I run my courses based on established and published policies so that students know just what to expect. If you carefully read this page at the beginning of the semester and then refer to it as needed throughout the semester, you should understand your rights and responsibilities as a student in this course.
If you have questions, of course, feel free to ask them.
Your grade in this course will depend to varying degrees upon several aspects of your work. The specific breakdown is as follows:
Please note that attendance at lectures is factored directly into your grade. Please see the attendance policy below for details.
I’m happy to explain my grading practices and policies to anyone who is concerned about their standing in the class, but in short they can be summarized as follows:
Attendance at lectures will be counted directly towards your grade. In the weightings stated above, I refer to it as participation because you are expected to be actively engaged in the lecture; simply being physically present is not sufficient.
I will not track how much each student participates directly in class, since some students learn better by speaking up and others choose to remain quiet. However, I will note students who do not appear to be actively engaged in the class. I reserve the right to deny or reduce attendance credit for a student who sleeps, talks, departs or otherwise chooses to disengage from the educational process for a significant portion of a lecture.
Lectures start promptly at the scheduled time, and attendance will be taken at the start of class. If you arrive late, I reserve the right to deny or reduce your attendance credit for that lecture.
Missing a lecture here or there should not drastically impact your overall grade (as long as you make up the missed material). However, making a habit of missing lectures (or routinely arriving late) will have a detrimental effect on your grade.
At the end of the semester, I will calculate each student’s participation grade as a percentage based upon my attendance records for the semester. This grade then gets factored in with your other grades based on the weightings discussed above.
It is possible to receive partial credit for missed lectures (or late arrivals) provided you have a valid excuse. However, I will be the one that determines the validity of the excuse and the amount of partial credit. Please note that there is a difference between an excuse and an explanation.
Assignments are due at the date and time indicated in the assignment description. You may submit assignments later than this deadline; however, a penalty will be assessed on your grade as a result.
All of the above is negotiable if you have a valid excuse. However, it is your responsibility to get special allowances from me by e-mail. Even if we discuss such allowances face to face, they will not be considered official until you get me to confirm them in writing. As a general rule of thumb, the sooner you contact me about a difficulty, the more flexibility and forgiveness I am likely to have. And, remember, I will be the one to decide the validity of your excuse, and I will do so in consideration of fairness to your classmates as well as you.
Exams will be announced so that you can plan and study accordingly. Makeups may be allowed at my discretion, but only if you contact me before the exam is administered with an unavoidable conflict. Be sure to get confirmation of your makeup from me by e-mail to make it official! I will not drop any exam scores at the end of the semester.
This is a lecture course. The classroom has a computer with a projection system for me to use in demonstrating concepts. As students, you will not have access to computers during lecture. However, you will need access to a computer outside of lecture in order to fulfill the course requirements.
While it is helpful to have your own personal computer on which to do the course work, it is not required. If you wish, you are entitled to use the public computer clusters on campus.
If you do have your own computer, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the proper software installed to complete the assignments. If you do not, you may find it preferable to use the public computer clusters here on campus even if you have your own computer.
No matter where you choose to do your work, you should plan on getting started on it as soon as possible. All computers are governed by Murphy’s Law (some more so than others), and you should plan on them deciding not to work just when you need them the most (that is, in the last hour before an assignment is due). It is your responsibility to allow yourself enough time to get your work done despite the obstacles (both expected and unexpected) that may impede your progress. You may want to familiarize yourself with the policy governing the late submission of assignments so that you know what is at stake. Computer difficulties are more often a sign of poor planning than a valid excuse.
In this course (as with most courses, and indeed life in general) you will be expected to do your own work. All work which you submit and/or display as your own original work must in fact be your own original work. If any portion of the work which you do for this course is an exact replica or derivation of the original work of another, it is your responsibility to obtain the creator’s permission to utilize his or her work and indicate the extent of the creator’s contribution to your work.
Unfortunately, experience has demonstrated that a handful of students find this simple statement ambiguous. Therefore, I have composed a Code of Conduct for my classes. Please be sure you read and fully understand this document. You may be asked to submit a signed copy to me.
For issues specific to this course, see the FAQ page.
It is also your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the University’s Code of Ethics regarding the use of campus computing facilities and adhere to it.
Likewise, you will be expected to act as a good citizen within the networked society you are able to access as a UNH student. Use your common sense and good taste and remember that you will be held accountable for all network activity originating from your account.
Potential penalties for failing to abide by these rules can range from zero scores on individual assignments, to failure of the course, to loss of University computing privileges, to (in extreme cases) legal action.