Soc./CCJ 2180 Alcohol, Drugs, and Society

Grading Policies and Class Test Statistics

Tuesday, April 17, 2018 11:46 AM

The guidelines for determining final grades are detailed below.  See also Withdrawal, Delayed Grade, and Extra-Credit guidelines.
Test score distribution analysis.

All course grades will be posted in the online grade book in the class MyGateway site. Individual grades can be accessed via the My Gateway web site.  Select "My Grades" from the course navigation menu. Students can also access their individual grades via the "My Grades" link located in the "Tools" area of the class MyGateway site.  The grades in MyGateway are for individual tests, quizzes, and assignments only.  The "current estimated grade" found in the grades area of MyGateway will reflect your current estimated grade based on available points at the time of an announcement indicating an update (NOTE: Test and Exam scores are not automatically included in the "current estimated grade." "Current estimated grades" will be updated with exam scores (usually) the day after an exam deadline, and an announcement will be made). Final grade calculations are made using the schema described below.

Grading:

Final grades will be calculated based on a total of 560 points.

Students who submit work past a due date are subject to penalties, point deductions, or not having their work accepted for grading.

72 hour rule: Grade updates will be posted in MyGateway throughout the semester. Students are expected to review their grades on a regular basis--especially following a grade update. I work hard to let you know where you stand in the course at any given time--I expect you to show due diligence and concern as well. Concerns about posted grades must be addressed within 72 hours of grade posting, otherwise posted scores will be considered accurate and final, up to the time of posting.

Items included in calculating the point total:

1. Syllabus Quiz: 10 points (due by Friday, September 1 by 5:00 PM)

2. Attendance, Introductory Message, and SOL: 45 points and Optional Additional Online and In-Class Participation (not required, however up to 20 points possible.

3. LearnSmart Tutorials: 160 points possible

4. Critical Thinking Projects: 100 points possible

5. 4 Tests (60-65 questions, 1 point per question, 245 points)

NOTE: All course grades will be posted in the online Grade book in the class MyGateway site.  Students can access their individual grades via the "My Grades" link located in the "Tools" area of the class MyGateway site.  The grades in MyGateway are for individual tests, quizzes, and assignments only.  The "current estimated grade" found in the grades area of MyGateway will reflect your current estimated grade based on available points at the time of an announcement indicating an update (NOTE: Test and Exam scores are not automatically included in the "current estimated grade." "Current estimated grades" will be updated with exam scores (usually) the day after an exam deadline, and an announcement will be made).  Final grades will be based on the following scale:

518 and above: A 501-517: A-

485-500: B+ 462-484: B 445-461: B-

429-444: C+ 406-428: C 389-405: C-

373-388: D+ 350-372: D 333-349: D-

332 and below: F

93% and above: A 90-92% A-

87-89%: B+ 83-86%: B 80-82%: B-

77-79%: C+ 73-76%: C 70-72%: C-

67-69%: D+ 63-66%: D 60-62%: D-

59% and below: F

Academic Dishonesty and other misconduct will not be tolerated. See the partial listing of conduct for which students are subject to sanction at the end of this syllabus. Or, view the entire document by visiting: http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/rules/collected_rules/programs/ch200/200.010_standard_of_conduct and see also: http://www.umsl.edu/services/academic/policy/academic-dishonesty.html

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Extra Credit: The idea of "extra" credit is an oxymoron.  There is only credit! THERE IS NO EXTRA CREDIT in my classes. Students can earn additional points for exceptional levels of participation in the class discussions and online forums; however, if you are having difficulties with the course work, get help as early in the semester as possible.  Adding more work will NOT help you, and if you cannot do the regular work adequately, any additional work will not be to your benefit.  More IS NOT (necessarily) better.  Rather than worrying about doing more work-FOCUS on the regularly assigned work and do it to the BEST of your abilities.
Delayed Grade Policy: If a student is unable to complete the Final Exam (due to exceptional circumstances), a Delayed Grade can be negotiated.  Students MUST contact the instructor by 5:00 pm on the last day of the Final Exam to document their reason for being unable to complete the test, and to request a delayed grade.  If students DO NOT initiate the request for a delayed grade, a score of ZERO (0) will be assigned for any uncompleted work. Delayed grades MUST be made up by the end of the following semester (Summer and Interim Semesters excluded).  Failure to make-up a delayed grade by the end of the following semester will result in an F being recorded for the course grade.  Delayed grades WILL NOT be extended past one semester unless exceptional circumstances (as decided by the instructor) are evident.

