2. Policies & Expectations

Policies & Expectations

Understanding the policies and expectations is a major key to your success in any course. All students in all of my courses should read through this page and all of the sub-pages in this section. In order to reinforce the importance of these pages,

you will be quizzed over this material (you may have these web pages open for the quiz), and
if you ask me questions over matters that I have covered in these pages, I will refer you to these pages for the answer to your question.

If there's one thing I really want you to know, it's how much I care about you and your success in my class. I've put all these guidelines here to help you, so please use them! I can't just give you an A if you didn't earn it, but I can help you earn it through guidance like this. I can't apply one set of standards to you when the rest of the class gets some other standard. Everyone is different, and you might not always like my decisions, but I am fair to everyone and I do care about you. Please take this and all of my guidance to heart so that you can be successful. Never be afraid to ask me questions! I want to help!

Participation & Behavior

Participation is critical to learning. It is, therefore, an important part of your grade -- always indirectly, but also directly in some courses or situations. Indirectly, being present and active affects how you score on exams and other assignments. In other words, be present for every class -- both physically and mentally. Directly, there may be a "participation" category listed in the gradebook (perhaps around 10%), but more likely I lump participation in with some other gradebook item (such as a discussion board).

In a traditional class, your participation grade is based primarily on attendance and being active in class. In an online class, your participation grade is based primarily on regular logins and discussion posts. In either case, there may be other requirements which count as a small part of the participation grade, so check your syllabus for details.

I also expect you to behave like a civil, adult human being in class (traditional or online). This means a couple things. First, it means not being disruptive to others in the classroom -- goofing around on your devices, talking to your neighbor during lecture, bringing messy or smelly food to class, etc. Second, it means not being rude, intolerant, or insulting -- toward any person or group (whether present in our class or not). In other words, don't behave that way toward students, the professor, the department, the college, or any people or groups we're discussing. I reserve the right to remove inappropriate online discussion posts.

For the most part, my calculation of your participation grade is based on positive scores -- in other words, how many things you did right (number of classes attended, discussions posted, etc.). However, the behavioral component (if applicable) is a negative calculation to the score you received. In almost all cases, there is little or no deduction, since most of my students manage to follow the basic social rules for the course. However, I allow the possibility to deduct whatever amount I deem appropriate based on the severity of any rude, disruptive, or otherwise inappropriate behavior -- up to the full portion of your participation grade for very extreme offensives. Even if there's no gradebook item called "participation" in the course, I reserve the right to deduct points from some grade if there is a disciplinary issue. That said, this is almost never necessary.

Please note that this section refers only to the effect of participation and behavior on your grade. There may be other disciplinary procedures to be followed at your college, if a situation warrants it. These are usually explained in your college catalog (and perhaps your course syllabus).

Missed Class

As stated above, being present is essential to learning. Think of college as you would think of your job. Just as you wouldn't expect to keep a job if you don't show up regularly, you shouldn't expect to do well in a course if you don't show up regularly. At colleges which allow me to do so, I will administratively drop a student who does not attend regularly. (This includes regular logins in online courses.) See your syllabus for details.

Please let me know if you are going to miss a class or if you are having trouble making arrangements to regularly be in class. I can only help if I know what's going on.

If you miss a class, you are responsible for the missed material. (Please don't ask if you missed anything. You did.) Get the notes from a classmate (someone who takes good notes, not just outlines), review those notes, and then come meet with me during my office hours to go over the questions you have about them. Also, check with me to find out if there were things which your classmate couldn't share with you -- such as videos, etc.

If you miss a class, it does not change the deadlines for assignments. Some things can't be made up afterwards because they are based on something time-sensitive or on interaction with others in class (such as attendance, presentations, or discussions). If you know in advance that you'll be absent on the day of an exam or other major assignment, see me at least a week in advance to make arrangements to get it in early. If an emergency comes up at the last minute causing you to miss class on a day when an exam or major assignment is due, you will need documented, authoritative proof of a serious and unforeseen emergency. See the section below on "late work" about what may or may not be made up. In some cases, I will confer with my supervisor before allowing or disallowing make-up work.

Because online students have access to materials and exams for an extended period (not just a single day, as it is in a traditional class), assignments and exams are almost never accepted late. See the section on "late work" below for more information.

Late Work

In the workplace, work is expected to be done on time. College is to prepare you for the workplace, so work in college is also supposed to be done on time.

