COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
The semester grade will be based on three in-class, closed-book essay examinations; one quiz; attendance and participation at the lecture and discussion groups, and an extra credit report on a talk by a visiting speaker, for a total of up to 100 points.
EXAM I. Thursday, September 17-- Unit I (3 points)
The exam will be a closed-book essay exam on Unit I. Students who take the exam and submit the completed exam September 17 will receive 3 points. A sample "A" answer will be reviewed in class. Students should bring a clean, blank 8-1/2 x 11 bluebook. Do not write anything on the bluebooks, not even your name. They will be picked up and redistributed to other students at the beginning of class for the exam.
QUIZ. Thursday, September 17 -- Unit I (12 points)
The quiz will be a closed-book six-question quiz on terminology and concepts in Unit I. Students should bring to class a small Scantron with room for six answers and a #2 pencil. (AQuizzstrip@ No. 815-E) Please do not use a large Scantron, as the machine will not read it. Letter grades and points will be assigned, with a maximum of 12 points available (2 points/question).
EXAM II. Thursday, October 22 -- Units I and II (24 points)
The exam will be a closed-book essay exam on Units I and II. Students should bring a clean, unused 8-1/2 x 11 bluebook to this exam. Letter grades and points will be assigned, with a maximum of 24 points available. Do not write anything on the bluebook, not even your name. They will be picked up and redistributed to other students at the beginning of class for the exam.
EXAM III. Units I and III (36 points) -- FINAL: Tuesday, December 8 B 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
The final exam will be a closed-book essay exam on Units I and III. Letter grades and points will be assigned, with a maximum of 36 points. Students should bring a clean, unused 8-1/2 x 11 bluebook to this exam. Do not write anything on the bluebook, not even your name. They will be picked up and redistributed to other students at the beginning of class for the exam.
Make-up exams will be permitted only for serious illness and mandatory University policies. A physicians' note will be required for illness. If you will need to take a make-up exam, you must leave a message on voice mail (985-5545) no later than 3:00 p.m. the day of the exam. Your message must include a telephone number where I can reach you later that evening and the next day to schedule the make-up exam.
REGULAR ATTENDANCE is expected of all students. To encourage regular attendance, additional points will be available for the course grade total:
Tuesday & Thursday Lecture Class (9:45-10:45 a.m.): Attendance will be taken 20 times, on September 3, 8, 10, 22, 24, 29, October 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 27, 29, November 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, December 1. You will receive 1/2 point for each class you attend, up to a maximum of 8 points. Each student thus has 4 allowable absences. Students should save those for illness or scheduling problems which develop during the term. There will be no system of "excused" absences.
Weekly Discussion Groups: Attendance will be taken 13 times, each week except for the weeks of August 25 and November 24, when the groups do not meet. You will receive one point for each group meeting you attend, up to a maximum of 10 points. Each student thus has 3 allowable absences. Students should save those for illness or scheduling problems which develop during the term. There will be no system of "excused" absences. If you are unable to attend your own group meeting, you may attend a meeting on the same topic of another group in the same week, but you must take responsibility for telling the teaching associate that you are there for attendance purposes.
Student athletes should attend class and their groups when they are in town. If it is impossible to accumulate the maximum number of points by attending when in town, then you may document road trips for the instructor for missing points.
PARTICIPATION & DISCUSSION GROUPS: Each student is required to enroll in one of the discussion groups. These will meet 13 times during the semester for one hour each (as shown on the course syllabus). The graduate student leading the group will recommend points for participation as follows:
7 points: high pass:
excellent participation throughout the semester
5 points: pass: acceptable participation throughout the semester
2 points: low pass: some participation some of the semester
0 points: no participation or almost
no participation
EXTRA CREDIT REPORT: Each student may earn up to 5 points of extra credit by attending one lecture by a visiting speaker in the Department of Philosophy or an approved visiting speaker for the fall 1998 Odyssey program, and writing a brief narrative report (minimum: 600 words -- approximately three typewritten double-spaced pages). Programs will be announced in class as exact dates and times become available. They must be typed, double-spaced, with normal margins, and they should adhere to good writing standards.
