GENERAL POLICIES FOR ALL COURSES

 

EXPECTATIONS

Since this is not a correspondence course and since we meet only once or a couple times a week, attendance is mandatory. A student will be allowed no more than three hours of unexcused absence (and no more than three hours of excused absences). Those who have more than three hours of unexcused absence will have one third of a grade grade deducted from the final grade for each hour missed. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. If a student arrives after attendance has been taken, it is his/her responsibility to see that s/he is recorded as being present. Excused absences will be granted only for extenuating circumstances (neither general malaise nor an assignment in another class will do) and must be cleared no later than the next class period. It is your responsibility to check your attendance; my records are final.

I recommend you date your class notes in order to demonstrate your attendance should there be a conflict in records. Be prepared to show those notes at the time that you inquire about your absences.

With great reluctance I have instituted a tardiness policy. Class begins on the hour; students arriving consistently late by more than 5 minutes will be considered absent for any time missed. The time missed will be calculated as absences which will affect the final grade as explained above.

LATE PAPERS

In this class they do not exist; the date an assignment is due is the date the assignment is due. If there is some clear and compelling reason for a late paper (not great powder at one's favorite ski resort, general malaise, or an assignment in any other class), see or call me in advance of submission. All papers must be submitted in class on date due, not some time that day.

TYPING

Mandatory for all papers. Papers should be neat and free of extreme typographical errors. Double-space, use 1" margins, and print on only one side fo the paper. Use only a 12 pt font. Number pages, beginning with second page, in upper right hand corner, and secure pages only with a staple in the upper left hand corner. On a cover page center the title and put in the lower right hand corner your name, the date the assignment is due, the topic number you are addressing, and my name. I recommend buying a small flash drive and backing up any work to it. On paper submission day, bring the flash drive to class in the event you lose your paper.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the false assumption of authorship, and, as the MLA Handbook notes, it constitutes the "use of another person's ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person's work. . . Passing off another person's ideas, information, or expressions as your own to get a better grade or gain some other advantage constitutes fraud." Simply put, if you didn't think of it, didn't say it, or didn't write it, you must give full attribution in the form of proper citation. I will not tolerate plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, and I will fail anyone I catch cheating and report that student to the Dean of Students. For information on the university's policy concerning plagiarism and academic honesty, see http://www.csus.edu/umanual/student/UMA00150.htm.

BEHAVIOR

Recently a professor in another department did a survey of standards of behavior, and the results suggested there is some confusion about what is (and is not) acceptable in university classes. She has advised that professors define their standards, so here are mine: certain fundamental standards of behavior must be observed in this class. Common courtesy and respect is demanded of all enrolled in this class. Therefore you are not to read the newspaper or a textbook for another course once the class meeting has begun. Turn off your cell phones; no one is to take or make a call nor send or receive text messages during class. Turn off laptops as well. Likewise, no one is to work on assignments for another course in this class. Do not talk or otherwise interrupt me or another student who is speaking, and under no condition will anyone be permitted to sleep during class lectures of discussions. Those who cannot or will not follow these obvious rules of behavior will be counted as absent for that class period and may be subject to dismissal from the course.

MISCELLANEOUS

Students must keep abreast of assignments; I will not accept the excuse that because someone misses a class s/he did not know there was a change in the syllabus or an assignment. If there are any changes in the syllabus, they will be announced in class, and students are then responsible for these on dates announced. I recommend exchanging a phone number or email address with a classmate in the event someone misses a class.

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