Erin's Drawing: Daddy

Class Policies

Attendance/Class Participation

Excellent attendance is vital to academic success. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class for the class participation points (and used as the deciding factor for borderline grades).

If you miss THREE classes (MWF classes) or TWO classes (TR classes), your final grade will be lowered by 10%; for each additional missed class your final grade will be lowered by 5%.

If you are late for the class, you will receive ½ absence. It is your responsibility to let me know you are there right after the class. If you have a legitimate excuse for missing (or being late) a class, send me an e-mail to let me know BEFORE the class.

You are expected to attend all classes, quizzes, and exams regularly. If you do miss class you are responsible for contacting other classmates to obtain any missed information.

Homework Assignments, Quizzes and Exams:

Homework will be assigned on the course web page. Some homework problems may be collected and graded. However, you will be expected to complete all assignments before the next class. Completing the assigned homework is vital to your understanding of the subject material. Your homework will be measured by your performance on pop quizzes and exams. You should make every effort to complete the homework assignments and seek help with problems you have not been able to solve. The problems on exams will be very closely related to the homework problems.

Make-up exams will be given for ONLY a legitimate excuse with full documentation (i.e., a death in the immediate family or illness verified by a doctor). The instructor reserves the right to disapprove any explanations for absences presented without prior notice.

The Final Exam is cumulative and mandatory. You are responsible for making sure that you can attend the final exam. Registering for this course means that you certify that you will be taking the final exam. Let me restate one more time: You must take the final exam at the time determined by the official University exam schedule and you will get a zero if you do not take it. There will be no exceptions.

The dates for exams will be announced in the class, and the final exam date can be found in the class schedule website and the syllabus.

Research Paper

The goal of this assignment (where it is applicable) is to give you an opportunity to practice your research skills, including, becoming knowledgeable about using various research sources and developing your critical thinking. You cannot resubmit or slightly modify a previously submitted term paper authored by you or someone else. Please refer to the other hand-out for detailed information. Download Research Format in doc or pdf

Plagiarism and Cheating

Plagiarism and cheating in any form will not be tolerated. I consider academic honesty to be at the core of the University's activities in education and research. All work (i.e., assignments, quizzes, and exams) submitted for a grade must be the sole work of the individual student turning it in. Instances of plagiarism, cheating, or other misconduct will be dealt with strictly and according to the University’s Policy and Procedure. From the 2009-2011 University Catalog, page 56:

“Cheating in all its forms, including plagiarism and cheating on visual work, is considered an academic matter to be controlled and acted upon by the individual faculty member. Students guilty of academic dishonesty on examinations in any course shall receive, as minimum penalty, a grade of F in that course. Such action shall be taken by the instructor, with written notification to the appropriate University administrators. Repeated offenses shall subject the student to suspension or dismissal from the University.

Students involved in facilitating the academic dishonesty among others, such as the unauthorized dissemination of examination materials, will be subject to disciplinary action beyond that called for by their own cheating in the course.

Guidelines and policies affecting dishonesty and most other aspects of student life may be found in the Shepherd University Student Handbook.”

Plagiarism Definition:
"Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure, up to and including expulsion." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism]

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

the use by paraphrase or direct quotation of another person's work
the use of another person's research, ideas, and arguments without full and clear acknowledgment
the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment
the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in selling or otherwise providing term papers or other academic materials
the use of commercialization sale or distribution of class notes without the instructors' permission.

Evidence of Plagiarism

Student has submitted the duplication (or some modification) of another work from oneself by recycling an older paper from another class without first discussing it with the professor.
Student has submitted the same paper to two classes without first discussing it with the professors.
Student has not included internal citations within the paper.
Student has faked citations.
Student has copied and pasted an entire article from a website or electronic database and called the product his/her own work.
Student has copied and pasted paragraphs from several resources and called the product his/her own work.
Student has rearranged the author's original words.
Student has failed to put quotation marks around directly quoted material.

Plagiarism Web Resources:

Cell Phone and Text Messaging Policy

Cell phones are not permitted during class. Please turn your cell phone off or put it onto silent (in case of an emergency situation) before class starts. Do not place your cell phone on the desk. Any student leaving during class to answer a vibrating phone will not be permitted to return to class. Text messaging will not be permitted during class. Any student whose cell phone rings (or text messaging) during class will be asked to leave and marked as an absence.

Students with Disabilities

If you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor during the first week of class. Students requesting any disability related accommodation should contact the Disability Coordinator. More information can be found on the Web page http://www.shepherd.edu/mcssweb/disabilities.

Students in Athletics

If you are on an athletic team and will be missing classes, it is your responsibility to provide me with a letter signed by your coach listing all of the days in which you will be absent. Accommodations will be made only if I receive the letter from your coach no later than the end of the first week of class.