5 Additional Course Information and Policies

5.1 Email Policy and Communication Standards

5.1.1 Email Hours

Dr. Spielman does NOT regularly check email during:

  • Monday - Thursday, 6 pm - 8 am
  • Friday after 4 pm
  • Any time on the weekends

Although I may check email during these times, there is no guarantee. Therefore, if you email on Saturday, therefore, do not expect a response until Monday (although it is definitely possible I might reply!). Similarly, if you email after 7 pm, do not expect a response until the following day. If you don’t hear from me for >24 hours, email me again!!! I get >50 emails a day - sometimes they get lost!! I am NEVER trying to ignore you!

5.1.2 Seeking help on code

When seeking assistance or feedback on code, it is absolutely critical that you share with me the full information I need to understand your circumstance. I literally cannot help you unless you send me all of this information:

  • Provide me with the full line(s) of code you ran
  • Provide me with the full error message and/or full output you received from R
  • If the code is more involved than 1-2 lines, provide me with information for where in your RStudio Cloud project I can find the code of interest (what file and what line)

5.2 Late Assignment Policy

  • Assignments are generally due at 2:00 PM on Wednesdays to Canvas, with late penalties as follows:
    • Submitted by Wednesday 11:59 PM: -10%
    • Submitted by Thursday 11:59 PM: -20%
    • Submitted by Friday 11:59 PM: -30%
    • [Final deadline] Submitted by Saturday 11:59 PM: -40%

  • These late penalties and deadlines are waived if you coordinate a later deadline with Dr. Spielman on a case-by-case basis. Except in cases of emergency or other extentuating circumstances, excused late submissions must be APPROVED by Dr. Spielman at least 48 hours before the deadline.

  • You are allowed to submit ONE late assignment by Wednesday 11:59 PM without penalty, as long as you alert Dr. Spielman you are using your late assignment by the official deadline.

5.3 Regrade Policy

There are two circumstances which may merit an assignment regrade:

  • The points were added up incorrectly. If you notice a clear mistake in grading, please bring it to Dr. Spielman’s attention immediately, and it will be immediately fixed!
    • If you notice that you should have gotten a lower grade, just don’t ask me to fix the mistake :)

  • You believe points were deducted from an answer incorrectly and you should have received additional credit. This requires a formal regrade request. You must fill out and submit this regrade form within two weeks of receiving the disputed grade.

5.4 Academic Integrity Policy

Plagiarism is taken very seriously in this course and at Rowan University as a whole. You are expected to always and only submit YOUR OWN CODE.

Recommendations for success:

  • You should always feel free to contact me before the deadline if you are unsure if your code may, perhaps inadvertently, be plagiarized.
  • When in doubt, ask!!!!! THERE IS NO SHAME IN ASKING FOR HELP! I LOVE HELPING! However, there is a lot of shame in submitting work that you did not do.
  • All instances of academic integrity violations will be reported to the university.
  • If a classmate asks you to send them your code and then proceeds to submit your code, you will be regarded as equally culpable.

Please, just don’t do it. I beg you, don’t do it. I will not show you any mercy. I have a lot of experience with R programming, and I can tell if your code is yours or copied from some stackoverflow post. Cheating is not an acceptable alternative for getting help or seeking an extension on an assignment. If you work with me, I will work with you! But, if you cheat, there will be paperwork and consequences of a minimum Level 2 Academic Integrity Violation.