Work is never accepted late in these situations:

The work is time-sensitive or dependent on interaction with classmates. This includes things like attendance, presentations, and discussions.
Your syllabus excludes certain items (such as items worth less than a certain percentage of your final grade).

In addition, work for online classes will often fall into this "never" category because online students have access to materials for an extended period (not just a single day, as it is in a traditional class). If you are in an online class or are required to submit an assignment online, you should plan to have your work in at least 2 days before it is due so that you are not prevented from submitting it due to an emergency, a power outage, lack of internet access, etc. It is your duty to plan ahead. Even if a particular assignment is accepted late in your online course, it may come with a late penalty, so it's better to avoid that when you can.

In traditional classes, too, it is better to submit work in advance if you expect to miss a class. If you know you will be absent on an exam day, please let me know a week ahead so that I can make arrangements for you to take the exam early.

In an intensive course (a course lasting less than the usual 14-15 weeks), I may not allow late work at all or at least not for the last few assignments. (This falls into the time-sensitive category above.) Pay attention to the syllabus, the announcements, emails to the class, etc., so you know what's going on. If you're not sure, please ask.

If an emergency comes up at the last minute causing you to miss class on a day when an exam or major assignment is due, you will need documented, authoritative proof of a serious and unforeseen emergency. After I receive this proof, I will decide whether it entitles you to make up the exam or assignment.

Even in the case when an exam or assignment is allowed late, the grade for that item may be subject to a penalty. When you contact me about late work, always send me the documentation of the emergency. You don't need to send anything that discloses private information, but you do need to demonstrate that there was a real problem. For instance, if you had to go to the doctor, I don't need your discharge paperwork that tells me all about your diagnosis, weight, etc. I just need the return to work/school note that all doctors provide on request that simply says you were at that appointment.

If you're asking for several days off, the document you provide should explain which dates are covered. For example, if you're sick or injured and the doctor says that you can't go back to school for a week, the return to work/school note generally specifies the exact beginning and ending date when you were unavailable. When you contact me about this extended situation and provide me this documentation, let's discuss the order and the timetable for making up work.

If you have an ongoing issue that may occasionally mean that future assignment(s) will be late (possibly at random times), you can save yourself a lot of hassle by letting me know this upfront at the beginning of the course and providing the documentation at that time. Then we'll be able to plan for these situations when/ if they arise. This may be related to any number of things that can be periodically triggered, including (but not necessarily limited to): military deployment, mental health, chronic illness, disability, etc.

Keep in mind that even if a late exam or assignment is disallowed or penalized, that doesn't always mean that your final grade for the course is beyond hope. It might be that the item was worth a small percentage of your grade, meaning that it won't matter too much. Or it might be that you can do some extra credit to offset the penalty. Do the math or see me to help! (See section below on "calculating your grade.")

Getting Help, Do-Overs, & Extra Credit

The college offices and I are here to help you with your education, but ultimately, it is your responsibility. I will help you as much as I can before you begin an assignment -- clarifying instructions, brainstorming ideas, etc. Due to a heavy teaching load, I can't pre-read papers. However, I'm happy to help with any pre-writing tasks. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the tutoring or writing center help that is offered at your college. Keep in mind, though, that if you're asking them to pre-read your paper and give you tips on it, you need to allow enough time for them to go through it and for you to edit it.

There are no do-overs in my courses -- NO exceptions! Ask your questions, get your writing help, etc., before you officially submit an assignment.

If work is submitted through an online system, always submit the work in the specified format. I can't grade what I can't open. In addition, once you have submitted the work, check to see that it is actually there and actually the right assignment, format, etc. (If you're not sure how to check, ask the college's I.T. help desk.) Again, all of this is your responsibility, so check your work. Your failure to do these things is not cause for me to grant a do-over (which, as I said, I don't do).

I do understand that many things can result in a poor grade: you thought you didn't need help on an assignment, but you did; you received a zero or a penalty on something due to it being late; etc. This does not mean that all hope is lost. If this happens to you, keep these things in mind:

Each assignment is only worth a percentage of your grade. The smaller the percentage of that assignment, the less damage done to your final grade. I can help you do the math, if needed.
Every assignment still to come is a chance to do better. Be sure to get help from me (or the appropriate office) in advance of those upcoming assignments in order to make the most of them.
Take advantage of any chances for extra credit.

