GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES

Classroom Policies for Harlie Kay Gallatin's Courses
Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri
Fall 2005

This document is an official part of the course syllabus for this course

Table of Contents

• Classroom Management Policies
• Special Needs Notification
• Class Attendance Policies
• Evaluation Policies
• Interpreting Cumulative Scores

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Any deliberate and persistent behavior that, in the judgment of the instructor, interrupts the learning process, hampers communication, or distracts fellow students in the classroom may result in a 10-point deduction from the student's cumulative score for each occurrence. The student will be notified in writing via email when such a penalty is required. The following types of distractions, among others, qualify for such penalties.

• Inappropriate dress for the classroom. Examples of clothing inappropriate for the classroom include, among other items, soggy, smelly sweats; abbreviated shorts, tops or skirts; swimsuits; tuxedos; and evening gowns!
• Bringing food and drink into the classroom, and consuming it during class time in disregard of posted University rules.
• Listening (with headphones) to a radio or a tape player during class.
• Engaging classmates in ongoing conversations during class time.

SPECIAL NEEDS

Students who are disabled or require consideration of special needs, should immediately notify the Vice President of Enollment Management if they have not already done so. The Vice President communicates with each of your instructors informing them officially of your special needs. It is appropriate for the student to confirm those arrangements with the instructor during the first week of classes.

UNIVERSITY CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance Policy

Attendance is recorded at the beginning of each class period. The seating location you choose at the beginning of the semester will become your assigned seat for the remainder of the semester. The student who arrives more than three minutes tardy must take the responsibility of checking after class with the instructor to be sure his attendance is recorded.

Excused or justified absences are nonetheless absences. There are no absences which are automatically disregarded. Any absence for whatever reason is counted. A student who registers late will be counted absent for those class periods missed before he or she first attends the class. The student who is tardy or falls to sleep or leaves the class room and does not directly return may be counted absent unless he or she is present (and awake) for at least 80% of the period (i.e. 60 minutes in a 75 minute period or 40 minutes in a 50 minute period). Three (3) instances of tardiness, naping, brief (10/15 min.) trips out of the room and/or early (10/15 min.) departure will count as one (1) absence. Students who must plan to leave class early would be well advised to email the instructor in advance.

When the number of a student's total absences exceed twenty percent (20%) of the class sessions the student is excessively absent. The excessively absent student will receive an F grade for this course. Redford College does not grant credit for courses to students who have not attended 80% or more of the scheduled class time. This is the rule followed in this class. The excessively absent student may officially withdraw (see below) from the course.

If the student is irregular in attendance, although not excessive, and does not explain this attendance problem to the instructor (email is a good method) the administration expects the instructor to use his discretion in notifying the office of Enrollment Management.

The following table shows the maximum number of non-justified absences permitted in a three hour course according to the various class schedules:

Official Withdrawal

A student may officially drop from any course at any time. Official withdrawal is accomplished by submitting to the Registrar's Office a completed "drop slip" signed by the student, the advisor, and the course instructor. During the first ten weeks of a semester a W grade is recorded when a student withdraws, without regard to the student's grade status in the class at the time of withdrawal. After the end of the tenth week until the end of the semester either W or F is recorded depending on the student's grade standing the last day of attendance. If the student is already excessively absent at the time of the student's withdrawal the grade reported will be F.

EVALUATION POLICIES

Use of Numerical Scores

All student performance is recorded in terms of raw numerical scores. All essay examination questions are given numerical scores reflecting the evaluation as shown in the point scale below. Please note that scores on individual assignments are relative to the possible points on the assignment and do not necessarily translate directly into letter grade indicators.

• Grade of A 90% or more on the scale of scores.
• Grade of B 80% to 89.9% on the scale of scores.
• Grade of C 70% to 79.9% on the scale of scores.
• Grade of D 60% to 69.9% on the scale of scores.
• Grade of F 59.9% or less on the scale of scores.

Return and Review of Examinations

All examinations written in essay form will be returned to the student and remain at the student's disposal. Answer sheets for objective questions--where students simply mark correct answers--, however, remain the property of the instructor and will not be returned to the student. Examinations and quizzes will not be reviewed in detail during class time. Students who wish to review their performance on the objective questions are welcome to do so. You should make an appointment to meet with the instructor for that purpose. Click here for Dr. Gallatin's office hours, phone number and email address.

Make-Up and/or Re-scheduled Exams and Assignments

The instructor may announce changes in the schedule of exam and assignment dates given in the syllabus. Students who have a legitimate reason individually to re-schedule examinations or assignments to dates other than posted in the syllabus may request re-scheduling in advance of the posted date. Students who miss taking examinations or completing scheduled assignments due to personal illness or University sponsored activities should make up the examination/assignment at the earliest possible reasonable date. The student should make arrangements with the instructor promptly. These exams must be completed prior to the last two weeks of the semester. No late scheduled assignment papers will be accepted after the last regular class meeting day without a prior arrangement with the instructor.

Determining Grade Status During mid-Semester

The only valid indication of a student's grade status is his or her total points at a given time. During the semester, however, a student's cumulative total will contain the appropriate quiz scores for each completed unit (if any) in addition to the scores of all scheduled exams and scheduled assignments (if any) evaluated so far.

Through the Blackboard portal at SBU, members of this class will have secure passworded access to their scores throughout the semester on any computer accessing URL http://my.sbuniv.edu. This will include unit accumulations and a running total of unit scores as the units of the course are completed. Class performance statistics will be announced in class so that every student will be able to translate their interim total cumulated score into an interim letter grade status.
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Procedure for Conversion of Adjusted Cumulative Score to Letter Grade

Scores are processed by means of a formula (not a part of Blackboard) which determines letter grades through the following procedure.

1. Determine each student's accumulated score.
2. Determine the average of all up-to-date scores of students in the class section. (Students whose work is incomplete do not have an up-to-date score to include.)
3. Divide the average score by the highest accumulated score to determine a reference number.
4. Locate the reference number in the table below to determine a percentage.

5. Determine the difference between the top accumulated score and the top possible score.
6. Multiply the difference by the percentage indicated in the table above to determine the adjustment amount.
7. Add the amount of adjustment to the highest score earned by any student in the class section to determine the top of the score scale.
8. Divide the scale of possible scores as follows: