Course Policies

Plagiarism

Carthage's Community Code (under "Academic Concerns") explains what plagiarism is.

However, to ensure that there is no confusion, let me lay out my own definition of what plagiarism is. If you use the words of another person, even just one sentence or clause, then you should put those words in quotation marks and give that person credit for their words by providing a citation. If you fail to do so, that is plagiarism. If you use another person's idea, you should give that person credit by providing a citation. Failure to do so is plagiarism. Anything that does not originate within your own mind should be credited to the person where the idea or words did originate. Failure to do so is plagiarism.

Consider this your first warning. Instances of plagiarism that I find will, at a minimum, involve you receiving a zero for the assignment, and at the maximum will involve you failing the course and being reported to the Dean of the College.

Basically, don't plagiarize, and we'll all be a lot happier


Cheating

Cheating is unacceptable. Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

Cheating will involve a minimum penalty of a zero for the exam and a maximum penalty of a report being filed with the Dean of the College, depending on the egregiousness of the offense. I am the sole arbiter of how egregious the offense is.

Cheating involving more than one person (such as person A peeking off of person B's test) will result in both students getting a zero, unless one person admits to cheating without the involvement of the other person.


Reading assignments

Reading assignments are listed on the course calendar. The reading assignment for a particular day is listed with that day. In other words, the reading listed for a particular day should be read before you get to class.


Turning in assignments

All assignments complete outside of the classroom must be turned in typed, double-spaced, in 12 point Times font.

You are welcome to e-mail me your completed assignments, but if you do so they must be in MS Word or RTF format. It is not acceptable to simply cut-and-paste your homework into an e-mail message, nor are other formats such as Word Perfect or MS Works acceptable.

All assignments must be named with your first initial and last name, followed by the name of the assignment followed by the appropriate extension.

For example, if I was submitting homework 5, I would name the file: jgottlieb.hw5. If Brian Urlacher were submitting lab 4, he would name the assignment burlacher.lab4.cpp.

You should also make sure that your name appears somewhere inside of the assignment itself, either in a header or in the comments.

This is for your benefit. It makes it easier for me to keep track of who's assignment is who's. Remember, there are 20 or 30 of you and only one of me. Assignments not submitted according to these guidelines will not be accepted.


Late assignments and make-up exams

Late assignments and make-up exams will be allowed without penalty in the case of severe illness or a family emergency. In the case of illness, a note from your doctor or from health services must be produced upon request. In all other cases, some sort of supporting documentation, such as an e-mail from a parent or advisor, must be provided.

If you have an incredibly good reason for having a late assignment, you must discuss it with me at least 24 hours before the assignment is due. I cannot emphasize this enough. Generally, if you come to me a couple days before something is due, I'll be pretty lenient. If you write me at midnight the night before something is due (it's happened), then you're going to be out of luck. My leniency decreases the closer it gets to when an assignment is due.

Examples of good reasons:

  • Varsity sporting competition.
  • Won the Nobel Prize.
  • Won a vacation to Hawaii and you're taking me with you.
  • Some other college-sponsored activity (Model UN, Job Fair, etc.)

    Final Exam

    Attendance at the final exam is mandatory. Absolutely no exceptions except in the most extreme circumstances. These extreme circumstances generally must involve some sort of unconsciousness on your part. The final exam schedule is available at the beginning of the academic year. If you buy plane tickets to go home early, tough luck. Make no plans before the final exam!


    Missed classes

    If you miss a class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed. The topic for the day as well as the appropriate readings is listed on the course calendar. Generally, the lecture notes for that day will also be posed within a day or two. You should also feel free to check with your peers.

    I will not, as a general rule, respond to e-mails along the lines of, "I'm [going to miss class/sorry I missed class] today because of [sickness/game/ family emergency/etc.]. Please e-mail me back and tell me what I [will miss/missed]." (see my e-mail policy below)

    I understand that people have reasons for missing class, some of which are very good reasons. However, to recap an hour-long class beyond what is contained in the resources you already have available to you would take, well, about an hour. There simply is not enough time in the day to do this for everyone that might miss class.

    That said, I have no intention of hanging you out to dry when you miss a day of class. Once you have consulted with the book, lecture notes, and your peers, if you have any specific questions about the material, I will be more than happy to address those questions if you come by my office to discuss them face-to- face.

    Finally, if you are an athlete, it is your responsibility to inform me when you will miss class, not your coach's. Sometimes the coaches forget to send e-mail. Most of the time I just don't read them. It is your job to keep me informed about what you will miss, not mine to page through the list to find your name. Missed classes for athletics will not count against your attendance score if and only if you inform me at least 24 hours in advance.


    E-mail policy

    Students should feel free to e-mail me with questions about the course or about homework and the like. However, there are certain types of e-mails that I generally will not respond to. The primary ones of these are:

  • I will not e-mail you back to confirm receipt of an assignment. If you're that paranoid about it, turn in a hard copy. If you try to e-mail an assignment and it fails for some reason, and I have a record of you e-mailing me (for example, if you simply forgot to attach the file), I will write you back to notify you of the failure and you will not receive a late penalty (unless your "forgetting" to attach the file becomes too much of a habit). In this case, no news is good news.
  • I will not respond to e-mails asking, "What did we do in class today?" You have plenty of other ways of finding this out including, but not necessarily limited to, the textbook, the lecture notes online, or peers in the class.
  • I will not respond to e-mails asking for clarifications about course material. Those questions are more appropriate for the classroom (since others might have the same question) or for my office hours, where I can be sure you really understand the answer and can follow up if you are still confused.

    Students with disabilities

    If you have a disability that affects your learning, please see me during the first two weeks of class to discuss support and accommodations. You also need to meet with and provide documentation to Diane Schowalter in the Advising Center, x5802 or email at dschowalter1@carthage.edu