Tag Archives: grading

Essay Deadline System

Section Syllabus, ,

For two of the essays in this course, we will use a three-tiered deadline system.  You will see on the course schedule a Deadline A, Deadline B, and Deadline C listed for many papers.  For any given paper assignment, this is how the system works.

Deadline A:  Papers submitted by this date will receive a grade and comments. I will return the graded paper to you by Deadline B.  You may choose to revise and rewrite the paper for grade replacement.  You have until Deadline C to revise and rewrite the paper and resubmit it.  (Note: you do not have to revise and rewrite; if you choose not to revise and rewrite, the grade on the Deadline A version will be the final grade for the paper.)

Deadline B:  Papers submitted by this date will receive a grade and comments, but cannot be revised for this paper cycle.  Comments will probably be useful for your next paper, though.

Deadline C:  Papers submitted by this date will receive ONLY a grade (no comments), whether or not they are revisions of a Deadline A draft.

Credit:  David Brakke, the Ohio State University.

Policy on Make-ups, Extensions, and Late Assignments

Section Syllabus, , , ,

Papers submitted late will be penalized one letter grade per 24-hour period late.  The clock starts ticking when the assignment is due.  Late penalties are calculated based on the time the paper is submitted to Sakai.  (E.g., an “A” quality paper that was due Wednesday in class but was submitted on Thursday at 9 am will receive a B; if submitted at 5 pm Thursday, it will receive a C.)  For papers, anything turned in past deadline C will be considered late.  Deadlines A & B are fixed.

Students who miss a graded in-class assignment (such as a presentation or discussion facilitation) will receive a zero for that assignment.

Extensions on assignments and rescheduling in-class presentations/discussion facilitations will be provided only in emergencies (e.g., death in the immediate family, severe illness, etc.) or unavoidable conflicts with another required university commitment (such as an athletic competition) with advance notice.  Students with an emergency should contact the professor to make alternative arrangements as soon as possible.

This course has an Absence Policy (see section 5.1 of the main syllabus): “After three unexcused absences, your final grade for the course will be lowered by one-third of a grade (i.e., from a “B+” to a “B”) for each day that you are absent from class without a valid excuse. This means that if you miss five days of class without a valid excuse, your final grade for the course will be lowered by two-thirds of a grade (i.e., from a “B+” to a  “B-”). A valid excuse for missing class will require written documentation from a person who can certify the seriousness of your illness or other misfortune. Your instructor may require some form of make-up work for participation missed during an excused absence (emphasis added).”  This make-up work is described here.

  • Students may make-up their missed participation if they have documented illnesses, required sports games/meets or other university event, or a personal or family  emergency (such as a death of a close relative). It is the professor’s discretion as to which absences can or should be made up.      
  • To make up an absence, students will provide a written analysis of the readings/websites/films for the missed day.  The response will be a minimum of one page long , typed, 12-point font, and will be submitted via email within 24 hours of the student’s return to class.  It will be evaluated for quality and will count toward missed participation that day, depending on the quality of the paper.
  • At the beginning of the semester, athletes/debaters/etc. should provide me with the dates of class to be missed due to official university activities.
  • Students who are too ill to come to class should go to health services and provide documentation with their make up assignment if they choose to make it up.
  • Students with a personal or family emergency should email me to see if the absence can be made up.
  • Lying to avoid a penalty is a violation of the Honor Code
  • Make friends: Students who miss class should get notes from a peer before coming to talk to the professor about missed material.
  • The make-up policy outlined above is designed for students who have unavoidable commitments or emergencies, which will lead to more than a week of absences.  Students with multiple absences at the beginning of the semester should not expect accommodation late in the semester.

 

Grading Additional Writing and Participation

Section Syllabus, , , ,

Additional Writing assignments (including Blog Posts) will all be given points.  The Additional Writing grade will be given a letter grade corresponding to the percentage of points earned.

Participation has many components, including in class activity, the discussion facilitation, blog post responses, and other assignments.

40% of the participation grade will be based on in class regular class participation

20% of the participation grade will be based on the discussion facilitation

40% of the participation grade will be based on blog post responses and other assignments designated CP (Class Participation) on the course schedule.  These assignments will have points.  This part of the Participation grade will be a percentage grade:  the percentage of points earned.

Don’t forget:  Participation and the final course grade are also affected by absences.

