Course Policies

Tentative

Academic Dishonesty:

“As a core part of its mission, the University of Arkansas provides students with the opportunity to further their educational goals through programs of study and research in an environment that promotes freedom of inquiry and academic responsibility. Accomplishing this mission is only possible when intellectual honesty and individual integrity prevail.”
"Each University of Arkansas student is required to be familiar with and abide by the University’s ‘Academic Integrity Policy’ which may be found at http://provost.uark.edu. Students with questions about how these policies apply to a particular course or assignment should immediately contact their instructor."

Grading scale:

All papers, examinations and other work for credit will be graded on the basis of a raw score equal to the percentage of the total number of possible points (100). The final letter grade will be determined by the total raw score. Thus, two people with the same raw scores will receive the same letter grade. The scale of determination, however, is made only at the end of the course, once all the grades are in. Estimates may be offered earlier.

Class attendance:

Students are expected to attend classes. In the unlikely event that a class needs to be canceled (e.g., because of weather), I will try to leave a message on my voice mail (575-5826).

Quizzes:

Occasionally quizzes will be given, often without prior announcement. Sometimes extra projects offered to the entire class may count as quizzes. For example, students might be offered an opportunity to attend and comment on a public philosophy lecture. There will be no make-up opportunities for in-class quizzes. Missed quizzes will be given a grade of zero. However, the lowest quiz grades will be dropped.

Late papers:

Late case studies will be accepted, but the instructor reserves the right to deduct up to one point for each day a paper is late.

Spelling and Grammar:

Mistakes in spelling and grammar are not appreciated. While no points will be taken off any paper or examination solely for mistakes in spelling or grammar, clarity is important in philosophy and errors in spelling or, particularly, grammar can make writing more difficult to understand. The same applies to illegibility. A paper with such errors may therefore receive a lower grade than it otherwise would, because it may therefore be less clear than it could be. Furthermore, the instructor may disregard any claim made in an ungrammatical sentence.

Make-up tests:

If for any reason a student has to miss an examination, she/he should contact the instructor (preferably by e-mail) as soon as possible. Make-up tests will be given where a timely, reasonable (to the instructor), and verifiable excuse for inability to take the test at the scheduled time is offered. Any make-up tests, however, will be offered without options. For example, if on the normal test students were asked to answer three out of five questions, the student taking the make-up test will have no choice about which three questions to answer (and the questions may be different from those offered in the original examination). However, in classes where the instructor is teaching multiple sections, whenever possible instead of taking a make-up test the student should (after notifying the instructor) simply take the test at the time another section (taught by the same instructor) is taking it.

Reevaluation:

Any student may request that any paper, examination, or other course work be reevaluated if she or he feels that it has been unfairly or carelessly graded. No penalty will be imposed for taking advantage of this option, of course, but neither is there any guarantee that the grade will not decrease if the work looks inferior on the second reading.

Incompletes:

Failure to complete the assigned work on time is not a sufficient reason to be granted a grade of "incomplete" in the course. Giving birth to a child the morning of the final examination is, if a good faith effort has been made up to that point to keep up with the work.

Courtesy:

Please use common classroom courtesy. For example,

• Attend class. (It's part of what you're getting for your money; you may learn something valuable (in life or on exams); and not attending sends an "I don't care what you have to say" message to the teacher.)
• Please be on time to class whenever possible. (Coming in late distracts other students; and you may miss the main focus of the day and thus not fully understand what follows.)
• Please don't leave early unless it is an emergency. (Hey, it is rude to walk out on someone. I'll try to end on time. If you know you'll have to leave early for a doctor appointment, for example, you can let the teacher know (e.g., through e-mail.)
• Don't talk to others in class when class is in session (before the bell and after class is fine) unless the instructor suggests it. (Your talking can make it harder for other students to hear the instructor; the instructor has to strain his voice to overcome the noise; and you might miss something important.)
• Please turn off telephones and audible pagers. (There are exceptions to this, of course, but class is no time to be taking calls from friends; and the noise disturbs others.)
• I think computers and cell phones can be wonderful for taking notes, but please don't use them during class for non-class activities, such as texting. (I find I distracting when students' attention is on their cell phone or computer instead of on the class; It's worse than talking to a brick wall.)
• Please don't eat in class. (It makes noise and distracts others. If you are pregnant or a diabetic, that's a different story.)
• Please clean up after yourself. (Don't leave your mess for others.)
• Be courteous to other students. (They're persons and they're paying for this too.)

Special Needs:

If you have special needs (e.g. require a note-taker or are deaf or blind), please bring a card from the student access office within the first week of class. (Of course is something develops during the course of the semester, let the instructor know as soon as possible.)

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Richard Lee, rlee@uark.edu, last modified: 23 August 2011