Dr. STeve fawthrop

Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Radford University, Virginia

There are no excused absences for a missed class, quiz or assignment for any reason.  However, there is a “Second Change” Contract which gives you the opportunity to make up for each of these is they are missed.  If the participation policy does not require you to be in class, nothing is lost if you miss.  Assignments and quizzes can only be made up if you are participating in the “Second Chance” contract regardless of the reason for missing. 

A group activity which is done in class will be excused with an official note as described below.  Group activities which are done out of class are only excused if the note covers at least half of the period allowed for the assignment.

If a tests is missed a make up is permitted as described in the Test section below.

For group work and tests you must have a signed note on official letterhead paper from the doctor or other authority who is vouching for your absence.

Assignments will only be accepted late with an excuse note and only during the first class after your return, providing that solutions have not been posted.  Once solutions are posted no credit can be received.

If a midterm test is missed there will be no make-up given but, with an official note you will be allowed to substitute that part of the final exam corresponding to the missed test.  Substitution will not be allowed for merely forgetting to complete the test.  Only one substitution is permitted: you cannot miss two or more tests.

 

This class has a policy which gives credit for the amount of participation.  It  is based on a sliding scale dependent on current grade.  ‘F’ students need more involvement than ‘A’ students. Throughout the semester, as your grade changes, the requirements change. Included in this credit are: attendance at class and office hours; completion of assignments, quizzes and group assignments.  Bonus credit can be gained by a number of methods.  Details are given at the bottom of this page

SAMPLE Course Contract

Your grade will be determined based on completion of tests, assignments, quizzes and group work.  In addition there is a participation credit worth up to 10% which is added to your grade on assigned work.  All assigned work is graded on a basis of 80% for an ‘A’ ,but the participation credit is added to this to make a TOTAL of 90% needed for an ‘A’.  Those students who do not fully participate will not receive the full 10% credit and will need  more on assigned work to compensate. 

The grade breakdown is as follows:

1. three mid-term exams, 51% (3 @ 20% each)

2. final exam                     24%

3. assignments                 10% (5 graded @ 2% each)

4. quizzes                           5% (5 @ 1% each)

5. group work                    10%

 

For grading purposes the semester is split into 5 three-week periods.  At the end of each period your grade will be published to the web.  Your participation requirements for the following period will be determined by the grade at the end of current period.  There are also minimum requirements on the final exam to achieve each grade.

 

Grading

Tests will consist of problems similar to those from the text, discussed in class or given as assignments.  All mid-term tests will give the student a choice of questions to answer: if more are answered than required then credit will only be given for the highest scoring answers.   Mid-term tests will be take-home and you will have one week to complete them.  The final will be given in class at the scheduled time.

 

If a student has a 100% participation credit at the end of the last week of classes then an option will be given to drop one exam and take the course grade on remaining work.  Except in courses which have a common final such a student may elect to skip the final and use this as the dropped test.  In courses which have a common final it is required that the final be taken but it can still be the one which is dropped.    Students who do not get a 100% participation credit will not have the option to drop a test.

 

Make up tests will not be given under any circumstances. If you miss a test and have signed the “Second Chance Contract” you have the option to drop the missed test.   Otherwise, if you miss a test you must have an official note documenting the absence as described above and you will then have the option to substitute part of the final in for the grade.   You may not substitute two tests.

 

Any student who is found to have received help, or to have worked with a classmate, on a test will receive an automatic ‘F for the course and will be reported for an honors violation.  This ‘F’ may be changed to a zero on the test if the student has a 100% participation after the violation, but this is not automatic.  Also, any student who scores more than 20% higher on any test than one the remainder of the course  will be required to visit my office and give an oral presentation to prove they did not get help.

 

After the final test your grade may be reviewed. If you are close to the next higher grade and your participation score is at least 85% then the instructor will look over all of your tests and exams to determine if a higher grade is justified. This may be the case if there is a clear indication from the tests that your level of understanding is at the higher grade level. In order to do this the instructor must retain the test papers so that they are available to review and it is recommended that you copy the test before submitting it so that you have a copy to use when reviewing the solutions.   Only test papers will be reviewed, not assignments or quizzes.

