Below are the course policies for this class. Please read through them and familiarize yourself with the policies regarding course logistics. Details specific to course content can be found on the Info page.
Absences
Academic integrity, harassment, and discrimination
Computer-Based Testing Facility
Contact and obtaining help
Discussion
Gradebook
Lectures
Special accommodations
- Excuses from assessments will only be given in the following circumstances:
- Illness.
- Personal crisis (e.g., car accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative).
- Required attendance at an official ZJUI activity (e.g., varsity athletics, band concert).
- In all cases you must contact the course instructor and provide a scan of the official written documentation explaining your absence.
- In cases (a) or (b) an official excuse letter from a designated university official must be submitted to the professor within 2 weeks of the due date of the missed assessment, but no later than reading day. In cases of extended or unusual illness, late submission of excuse documentation will be considered.
- In case (c) an official letter from the designated university official must be submitted to the professor at least one week prior to the due date of the missed assessment.
- Notwithstanding the above, at your professor's discretion you may be required to make up any excused work or attend substitute instruction or assessment.
Academic integrity, harassment, and discrimination: Academic integrity infractions, harassment, and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. See UIUC's Student Code, Article 1, Part 4 and the Campus Conduct Policy. Please report any concerns immediately to your professor.
Academic integrity infractions will be dealt with using the most stringent available counter-measures. All infractions are documented and remain part of the student's permanent record. Typical pentalties in TAM 2XX courses for academic infractions include dropping one course letter grade. Students have been expelled from the university for cheating.
Infractions include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and assisting others in a manner not prescribed or allowed for in the original assignment or directions. Notably, for homework assignments, students are encouraged and allowed to work together. The philosophy is that homeworks are ‘formative’ assessments, meaning they are intended to foster learning. This is in contrast to ‘summative’ assessments, including quizzes and exams, that measure individual student mastery of course concepts, for which students are of course forbidden from assisting each other.
Computer-based testing deserves special mention. During the time period of testing, students are strictly forbidden from discussing any aspect of the test/quiz whatsoever with other students. This includes specifics of questions, general aspects of questions, comments on the difficulty of the quiz, etc. This policy is strictly enforced to preserve the integrity of the computer-based testing.
Computer-Based Testing Facility:
This course uses Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for its quizzes. All quizzes will be conducted in the Computer Rooms at ZJUI during the testing period identified by the professor.
Use of notes, textbooks or any electronic devices (including calculators) are not allowed in the CBT. You will need to be able to do calculations during quizzes. While working on PrairieLearn homework assignments, practice frequently using MATLAB, or other approved online computing resources (such as MATE Calculator software) so that you can use these tools efficiently during your CBT quizzes.
If you have accommodations identified by the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES) for exams, please take your Letter of Accomodation (LOA) to the CBTF proctors in person before you make your first quiz/exam reservation. The proctors will advise you as to whether the CBTF provides your accommodations or whether you will need to make other arrangements with your instructor.
Any problem with CBT must be reported at the time the problem occurs. If you do not inform a proctor of a problem during the test then you forfeit all rights to redress.
Contact and obtaining help: The two main ways to obtain help are online at Blackboard's Discussion Board, or in person at the professor or TA office hours. You can also speak with your professor briefly after lecture. Please do not send email directly to the TA or professor for routine help or absences.
Discussion sections: Prompt and regular attendance at your discussion section is required. You must attend only the discussion section in which you are enrolled. You will not receive a grade for the worksheet if you attend the wrong discussion section.
Most discussion sessions will consist of a group worksheet exercise, which is a high-energy and efficient 50-minute learning experience. Students will be placed in a group of three to four people during the first week of classes. The groups will remain the same until the end of the semester. If you are more than 5 minutes late to a discussion session then you will not be permitted to complete the worksheet. There are two main goals for the discussion worksheets:
- Gain experience in team-work. This is a critical skill in all areas of engineering, from large-scale industrial projects to academic research. Working productively in teams is a skill that must be learned just like math or physics, and regular practice is essential. Often you will have to work with people who you do not especially like, or who you find it difficult to work with. It is important to lean how to manage these situations so that the important work is still accomplished.
- Apply engineering concepts to real-world problems. Each worksheet focuses on a real-world problem that you will have to use your engineering skills to solve. This will include using the material from class, but also knowledge from previous engineering, math, and science classes. You will also have to think like an engineer, and understand when to make approximations, how to judge the appropriateness of different models, and which mathematics and physics is most useful for a given engineering problem.
We also hope that these discussion worksheets will help you to meet other engineering students and we encourage you to get together outside of lectures and discussions to work collaboratively on homeworks and quiz/exam study.
All members of the group should be working together as a team. The TA and professor will be evaluating team work, problem-solution skills and interpretation of the problem. Your grade for each discussion section will depend on timely attendance (arrive before 5 minutes into the class period, otherwise 0 for the day) and team participation.
Gradebook: All assessment scores are stored on Blackboard. Any errors in grade reporting appearing on Blackboard must be reported in private post on the Discussion Board within 2 weeks of the due date of the assessment item or by the last day of class, whichever is earlier.
Lectures: Prompt and regular attendance at lectures is essential for your comprehension and success in the course.
Special accommodations: To obtain disability-related academic adjustments or accommodations, students with disabilities must contact their professor and Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. Students who require special accommodations for exams should schedule to take their exam at DRES, and DRES staff will communicate with the professor to organize the exam. There is no need to inform the professor about this in advance.