DUE:
Tuesday, December 1 at class time of 9:45 a.m. To meet the deadline,
these reports may also be sent to the Department fax (562-985-7135).
NO EXTENSIONS. You are urged to complete this optional extra credit
report early in the semester and not wait until the last minute.
TOTAL WEEKLY COMMITMENT OF TIME TO THIS COURSE: Ordinarily, in a college-level course, for each one hour of class, students should spend two hours of time in preparation. For this 3-unit course, students should expect to spend, on average, each week, three hours in the lectures, one hour in the weekly discussion group, and five hours in reading, studying, and writing, for a total of nine hours
FINAL LETTER GRADES for the course will be assigned as follows:
Up to 100 points are available: 3 points for Exam I, 12 points for the Quiz, 24 points for Exam II, 36 points for Exam III (Final), 8 points for attendance at the weekly lecture, 10 points for attendance at the weekly discussion group, and 7 points for participation in the discussion group. (Extra Credit Report is an additional 5 points, for a total of 105.)
The cut-offs for final letter grades for the course are calculated as follows (including discussion groups):
"A" final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 10 points (A- Quiz) + 19 points (A- Exam II) + 28 points
(A- Exam III) +
8 points (lecture attendance) + 10 points
(group attendance) + 7 points (participation/high pass) = 85
AB@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 8 points (B Quiz) + 13 points (B- Exam II) + 19 points (B-
Exam III) +
7 points (lecture attendance) + 8 points
(discussion attendance) + 5 points (participation/pass) = 63
AC@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 4 points (C- Quiz) + 7 points (C- Exam II) + 10 points (C-
Exam III) +
6 points (lecture attendance) + 6 points
(discussion attendance) + 3 points (participation/pass) = 39
AD@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 2 points (D Quiz) + 1 point (D- Exam II) + 1 point (D- Exam
III) +
5 points (lecture attendance) + 4 points
(discussion attendance) + 1 point (participation/low pass) = 17
Here are the grades needed if you do not attend a discussion group to meet course cut-offs above:
AA@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 12 points (A+ Quiz) + 24 points (A+ Exam II) + 33 points
(A Exam III) +
8 points (lecture attendance) + 5 points
(extra credit) = 85
AB@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 8 points (B Quiz) + 18 points (B+ Exam II) + 27 points (B+
Exam III) +
7 points (lecture attendance) = 63
AC@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 4 points (C Quiz) + 12 points (C+ Exam II) + 14 points (C+
Exam III) +
6 points (lecture attendance) = 39
AD@
final grade: 3 points (Exam
I) + 2 points (D Quiz) + 4 points (D Exam II) + 3 points (D- Exam
III) +
5 points (lecture attendance) = 17
Credit/No Credit students must take all three exams and the quiz and must accumulate sufficient points for a "C" for the course total (39).
Cheating and Plagiarism:
The CSULB policy on Cheating and Plagiarism will be followed strictly.
(See Fall 1998 Schedule of Classes, p. 120.) Students who have
any questions or uncertainty whatsoever about this policy are
responsible for meeting individually with the instructor to discuss
the policy. Students found to be cheating on any exam, quiz, or
other course element will be FAILED for the COURSE and
will be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs for possible
probation, suspension, or expulsion.
IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY DEADLINES
DEADLINE FOR COURSE WITHDRAWAL: Last day to drop the course and not have a AW@ appear on permanent record: Tuesday, September 8 NOTE: Drops after September require the signature of the instructor and department chair; there will be a AW@ on the transcript
DEADLINE FOR CREDIT/NO CREDIT OPTION: Last day to change grade status to Credit/no credit; last day to add courses: Tuesday, September 15
DEADLINE TO DROP WITHOUT SIGNATURE OF COLLEGE DEAN: Saturday, November 14
This page maintained by Julie Van Camp.
Your comments and questions are welcome: jvancamp@csulb.edu
Last updated: July 15, 1998