GRADING POLICIES
  Spring 2003
CJ 161-003

Paper Policies
Makeup
Late Policy
Regrading
Getting Good Grades

GUIDELINES ON AVOIDING ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Cheating and academic dishonesty are bad. This section defines what is bad, and then notes the consequences.

From the Undergraduate Bulletin:

[ http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/ugradbulletin/policies_part2.htm#pac ]

Plagiarism and Academic Cheating

Temple University believes strongly in academic honesty and integrity. Plagiarism and academic cheating are, therefore, prohibited. Essential to intellectual growth is the development of independent thought and a respect for the thoughts of others. The prohibition against plagiarism and cheating is intended to foster this independence and respect. 

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's labor, another person's ideas, another person's words, another person's assistance. Normally, all work done for courses -- papers, examinations, homework exercises, laboratory reports, oral presentations -- is expected to be the individual effort of the student presenting the work. Any assistance must be reported to the instructor. If the work has entailed consulting other resources -- journals, books, or other media -- these resources must be cited in a manner appropriate to the course. It is the instructor's responsibility to indicate the appropriate manner of citation. Everything used from other sources -- suggestions for organization of ideas, ideas themselves, or actual language -- must be cited. Failure to cite borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Undocumented use of materials from the World Wide Web is plagiarism.

Academic cheating is, generally, the thwarting or breaking of the general rules of academic work or the specific rules of the individual courses. It includes falsifying data; submitting, without the instructor's approval, work in one course which was done for another; helping others to plagiarize or cheat from one's own or another's work; or actually doing the work of another person. 

The penalty for academic dishonesty can vary from a reprimand and receiving a failing grade for a particular assignment, to a failing grade in the course, to suspension or expulsion from the University. The penalty varies with the nature of the offense, individual instructor, the department, and the school or college. 

Students who believe that they have been unfairly accused may appeal through the department's, school or college's academic grievance procedure. 

Please note we do have an undergraduate grievance procedure in Criminal Justice. Ask me if you want details.

Engaging in academic misconduct is against the student code of conduct; see the following excerpt

According to the Temple Student Assistance Center

[ http://www.temple.edu/assistance/ccIIIa.html ]

III Code of Conduct
a.) Violations

It is a violation of the Code of Conduct for a student to commit, attempt to commit, aid, encourage, facilitate or solicit the commission of any of the following:

1.) Academic dishonesty and impropriety including plagiarism, academic cheating, and selling lecture notes or other information provided by an instructor without the instructor's authorization; 

There are a range of sanctions that can be applied by the instructor if misconduct takes place. Up to a point the instructor has autonomy in the consequences delivered. Past that it becomes a UDC matter.

According to the Student Code of Conduct: 

[ http://www.temple.edu/assistance/conduct.htm ]

* Academic Violations: Violations of standards of academic conduct may result in either faculty imposed academic sanctions or Code of Conduct sanctions. Faculty members who feel a grade reduction or a failing grade for an assignment, test/examination or course is sufficient need not refer cases to the UDC. Sanctions other than a reduced or failing grade may only be imposed following a UDC hearing.

We will discuss in class the nature of academic misconduct, including plagiarism. You are responsible for understanding the different varieties of academic misconduct. If I encounter solid evidence of academic misconduct I will discuss the matter with you, and then deliver the consequence I deem appropriate. Possible consequences include: failure on the assignment in question (i.e., a 0); assigning a failing grade for the course; or attempting to have you expelled from Temple University. Should you wish to contest a decision I make on academic misconduct, I will inform you of the procedures to follow. The department and the college have fully specified grievance procedures.

 Makeup Policy.

There will be no makeups for missed quizzes or exams unless
* you notify me before the missed event
* and you have a reason for missing the quiz or exam that I find valid (e.g., car accident) (I no longer accept excuses like your friend's grandmother dying.)
* and I have something in writing, for my records, verifying the nature of the problem.

There will be days where we are showing in-class videos, or segments of movies.  I will try to let you know about those dates at least a week in advance. You can keep up on these announcements by checking the memos/questions/handouts section of the syllabus. If you miss these dates and are unable to complete an assignment based on that presentation, or miss participation points, or are otherwise adversely affected, I am sorry, but I am not under an obligation to repeat these materials or to make them available to you at a later date. 

 Late Assignments.

Assignments are due on the date indicated. I reserve the right to lower the grade for assignments that are handed in late. The amount the grade is lowered increases the longer the delay in handing the assignment in. Depending on the assignment, the grade may be lowered 1% to 10% a day.

If you have an excuse for a late assignment I will take this in to account only if you notify me beforehand about the problem and I find your excuse for the delay to be a valid one and I have something in writing. Again, a friend's grandfather's death may be questionable.

Handing in Papers

I will accept written assignments only from the author. Each individual student should hand in his/her own paper to me on the day it is due (for more see late policy). 

• Do not ask another student to hand in your paper for you. 
• I will collect papers at the end of class on the day they are due. 
• Do not leave your paper for me to collect in my mailbox.
• If you cannot get the paper to me the day it is due please notify me (see late policies) and arrange to give me the paper personally on the next day of class.
• In short, your paper is NOT turned in until you have handed it to me.

 Regrading policy.

     You have the right to submit any assignment for regrading. If you wish to submit an assignment for regrading proceed as follows:
      Prepare a written statement explaining why the assignment should be regraded. This applies to written assignments, essay exams, and multiple choice exam questions where you think there was more than one correct answer.
      On a cover sheet print your name, SSN, name of the assignment or test, date of the assignment or test, and the date you submitted the assignment for regrading.
      Staple the cover sheet to your written rationale and the original assignment.
     I will review your request for regrading. I will consult with other faculty if I deem that appropriate. As a result of your request for regrading the grade on your original assignment may stay the same, or it may go up, or it may go down.

Guidelines for Getting Good Grades on Papers

     The number of written assignments for your class has not been set yet. It is probably the case that the different assignments will be different. Paper 2 will ask you to do something different than Paper 1.
     You will receive detailed instructions for each at least two weeks before the due date. I encourage you to discuss with me any questions you might have about the assignment well in advance of the due date.
     You should type each written assignment, double spaced. You also should proof your written work carefully. Mis-spelled words and flagrantly poor grammar will reduce your grade. On your papers I usually take off one point for every mis-spelled word and one point for every flagrant grammatical error. Needless to say, this can add up after a while. I urge you to:

* always run the spell checker
* always run a grammar checker
* proofread carefully, if possible, get someone else to proofread for you as well.

     Many students find that their writing improves if they consult some books on writing like Strunk & White's The Elements of Style or Provost's 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing.

I strongly urge you to carefully proofread and to spell check and to grammar check every paper. Even though this is not a "W" course I will take off for incorrect spelling, flagrantly poor grammar, and the like.

Note that all written assignments count; none are dropped. Please note that ALL written assignments must be completed in order to receive a grade in the course.