Let's Discuss Grades

Grades are not given, but earned. Your grade is determined by your performance on the learning assessments in the course and is assigned individually (not curved). If earning a particular grade is important to you, please speak with me at the beginning of the semester so that I can offer some helpful suggestions for achieving your goal.

Major Assignments

Quizzes 45% | Research Projects 40% | Participation 15%

More details on these assignments can be found on ELMS.

Final Grade

A+ 97 or above | A 96 to 93 | A- 92 to 90 | B+ 89 to 87 | B 86 to 83 | B- 82 to 80 | C+ 79 to 77 | C 76 to 73 | C- 72 to 70 | D+ 69 to 67 | D 66 to 63 | D- 62 to 60 | F Less than 60%

Quizzes

There will be three quizzes (which will collectively make up 45% of your grade). These quizzes will not be cumulative and will consist of multiple choice, matching, true/false, short answer and/or essay questions. The quizzes will cover all assigned material presented in lectures, readings, and class discussion.

Quizzes will be completed independently, online. Student may use notes and the text book to complete the quizzes. Quizzes will be open for 24 hours unless noted otherwise.

Make up quizzes will be given only if the instructor is provided documentation of an excused absence and the student notifies the instructor of his/her absence prior to the start of the exam. The instructor holds the right to provide make up quizzes in an alternative format. All make up quizzes must be complete within 2 weeks of the original quiz. Note that the quiz format will change should the instructor feel students are not respecting the quiz policies.

Research Projects

Research projects will account for a total of 40% of your final grade. All projects should be turned in via ELMS (unless noted otherwise) before class on the due date. Late work will not be accepted. Research projects will include:

1. Ethics Training | 2. Survey Construction | 3. Data Analysis Project (which will include multiple assignments including: brief literature review, write up of sampling technique and survey procedures analysis with descriptive statistics, analysis with tests of independence and inferential statistics. Students will submit a written report and participate a brief presentation.

More on Participation

I do not take attendance during lecture. There is no need to tell me you will miss lecture (unless you have a presentation). You can fully pass this class without ever attending. That being said, being present will give you opportunities to participate in engagement activities, which will help you to understand course topics more deeply and improve your grade if that is a priority. In order to fully participate in class, you will need to come to class prepared. Participation will be assessed based on completing in and out of class work. More details on weekly prep and in class engagement activities are described below.

Weekly Prep Work

Students are expected to complete readings and lecture videos before class. From time to time there will also be a written component to complete. This will be listed in the module.

In Class Engagement

I expect students to come to class ready to take part in class discussions and activities. Active participation and discussion are an integral part of this class. Regular attendance will improve your grade by giving you needed exposure to the material and providing an opportunity to ask questions (and to hear others’ questions). These in-class activities will be scattered throughout the semester and may not be announced in advance.

A note on extra credit, assignment grades, and final grades

Graded assignments in the class provide students with ample opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the materials. Therefore, no extra credit assignments will be assigned in the class, unless I identify an opportunity or an event that I think would be beneficial for you to participate in. Do not ask if you can make up your own assignment for extra credit. Do not ask if you can have an extra credit assignment at the end of the semester. The answer will always be no.

It is entirely possible that I will make a mistake in grading. This all grades should be disputed within 7 days of the grade being posted. Therefore, check ELMS frequently. There will be no exceptions.

As a general practice, I do not round up. However, I will consider class engagement, extra credit (if available) in making final decisions on borderline grades. Emails asking for extra credit, regrading, or "just a few extra points" will not be responded to.

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