Grading Policy
The final numeric grade will map to the final letter grade according to SUU's standard number to-letter grade conversion scheme. Final grades ending in .5 or higher are automatically rounded up to the nearest whole percentage point.
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83
C+: 77-79
C: 74-76
C-: 70-73
D+: 67-69
D: 64-66
D-: 60-63
F: 0-59
Syllabus Quiz
On the first Friday of the course, you will be required to take a syllabus quiz. This will consist of just a few questions on the policies laid out in the syllabus. This is worth 5% of your grade and will be posted on canvas. The purpose of this quiz is to ensure that you are fully aware of the expectations of you going forward in the course and the policies therein.
Attendance:
To assess participation grades, I look for significant evidence that you are doing more than simply coming to class and passively waiting for the material to sink in. It is important to note that good attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for getting an A for participation. I keep track of who is attending and who participates in discussions. I understand that some people do not like to speak in public. For those people, I view office hour visits and emailed questions/comments related course material as reasonable substitutes for participation in class. Indeed, office hour visits often represent greater commitment to the course than other forms of participation.
A note on attendance: I do take attendance BUT I do not take points off for individual absences. Nor do I care why you miss any one class. If you just feel like you can’t handle school some day and want to go play or stay home and curl up in a ball, that’s fine with me. That said, I do pay close attention to the overall pattern of attendance. If you miss many classes and then show up with a doctor’s note for one of them, I will still focus on the large number of absences that were not excused. I do take long term commitments that cannot be avoided into account. So if you have a known issue that will cause numerous absences, let me know at the beginning of class so we can work out a way to deal with the potential conflicts. Here are some examples of the kinds of issues that might warrant this: health problems, varsity sports, military obligations, etc
Attendance and Participation Rubric
A – Student attends almost every class while consistently demonstrating that he or she has completed and understands the assigned readings by participating in class discussion meaningfully.
B – Student only attends most class meetings while completing all readings and actively participating in a meaningful way.
C – Student attends almost every class but regularly fails to demonstrate completion of readings or participate in any meaningful way.
D – Student only attends most class meetings and regularly fails to demonstrate completion of readings or participate in any meaningful way.
F – Student regularly arrives late or misses class entirely, does not complete assigned readings, does not engage in class discussion meaningfully, or is disruptive or disrespectful.
Attendance and Participation is worth 20% of your grade.
Inquizitive
Inquizitive is the online e-learning component of the textbook. If you want, you can get 100% on each inquizitive quiz. The purpose of the inquizitive assignments are to test your understanding of the material. However, unlike a regular quiz, you do not have a set number of questions to do. There is just a maximum amount of points. When you answer incorrectly, the inquizitive system will prompt you to the area in the book where the answer can be found.
Your inquizitive assignments are due every Friday at 11:59 pm and are worth 20% of your final grade.
Exams
You will have 3 exams throughout the semester. Each exam will take place in the
testing center on campus. I will give you 3 days to complete the exams–Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If for any reason you cannot complete any exam, you will take your makeup exam in person on the scheduled date of the final exam.
These exams are worth a combined 30% of your grade. Each exam only covers the material in each section.
Group Redistricting Project
Students will be randomly assigned to groups of 5 – 6 after the add/drop period. This project will make use of Dave's Redistricting Application (DRA) (
LINK), a non-partisan and free digital resource used to redraw congressional district boundaries. Students will examine concepts like "gerrymandering", "fairness", population dynamics, institutions of representation and others.
The project is divided into two parts. The first part involves the group creating a "map portfolio" by submitting several maps using the DRA, including individual reports based on the maps they create. The map portfolio is worth 15% of the final grade.
The next part of the assignment is a presentation, where students will take on the rolls of advocacy or consultancy groups tasked with "pitching" a new drawing of district boundaries to the state legislature. Presentations will be roughly 10 minutes in length, and should be accurate, professional, and well-practiced. The presentation is worth 10% of the final grade. (Map Portfolio + Presentation =
25% of the final grade).
Students will be responsible for equal proportions of the project and will submit anonymous evaluations of the other group members to ensure each member has contributed their fair share. Final grades for the project will be weighted by the responses of your peers, based on your contributions to the project.
Syllabus quiz | 5%
Attendance/Participation | 20%
Inquizitive | 20%
Redistricting assignment | 25%
Three Exams | 30%
Total | 100%