 

4. Assignments

Coursewide Syllabus, , , , ,

Formal Essay #1                                              20%

Formal Essay #2                                              20%

Formal Essay #3                                              20%

Additional Writing Assignments            20%

Class Participation                                         20%

5.1 Attendance

Coursewide Syllabus, ,

Participating in class discussion is an essential part of the Pacific Seminar experience, and regular attendance develops the habit of being responsible for your commitments. In this course, students are allowed three unexcused absences during the semester. After three unexcused absences, your final grade for the course will be lowered by one-third of a grade (i.e., from a “B+” to a “B”) for each day that you are absent from class without a valid excuse. This means that if you miss five days of class without a valid excuse, your final grade for the course will be lowered by two-thirds of a grade (i.e., from a “B+” to a
“B-”). A valid excuse for missing class will require written documentation from a person who can certify the seriousness of your illness or other misfortune. Your instructor may require some form of make-up work for participation missed during an excused absence.

5.4 Honor Code

Coursewide Syllabus, ,

The Honor Code at the University of the Pacific calls upon each student to exhibit a high degree of maturity, responsibility, and personal integrity. Students are expected to:

  • Act honestly in all matters,
  • Actively encourage academic integrity,
  • Discourage any form of cheating or dishonesty by others, and
  • Inform the instructor and appropriate university administrator if she or he has a reasonable and good faith belief and substantial evidence that a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy has occurred.

Violations will be referred to and investigated by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. If a student is found responsible, it will be documented as part of her or his permanent academic record. A student may receive a range of penalties, including failure of an assignment, failure of the course, suspension, or dismissal from the University. The Academic Honesty Policy is located in Tiger Lore and online at http://www.pacific.edu/Campus-Life/Safety-and-Conduct/Student-Conduct/Tiger-Lore-Student-Handbook-.html

8. Student Advisors

Coursewide Syllabus, ,

Each of you met your Student Advisor (SA) at Orientation and again at the session scheduled before Convocation. Your SA is committed to supporting your success over your first year at Pacific and will serve as a resource to you in multiple ways. Besides the usual contact you will have with your student advisor, you must also attend three meetings with your SA over the course of the year. Two of the meetings are in collaboration with your Pacific Seminar course.

The first of these meetings will continue the discussion of academic integrity and expand it to include the relationship between your personal competencies and decision making in the Pacific community. The second meeting will continue the discussion of consent in sexual relationships and your personal responsibilities for community safety. Attendance at these meetings is required, and absences will be counted in the course attendance policy described in this syllabus.

Your SA will provide you information about the specific schedule of sessions for your group. If you have questions about this portion of the Pacific Seminar experience, please contact your student advisor or call Student Academic Support Services, 946-2177.

Participation Grading Rubric

Coursewide Syllabus, , ,

PACS 1 is a seminar, and its primary classroom activity is discussion; this is why participation counts for 20% of the course grade. The components of class participation are attendance, attentiveness, and contributions.

Attendance means being present, mentally as well as physically, AND being prepared with the day’s materials—like having read the day’s assignment carefully. Working on other courses, surfing the web, texting friends, napping, etc., mean that you’re not really mentally present. Note that the course has an attendance policy.

Attentiveness means listening carefully, being a good audience for whomever is speaking, incorporating ideas into your own thinking, and preparing to respond with your own contributions.

Contribution means adding something worthwhile to the class’s progress. Obvious examples are speaking up to engage ideas from the readings or to respond to other students, or to the instructor’s questions. Less obvious but also valuable contributions might be to ask questions to clarify meaning—a passage in the text, another student’s remark, or something the professor said.

Example of a question: “What does the author mean by______?”
Example of an interpretation: “I think the author means ______ where she writes ______.”

The A is earned when a student almost always contributes thoughtful ideas, asks interesting questions, and responds reflectively not only to the professor’s questions but to other student comments as well. These students are highly attentive. A-level participation can be recognized as offering insightful connections between ideas and/or readings, as being well grounded in the readings, and as provoking more discussion without dominating the discussion.

The B is earned when a student usually contributes thoughtful ideas, asks relevant questions, and responds not only to the professor’s questions but to other student comments as well. These students are reliably attentive. Their engagement is evident but the analysis may not be as deep or wide-ranging as an A-level student’s. They will have almost always completed the readings and other course materials and be prepared with questions and interpretations.

The C is earned when a student comes to class and listens and occasionally offers an observation, question, or critique. These students are unevenly attentive. They may show minimal engagement with course readings and other materials. They may occasionally show lack of respect for other students and instructor by not paying attention, such as texting or surfing the Internet, or studying for other classes.

The D stands for deficient participation. This may be a result of not having done the reading, of being inattentive in class, of not interacting with classmates respectfully, sleeping or doing other work during class, or some combination of these and similar poor classroom performance.

The F is for unacceptable participation; it is a failing grade.