I run my courses based on established and published policies so that students know just what to expect. Carefully read this page at the beginning of the semester and refer to it as needed throughout the semester, so you understand your rights and responsibilities as a student in this course.
If you have questions, of course, feel free to ask them.
Your grade in this course will depend upon several aspects of your work. The specific breakdown is as follows:
Details of all the grading opportunities may be found elsewhere within this presentation. When appropriate, grades will be posted (anonymously) so that you can track your grade in the class.
Attendance at lectures will be counted directly towards your grade. In the weightings stated above, I refer to it as participation because you are expected to be actively engaged in the lecture; simply being physically present is not sufficient.
I will not track how much each student participates directly in class, since some students learn better by speaking up and others choose to remain quiet. However, I will note students who do not appear to be actively engaged in the class. I reserve the right to deny or reduce attendance credit for a student who sleeps, talks, departs or otherwise chooses to disengage from the educational process for a significant portion of a lecture.
Lectures start at the scheduled time, and attendance will be taken at the start of class. Please remember to sign the sign in sheet each day.
Missing a lecture here or there should not drastically impact your overall grade (as long as you make up the missed material). However, making a habit of missing lectures (or routinely arriving late) will have a detrimental effect on your grade.
At the end of the semester, I will calculate each student’s participation grade as a percentage based upon my attendance records for the semester. This grade then gets factored in with your other grades based on the weightings discussed above.
Assignments are due at the date and time indicated in the assignment description. You may submit assignments later than this deadline; however, a penalty of 10% per day will be assessed on your grade as a result. When the assignment is due at the beginning of class, work turned in after the beginning of class, but before midnight of the due date will be penalized 5%.
You are responsible for getting your late submission to me somehow. Most assignments in this class require a printout and an electronic submission. When a printout is required the assignment is not considered submitted until the hard copy is received. In the case of online submissions, notify me via email that it is complete and ready for grading. I will determine the penalty based upon when I learn that the electronic submission is complete and when I have the printout. If I need to print out your work you will lose points. Please plan accordingly.
Online submissions will be assumed complete at the stated deadline. If you are not going to have it done by the deadline, you must notify me by e-mail prior to the deadline. Then, you are responsible for notifying me again by e-mail as soon as the assignment is complete and ready for grading. If you fail to notify me that an assignment will not be complete at the deadline, I reserve the right to either grade it as it stands at the deadline or not grade it at all.
All of the above is negotiable if you have a valid excuse. However, it is your responsibility to get special allowances from me by e-mail. Even if we discuss such allowances face to face, they will not be considered official until you get me to confirm them in writing. As a general rule of thumb, the sooner you contact me about a difficulty, the more flexibility and forgiveness I am likely to have. And, remember, I will be the one to decide the validity of your excuse, and I will do so in consideration of fairness to your classmates as well as you.
Exams will be announced so that you can plan and study accordingly. Makeups MAY be allowed at my discretion, but only if you contact me before the exam is administered AND you have an extremely good excuse. I seldom give make up exams! Be sure to get confirmation of your makeup from me by e-mail to make it official! I will not drop any exam scores at the end of the semester.
Quizzes will usually be announced so that you can plan and study accordingly. Also, I reserve the right to give pop quizzes. Makeup quizzes are NOT allowed for ANY reason. Remember I drop the lowest quiz.
While it is helpful to have your own personal computer on which to do the course work, it is not required. If you wish, you are entitled to use the public computer clusters on campus.
If you do have your own computer, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the proper software installed to complete the assignments. If you do not, you may find it preferable to use the public computer clusters here on campus even if you have your own computer.
No matter where you choose to do your work, you should plan on getting started on it as soon as possible. All computers are governed by Murphy’s Law (some more so than others), and you should plan on them deciding not to work just when you need them the most (that is, in the last hour before an assignment is due). It is your responsibility to allow yourself enough time to get your work done despite the obstacles (both expected and unexpected) that may impede your progress. You may want to familiarize yourself with the policy governing the late submission of assignments so that you know what is at stake. Computer difficulties are more often a sign of poor planning than a valid excuse.
In this course (as with most courses, and indeed life in general) you will be expected to do your own work. All work which you submit and/or display as your own original work must in fact be your own original work. If any portion of the work which you do for this course is an exact replica or derivation of the original work of another, it is your responsibility to obtain the creator’s permission to utilize his or her work and indicate the extent of the creator’s contribution to your work.
Unfortunately, experience has demonstrated that a handful of students find this simple statement ambiguous. Therefore, there is a Code of Conduct for CIT classes. Please be sure you read and fully understand this document. You may be asked to submit a signed copy to me.
It is also your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the University’s Code of Ethics regarding the use of campus computing facilities and adhere to it.
Likewise, you will be expected to act as a good citizen within the networked society you are able to access as a UNH student. Use your common sense and good taste and remember that you will be held accountable for all network activity originating from your account.
Potential penalties for failing to abide by these rules can range from zero scores on individual assignments, to failure of the course, to loss of University computing privileges, to (in extreme cases) legal action.
If you are a student with a documented disability who will require accommodations in this course, please register with the Disability Services for Students in the Memorial Union Building, Room 118 (862-2607) for assistance in developing a plan to address your academic needs. Students who are already registered with the Disability Services for Students (formerly known as the Access Office) and wish to receive accommodations in this course are strongly encouraged to share their Accommodation Letter with me in a timely manner.