Policies

Please review the following policies carefully, even if you’ve taken courses with me before.

Attendance & participation

Strictly speaking, attendance is not required. However, to earn a passing grade, you need to attend class and participate actively. If you expect to miss class often because of work, a student organization, or other obligations, this is probably not the class for you.

You can miss up to three classes with no questions asked. If you miss class, please check the course web site and ask another student for notes and a recap of the day’s activities. Please do not ask me; unfortunately, I don’t have time to help everyone who misses class catch up.

You will be penalized 20 points per excessive absence. Yes, this means excessive absences can result in negative points for class participation.

Exception to these policies will be made only for students serving in the armed forces.

Ethical and professional conduct

I expect everyone to follow the highest ethical and professional standards, especially regarding respect for each other. In class, lively discussion is great, but rudeness or antagonism are unacceptable.

I also expect academic honesty. Plagiarism (use of another’s ideas, data, and statements with little or no acknowledgment), collusion (unauthorized or undocumented collaboration), or re-submission (presenting an assignment previously completed for course credit) are not permissible. These ethical lapses will be reported to CAGAS in accordance with WIU policies, and can result in an F grade for the course.

Please note that I put little energy into “policing” plagiarism. This class affords you the opportunity to work closely with an experienced geek who can help you become a better writer and scholar. If you choose to opt out of that opportunity by submitting someone else’s work as your own, you may fool me, but you will short-change yourself.

Feedback

Final course evaluations—required by WIU—will take place in December. But I’d prefer feedback from you much earlier than that. I always shape courses through student suggestions, and I’m willing to change almost anything to help you learn more effectively. That’s why we’ll do midterm evaluations in Week 8.

Help me be a better teacher by telling me when you enjoy a class or benefit from an assignment. If something doesn’t go well, I’d also like to know. If you want to remain anonymous, put a printed note in my mailbox, or contact me through Dr. David Boocker, Chair of the Department of English & Journalism.

Grading

I will put letter grades on quite a bit of your work. See this breakdown of percentages assigned to letter grades. I use ten percentage points per letter grade (A=100-90, B=89-80, etc).

Each assignment sheet offers more detail on grading of course assignments. Please read assignments carefully and discuss any concerns you have about grades with me promptly. Please keep track of your grades and keep all graded assignments.

Drafts and other milestones are graded as follows:

Plus:
Excellent work. Met my expectations for the assignment, and accomplished all assignment objectives. Awarded 100% of possible points.
Minus:
Adequate work. Failed to meet my expectations, but accomplished all or most assignment objectives. Awarded 70% of possible points.
U:
Unsatisfactory work. Neither met expectations nor accomplished objectives. Awarded no points. Some can be resubmitted for up to 70% of possible points; see below.

U grades

Any assignment which does not meet minimum standards for form and content will be given a grade of unsatisfactory (U) and returned to you for correction and resubmission. When possible, I will do this the same day you submit the assignment.

If you receive a U grade on a draft or milestone, you cannot move forward on the project until you have resolved the U grade by resubmitting the draft or milestone and receiving a “go” from me. When resubmitting, you can earn up to 70% of the possible points allocated to the assignment (e. g. the equivalent of a “minus” grade).

Avoid U grades by reading assignment sheets carefully, starting every assignment early, and reviewing any questions about assignments with me. You will have multiple opportunities to do this in class.

Late work

In the past I have been lax about allowing late work. Not this semester!

Unless you have my prior written permission, any assignment not turned in on time will receive a U grade. I will not grant extensions to students who have U grades on prior assignments.

You may request an extension on any assignment except the final project. I suggest you email me and follow up with a phone call or visit. Explain the reason for your request in detail. Include the work you have done up to that point and explain what work you expect to complete. Allow 48 hours for your request; for example, if you need more time for a draft due October 10, I need to know by October 8. I am not obligated to grant your request—so don’t stop working once you’ve written to me!

Privacy

By law (20 USC § 1232g, commonly called the “Buckley Amendment”), educational records must be kept confidential. So I will only discuss your progress in the course with you in my office, where your privacy can be ensured. I will never post grades in public in any form.

There is no need to put your social security number or WIU ID number on any work turned in to me; your printed name will suffice.

Samples

I will provide samples of excellent quality work for all assignments on this web site. Some were produced by students; some by me. Please look at these samples if you have questions about my expectations or work better by generalizing from specific examples.

Topic changes

I break up assignments into drafts and milestones. Usually, one of the first increments you’ll complete is a prospectus which includes a brief statement of your topic. You must take this milestone seriously and complete the research and planning necessary to select an appropriate topic which interests you.

I strongly discourage mid-calendar topic changes; that indicates you haven’t been developing the assignment incrementally, as is required for effective writing. If you change your topic, you will vacate all points for drafts and milestones previously completed.

WIU brings you the following announcements

In accordance with University policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), academic accommodations may be made for any student who notifies the instructor of the need for an accommodation. For the instructor to provide the proper accommodation(s) you must obtain documentation of the need for an accommodation through Disability Support Services and provide it to the instructor. It is imperative that you take the initiative to bring such needs to the instructor’s attention, as he/she is not legally permitted to inquire about such particular needs of students. Students who may require special assistance in emergency evacuations (i.e. fire, tornado, etc.) should contact the instructor as to the most appropriate procedures to follow in such an emergency. Contact Disability Support Services at 309-298-2512 for additional services.

It is the responsibility of the student to comply with the prerequisites/corequisites for a course that he/she plans to take. Instructors who place the appropriate information on the syllabus and emphasize it during the first three class periods may exclude a student from the class who does not meet the prerequisites/corequisites by sending a note to the student with a copy to the registrar within the first two weeks of the term.