Because my focus is on doing things right the first time, extra credit is limited in my courses. A wise student will take advantage of it when it is offered. Most extra credit opportunities are in the form of extra participation items (extra discussion posts, various types of student development appointments, etc.). Any extra credit possibility will be advertised in the syllabus and/or course announcements so that it is fully and equally available to the entire class. NO extra credit will be given:

after the course has ended, or
when it is only available to a single individual.

Regrading

I grade papers carefully. The lower the score is, the more times I read through the paper. I'm looking for anything I might have missed, any way to give you partial credit, etc. Very few people get lower than a B-range on a paper in my classes, so if you get a C-range, please know that I really did look it over with extreme care and attention. (And if it was lower than that, then I did this even more so!)

What I'm saying is that I don't assign a low grade unless I'm really, really sure -- and I've already factored in as many "benefit of the doubt" points that I can. I really am on your side, even when it doesn't always feel that way! I will help you as much as I can before you write the paper. Then, when I do grade it, if I see that you need to improve in some areas, I will give feedback about which 2 or 3 things would be the most useful for improvement on future papers.

Having said that, most students (even me!) do occasionally at some point in their lives get a score on something that is lower than expected. I hate giving those scores at least as much as you hate getting them, but they do happen. If this happens to you in one of my classes, implement the feedback to do better next time. Feel free to ask me anything about it. I will try to help.

However, please don't ask me to regrade anything. If the gradebook registered a typo or if I misadded the points, let me know and I'll obviously fix that. But I never regrade. I really did read your paper repeatedly before assigning a low score, so I'm not going to read it again.

Electronic Devices

Class time is a time to "unplug" from electronic devices so you can devote your full attention to the lecture or classroom activities. Refraining from using electronic devices during class also allows your classmates to focus their attention on the lecture and activities. So, even if you won't do it for your own benefit, I insist you do it for the others around you and for me. We all need to focus so we can accomplish what we're there to do! As a general rule, therefore, electronic devices are not allowed in my classroom.

One limited exception is that I will allow you to take notes on your computer under the following conditions:

You notify me in advance that this is what you will be doing.
You refrain from doing anything else (games, web-surfing, emailing, etc.) on the computer during class.
You do not use the computer at all during non-lecture times during class (exams, discussions, videos, etc.).
You do not make any inappropriate use of the lecture notes taken electronically.

Any violation of these rules (or any other inappropriate actions with your computer or class notes) will result in the loss of this privilege, a deduction of your participation points, and (if appropriate) discipline by the college.

Cell phones and other devices must be completely silenced and put away during class (except where I have given specific permission otherwise). They are not to be on your desk, hidden on your lap, etc. The classroom is a NO PHONE ZONE. Having a cell phone or device accessible during class time will result in a deduction of your participation points, and (if appropriate) discipline by the college.

If you have an emergency or on-call situation where you believe a phone is necessary during class time, you must notify me at the beginning of the class period and get explicit permission and instructions for that day only. Such instructions will include that the phone must be on vibrate and that you will sit near the door. This special permission (if given) will be valid for one day only. It will never be given on an exam day.

Having electronic devices accessible on an exam day or while exams are being reviewed is strictly prohibited. The exam will be graded as a zero, and (if appropriate) there may be discipline from the college.

Children & Visitors in Class

Guests are not permitted in class. You are responsible for securing appropriate childcare, just as you would for a job situation. If you are having trouble locating appropriate childcare, let me know. The college may have or know of a resource to help with this situation.

Testing Procedures

During an exam, the student may have only items necessary to the taking of the exam (such as pencils or reading glasses) and items reasonably necessary for the comfort of the student (such as water or tissues). Many colleges require a student ID in order to take an exam, so bring that, too. In most courses, I do not allow notes during exams (or, if allowed, notes may be restricted to only handwritten notes of a specified short length).

When you enter the classroom for an exam, leave your backpack or belongings near the door. Do not access your phone or other electronic devices the whole period. Do not leave the room during the exam until you have completed the exam. Leaving the room indicates that you are done. If class continues after the exam, remain quietly in your seat or in the hallway just outside of the exam room.

