With close to 1000 students in the course, there are bound to be a significant number of students who experience a variety of situations related to these extraordinary times that require them to miss classes and assignments for potentially extended durations. These include but are not limited to: illness of self or loved ones, childcare issues, family obligations, loss of internet, or technology issues.
It would be impossible to schedule individual makeups therefore we have opted for MUCH more lenient drop policies than in previous semesters to account for any issues (COVID related or otherwise). The details of the drop policies are described in grading policies below.
If a student misses more than 2 weeks of classes, it is likely their grade will be negatively affected by these absences. Students missing work due to illness beyond the flexibility already afforded in the syllabus are advised to meet with an academic advisor to discuss the University’s Medical Leave Withdrawal Policy and other avenues for support.
The drop policies allowed for this course are meant to allow a drop for any reason. Including, and especially, those that are out of a students control. As such they are not to be applied "as you choose". For example "I missed a quiz but I wanted to use that drop to boost my grade so I don't want to use my drop." is not a valid argument.
Aside from the dropped quizzes, focus sessions, WeBWorK, and exam remediation policy discussed below there is no extra credit.
This includes rounding final grades at the end of the semester.
The individual assessment breakdown of your course grade is provided below.
You can use the grade tool here to estimate your current grade.
You can view your current raw scores through D2L. Please keep in mind that WeBWorK is not part of D2L so those grades are only updated into D2L on a weekly basis. If you don't see a recent WeBWorK grade posted in D2L you can simply go to WeBWorK to see that score for your grade calculation.
All students are expected to be aware of their grades throughout the semester. Moreover, students are expected to address any concerns regarding an assigned grade for an assignment within one week of receiving that grade.
Inquiries made after one week may not be honored.
In particular, it is not acceptable to wait until the end of the semester to inquire about grades assigned earlier in the semester.
This includes technical difficulties using WeBWorK and/or D2L.
This includes missed assignments.
WeBWorK homework is completed online at http://www.math.msu.edu/student. There is a WeBWorK fee that must be paid. Instructions for payment and payment due date are available on the WeBWorK website.
Initial WeBWorK homework due dates will be two days after the last topic is covered for that homework assignment (at 11pm) so it is important that you are trying some of them after each class. Don't fall behind! In addition, homework assignments submitted up to 48 hours after the 100% deadline will be worth 75%. Do the WeBWorK tutorial (it is required).
WeBWorK practice sets do not count toward your grade but you must complete at least 50% of the practice problems in order to access the graded WeBWorK homework quiz. WeBWorK homework quizzes count for 15% of your overall course grade.
The two lowest WeBWorK homework quiz scores will be dropped and the remaining scores will be scaled to 15% of your final grade. This will be done automatically at the end of the semester during the calculation of final grades.
No make-ups or retakes will be given for WeBWorK. The dropped WeBWorK are meant to account for any special circumstances.
Most Fridays throughout the semester students will have a Focus Session Activity. Students will work in small groups with their peers to go over several focus problems related to the lecture material for the week. Credit for the activity will be earned by completing a corresponding post class activity in D2L after the focus session (see the schedule).
The two lowest focus session activity scores will be dropped and the remaining scores will be scaled to 15% of your final grade. This will be done automatically at the end of the semester during the calculation of final grades.
Approved calculators are necessary for the focus sessions, quizzes, tests and the final exam. Phones are not acceptable so please make sure to have the proper equipment.
Make sure you familiarize yourself with the attendance policies for the labs and the exams.
There will 5 quizzes throughout the semester given every few weeks(see the schedule). Quizzes will be worth 25% of your overall grade.
You may take the quizzes anytime during the scheduled day (6 am EST to 6 pm EST) but once you begin you have 30 minutes to complete it.
The quizzes are proctored assignments using the Respondus system. Quizzes are meant to prepare you for the exams and contain similar style and difficulty of questions. Please read the academic integrity during proctored assignments section to make sure you understand the rules you are expected to adhere to during the quizzes.
Piazza will be closed for general/content questions throughout the day but will be available should you experience any technical difficulties. In that case you should post to Piazza immediately(not email your instructor) for further instructions.
The lowest quiz will be automatically dropped at the end of the semester and the remaining quiz scores scaled to 25% of your overall grade. This will be done automatically at the end of the semester during final grade calculation.
No retakes will be given for quizzes. Makeup quizzes are permitted but with
A 70% maximum score if the quiz is submitted within 24 hours of the due date / time.
A 50% maximum score if the quiz is submitted beyond 24 hours of the due date / time.
