In general, conduct in my classes will be governed by the principles set out in the Academic Integrity Statement and the Academic Grievance Policy. Please read those policies in your Student Handbooks carefully.
MY GENERAL EXPECTATIONS: Students are expected to come to class regularly, commit a reasonable amount of time outside class to keep up with the assigned reading and assignments, and prepare for all tests. Everyone should show a healthy sense of personal responsibility for their own learning, and respect for the professor and other students while in class. I am available outside of class to discuss your progress in this class at any time, and to help you succeed.
STUDENT CONDUCT AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES: In matters of class conduct, or if you wish to appeal your grade, follow the codes and procedures outlined in the Student Handbook. Students should refer to their Student Handbooks for the following: Academic Integrity Code, Student Conduct Code, and Student Grade Appeal Process.
Attendance Policy: Regular and consistent attendance is already the expectation placed on all students by the college. The college also gives instructors the option of further specifying attendance policies and even tying attendance into the course grade. Though I currently don't do that in my courses, I do expect the courtesy of a phone call or other communication in the case of an absence, and especially if the absence goes on for a while. That way I can help you keep up in the course and alert you to any assignments, etc.
The "Class Attendance" policy in the section on Academic Policies in Carroll College Catalogue reads:
Students are expected to attend the first and each meeting of a course. If unable to attend the first class, a student should contact his or her instructor before the class meets. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of instructors' attendance requirements. In individual courses, attendance may influence the grade the student receives. (2002-2003 Catalogue, pg 40.)
READING ASSIGNMENTS: I choose readings either to form the the basis and the background for class lectures, presentations, discussions, and other activities, or because they are what the class sessions will consider. If you come to class without having read the readings for the day, you probably will not fully understand or grasp the significance of that day’s discussion or activity. There is a good chance that you will be bewildered or confused by the class, or even be unable to participate in the class in any meaningful way. They also are the expected setting for your written assignments. If you write papers without regularly reading the assignments, your papers will often show a lack of context, and this will likely lower your grade.
OFFICE HOURS: Office hours are posted each semester, and included in your syllabus. Office hours are not just for those in trouble. My office hours are a time for you to come talk to me informally, to ask questions about the material or assignments, to review graded work, to get suggestions for further reading, to discuss other topics related to the course. And if you are having trouble with the course work, we can talk about that too, of course. Make an appointment if you wish, or drop b y during the posted times!
WRITTEN WORK: The primary purpose of writing is to learn a subject and not to obtain a grade. Writing is a process that helps us to think more clearly. Your writing will only help you learn if it is done well—always make your best efforts to express yourself and to make your writing clear and thoughtful. I am asking that you approach writing with the primary purpose of helping you to learn, and not with the expectation that the professor should read everything you write.
All written work should be typed, double-spaced, with standard margins of 1" around. Computer-generated work is preferred. For more specific format designations, go here.
Please familiarize yourself with the statement on "Academic Integrity" in the Student Handbook. Unless you have been specifically given instructions allowing otherwise, all written work submitted for a course grade must be your own work. Working together on assignments is allowed and even encouraged, as long as the collaboration remains at the oral stage. When you are done discussing the topic, etc., with your collaborators, write up your own version of the assignment. Do not submit one assignment with two names on it, or share computer files with each other. In cases where papers are substantially the same, I will follow the Academic Intregrity policy which includes reporting the violation to my department chair and the academic dean.
The following policies apply to written work:
In general, I reserve the right to penalize late papers or even not accept them. If you foresee some legitimate difficulty that will affect your ability to turn a paper in on time, you should contact me IN ADVANCE of the deadline.
Turn around time: I need at least two weeks in order to grade and return papers. I think that this amount of time is fair. You may get papers back earlier than two weeks. I will do my best never to exceed this deadline.
Correct Citation and Plagiarism. All written work is assumed to be the student's own work. However, reference and quoting of others is both allowed and in many assignments expected. Generally, all use of another's ideas or words should be clearly indicated in your work and appropriately cited. Ideas borrowed from someone else should be acknowledge explicitly in your essays (noting the person in the text, and/or a reference. All quotations should be quoted or corrected set apart from the text by block quotation techniques, as defined in the standard English style books. All written work not distinguished as mentioned is assumed to be the student's own work.
Plagiarism, as defined in the Carroll College Academic Integrity statement is "the deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas or words or statements of another person as one's own without acknowledgement." Plagiarism is a very serious violation of academic integrity, and I will treat all suspected cases seriously. All instances of plagiarism will be treated as outlined in the Academic Integrity statement, which does give me the right to assign a penalty of "no credit" for the entire course.
As a matter of advice, I suggest you keep all papers and assignments that I have handed back until the end of the term. If there is some discrepancy or difference of opinion about a grade you received, or whether you handed something in, this is the easiest way to resolve that.
QUIZZES AND EXAMINATIONS
All students are expected to sit for quizzes and examinations on the day and at the time scheduled. Re-scheduling of quizzes always involves importance questions of fairness to those who took the exam at the scheduled time as well as increased demands on my time, and so are at my discretion, and normally will not happen unless there is a legitimate (serious) excuse, which would include college excused absences, or cases of illness or family emergencies. I reserve the right to alter the make up quiz from its original format to preserve fair treatment for all, and in the case of multiple-choice exams, the make-up may be essay-style.
Quiz Make up Policy: If you have to miss a quiz class for some legitimate reason, make-ups will be allowed as long as they occur no later than Wednesday after the test. Quiz make-ups must be approved by me prior to the quiz, and normally will take place in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) in Simperman Hall. You will need to make your own scheduling arrangements for this with the ARC director, Joan Stottlemyer (4504), and let me know the time for your make-up.
Generally, there will be no make-ups for the midterm. Students absent for college-related reasons (sports, forensics, …) may take the midterm prior.
Finals are scheduled by the registrar, and I will honor the College policy of not making any student sit for more than two finals on one day to the extent that this is possible.
FINAL GRADE CALCULATION
I calculate final grades according the following percentage/point scale
|
Points.......................... Grade |
Points........................... Grade 60-69 ...............................D Below 60 .........................F P/F Grade ........................D |
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have special needs or problems, please be sure to speak to me about them as early as possible in the semester.
AFTER THE CLASS IS OVER: Mistakes happen. Not often, but they do happen. I advise you to keep all your papers, assignments, tests, etc. and if you believe your grade is incorrect, bring them to me to verify that everything has been recorded and recorded correctly. I keep everything not picked up for one semester after the course ends as well.
Grading in this class: Philosophy classes do not grade the students on whether or not they accept the views of a philosopher or not. Grading is an evaluation of a student’s understanding of particular philosophical concept or view—as that is expressed by the student in either written or oral form. This is an evaluation of how adequately the student expression expresses the original, without simply repeating it. When a student is asked to assess a view or defend their own view, the evaluation considers the completeness and reasonability of the assessment/defense—the argument presented, the relevancy of the reasons offered in support of these assessment, and their sufficiency for supporting the assessment in question. For more detail, see Chapter Eight, of John Arthur's Studying Philosophy: A Guide for the Perplexed, especially the section “What Professors Look for in a Paper.” Another good guide is Anthony Weston's A Rulebook for Arguments, Chs VII-IX.
This page was last modified on January 23, 2005