Undergraduate Course Policies

:: Spencer Schaffner, Assistant Professor
:: English, UIUC

:: Students in my undergraduate courses are required to follow these policies. If you have questions, please ask.

Revised by SS 8.2006

accommodations

Students who require accommodation due disability, special circumstances, or extracurricular situations should contact me to develop a work plan.

Contacting me early in the term is essential to receiving proper accommodations.

diversity matters

Respect for diversity of all kinds—race, ethnicity, age, sex and gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, political and ideological belief, and so on—is vital to creating a productive intellectual environment. Exploring these diversities and differences can be our most valuable resource as a class. Please respect the other members of the class at all times—and particularly when our diversities become apparent. Disagreement is welcomed; disrespect is not. If you feel you are being discriminated against and/or harassed in this class, please contact me immediately.

class participation

Because I am committed to a pedagogy in which meaningful knowledge and understanding is created collaboratively and socially, students are responsible for active and respectful in-class and online participation. By "active" I do not mean that you must verbally participate in every class session to get a good grade. Instead, I simply insist that you be attentive, engaged, and thoughtful in the classroom.

In-class participation includes attendance, thoughtful comments in class that demonstrate your knowledge of the course readings, and completion of all informal writing assignments, whether they are to be done in class or at home.

To earn an "A" in participation, one must demonstrate the following habits:

• active and productive participation in large group discussions
• active and productive participation small-group work
• timely completion of all informal writing assignments or in-class writing assignments (this includes drafts)
• arriving on time
• handing in drafts, papers, or other work on time; handing in complete drafts or papers on time
• excellent attendance. (See your course syllabus for a description of how attendance counts toward your grade.)

late and missed work

Because of my work schedule and the sequencing of assigments, un-arranged late work will not be accepted. I understand, however, that sometimes it is impossible to meet a deadline. Please let me know in advance if you will be unable to meet a requirement for this course on time. Extensions can be arranged.

Assignments such as in-class presentations, class workshops, and one-on-one conferences cannot be rescheduled.

email and instant messenger

Students are encouraged to communicate with me via email or instant messenger. Expect a one-to-two-day delay in my responses via email. Only when an assignment specifies that it be turned in electronically do I accept assignments via email.

academic integrity

Academic integrity takes place on many levels, and I expect you to uphold the highest level of integrity in and out of class. In your submitted work for this class, academic integrity involves properly citing other people's ideas and language in your writing. In your writing for this class you are encouraged to cite extensively from conversations, films, TV commercials, what you read, etc. However, if you fail to cite other people's ideas and language in your work (on paper or online), you've committed plagiarism. Summarizing or paraphrasing someone else's work and not citing them is also plagiarism.

For a clear description of what constitutes plagiarism at the University of Illinois, see UIUC's Article 1: Student Rights and Responsibilities, Part 4. Academic Integrity, 1-402 Infractions of Academic Integrity-Definitions.

Students found to have committed blatant academic infractions (such as plagiarism) in this class will fail the course and have a written notice of warning with documenting evidence sent to the college in which the student is enrolled and to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. This will happen in all cases. Students found to have committed other academic infractions will be subject to the appropriate response(s) taken from the following university-approved list of consequences:

• a written notice of warning with a copy to the student's file sent to the office of the college in which the student is enrolled and to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline;
• a reduced grade on the assignment
• a failing grade (zero if graded numerically) for the assignment
• a reduced grade for the course
• a failing grade for the course

writer's workshop visits

Writing need not be a solitary activity, and I am a strong supporter of visits to the writer's workshop. If you visit the university's writer's workshop for help with work in this class, please let me know so I can factor that visit into my assessment of your work.

grades

In calculating your grades, I use these university-specified grade values:

A = 4.0
A- = 3.67
B+ = 3.33
B = 3.0
B- = 2.67
C+ = 2.33
C = 2.0
C- = 1.67
D+ = 1.33
D = 1.0
D- = 0.67
F = 0.0

incompletes

Only LAS Student Academic Affairs may grant an I (incomplete) grade. An I automatically becomes an F unless replaced by a passing grade by the middle of the next semester, if the student is re-enrolled. If the student does not re-enroll and the incomplete grade is not replaced, it becomes an F after one calendar year.

recognition of policies

As a student in a course (or courses) taught by Spencer Schaffner, I ask that you to recognize you have read and understand these policies.