No partial credit will be awarded for makeup quizzes. The dropped quiz and makeup policy are meant to account for any special circumstances. Make sure to read the intro page for the quizzes and the academic integrity during proctored assignments section to make sure you understand the rules you are expected to adhere to during the quizzes. Penalty grades will be awarded for those who violate the quiz rules.
Each exam is 1 hr long and the dates can be found the schedule. The exam is a proctored assignment using the Respondus system. Please read the academic integrity during proctored assignments section to make sure you understand the rules you are expected to adhere to during the tests. Unlike the quizzes, the tests must be taken 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm EST on the specified days. Students must complete the Respondus webcam check and start the exam by 5:15 pm EST in order to be able to take it. Those with extreme and unique circumstances may request an alternate exam date / time but must do so at least 1 week before the exam date. Work schedules are not an excuse to miss an exam.
Exam will be administered through D2L using Respondus proctoring.
No retakes will be given for exams. Makeup quizzes are permitted but with
A 70% maximum score if the test is submitted within 24 hours of the due date / time.
A 50% maximum score if the test is submitted beyond 24 hours of the due date / time.
No partial credit will be awarded for makeup tests. The exam remediation policy and makeup policy are meant to account for any special circumstances. Make sure to read the intro page for the quizzes and the academic integrity during proctored assignments section to make sure you understand the rules you are expected to adhere to during the quizzes. Penalty grades will be awarded for those who violate the quiz rules.
If a students final exam score is higher than their lowest exam score, that score will be replaced by their final exam score. This includes students who missed an exam. Please see the example below.
Example: My lowest test score is 60%, but I study extra hard and master more of the material and get a 90% on the Final Exam. Since my final exam score is higher than my lowest test, my lowest test would get replaced with my final exam score of 90% a new test score of 90%. When the final grades are calculated the scores used would be 90% for that test and on the 90% Final Exam.
Additional Info:
This policy will not lower your overall score. In the case where you do worse on the final than on your lowest test this policy would just not apply.
You do not have to opt in to this policy. All student grades will automatically take this into consideration.
This policy accounts for missed exams, for any reason. No make-ups or retakes will be given for tests. The exam remediation policy is meant to account for any special circumstances.
We feel that grading written work and awarding partial credit is important however it does open the door to more possible cheating so we need to have the following limitations
At the end of the quiz time (but before submitting) you should show your papers you worked on to the webcam.
Then you should submit the quiz and your work should be scanned and uploaded to D2L within 15min of submitting the quiz.
We recommend you practice scanning some paper and getting it to your computer so you know if there are any issues/hiccups.
At most 20% of the total points can be awarded via partial credit (2pts for the quizzes and up to 20pts on exams)
Partial credit will only be awarded for work that is consistent with the answers submitted on the timed quiz.
To make this feasible for us to grade in a timely manner we must ask that
Only one PDF submission will be allowed.
We like the Adobe Scan app, Dropbox Scan app, or the CamScanner app personally but there are lots to choose from on the Android/Apple/Google App stores
Practice getting all your scans into one PDF document.
Problems should be legible, clearly marked on your paper, and should be in order
Your file size is less than 100MB. Otherwise, D2L may not load your work.
Only submit work for problems that are in the "Standard Problems" section of the quiz. Any questions in a Multiple-choice or True/False section will not receive partial credit
This is optional (but recommended). It will only be used to raise your grade. However, if you are confident in your answers or do not want to go through this extra hassle it is not required.
The final exam be worth 15% of your overall grade. The final exam will be administered through D2L using Respondus proctoring.
All students must take the final examination in order to pass the course.
All students are required to take the Common Final Exam. The university has strict requirements for exceptions. The dates for the exams are fixed. The final exam is cumulative and will be closed book and closed note. Note that travel is not a sufficient excuse to have an exam scheduled on a different day.
To help take into consideration students who progress throughout the semester, a students lowest test grade can be replaced with their final exam percentage (should they score better on the final exam than on their lowest test). Please see the example below.
Example: My lowest test score is 60%, but I study extra hard and master more of the material and get a 90% on the Final Exam. Since my final exam score is higher than my lowest test, my lowest test would get replaced with my final exam score of 90%. When the final grades are calculated the scores used would be 90% for that test and on the 90 Final Exam.
Additional Info:
This policy will not lower your overall score. In the case where you do worse on the final than on your lowest test this policy would just not apply.
You do not have to opt in to this policy. All student grades will automatically take this into consideration.
No make-ups or retakes will be given for tests. The exam remediation policy is meant to account for any special circumstances.