There will be TEN homework assignments, roughly ONE PER WEEK. Each assignment will count for ONE homework unit. Of the TEN units in total, the best EIGHT units will be considered for the final grade. Each homework unit will carry a weight of 7% of the final grade, for a total of 56%.
There will be TWO quizzes and ONE final exam. The quizzes will count for ONE exam unit EACH, and the final exam will count for TWO exam units. Of the FOUR units in total, the best THREE units will be considered for the final grade. Each exam unit will carry a weight of 10% of the final grade, for a total of 30%.
Participation in your recitation section every week will earn 1% of the final grade, up to a cumulative maximum of 9% over the course of the semester. The first and last recitations will be reviews for which attendance will not be taken. They will not count in the final grade. This leaves 12 other recitations. There are no excused absences for recitation; the three over the 9% cap are intended to cover all absences, excused and unexcused. See below for details regarding which section you should attend.
The remaining 5% of the course grade will be based on participation levels in surveys, etc. sent throughout the semester. For surveys that are anonymous, credit is based on overall participation; if we hit the desired participation level, everyone will get credit, and otherwise no one will.
Since many of the surveys include questions where we want a small window for responses to allow for a consistent snapshot across all students, they will usually be released Thursday night or on Friday and due at the end of Sunday. They will be approximately biweekly, with exceptions such as the DukeHub course evaluations at the end of the semester where we do not control the timing.
The course will us relative grading and the final letter grades will depend on overall class performance. But, in choosing the final cutoffs, the following absolute course grade minimums will be ensured.
60% and higher: D- or higher
70% and higher: C- or higher
80% and higher: B- or higher
90% and higher: A- or higher