Course Policies and Procedures
In fairness to your classmates, the JMU Honor Code must be observed at all times. For
an online discussion of the Honor Code and of the honor system more generally, click here to go to the Honor Council web site.
If you have any questions regarding work in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with me.
Below you will find discussions of course policies in three basic areas:
 | Attendance Policy
 | I take attendance every class session. This helps me to learn people's names faster. It
also helps me answer questions raised out of the classroom as I know whether or not you
heard the discussion of the material in question in class. |
| To meet the attendance policy, you need to attend 75% of the class sessions. If you do
so, you will automatically get a borderline grade raised to the next highest level. All
grades between 0.5 and 1.0 points away from the next grade level will be rounded up (all
grades within 0.5 points are rounded up anyway). For example, if you had an 82.2 average,
it would be rounded up to an 83 -- thereby raising the grade from a B- to a B. |
| If you fail to meet the attendance policy, there is nothing subtracted from your course
average at the end of the semester. Frequent unexcused absences would seem to be enough of
a handicap all by themselves. |
| Some absences can be excused. Participation in university-sponsored activities, serious
health problems, and family emergencies tend to merit an excused absence; other situations
can, as well. Do not assume that an absence will be excused; please direct any such
requests to me. |
|
| Late Penalties for Work with Deadlines
| The standard penalty for late work is a 5-point grade reduction for every 24 hours that
the assignment is late. Weekend days count the same as weekdays in calculating late
penalties. |
| There is a 5-minute grace period for all assignments. After those 5 minutes, the
assignment will be considered late regarding the relevant deadline. For instance, if an
assignment that was initially due on a Friday at 11am were handed in the following Monday
at 11:07am, it would be 4 days late; a 20-point penalty would be assessed. |
| Certain extreme situations can merit an extension of a deadline, but not very many. In
the working world, the bottom line for tasks with deadlines is meeting the deadline. In
fairness to the vast majority of JMU students who hand work in promptly, I try to hold all
students to that reasonable, real-life standard. Never assume that your situation merits
an extension; please direct any such requests to me. |
|
| Make-Up Tests and Exams
| Certain schedule conflicts (particularly those involving university-sponsored events)
and serious illness can be grounds for setting up an alternative time for tests and exams.
Again, don't assume that you will be granted a make-up test; direct any such request to me
as soon as you become aware of the conflict. |
| Make-up final exams can be given to students whose exam week schedule calls for them to
take 3 exams on the same day. Please direct such a request to me prior to the last week
of classes; you will not be permitted to take a make-up exam on these grounds if you
do not request it in advance. Please include the other 2 courses (& the
instructors'
names) in your request. |
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