If you expect to miss an exam, notify me a week in advance. Taking an exam early is not a problem, but taking it late is not guaranteed. See above section on "late work." Exams for online courses are available for several days; therefore, it is unlikely that late exams will be allowed (although small quizzes might be allowed, but likely with a penalty). Do not leave it until the last day, as something will undoubtedly go wrong.

Completed tests/exams are kept by me and are not sent home with the student.

Many universities require exams to be taken and reviewed in proctored settings -- my classroom, the college's testing center, or with a proctor approved by the college. If you are taking the exam online with a proctor, pay attention to the hours when the testing center or your proctor is available. The exam itself may expire at a particular time (such as 11:59 p.m.), but you can't access it that late if the testing center closes at noon or your proctor leaves work at 5:00!

Some universities require a monitoring software for exams (and possibly quizzes) taken at home or at an unapproved setting. If you are supposed to use this type of monitoring software, don't wait until the last day to take the quiz or exam. There may be technical issues (especially if you're using it for the first time in this class) and you'll need time to contact I.T. to resolve the problem.

If you are taking the exam online with a proctor, check with me about any required password information. In most courses, this does not apply to quizzes, but it may apply to exams.

Calculating Your Course Grade

Each graded item is worth a percentage of your final grade. To illustrate, let's say your final grade is based on 3 items. Item A is worth 50%; item B is worth 20%; and item C is worth 30% of your final grade. That is, 50% + 20% + 30% = 100% (your full possible final grade).

Now, let's say that you score 95% on item A. To see what this means in the final grade, you multiply 95% (or .95) by 50, since item A is worth 50% of your grade. 95% x 50 = 47.5. That means that on a scale of 100, you've already earned 47.5 of the points.

Let's say next that you have an unexcused absence and do not get a grade on item B. 0% x 20 = 0.

Next, you score 80% on item C. 80% x 30 = 24.

In this illustration, your weighted subtotals are 47.5, 0, and 24. Your final grade is determined by adding up the weighted subtotals. 47.5 + 0 + 24 = 71.5. Your final score for the course, in this example, is 71.5%.

I tried to keep this example simple so you could see how it works. In reality, you'll have more graded items, so each will be worth a smaller percentage of your final grade. That means that one bad grade might not really hurt that much in the end. It depends on how much that item was weighted and how you do on the other graded items. And don't forget, there may be some things you can do for extra credit.

The important thing to remember is to be realistic. I've seen students who were doing great drop a course because they didn't understand the math to see that they were actually doing well! And I've seen students who became overconfident because they did really well on some low-point items, therefore not realizing that their low grades on high-point items really did hurt! In other words, you've got to do the math to have an accurate understanding of where you are!

Some colleges have online systems which show you a running total of your grade. Do NOT believe those totals because they don't take into account the items not yet graded. There is no substitute for doing the math!

I want you to have an accurate picture of what your grade is. I encourage you to put together a chart to help you do the math. List all the assignments and their weights (which you'll find in the syllabus). Then, as items are graded, insert your grades and multiply them across to find your weighted subtotals (as in the examples given above). If you're not sure about how to do this, email me and I'll do the math for you to show you where you are and what you'll need to score on upcoming items. I'm happy to help with this.

Class Cancellation

Class is cancelled if the college is closed. Check the appropriate information sources about that.

Otherwise, class is in session. In the extremely unlikely event that I am not there, most colleges require that someone will cover the class for me. Unless I specifically tell you in so many words that there's no class, then there IS class! Even if I change some other appointment (such as office hours), class is still in session unless I say exactly that!

Office Hours

Office hours are times for you to meet with me outside of class time. In most cases these are voluntary and on a first-come, first-served basis, however, there may be times when I require certain meetings and set up appointments.

I strongly encourage you to make use of my office hours. I am interested in getting to know you, helping you with the class material, and helping you to find other resources on or off campus who can help with your success in college -- but I can't do any of that if you don't stay in touch with me about what's going on in your life! Coming to see your instructor is not a shameful thing, it's a networking thing! You're paying the tuition, so get the most you can out of the experience!

Seat Assignments

Selecting your own seat is a privilege, not a right. If a student is disruptive to other students or to me, I will choose to protect the greater learning environment over your preference. You will be given one warning, explaining how your behavior is disruptive and asking you to stop. If the disruptive behavior continues, I will assign you a new seat for the remainder of the term for the good of the class as a whole. I may choose to have another faculty member present when doing so.

