Course Format: The class meets for three 50-minute lectures. Class time will consist of:
i. Discuss the assigned homework and reading
ii. Lecture
iii. In-class quizzes and problems
Grades: The weights assigned to various components of the course are shown below.
Homework and Quizzes 30 %
Exams 70%
Note: If the weighted exam average is better than the combined exam/homework average, this may be used to compute the final grade.
Homework: Homework sets for this course will be assigned each class period and are due one class period later at the beginning of class. Exceptions exist for sickness or university-excused absences. Homework will be submitted through the course website. Written work will be uploaded in the .pdf file format in accordance with the established guidelines provided. The website will be used to determine correctness of answers (50% of each homework score), and written work will be used to determine whether students are complying with the required formatting requirements (50% of each homework score).
Grade Mapping and Ethics: Students will be assessed through a variety of assignments, exams, projects and participation during class. Participation will be recorded as part of the “Homework and Quizzes” grade and may include participation in problem-solving sessions and in-class discussions. The mapping between course scores and grades is given as follows.
A 100 % to 93.3 %
A- < 93.3 % to 90.0 %
B+ < 90.0 % to 86.6 %
B < 86.6 % to 83.3%
B- < 83.3% to 80.0 %
C+ < 80.0 % to 76.6 %
C < 76.6 % to 73.3 %
C- < 73.3 % to 70.0 %
D+ < 70.0 % to 66.6%
D < 66.6% to 63.3 %
D- < 63.3 % to 60.0 %
F < 60.0 % to 0.0 %
At the end of the semester, some students inevitably feel that they should be awarded a higher grade than what they have earned. For example, a student finishes the semester with an 86.5% in the course. Although this student has earned a “B” according to the above grading policy, this student feels entitled to a “B+” or even an “A-.” So, they email the instructor and ask for a higher grade. I’ve heard many reasons for these things over the years, but I think students don’t realize that instructors don’t award grades to students. They set up the rules for the course...rules which apply equally to all students. They evaluate student work according to the rules, standards, and guidelines provided, and then compute grades. Asking an instructor to change the rules just for you is asking the instructor to compromise his integrity. This is not particularly good, and does not reflect well on the student. It also doesn’t reflect well on the instructor that a student would think the instructor has so little integrity that he would be willing to compromise it for the student. These requests will be denied, so please save yourself the time, effort, and embarrassment...don’t be the person to send that email.
If you find a mistake in the grading scheme, answer key, or inconsistency with the grading policy as stated and as implemented, please bring this to the attention of the instructor. These types of things are greatly appreciated, and appropriate corrections will be made according to the specifics of the situation.
Re-Grading: I sometimes employ a student grader to help evaluate student work. This helps substantially with the instructor’s workload, and makes it easier to provide timely feedback to students. While I do my best to train the grader to evaluate work in the same manner as I would, I acknowledge that student grading may not be ideal in all circumstances. After receiving feedback from a student grader, students may request that the instructor re-evaluate their work personally. In doing so, students
should recognize that such a request will cause the entire assignment to be re-evaluated, not just the parts they disliked about what the student grader said. When the instructor re-grades an assignment, the grade on an assignment may go up, but it may also go down. These requests must be made by email or discord, and cannot be made after the last scheduled day of regular class for the semester (before finals, to allow for timely submission of final grades).
Responsibility to Learning: Students are responsible for their own learning. Reading the book and completing the homework assignments may not be enough for some students to learn the material and does not guarantee a passing grade. The responsibility rests upon the student to: re-read, do more problems than assigned, seek help from a classmate or tutor, and complete other activities as needed to increase understanding. A textbook reading schedule is provided for students to follow along with the topics as they are covered in class.
Generative AI: I am keenly aware that many tools exist to help you with your school work, especially writing. Some of these digital tools, such as Grammarly or openai.com (ChatGPT). I encourage you to make use of all the tools available to you, including these. I do, however, have a few requirements and comments. First, I have a strict transparency requirement. If you use generative AI or other writing-assisting digital tools, then you must create an appendix in your written work that includes a complete transcript of all your chat conversations that led to the writing you are submitting. This may be long, but since I don’t plan to ever print that appendix, don’t worry. The trees are safe. Nobody will mind the use of a few extra bits of memory, and the environmental impact will be negligible. It is important to keep in mind, however, that as the author of the work, you are still responsible for the final product. This may change over time, but I have found that the writing produced by these programs on engineering reports is not of sufficient quality to earn a passing grade in my course. You may use these as an aid, or as a starting point, but unless you are an expert AI trainer, I would advise against using the writing from these as the final product you submit.