Professor Dan Rubenstein
Spring 2014
Grading Policy
Your grade consists of:
- 40% Homework: Homework is due at the start of class at
1:15 pm on the date that it is due, unless otherwise specified.
CVN students?
At
their discretion, the TAs may accept assignments until the end
of the day, provided you can find them, but it is your responsibility
to ensure you can reach them after class. Professor Rubenstein
will not collect assignments after class, and will discard assignments
turned in after 5 minutes of lecture. E-mailed/faxed homework and late
assignments will not be accepted unless approved in advance (CVN?). Approval
will only be given under extreme circumstances. You are expected to
produce your work in a timely manner. You may discuss and work on
questions with other students in the class. However, you should write
your solutions on your own, i.e., not copy someone else's solution.
- 35% Midterm: March 14, in-class, open book, open note, no
calculators. You must let Professor Rubenstein know a month in
advance (i.e., by next week) if you cannot take the midterm on that date.
Otherwise, only medical emergencies (with doctor's note) are
acceptable reasons for scheduling an alternate date.
- 45% Final: TBD (by the registrar, but most likely May 14)
open book, open note, no calculators. If you have a problem
with that date, tell Professor Rubenstein before or at the end
of the first class.
Note that the total adds to 120%. The lowest score's contribution is
reduced by 20%. For instance, if your homework average is 90, your
midterm score is a 35, and your final exam score is 70, the midterm's
contribution is reduced to 15%, making your average score equal to
0.4 x 90 + 0.15 x 35 + 0.45 x 70 = 72.75. You can alternatively drop
a homework score, but then homework will be counted by at most 20%.
A note on effort: The final grade is based on my interpretation of how well you know the material. If all I know about you is your scores on homeworks, midterm and final, then those will directly determine your grade. If, however, you speak up in class and/or attend office hours, this gives me another way to evaluate how much you know and can only help your grade.
Collaboration and Cheating
Limited collaboration on homework is acceptable, but each student
should write up their own solution and turn
in their own copy. The downside of this collaborative policy is that
doing well on the homework doesn't really demonstrate that you
know the material. To demonstrate this, you need to do well on the
midterm and final. The best, time-tested way to do well on the exams:
Do your own homework!
If you cheat, there is a good chance you will do better than you
deserve. But if you get caught, there is a good chance the punishment
will be more severe than the potential gain from cheating. Please
don't cheat.
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