Withdrawals: From the Office of the Provost--The close of the 12th week of the semester is the last point that a student may drop a class without compelling reasons. Having a low grade at the 12th week point is NOT a compelling reason to drop a class. If there is a compelling reason, e.g. serious illness or injury that incapacitates a student, being called up for military service, the death of an immediate family member, etc. Dropping after the 12th week requires approval of the instructor and the dean. Here’s the Bulletin policy:

Dropping/Adding Courses

Students may add courses during the first week of a sixteen-week semester. Students with specific academic holds may be required to obtain approval from their advisor to change their schedule. Students may not add courses without instructor approval after the first week of class of a sixteen-week semester, the first four days of class of an eight-week session, or the first three days of class of a four-week session. Students are responsible for any content or assignments missed if they add a course after it has already met.

Courses may be dropped in MyView, without faculty approval and without receiving a grade, through the fourth week of classes of a sixteen-week semester, the second week of classes of an eight-week session and the first week of classes of a four-week session. Students with specific academic holds may be required to obtain approval from their advisor to change their schedule. Semester and session calendars posted on the registrar's website include specific deadline dates for dropping courses. Students who officially drop any of their classes may have fees reassessed and/or refunded based on the current fee reassessment schedule posted on the cashier's website. Courses dropped during this period will not appear on transcripts.

From the 5th week to the end of the 8th week of a sixteen-week semester, students may continue to drop courses in MyView without instructor approval. A grade of "EX" (excused) will be issued on the transcript. Refer to the calendar posted on the registrar's website for summer or winter session withdrawal deadlines. From the 9th week to the end of the 12th week dropping courses will require instructor approval. Students receiving approval to drop during this period will be issued either an EX, or "EX-F" (excused but failing) if the student was failing at the time of dropping. The EX and EX-F grades will be posted to transcripts, but neither one will be used in calculating the GPA. Students who wish to withdraw after the end of the 12th week must provide documentation of exigent circumstance and receive both the instructor's permission and approval of the dean.

Dropping or withdrawing from a course may adversely impact scholarships, financial aid, and progress toward graduation. Students are strongly urged to discuss these possibilities with the financial aid office and their academic advisors before dropping or withdrawing.

Students registered in a course in which they fail to meet a minimal level of participation as deemed by the instructor will be issued a grade of "FN" (Failure, Non-participation). The FN grade indicates that the student is not regularly attending class or is making little or no attempts on assignments or activities and may be violating the terms of financial assistance. This grade is equivalent to an F for GPA calculations.

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NOTE: Written work submitted in this class will be subject to plagiarism checking using Turnitin. Turnitin, a plagiarism detection software, is now available to all students and instructors. This tool checks your paper against proprietary databases of papers and the Internet. After submission, your instructor will receive an "originality report" containing results of the matching process. Your paper will also be added to UMSL’s internal section of the anti-plagiarism database to be used to compare future submissions by other students and to help protect your work from plagiarism. You can also use Turnitin yourself to check drafts of your papers. The English Department Writing Lab has created a free course site on MyGateway where you can go to find resources to help you in writing and citing papers properly. By enrolling in this course, you can submit drafts of your work to Turnitin. You will then be able to privately view the “originality report” and make corrections to your work before submitting it formally to your instructor. Go to MyGateway (http://mygateway.umsl.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_36517_1), look for "The Writing Center@UMSL" module and then click on the “Writing Center” link to get access to the free course site.

NOTE: CONDUCT FOR WHICH STUDENTS ARE SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS FALLS INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

1.  Academic dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, or sabotage.  The Board of Curators recognizes that academic honesty is essential for the intellectual life of the University.  Faculty members have a special obligation to expect high standards of academic honesty in all student work.  Students have a special obligation to adhere to such standards.  In all cases of academic dishonesty, the instructor shall make an academic judgment about the student's grade on that work and in that course.  The instructor shall report the alleged academic dishonesty to the Primary Administrative Officer.

a.  The term cheating includes but is not limited to: (i) use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (ii) dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; (iii) acquisition or possession without permission of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the University faculty or staff;(iv) knowingly providing any unauthorized assistance to other student on quizzes, tests, or examinations.
b.  The term plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: (i) use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without fully and properly crediting the author with footnotes, citations or bibliographical reference; (ii) unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials; (iii) unacknowledged use of original work/material that has been produced through collaboration with others without release in writing from collaborators.
c.  The term sabotage includes, but is not limited to, the unauthorized interference with, modification of, or destruction of the work or intellectual property of another member of the University community.

2.  Forgery, alteration, or misuse of University documents, records or identification, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University.
3.  Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, conduct proceedings, or other University activities, including its public service functions on or off campus.
4. Physical abuse or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.

Back to the syllabus

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Critical Thinking Project 2 Scores:

Test 4

URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/180/180grades.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2018 11:46 AM

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