Missed Examinations or Assignments:
If you miss an examination I must have a email or phone
call before or during the assessment event - simply not showing up earns
a grade of "0" on on any assignment. My email is bhobbs@fgcu.edu
and my phone number is 590-7162: voice messaging is available at all times.
Where I have been notified as explained above, the points for the missed
examination will be calculated as the average of your other two examination
scores. If you miss two or more examinations you will receive a grade of
"0" on both of them and there is no way to pass the course. A
missed Final Examination will: (1) lead to an assigned
grade of "incomplete" so long as I am contacted prior to the examination
as noted above and, (2) require you to take a makeup examination and complete
the examination prior to the university's deadline for making up an incomplete.
It is your responsibility to contact me and coordinate the process of the
makeup examination and the grade change. All incomplete's not completed
by the university's deadline become an "F".
Assignments other than examinations (e.g., papers and presentations)
lose 10% or one letter grade per day. If a group presentation is required
your failure to participate in it earns you an automatic "0" for the presentation
portion of that assignment.
Late quizzes or APLIA homework's will not be
accepted for grading purposes. You do get to drop the two lowest grades
and a missed grade will be a "0".
Examination Grade Challenge Policy:
When an exam is handed back we will go over it in class. I will
do my absolute best to turn the grades around within three class meetings.
Once the examination is handed back to you there is a one-week cooling-off
period. Then you can make an appointment with me to come by during office
hours and challenge my grading but be prepared. At two weeks after the examination
is returned to you, grades on examinations and assignments become final.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY/CHEATING:
Academic Honesty is your responsibility and ethical duty. Cheating
is a rampant problem on college and university campuses today. As a social
scientist, I think it says something quite interesting about our current
culture -- or perhaps Glaucon, Adeimantus and Thrasymachus were right
(see The Republic of Plato, Part II "Justice in the State and
in the Individual", Chapter V, "The Problem Stated".)
Appropriate steps for dealing with scholastic dishonesty are spelled
out in the Student Guidebook and these steps will be followed if this
activity is revealed in your case. These guidelines pertain to all work
done in this class including take home assignments and graded homework.
(You have explicit permission to engage in group homework under the conditions
outlined above.)
My attitude concerning academic dishonesty is simple: cheating is not
worth the potential consequences of getting caught nor the self-degradation
which it involves whether you are caught or not.
OTHER COURSE ISSUES:
Attendance Policy:
"The discipline of colleges and universities is in general contrived,
not for the benefit of the students, but for the interest, or more properly
speaking, for the ease of the masters. Its object is, in all cases, to
maintain the authority of the master, and whether he neglects or performs
his duty, to oblige the students in all cases to behave to him as if he
performed with the greatest diligence and ability. It seems to presume
perfect wisdom and virtue in the one order, and the greatest weakness
and folly in the other. Where the masters, however, really perform their
duty, there are no examples, I believe, that the greater part of the students
ever neglect theirs. No discipline is ever requisite to force attendance
upon lectures which are really worth attending…”
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,
Book V, Chapter 1, Part f, Paragraph 15
Adam Smith
My attendance policy is laissez-faire. The translation from French
is roughly "to allow to act". In other words, you are allowed to do whatever
you want to do with regard to attendance: after all, only you can decide
what your opportunity costs are. Whatever your proclivities for attendance
may be, you are responsible for the materials of the course.
Learning is a shared responsibility and as a result I won't be using valuable
student office hours to redeliver the lecture because you chose not to come
to class. Class lectures are, but, one way to learn - there are others.
If you miss class I would suggest that you get the notes, handouts, cases,
etc. from a fellow student. There are many things covered in class that
are assessed in this course so you should definitely obtain a copy of class
notes should you decide to not attend the class.
In closing, though my attendance policy is laissez-faire, I should
note that for nearly all students there is a high and positive correlation
between class attendance and grades. I encourage you to fully participate
in your education. I will take role daily for administrative purposes. Participation
grade for the day will be "0" if you are not in class.
Group Work: Research in the area of learning has substantiated
the positive effects of group study. When carried out with serious effort
the returns to group study can be great for all members of the group. I
would strongly encourage you to form study groups and set a weekly meeting
time to discuss this course. I would ask that you assist each other; treating
the study group as a cooperative experience rather than a competitive one.
I have no problem with groups working together on the homework assignments.
Unless explicit permission is given (such as homework assignments above),
all work handed in must be done alone. You are welcome to discuss
and work together but when you "put pencil to paper" it must be your own
work. To do otherwise will be regarded as an act of academic dishonesty.
Scantrons
You must bring a Scantron forms to the final examination. Use Pearson NCS
Test Sheets 100/100, Form No. 95679. They are available at the Book Store.
Electronics in the Classroom:
The required calculator - a Texas Instruments BA II PLUS - is the only electronic
device allowed to be used during class. Use of all other electronic devices
(phones, laptop computer, etc.) is PROHIBITED DURING CLASS.
Departmental Course Scheduling:
Planning for and meeting all requirements of graduation are student responsibilities.
