on-line quizzes and Bonus Points
Dropping inactive students
1. Final Exam
The final exam will be ON CAMPUS:
Sat Dec 16 - 10AM - Noon - Cloud Hall, Room 260
--OR--Mon Dec 18 - 6PM - 8PM - Cloud Hall, Room 260
If you can't -- or -- won't -- or -- don't want to come to campus to take the final then, please, DO NOT take this course!!
If you take the course but don't show up for the final, you will get an "Incomplete" in the course which will automatically turn into an "F" if not made up, on campus, at MY convenience.
2. Format of quizzes and exams
Quizzes and midterm and final (depending upon the material) will have multiple choice, numerical calculation and short answer questions.
The on-line quizzes and the on-line midterm exam will all be open book and open note. Website material will be available for the quizzes but not for the midterm.
The final exam will be open book and open note- keep good notes during the semester.
The reasons for these "open" policies:
Since you will be taking the quizzes and the midterm at home, I can't control what you do- the "open" policy makes things more equal;
I want to see that you understand and can apply the material- not that you have memorized it.
3. Dates/times of weekly quizzes and the midterm exam
The weekly online quizzes will generally be available starting Fri at 1:00 PM and must be completed by the following Mon at 10:00 AM.
Note that there are a few weekends that do not have quizzes. See the Schedule.
The online midterm exam will be also be available all weekend but you will have only a limited amount of time (2 hours) to complete it.
4. Conversion of Final Average to a letter grade
Your letter grade will be determined by your Final Average. I will assign letter grades by "grading on a loose curve". "Loose" in the following way: I will notify you each week as to your accumulated points but- since I have no idea of what kind of "curve" to expect, I won't start trying to convert these to letter grades until after the midterm exam.
5. Class participation- Bonus Points
BPs (Bonus Points) are the ONLY form of extra credit available in this class.
You will can one BP (Bonus Point) each time (up to 1 in a week max) that you place a "good" question or comment or response on the "discussion area" of the course website;
I will begin each week by posting a couple of comments or questions concerning the week's material;
You earn Bonus Points by responding, in the discussion area, to any of these or by adding new ones- or by responding to any that other students have placed.
When you respond directly to a question or whatever that is already on the discussion area, be sure to keep it within the existing "thread"- but if it is something that clearly doesn't fit in an existing thread, feel free to start a new thread.
6. What counts- and what doesn't count- for BPs
For your comment or idea or question to be "good" for a BP (Bonus Point), it MUST be OBVIOUSLY connected to the material OF THAT WEEK. If it is not obvious, make it so by explaining, in your posting, HOW it is connected.
But note- the material of this course "builds" on itself. It is CERTAINLY valid, and could be "good" for a BP, to show or to ask how a topic or another posting relating to the current week relates to something covered in a previous week.
It could be "good" for a point to relate the material of the week to a current printed news article or to some other web site. If you do this, be sure to give the name and date of the publication and the page number of the article or the link to the website. Clearly summarize the article and indicate how it applies to the CURRENT class material. (Do NOT just copy-and-paste from some other website. Add some comments of your OWN.)
Also possibly valid are questions or tips regarding use of the course website that will help your classmates..
Your posting must be "original" in the sense that it is not just a rewrite of a previous posting. The first one to post a particular item is the one to get the point. Someone else can only earn a point from this idea/comment/question by expanding on it or rebutting it or commenting on it in such a way that something "good" is added.
If I think that you are asking an obvious question or making an obvious comment, then it won't be worth any points- unless I see, by responses of other students, that it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was.
Note: The Communications page will be closed on Sundays on quiz weekends. Thus it will NOT be possible to earn BPs on most Sundays. Generally, to earn BPs, you MUST participate at some point during the week.
7. Weekly Points Score- online quizzes and participation
At the end of each week [except as noted in the Schedule] there will be a short online quiz on the material of that week.
The number of possible points on each quiz will vary--usually about 10.
Your total points for any given week = your quiz points that week + your Bonus Points that week if you got one.
Example 1: Quiz is worth 10 and you get 10. Also, you earn 1 BP (Bonus Point). Your points for the week would be 11 (even though there are only 10 "possible"- thus the extra point is extra credit.).
Example 2: Quiz is worth 10 but you get 8. Also, you earn 1 BP. Your points for the week would be 9.
In addition- you can earn a BP in any week in which there is no quiz. Any such BPs will increase your Weekly Points score.
Your "Weekly Points Score" will be your total weekly points (including all BPs) as a percentage of the total number of points possible on the weekly quizzes.
BPs are the only possible source of extra credit in this course.
8. Missed quizzes -and- dropping inactive students.
Everybody gets one free miss- that is- if you miss a quiz, it is excused. The average of your next two quizzes is counted instead.
If you miss a second quiz then there are two possibilities:
You contact me and ask for an excuse- in this case you are excused and the average of your next two quizzes is counted instead.
You don't contact me- in this case, you are now "on Probation". If you do not miss any more quizzes the the average of your next two quizzes will replace the missing one.
If you miss a third quiz then there are two possibilities:
If you were already "on Probation" then I figure you are no longer active and so you are now OUT- meaning I will drop you. ("Three strikes and you're out!)
But if your second missed quiz had been excused, then you were not already on Probation. In this case, missing a third quiz means you ARE on Probation now. One more missed quiz (no matter what the reason) and you are out.