Assignments will be given on a regular basis.  They are of three types:

i. Drill exercises.  Answers will be given at the same time as the questions.  These will not be collected.  They are intended as practice problems.  All students should ensure that they know how to do these before attempting problems to be handed in.  You do not need to do them if you feel comfortable that you know how to solve them, but if you are in any doubt it would be wise to try them.  Drill will not be given for all material but if you feel that you need them when they are not provided you can request that some be created.

ii. Participation Assignments.  These will be collected and will count towards the participation credit.  Normally one set will be given at the end of each week and will cover the material done in class that week.

iii. Graded Assignments.  These assignments will be graded for credit and also count towards the participation credit.   Normally one such assignment will be given at the end of each grading period.  There will be 5 in all.

 

Answers to all questions assigned will be made available on the web.   Regardless of whether an assignment is to be graded, you must still complete all P- & G-type assignments because they will count towards the participation score.  If you do not complete all such assignments on time you will not be able to attain a perfect score for your assignment work.  You must hand them in by the due date to receive full credit unless you have a note (see under Excused Absences).  Under no circumstances will an assignment be accepted after the answers are published to the web.

Every week part of the homework assignment will be to complete a Feedback Note. These will count towards participation but not towards the assignment grade.  If you fail to give a feedback note you will not receive full participation credit and so will not be able to achieve a 100% participation score.

During the first week of class you will be given the option to have homework count towards your grade.  If you elect not to have it count then all other parts of the grade will be adjusted accordingly.  Even if you elect to not count it towards the grade you must still complete all P- & G-type assignments for the participation credit.

Students who participate in the “Second Chance” Contract will have the opportunity to improve a grade on a credit assignment as described in the contract.  This does not give a second chance to get the participation credit.

 

Students will be asked to form groups of 4 or 5 during the first weeks of class. These groups will perform activities together, both inside and outside of class, and will be graded on the results. All students in a group will receive the same grade for an assignment.  You must be present in class to receive any credit for a group activity.  You may not change groups after the first group activity so make sure you talk to the people to make sure you will be able to work with them before committing to join them in a group..

At the end of the semester you will be required to evaluate each of the other group members on their effort and participation.  Your own grade on the final group project will be affect by how your fellow group members rate you.

As an additional incentive to work together as a group and support one another throughout the course bonuses will be awarded if all members of a group reach certain participation levels.  This pertains to all group members: if one member does not achieve these goals because of dropping the course then the bonuses are not available.  If all groups members maintain the following participation levels the bonuses will be:  3.0% for 100% participation; 2.5% for 95%, 2.0% for 90%; 1.5% for 85%; 1.0% for 80%; 0.5% for 75%.  This is a bonus for the course, not the group work.

For more details on the reasons for this see the teaching philosophy link.

This class has a participation policy which assumes that the lower a person's grade the greater is the need to participate in order to improve that grade. Thus, a student who is currently getting an 'F' on the class will be required to participate more than a student who is getting an 'A'.  Every three weeks the current grades for the course to date will be available. The level of participation  in the following grading period depends on your current grade.

The following activities will be part of this credit:

1. Hand in all homework assigned in class. (2 pts. each, prorated for partial completion).

2. Take all quizzes (2pts. each)

3. Participate in all group activities (2 pts. each).

4. Attend all classes, except as given below (1 pt. each).

5. Required office visits as described below (1 or 2pts. each).

 

Additional participation requirements, dependent on current grade:

1. Students whose current grade is 'A' are permitted one absence for each grading period (3 weeks) without loss of participation credit, except that all students must be in every class for the first 3 weeks of the semester. It is the students responsibility if an assignment or other activity is missed and no make up will be given.

2. Students whose current grade is a 'D' must visit during office hours at least once during each grading period.   2 pts will be received if the visit is made.

