CLASSROOM POLICIES
-Dr. Taylor- Updated: January 5, 2013
I am especially concerned with plagiarism on written assignments. Sloppiness is not an excuse. The use of someone else’s work is both stealing (from the original author) and lying (to me by presenting someone else’s work as your own). If plagiarism occurs, the student will be assigned an “F” for the course. Plagiarism simply will not be tolerated. I will be utilizing a number of tools, including (Turnitin.com) to check for plagiarism. If you are unclear on the concept, please note the following definition from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (available via http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary) Main Entry: pla·gia·rize Also, I would recommend the following sites for information on avoiding plagiarism Avoiding Plagiarism by Sharon Williams Americans With
Disabilities Act: Students with disabilities, or those who
suspect they have a disability, must register with the Disability
Services Coordinator in order to receive
accommodations. Students currently registered with the Disability
Services Office are required to present their Disability Services
Accommodation Letter to each faculty member at the beginning of each
term. If you have any questions, contact the Disability Services
Coordinator at (insert phone number and e-mail address of your campus DSC). If you are in need of
assistance, please contact the Adaptive Needs Program (Wright 226/670-3220 or
3221). Attendance. To learn the material, it is necessary to be in class. Hence, daily attendance is assumed. To encourage attendance and to reward those who faithfully attend class, there will be a 3% extra credit award added to the final course grade for all students who have perfect attendance (defined as missing no classes whatsoever—excused or not). To dissuade students from excessive absences, I will deduct a letter grade for every five (5) unexcused absences (absences are only excused if there is documentation of an unavoidable absence such a note from a university official or a doctor’s note). Please note: for absences to be excused, I must receive documentation on the day you return to class. Late documentation will not be accepted. Also note: if you are tardy you may be counted absent from class. I am not going to try and go back in time and remember what days you were really in class at the end of the semester. So, make sure that I know you were in class. Or, better yet, just be on time. (Above applied to Undergraduates only—if you want to be absent a lot in grad school, well it's your funeral). Deadlines/Due
Dates. I am very serious
about deadlines. When an assignment is due on a certain date at the beginning
of class, it is due on that date at the beginning of class. If you are tardy
to class, points will be deducted (typically one percentage point per
minute). If your paper is late (i.e., anytime after class) then your paper
will not be accepted. I am willing to accept e-mail submission in MS-Word format (please, no WordPad or MS-Works) but all deadlines remain in force (remember: e-mails are time and date stamped). If you submit via e-mail I would recommend sending it to me a little early so that I can send you a confirmation in advance of the deadline. Let’s just say that the ol’ “it must’ve gotten lost in cyberspace” excuse ain’t gonna cut it. On the day that papers are due, please plan ahead and print your assignments in plenty of time. I reserve the right to penalize students who come late to class simply because they couldn't adequately schedule the printing of their paper. Electronic Devices. Cell phones should be
turned off/set to silent before class starts. Text
messaging and e-mailing is not acceptable behavior during class. You may use
laptop computers for note-taking, but nothing else. If you cannot come to
class and pay attention, perhaps you ought not come
to class. If you choose to ignore these rules you may be asked to surrender
your device for the remainder of class, or you may simply be asked to leave
class. Review Sessions.
Often I will schedule
review session prior to exams. Review sessions will always be in a Q&A
format. I expect questions–if there are no questions, or very few questions,
at a particular review session I reserve the right to cancel subsequent
review sessions. Remember: these sessions are for your benefit and you only get out
of them what you put in! Wikipedia Rule. Do not use
Wikipedia. For each mention/citation of Wikipedia in anything submitted to me
will receive a one letter grade deduction
off the assignment per usage of Wikipedia. |