This schedule http://www/fgcu/edu/cob/fin/fin_annual.pdf
, LCOB advisors, prerequisite sequences as described in the Catalog
and degree program sheets, are available to assist students in successful
implementation of plans. Course substitutions and prerequisite exceptions
are only granted in exceptional circumstances clearly beyond the control
of students. Lack of planning and poor planning are not exceptional circumstances.
University Statements:
Academic Behavior Standards and Academic Dishonesty
All students are expected to demonstrate honesty in their academic pursuits.
The university policies regarding issues of honesty can be found in the
FGCU Student Guidebook under the Student Code of Conduct and Policies and
Procedures sections. All students are expected to study this document which
outlines their responsibilities and consequences for violations of the policy.
The FGCU Student Guidebook is available online at http://studentservices.fgcu.edu/judicialaffairs/new.html
Disability Accommodations Services
Florida Gulf Coast University, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities
Act and the university’s guiding principles, will provide classroom
and academic accommodations to students with documented disabilities. If
you need to request an accommodation in this class due to a disability,
or you suspect that your academic performance is affected by a disability,
please contact the Office of Adaptive Services. The Office of Adaptive Services
is located in Howard Hall 137. The phone number is 239-590-7956 or TTY 239-590-7930
Student Observance of Religious Holidays
All students at Florida Gulf Coast University have a right to expect that
the University will reasonably accommodate their religious observances,
practices, and beliefs. Students, upon prior notification to their instructors,
shall be excused from class or other scheduled academic activity to observe
a religious holy day of their faith. Students shall be permitted a reasonable
amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence.
Students shall not be penalized due to absence from class or other scheduled
academic activity because of religious observances. Where practicable, major
examinations, major assignments, and University ceremonies will not be scheduled
on a major religious holy day. A student who is to be excused from class
for a religious observance is not required to provide a second party certification
of the reason for the absence.
Student Responsibilities
There are no extra credit assignments. Graduation, scholarships, work, financial
aid, personal plans, etc. have nothing to do with grades in this course.
Grades are based on performance-See the Catalog. Course grades are available
via Gulfline (see the Catalog).
The exams are closed book. A student must complete the exams at the scheduled
times on the scheduled dates or provide written documentation of an Authorized
Absence or Excused Absence (Catalog p.39). An Authorized Absence is due
to participation in a sponsored activity that has been approved in advance
by the program director and the appropriate student affairs officer. An
Excused Absence is due to other causes, such as illness, family emergency,
death in the family, or religious holiday. A student seeking an Excused
Absence must obtain documentation such as a physician's statement, accident
report, or obituary. If a student misses Exam1 or Exam 2 due to an approved
or authorized absence, the weight is rolled into the final examination.
If a student misses both Exam 1 and Exam 2 for any reason, the student will
receive either an Incomplete (documented medical or family tragedy) or an
F grade. Students are required to show a photo ID (FGCU ID or Driver's License
or Passport) to complete the Exams. The exams are property of the instructor
and are not returned to students. The exams can be reviewed with the instructor
during office hours. Students may be assigned or reassigned seats for exams.
The eight questions you should never ask your professor:
- Will I miss anything by not being in class tomorrow?
- May I hand in this assignment late?
- Is this good enough for full credit?
- Since I got (earned) such a poor score can I resubmit it?
- Is there anything I can do for extra credit?
- Will this be on the examination?
- Are you busy?
- Actually, this is an oft heard statement: "I knew the material;
I just don't test well."
Those students who ask such questions do not realize the statement they
are making about their understanding of professional and career work standards.
My answers follow so we can cut through this quickly.
- Will I miss anything by not being in class tomorrow? Of course,
you will miss something by not being in class unless I am wasting my time
and yours already.
- May I hand in this assignment late? Deadline. Think about the word
dead; and then the word line.
- Is this good enough for full credit? You are a university student
and should be developing that assessment yourself. This is how it works:
you hand it in and I grade it.
- Since I got (earned) such a poor score can I resubmit it? I applaud
students who go back and learn from their mistakes on examinations but
your initial grade stands.
- Is there anything I can do for extra credit? You aren't doing so
well on the regular credit - I'd hate to load you up with anything extra.
- Will this be on the examination? Perhaps. Anything we cover or that
is assigned in this course is fair game.
- Are you busy? Yes, I have a galloping career that involves teaching,
service and research. However, I have an obligation to respond to your
inquiries and concerns and have set office hours aside for that purpose.
If I am in the middle of something I may ask you to find a time that we
can both meet and focus on what your needs are.
- "I knew the material; I just don't test well." Yes, I
know, I graded it. Realize that you must also be able to communicate your
knowledge. There are three steps on the road to understanding a corpus
body of knowledge: acquisition, retention, and application. You may also
be overestimating how well you know the materials because you have stopped
too early in this process. See this
link!
Disclaimer: The schedules and procedures in this course
are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.
Web page Last Updated on
October 29, 2011
© FGCU 1997. The framework
and images are those of an official FGCU web page.
© Bradley K. Hobbs, Ph.D. 2001. All written portions
of this work are those of Bradley K. Hobbs and his alone.
Intellectual property rights are claimed over my intellectual product
(Read "Capitalism" by Ayn Rand.)