Time Needed for Class & Preparation

The general rule of thumb in college is this:

The number of credit hours the course is worth is how long you'll spend in class.
You'll also need to spend three hours preparing for each credit hour that a course is worth.

So, if a course is worth 3 credit hours, expect to meet in class for 3 hours per week AND do about 9 hours of work outside of class (readings textbooks, doing assignments, studying for exams, writing research papers, etc.). Thus, the total weekly commitment for the class is about 12 hours per week.

This is a significant commitment of your time, so plan accordingly when scheduling classes. Also, keep in mind that this is an approximation. Other factors (like how quickly or slowly you can read and still comprehend the material, how well your background has prepared you for this course, etc.) will affect your amount of preparation time.

If you are taking the course online, the same principle holds, except that you need to calculate the things that would normally be done in-class (like exams, lectures, and discussions) as class time -- and still figure the normal amount for "work outside of class." In other words, if you are in an online course worth 3 credit hours, expect the total time spent on it will be around 12 hours per week (3 hours of things that would otherwise be done in class AND 9 hours of out-of-class preparation).

These calculations assume that you're attending a class that is a full semester in length. If you're taking a class that is accelerated, then everything needs to be multiplied by the factor of acceleration. For example, if a normal semester is 14 weeks at your university but you're taking the full course in 7 weeks, you'd need to spend twice the time each week so that you could still cover the full amount of material.

Technology & Access

In order to get credit for an assignment, you must submit it in the software that I specify. For most papers, this means MS Word, which is provided through most universities to students. For work that is to be graded, do not send shareable links -- only downloadable files.

For online presentations, I will require whatever your university provides for students to use (such as Kaltura).

For all assignments, you need to use the specified software so that I can access your work. (If it's something that other students need to be able to access, such as your presentation, that's obviously also a concern.) In all cases, if I can't open it, I can't grade it. I will feel very sad that all your hard work was wasted, but I can't grade what I can't open.

If you are submitting an assignment, discussion board post, etc., online, check to be sure that it is there, that it is the correct document, and so forth. If enabled, check to see what the plagiarism and A.I. software indicates so that you see the same report I will see. If you have allowed the proper amount of leeway in getting your assignment in, you can check all of this -- and still have time to email me if you noticed a problem. For instance, if the document didn't load correctly or was the wrong document, email me the correct one before I've already graded the incorrect one. Or if a discussion post doesn't appear, post it again. Reach out to the I.T. department if you're having technical issues/ questions.

In all cases, the software required is accessible easily to everyone. In addition, you will have plenty of notice on your assignments so that if you have trouble running something on your computer, you can find a computer that will run it. Plan ahead. Do a practice run with unfamiliar technology (or software you haven't used in a while).

For my part, I will only use technology that you should be able to access and I will always provide a free option for required viewing. Although many videos I show are from professional documentaries, news channels, etc., I usually show the YouTube version of them because that's what most people can access the easiest.

In terms of this website, it is set up for viewing on a computer (not a phone). Pages with lots of videos may take longer to load, but usually take under 2 minutes even for the fullest pages. Most students have no problem with this website, but if you do, try it at different times of day or on different devices.

Once you get to the video or link that you're to watch, don't watch it from this website but rather from its own home. It will run faster and you'll be able to pull up more of the bibliographic information from it that you may need. If it's a YouTube video, just click on the word YouTube at the bottom of the video and it will take you to that site to watch it.

In short, everything in the course is designed so that it's accessible to all -- whether it's what I post or what I ask you to submit.

As a side note, when you use materials from this website as sources of information in your assignments, do not cite this website. This is not a source. Go to the original source itself and cite the real information of that source.

Letters of Recommendation

If you would like for me to write you a letter of recommendation for a job, college, or scholarship opportunity, please observe the following:

You must have completed my course already, or be very close to doing so.
It would be best if you have earned a grade in the A or B range.
You must have taken my course within the past 2 years or have continued in an ongoing relationship with me so that I will be aware of your grades and situation.
You must allow me a minimum of 3 weeks to get this done.
You must provide me with the following information:
- The purpose of the reference
- The deadline for the letter
- The person/institution to whom it is to be addressed
- The address or contact information where I am to send it
- A self-addressed stamped envelope (if it is to be mailed)
- The courses, sections, and terms when you were in my class

Some colleges may have additional requirements for writing letters of recommendation. These must also be observed.