POLICY REGARDING REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS IN SUBMITTING REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS

I appreciate that all of us encounter problems in life which we cannot anticipate (personal illness, the death of a family member; the dissolution of a relationship. etc.). Such events interfere with our ability to function well. Should such unavoidable events occur and you are unable to turn in your paper, please notify me immediately. Unless I have received such notification and have authorized an extension, no late papers will be accepted and you will receive a zero for that exam. If the need arises for notification, you may call me at my office or at my home. The responsibility for notification is entirely yours and must be fulfilled prior to and not after the date for submitting your answer.

GRADE APPEAL POLICY

I take the evaluation and grading of your exams very seriously because I know that most of you take the preparation and writing of your exams very seriously. I read each exam three times before I assign a grade to it. Since all exams are responses to broad and complex essay questions, there is no such thing as "a correct answer." Because all exams are essay questions there is no way to completely eliminate all subjectivity in the evaluation process.

In arriving at a grade for a particular student's essay, I use what is referred to as peer reference norm grading. I compare your essay to those essays which I believe represent excellence, both in the content of the essay and the presentation of that content. I reproduce a copy of one of these excellent essays and attach it to every exam which I return to you. If you are dissatisfied with your grade and feel an academic injustice has been done, you should do the following:

        (a) Read the comments at the end of your essay which explains why you
        received the grade on your paper and reread your essay with these
        comments in mind. 

        (b) Read the attached anonymous essay and compare it to your
        own essay. 

        (c) If you have completed steps (a) and (b), but still
        feel you wish your exam to be reread, write a maximum one page
        explanation of why you feel your exam deserves a higher grade; attach
        it to your essay, and give it to me either at the beginning or at
        the end of class period.

        (d)Allow one day for me to reread your exam and explanation and then
        come to see me during office hours or by appointment. 

Since this will not be the first time that I am reading your essay, I reserve the right to leave the grade unchanged; to increase the grade; or to decrease the grade based upon thisreading of your essay. This system is designed to minimize frivolous grade appeals and to insure that you have carefully examined and reflected on the quality of your work before deciding to initiate a grade appeal. I am unsympathetic to appeals based upon the need for a better grade to improve one's overall GPA; to be eligible for admissions to the honors program; to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, etc. Grades are given to reward performance and not to satisfy needs, however important they may be to the individual student.

A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT

It has been my experience that many students who are accustomed to always receiving high grades sometimes suffer shock when they receive a low grade on an exam in my course. This oftentimes happens on the first exam. Do not be despondent or discouraged by one poor grade. Your final course grade is not a mechanical summation of all grades you received. What I look for and hope to find is evidence of improved performance over time. Thus, a poor start followed by a consistent pattern of improvement and progress may have absolutely no effect whatsoever in the determination of your course grade. One poor grade is not a calamity from which it is impossible to recover.

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND CLASS PARTICIPATION

I consider a course to be a social contract between the instructor and students. As instructor, my responsibility is to do everything possible to make each class meeting an optimal learning experience. As students, your responsibility is to be present at every class meeting and to be prepared to participate actively in class discussion. I am fully aware that speaking among a group of strangers is an anxiety-producing experience. I want to assure you, therefore, that you will never be asked a question which requires recall of factual information, a "correct" answer, or will embarrass you in anyway. You will be asked to share views and thoughts which you have had time to think about in advance. However, each student will be called upon to contribute to the learning process. No one will be allowed the luxury of passive anonymity. CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM will be penalized by a reduction of two letter grades from your final course grade.

OTHER COURSE REQUIREMENTS

From time to time you will be assigned a two-page maximum position paper that you will be asked to submit the following class meeting. The purpose of such position papers is to prepare you for participation in class discussions. Since I never know exactly when I will assign these papers, it is your responsibility to call a student on the class roster to learn if a paper is due and what the question is in the event that you miss class. Because I want you to articulate what you believe and not what you believe I believe or think I want you to believe, the position papers will not be graded.

As in the case of exams, you should have your name, title of paper, row and seat number, on the front page. You need not, however, type them. Because I want you to articulate what you believe and not what you believe I believe or think I want you to believe, the position papers will not be graded.

OTHER MATTERS

Once class enrollment has stabilized, you will be asked to fill out an information index data list. Some of the data requested are your name and local telephone number and e-mail address if you have one. When I have collected these lists, I will distribute a class roster with everyone's name and phone number. The purpose of this roster is to allow you, should you desire, to contact other class members to discuss exam questions or to learn if a position paper is due next class period in case you missed class. As I have already stated, I both approve of and encourage peer collaboration. You may learn as much from one another as you learn from me. If, for any reason, you do not wish to be included on this roster, please indicate this when you fill out your card.

HINTS FOR WRITING AN EXCELLENT ESSAY

		1.  Read the question carefully and answer what is asked.  Do not
	 revise or reinterpret the question. 

		2.  Do not waste space by restating in the opening and closing
        paragraphs of your essay the question that was asked.  Begin your
	argument immediately.

		3.  Avoid redundancy and making the same point over and over again.
        State your point once in clear and concise language and move on to
	the next point.

		4.  Do not write long, awkward, sentences. 

		5.  Pay attention to paragraphs and smooth transitions.  Do not write
        two-three page paragraphs.  Start a new paragraph when you start a
	new part of your argument.

		6.  Make sure that the vocabulary you use is appropriate and states
        correctly what you want to say.

		7.  Do a spelling check to insure that all words are spelled correctly.

		8.  Carefully proofread your final draft to insure that there are
	no typographical errors.