2 Class Engagement

In previous semesters, I have had a deliberately hard-line attendance policy. In light of the public health crisis, I have done away with this policy, as it does not align with my general philosophy of treating students as junior colleagues. (It also does not align with my goal of making it through the pandemic without getting COVID… yay, high risk of complications)

Class engagement points are given to encourage your active engagement with the material. Specific instructions for engagement can be found on the class website. In general, you will be rewarded with a perfect score as long as you engage meaningfully, intentionally, and professionally with the material and your peers. As a reminder, you are still responsible for any assignments and/or announcements made if you miss a class.

2.1 Life Happens

As a reasonable and empathetic human, I recognize that life happens. There will be times when your outside life conflicts with scheduled class events. These life events can be any of the obvious things (sports, religious holidays, illness, interviews, etc.), but they can also be the less obvious things, like spending the entire night looking for your lost pet. My general approach is to work with you. You just need to let me know ahead of time. These late policies value discussion and communication over deductions and punishment. It is difficult for me as an instructor to know your situation and reason for lateness (e.g. are you sick? did you lose WiFi? struggling with mental health? or just forgot?). Without communication, I will assume that you are choosing not to submit work and do not plan on submitting work. An email will help me better understand your needs and focus on coursework. I am more than happy to give extensions and accommodations, so don’t be afraid to email me. You don’t need to disclose personal details (your privacy is important to me), so a heads up or request for assistance is enough.

2.2 Extensions, Absences, Incompletes

2.2.1 Excused absences

Except in the case of true emergencies, a possible excused absence should be discussed with me as far in advance as possible and must occur beforehand. You should not assume that an excused absence will automatically be granted – but you may assume that I am a reasonable, empathetic person. This discussion should occur via email so that we have a record of it. If you also discuss your situation verbally, send me a summary of the discussion by email. An unexcused absence will result in a zero for any graded work that should have been performed for or during the missed class.

2.2.2 Late Work

Be sure to pay close attention to deadlines.
If an assignment is not submitted by the deadline (i.e., is late), the student must email the instructor and provide a new deadline, ask for an alternative, or explain concerns within 36 hours of the missed deadline.
Ideally, you will have communicated with me before the deadline, but sometimes life happens.
As long as you have communicated within 36 hours, I will do my best to work with you to come up with a new deadline or modification, so that you can earn full credit. + Any modification or change of deadline must be confirmed in writing. And must be done for each modification.
This late policy does not apply to exams, tests, or quizzes.

If contact is not made within 36 hours of the missed deadline, the missing assignment will receive a 0 and cannot be made up.

Alternative deadlines will be within one week of the original deadline.

Exceptions to the 1 week policy are at the instructor’s discretion. Exceptions are rare.

In general, I am much more sympathetic and accommodating if you communicate in advance.

2.2.2.1 Submissions

It is your responsibility to ensure that the instructor has received the assignment by the established due date and to ensure that the assignment submitted is the complete and correct version.

Unless otherwise explicitly specified, all work must be submitted through Canvas.

Unless you have communicated with me in advance, there will be no makeup quizzes or tests.

2.2.3 Incomplete Grades

I did not make this policy. However, I must abide by it.

Although the language surrounding incomplete grades differs slightly across the bulletins ( undergraduate; graduate), and office of academic advising, the intent is consistent. Incompletes can only be granted IF a student fails to complete the work of a course because of something outside of the student’s control, such as an illness, emergency, or extenuating circumstances. The window to complete the work is narrow, typically 30 days into the next semester. If the work is not completed after that point, the grade is automatically changed to an F.