Homework: Assignments from the text will be given each lecture hour. Homework will not be collected or graded, but you should do these assignments in order to be prepared for quizzes and exams.
Quizzes: There will be a number of quizzes given during the semester. The quizzes will be given during the Tuesday/Thursday discussion sections. The specific dates may vary, depending on the amount of material covered in the lectures, but will be announced in advance by your TA (but not posted on the website). Your TA will be able to give you advice about how to prepare.
Midterm Exams: There will be three midterm exams given during the regular class hour. The dates for these exams are: Monday, February 4; Friday, February 29; and Wednesday, April 2.
Final Exam:
The Final Exam will cover material roughly equivalent to 2 one-hour exams,
and will be cumulative. It will take place
Tuesday, May 6, 8-11 a.m., the slot assigned for
this class according to the
Spring 2008 Final Exam schedule.
There is no scheduled conflict exam for this course. If you have a situation
covered by
Section 3-201(a)(4) of the Student Code, you should contact me as far in
advance of the exam as possible to determine a makeup exam. If you have any questions, contact me as early as possible.
Make sure to plan your travel at the end of the semester accordingly.
University regulations are very strict about taking
the Final at the assigned slot; in particular, you cannot take the
final at an earlier date in order to accommodate travel plans.
Policy on missed quizzes and hour exams:
there will be no make-up quizzes or hour exams.
A missed quiz or hour exam
result in zero points on that quiz or exam
unless you have a documented excused absence.
With a valid, documented excuse
(such as a personal emergency, confining illness, or religious observance,
see
Section
1-501 of the Student Code for a discussion), your absence from the quiz
or hour exam will be
marked as "excused."
For a quiz, this simply means that your quiz average will be
based on the remaining quizzes, i.e.,
it will be just as if the "excused" quiz had never taken place.
For an hour exam, your final grade will be determined by appropriate weighting
of
the portion of the final exam corresponding to the missed midterm.
If you qualify for an excused quiz, get in touch with your TA within one week and provide him/her with appropriate documentation. For an hour exam, get in touch with Professor Nevins within one week and provide documentation.
Oversleeping and minor illness (for example, garden-variety colds) will not be considered valid excuses
for missing an exam.
IMPORTANT NOTE: An unexcused absence from a
quiz or hour exam will result in a zero
(which is far worse than a mere F). So, don't oversleep!
Calculator policy:
Calculators are not allowed in exams or quizzes.
Exam and quiz problems will be
written such that they do not require a calculator; calculators would be
a hindrance and distraction, and in most cases completely useless.
You do not need to bring a calculator to the lecture or
discussion sections. (I don't carry a calculator with me either.)
Occasionally, you may need a calculator to do a homework problem,
though the majority of
homework problems will be of the no-calculator variety. For the
calculator problems, a basic calculator is sufficient; you do not need
graphing or programmable calculators.
Main course page.