Grading policies
Grade definitions Grading system Cheating Missing or late work
Grade Definitions: What is an A? a B? a C?
Grades are not based on effort. Instead, they are based on actual performance. (When you choose a doctor or an auto mechanic, you don't care if they tried hard when they were in school. You care whether they know what they are doing.)
| A |
A grade of "A" means that the work is judged to be of exceptionally high quality, going well beyond what is needed to be minimally acceptable. "A" level work shows originality, depth of thought, factual accuracy, good logic. |
| B |
A grade of "B" means that the work is judged to be of high quality, going well beyond what is needed to be minimally acceptable. "B" level work shows some of the same good qualities as "A" level work, but not as consistently, or to the same extent. (Maybe lacks originality, and is less deep, although accurate and logical as far as it goes, for example.) |
| C |
A grade of "C" means that the work is acceptable--that is, it meets the basic standard of college level work in terms of relevance, factual accuracy, and logic. "C-" work is at the the minimum acceptable level. |
| D |
A grade of "D" means that the work does not meet the standards for acceptable college level work, but it does exhibit some positive qualities that indicate that it deserves some credit for having been done. |
| F |
A grade of "F" means that the work is so weak that it does not earn college level credit, or the work was not completed at all. |
General description of the grading system
The grading system for this Section of Foundations is somewhat unusual, because the overall course grade is based on the combination of two different grades: a skills grade and an engagement grade. Each of these grades is calculated separately, and then the two grades are combined to get the final course grade. The methods for calculating these grades are explained below.
Skills grade
Your skills grade is based on the items listed below:
 | Three essays of about 6 pages each. (30 points each) |
| Two examinations, including the final exam. (30 points each) |
| One group research project that includes publication of the results on the Web. (Each group member will contribute their own part and be graded individually.) (45 points for progress reports and final results) |
| Comments evaluating the group projects published by other groups. (15 points) |
The sum will determine your skills grade in this course, using the following cutoffs:
| Minimum A = 179 |
| Minimum B = 130 |
| Minimum C = 88 |
| Minimum D = 42 |
Don't jump to the conclusion that this is a very lenient grading scale. In order to draw students' attention to things that need improvement, it is typical for students to not earn anywhere near the full number of points on any given project or paper. See the definitions of the grades given at the top of this page for a more helpful description of how the system actually works.
Engagement grade
1. There will be many small written items to turn in, such as progress reports, answers to study questions, exercises, quizzes, and the like. Each of these items will be assigned a small number of points at the time -- often just one or two points. Altogether, these might total around 30 points for the term.
2. In addition, every student must design and carry out their own campus and community engagement plan. (Details regarding this component of the course will be explained during the semester.) A student may earn up to 10 points for carrying out the plan.
3. Because this Section is part of Pathways in a Modern World, students will attend Pathways group activity meetings every other week and write various small reports about these meetings. This will count for 15 points.
The engagement grade for the term is based on the sum of the points earned in the three categories just described. The cutoffs for the various letter grades will be the usual 90% for an A, 80% for a B, 70% for a C, and 60% for a D.
Overall course grade
The skills grade and the engagement grade are combined in order to determine the overall course grade that goes onto the transcript. It works like this:
| When the skills grade and the engagement grade are the same, then that grade is the course grade. |
| If the skills grade is different from the engagement grade, then the overall course grade will be determined by lumping the engagement grade in with the grades used to determine the skills grade, and making it count the same as an essay or a test. (The cutoffs for the various grades listed under the skills grade above are adjusted upward proportionately to accommodate the addition of this new item.) This has the potential to raise or lower the overall course grade above or below the skills grade. (So, having a high engagement grade can really help to make up for a weak exam or essay, but having a low engagement grade can pull down the overall course grade.) |
| But, no overall course grade can be more than two letter grades higher than the engagement grade. For example, if a student has a "B" average on all essays, exams, and research projects, that student will still end up with a course grade of "C" if she has an "F" for an engagement grade. (So, the engagement grade can really hurt the overall grade.) |
Examples:
1) Suppose you earn a "B" in skills, but a "D" in engagement. Your course grade might end up being a "C" if the skills grade was close to the borderline. So, lack of engagement can significantly hurt you. In fact, this scenario is rare, since skills normally can't be developed without engagement.
2) Suppose you earn a high "C" in skills, but have an "A" in engagement. (This is a more common situation.) Then your engagement grade will help you. Your "A" will be put in with the other items that make up your skills grade, and the effect will be to bump up your overall course grade to a "B". This shows how engagement can be a significant help to your grade.
Why this weird system?
It gives results appropriate for this course. It gives sufficient emphasis to standard graded items like tests and papers, while also emphasizing how important it is to stay engaged and active in the course and related activities all semester.
Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty nullify the entire grading system described above, for students involved. Such cases will be dealt with in accord with university policy, and can easily result in a student's failing the entire course, being placed on disciplinary probation, or even being dismissed from the university.
Policies about missing or late course work
| Quizzes or other minor assignments
written in class must be turned in during the
relevant class. No make-ups are allowed for any reason, except for students who are
absent because they are required to attend a previously scheduled and approved
officially- sanctioned university event, and who have previously notified the
instructor that they will be absent for that reason. Students who do not
make arrangements in advance are out of luck. |
| Assignments each come with
a deadline, posted on the Assignments page.
After the deadline they are not normally accepted for credit.
(These assignments are intended to support student learning as the class progresses.
It makes no sense to try to make them up three weeks late.) In the event of a
serious need for a student to be late with one or more of these items, special
arrangements will have to be worked out, if possible. Always keep in
touch with the instructor about missed or late work, and do so in as timely
a fashion as possible. Use e-mail or the telephone if you are not in
class to make arrangements. |
| Make up exams are given only when there is a legitimate reason why the student did not do the examination at the regular time, or when the entire class is given the opportunity to have a second chance at an exam. |