Academic Integrity: We should work together as an intellectual community with high standards of academic integrity and respect for each other. You are encouraged to work together and form study groups outside of class. You are expected to participate in class, ask questions, provide your own insights, etc. Collaboration on homework assignments can be beneficial, but make sure that the collaboration is genuine, that all parties are contributing and that, in particular you understand and could reproduce independently any homework you turn in. Also, treat your peers and yourselves with respect and be certain to give credit where credit is due. Homework assignments that were completed collaboratively must acknowledge this and your narratives should make clear the roles played by all of the collaborators. Collaboration on exams is strictly prohibited and would, in the unlikely event that it occurred, be considered a breach of the university's academic integrity policy and, if discovered, treated as such.
Academic Integrity and the Web: Some of the proofs we will work on in this class are classics and because of this you can find solutions to them on the internet. Frequently, the solutions you find will not look anything like the solutions I would expect you to develop yourselves or with classmates, but in any event, searching the web for a solution instead of working one out yourself or with others defeats the purpose of the exercise. A solution taken from the web without attribution is a violation of academic integrity. A solution taken from the web with attribution will likely not be graded favorably unless it follows a solution or serious partial solution of your own and includes a good comparative discussion.
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY!! EXCESSIVE ABSENCES WILL RESULT IN FAILURE. This class will rely heavily on in class participation and you cannot participate if you are not here. Students are required to find out about any assignment, announcements and material missed through tardiness or absence. I realize that on rare occasions absence and/or tardiness is unavoidable, see me after class or call me on these occasions. Students will not be excused from homework because of absence. If a student misses a test for a legitimate cause, I will work out a fair arrangement on an individual basis. I do not, in general, give make up tests, but rather look at the final exam with the material from the missed test in mind.
Cell Phones are an unnecessary distraction and should be turned OFF (not silent mode but completely off!) before entering any class or professor's office. Students failing to observe this common courtesy may be asked to leave the class or my office. Exceptions to this can and will be made if there is a pending emergency about which you must be informed. (eg. a family member is in the hospital, your wife is 9+ months pregnant, etc.); please inform me if you are in such a situation and intend to keep your cell phone active.
Grades:
Homework will be graded on a five point scale (check+= excellent, check*=good,check=fine,check ? =needs
work,check - =poor) which will, in a reasonable way, be converted for final grade computation. Straight checks on homework
will be in the B range.
Boardwork is required and grades will be determined by the number of reasonable attempts at problems/exercises you have posted throughout
the semester combined with an assessment of your particpation in discussing the work of others.
As an indication you want to present approximately 1/n of the problems/exercises assigned to your group (of n students).
Students will be given (via WebCT) midterm assessments where grades are computed as they will be for final course grades.
Tests will be graded on a 100 point scale with the following grade conversion:
| 90 - 100 | A |
| 80 - 89 | B |
| 70 - 79 | C |
| 60 - 69 | D |
| below 60 | F |
THERE IS A FINAL EXAM IN THIS COURSE. During the scheduled final exam period.
Homework: See Attached Homework Statement
Office Hours: Are on my posted schedule. I expect to see you outside of class for individual and
small group discussion of homework. Please consider this in scheduling your time. As a start each student must visit me in my
office at least once during the first two weeks of class. (I prefer the first week but recognize that the chair's office may be
a little difficult to access during drop/add).
However, I am in my office much more often than this, call, stop by, or make an appointment. (My class schedule is posted outside my
office and should give you clues about other times I am probably available.) There are answering machines
on both home and office phones and I do not object to calls about homework or problems (grade inquiries should be made in
person) at home at reasonable (avoid a.m.) times.
However, you should always make a determined attempt to figure out a problem by yourself before coming to see me.
I may ask to see your work on a problem before helping you with it so that I can start from where you are.
At the University Writing Center (directly above the Fireside Lounge in the Guerrieri University Center), trained consultants are ready to help you at any stage of the writing process.
It is often helpful for writers to share their work with an attentive reader, and consultations allow writers to test and
refine their ideas before having to hand papers in or to release documents to the public. In addition to the important
writing instruction that occurs in the classroom and during teachers’ office hours, the center offers another site for
learning about writing. All students are encouraged to make use of this important service. For more information about the
writing center’s hours and policies, visit the writing center or its website at www.salisbury.edu/uwc.
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