According to College policy, 4 unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the course. If your fourth unexcused absence occurs before the "W" deadline (5 pm Tuesday, Nov 13, 2001), I may withdraw you from the course. If it occurs after the "W" deadline, you may receive a course grade of F. Neither the professor or the student can initiate a withdrawal after the deadline. It is your responsibility to initiate withdrawal proceedings prior to the "W" deadline. If you have questions, ask me or talk to the Counseling Center.

If you have a serious problem that prevents you from coming to class or completing an assignment, such as an illness or personal emergency, talk to me before class or the assignment is due and we will work out a way for you to make up the work.

If you miss class whether it is excused or unexcused it is your responsibility to contact another student before the next class meeting, find out what we did in class, and make sure you understand the assignment for the next class. You will have to make up any in-class work you miss or your grade will be affected.

Tardiness: If you are late for class or leave early more than twice, it will affect your grade. "Late" means arriving more than 5 minutes after the scheduled class time. Each lateness or early-leaving will count as ½ an absence; missing more than 20 minutes of class will count as an absence

Homework, Assignments, & Out-of-class Preparation: I expect you to come to class prepared, which means having read the assigned reading listed on the syllabus for that class meeting, with assigned homework finished, and ready to participate in class discussion and activities. Also, bring the book that we are reading with you to class.

You should plan on doing about 6 hours a week of out-of-class preparation. Reading assignments are due on the days indicated on the schedule. Assignments are due at the beginning of class, or by the deadline indicated on the assignment. If you hand something in late, your grade will be lowered by 1/3 a grade for each day it is late. If you do not hand in all the assignments, you will not pass the course. Over the semester, there will be opportunities for extra credit.

Course Requirements/Grades: Grades will be based on your written work, projects and presentations, participation, and collaboration. All grades are final and non-negotiable. Changes will be made only in the case of computation errors.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS & COLLAGES 75%

TWO ESSAYS (15% each)

MIDTERM (15%)

FINAL (15%)

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS(15%)

SEEING/READING JOURNAL 10%

COLLABORATION, PARTICIPATION, & ATTENDANCE* 15%

* Note: Your grade for collaboration, participation, and attendance is based on what you contribute to the class environment. If you come to class prepared, help to advance the learning in discussions and small group activities, and work to create a positive collaborative classroom, you will earn a high mark for this component of your grade.

GRADING CRITERIA:

A (90-100) Exceptional work; far beyond what is simply "required"

B (80-89) Good; competent grasp of material demonstrated in assignments and in consistent participation in class discussions

C (70-79) Average; work that merely meets the basic requirements of the course according to acceptable standards

D (60-69) Below average; poor understanding of material demonstrated in assignments and in class discussions, but meets the minimal requirements for passing the course

F (below 60) Not passing; work is of unacceptable quality, a careless approach to course requirements and deadlines, little or no effort applied to assignments and class discussions, poor attendance, detracts from learning environment

Academic Honesty: All work in this class is to be done on an individual basis, unless it has been explicitly assigned as a group endeavor. It is your responsibility to be aware of and abide by the rules governing plagiarism, cheating, and academic dishonesty. Any instance of plagiarism, cheating, or academic dishonesty will be turned over to the administration and dealt with in the strictest manner. Additionally, willful damage to books, videos, or any other library or departmental material used in the preparation of assignments will result in an F for the assignment and other disciplinary action.

Plagiarism means copying, in any way, somebody else's written views and passing them off as your own, whether it is from a book, an internet site, or any other written source. It is a serious offense which may bring you before the Dean and can result in possible expulsion. If you quote someone's material, or use an author's idea, you must give credit to that person by the appropriate use of quotation marks or a parenthetical reference (author, book, page numbers) that refer the reader to your source. Moreover, college is about developing your ideas, so take pride in them and in your work!