Course Assessment
The course grade is determined using this weighting:
| Category | Percentage
| Homework | 30%
| Discussions | 10%
| Midterm Exams | 45%
| Final Exam | 15%
Homework
Each module has a reading quiz that is drawn from chapters of the book. These quizzes will assess students’ understanding of the material covered in the module and will consist of online questions in various formats. Students are strongly encouraged to watch each module's video(s) before attempting the homework. Students are welcome to consult any material or person (including classmates!) while working to complete these assignments. All homework assignments are due on Fridays at 10:00 PM Mountain Time. Homework accounts for 30% of the grade. The lowest homework score is dropped from the overall grade.
Discussions
An important part of each module is a discussion where students can talk with classmates about the current class concepts. Students will also have the opportunity to apply knowledge to new situations. Discussions usually require each student to create one post of their own and to reply to another student’s post. All discussions are due on Fridays at 10:00 PM Mountain Time. Discussions account for 10% of the grade. The lowest discussion score is dropped from the overall grade.
Midterm Exams
There are three midterm exams, and each will be administered on Canvas, using
Honorlock, after a set of 5 modules. These exams will assess student learning over the course of the relevant modules. Midterm exams account for 45% of the grade.
Final Exam
The final exam will assess student learning over the entirety of the course and accounts for 15% of the grade.
Note that all exams are ONLY available inside of their designated availability windows. It is the student's responsibility to make sure they can complete the exams within the availability window. Exam availability windows will not be extended under any circumstances including those caused by technical difficulties or inability to access hardware, software, or the internet.
Be sure to use the latest versions of the Google Chrome browser and the Honorlock extension to take the exams. If you do not have the latest versions installed, you may be prompted to enter an access code to take the exam. If this happens, you must update the browser and the extension and restart the device. Please do not ask the instructor for the access code; the instructor does not have an access code. Honorlock handles the passcode automatically.
Any submission of homework, discussion, or exams may only be made once. There are no resubmissions.
Final Grades
This table contains the grade ranges that are used in this class.
| Grade | Range (%) | Description | A | 93 – 100 | Excellent
| A- | 90 – 92.99 | Excellent
| B+ | 87 – 89.99 | Above average
| B | 83 – 86.99 | Above average
| B- | 80 – 82.99 | Above average
| C+ | 77 – 79.99 | Average
| C | 73 – 76.99 | Average
| C- | 70 – 72.99 | Average
| D+ | 67 – 69.99 | Below average
| D | 63 – 66.99 | Below average
| D- | 60 – 62.99 | Below average
| F | < 60 | Failure
The instructor may apply a scale to all final grades at the close of the semester by favorably adjusting the score ranges that correspond to each letter grade. Individual items are not scaled.