3. Students whose current grade is a 'F' must visit twice during office hours during each grading period. If the number of people getting an 'F' is low, this may be modified to a 'D' at the instructors discretion. 2 pts will be received for the visit made, and 1pt for the second one.

 

The above  makes up the mandatory participation requirements. Miss any of them and you participation credit will drop. At the end of each midterm grading period, if your grade has changed your participation requirement may also have changed. You should check the grades each time they are published.

In addition to the mandatory participation it is possible to receive bonus credits by any of the following methods.  These can be used to make up for lost credits.

 

1. Attending classes beyond the minimum requirements (1 pt. each)

2. Visiting during office hours attended (with valid questions) beyond the minimum requirements above.   (1 pt each)

3. Occasionally the instructor will send a question to the class e-mail list.  Any student who answers it correctly within the time limit given will receive a bonus credit. (Points depend on question.)

 

Bonus credits count for only one quarter the value of a full participation credit so a student who has dropped below 100% can only regain the 100% by gaining four times as many bonus credit as the number which were lost.  For example, for each class missed you need to gain 4 bonus credits.  If you lose more than 1 or 2 participation points during the semester it is highly unlikely you will be able to make them up.

 

Office visit which are made under the conditions of the “Second Chance” contract do no count as bonus credits.

 

 

The above counts for 8 participation points, which is given for meeting these minimum participation requirements. Students who do not participate fully will only receive partial credit depending on the level of participation.

All students are encourage to attend all classes and visit during office hours as much as possible, even if it is not required by this participation policy. Students who are repeatedly more than 5 minutes late for class or who walk out (without advance notification) before the end may not receive participation credit for that class. Students seen to be sleeping during class will not receive credit for the class.  If you arrive to class after I have called roster it is your responsibility to come and let me know at the end of class.  I accept no responsibility for you not being given credit for a class if you are late.

An additional participation credit of 2 points, referred to as a “courtesy credit”, is automatically given to all students. However, part of this credit can be lost for actions which show a lack of respect for fellow class members or the instructor. Any of the following actions will result in a loss of part of this credit:

1. If cell phone rings audibly in class. (1 pt loss)

2. Disrupting class by leaving or arriving late in a manner which causes the instructor to have to pause his presentation. (0.5pt loss)

3. Missing an office visit set up by appointment. (0.5 pt loss)

4. Other activities deemed disrespectful to others involved in classes. (0.5 pt loss)

5. Repeatedly arriving late for class without discussing it with the instructor. (0.5 pt loss)

6. Repeatedly walking out and back in to class without discussing it with the instructor. (0.5 pt loss)

 

 

This bonus credit is awarded to responsible students because of the increasing incidence of actions which show a lack of respect to others.   The vast majority of students will automatically receive this.

To receive the 100% participation credit which permits you to drop your worst test you must gain the full credit for the Courtesy Credit.

 

Details of the Participation Credit.

Participation Policy

Excused Absences and Make-ups.

Tests   

Assignments

Group Activities

If you are seeking classroom or exam accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are required to register with the Disability Resource Office which is located in Room 32 of Tyler Hall. The telephone number is 831-6350. To receive academic accommodations for this class, please obtain the proper forms from the DRO and meet with me at the beginning of the semester.

Students with Disabilities

The participation policy is design to keep both student and instructor informed at all times of the progress being made. Drop slips will not be signed unless the student first discusses the reasons with the instructor. This is to avoid having the student drop before trying to make a plan to improve the grade. Please make an appointment to discuss this if you are thinking of dropping. Drop slips will not be signed in the classroom.

Drop Policy

By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of this academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to your Student Handbook for details.

Any violation of the Honor Code will result in an automatic ‘F’ for the course.  This may be changed to a zero for the assignment if the student has a 100% participation credit after the violation, but the instructor is under no obligation to do so unless he feels it is deserved..

Because this class includes take-home tests the Honor Code is taken very seriously.  Is there is any suspicion of a violation you will be called to my office immediately.

Radford University Honor Code.