4 Grading policies
4.1 Final grade calculations
This relative contribution of Attendance/Participation is subject to change based on how the semester progress with the pandemic. You will be immediately notified in case of any proposed grading policy changes, with an opportunity for class feedback and disccussion about proposed updates.
Your final grade will be determined by three different components as follows:
- Weekly Assignments (65%)
- You can expect one assignment each week of the semester, with the lowest grade dropped (or, with one assignment skipped, depending on your perspective). There will be 11 non-dropped homeworks, so each homework represents about 6% of your final class grade.
- You are expected to complete assignments using your own code, but you are strongly encouraged to work in groups on assignments to master the topics and skills.
- Final independent project (20%)
- You will have a final independent project analyzing a data set of your choosing. More details will be announced as the semester progresses. There is no separate final exam. The final project will be due Tuesday 12/14/21 by 11:59 PM.
- You will have a final independent project analyzing a data set of your choosing. More details will be announced as the semester progresses. There is no separate final exam. The final project will be due Tuesday 12/14/21 by 11:59 PM.
- Attendance and participation (15%)
- You are expected to attend and participate through coding engagement during all classes while adhering to all mandatory COVID-19 policies. Attendance with lack of participation or lack of complete adherence to COVID-19 policies will be considered absent.
- Your attendance grade is derived from two components:
- Physical presence in class (Subject to change pending Rowan University policies and/or changes in the COVID-19 situation)
- Brief reflections after open work class days, due by 11:59 PM to Canvas on the given class day. Days when reflections are due will always be announced in class.
#tidytuesdayextra credit- Starting in mid-October, there will be weekly extra credit opportunities.
4.2 Additional attendance information
Note that these policies are subject to change if Rowan University pivots to remote instruction. Any changes will be announced both in class and in writing.
To be considered “present” in class, you must participate in class through coding engagement. This semester, participation means you are engaging with our class materials only (not your other classes!) during class time.
Evidence of participation includes:
- Coding along with live-coding demonstrations
- Doing class exercises or class homework (not work for other classes), in small groups or independently, during flipped-structure and/or open work lab days.
- When required, submitting your reflection on your coding progress on flipped-structure days to Canvas.
- If you have an excused absence or take a personal day on a day when a reflection is due, we will determine an extended deadline on a case-by-case basis.
4.2.1 Attendance grade calculation
- You begin the semester with 40/40 attendance points.
- You lose a point for every day that you are absent without prior arrangement of an excused absence or personal day (except extremely extenuating circumstances), OR do not submit a reflection for a given day when it is required.
- To be clear: If you attend class on a flipped work day but do not submit a reflection, you will be marked absent.
- If you are 15 or more minutes late to class without any associated reason (this can be discussed with Dr. Spielman after the fact), you may be subject to a partial or full absence deduction. If you are regularly 15 minutes late to class, this may result in absences.
4.2.2 Absence due to non-compliance
If you are required to be absent from class because you are not compliant with Rowan’s COVID-19 policies, this absence will be regarded as an unexcused absence. However, this unexcused absence can be become an excused absence if it can be demonstrated that you were actually in compliance, and non-compliance was strictly due to issues or delays with Rowan’s paperwork processing.
4.2.3 Excused absences
Reasonable requests for excused absences with reasonable reasons will almost always be granted. You may be asked to provide documentation depending on the circumstances. Please reach out at least 24 hours in advance of anticipated excused absence. Note that your request is NOT formally granted until you receive a positive confirmation from me.
Please also be aware that I am required by Rowan University policy to alert the Dean of Students’ office if a student misses three or more consecutive days of class, even if you were excused. If you are in this circumstance, let’s talk about it.
4.2.4 Personal Class Days
You are entitled to three personal class periods all semester. A personal day is different from an excused absence, which requires a formal reason for being excused. Instead, a personal day is effectively a day where you are allowed to skip class without any good reason. You must notify me by the time that the class period begins if you want to take a personal day. Please make sure to use this personal days when you need to take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health, or if you have an exceptionally busy week with other classes and need to prioritize other activities that day/week.
- One class period = one 75 minute period, of which there are four per week (1 Tuesday, 2 Wednesday, 1 Thursday) per week.
- You cannot use all three personal days within a given week, unless we have previously coordinated it.
- You may not use a personal day on a day you are not allowed in class due to non-compliance with Rowan policies.
4.2.5 Catching up if you miss class
All classes will be recorded (to the best of our ability given the highly flipped class structure) and disseminated to all students after each class day. Therefore, if you have an extended absence due to COVID-19 illness or a similarly extenuating circumstance, you can still engage with all class materials. We will discuss specific assignment extensions on a case-by-case basis.
4.3 Final grade boundaries
Your final grade will be converted to a percentage as shown below. Percentages for final grades are rounded UP at 0.5. For example, a final grade of 89.5 rounds to an A-, and a final grade of 89.4 rounds to a B+.
A= 93 - 100%A-= 90 - 92%B+= 87 - 89%B= 83 - 86%B-= 80 - 82%C+= 77 - 79%C= 73 - 76%C-= 70 - 72%D+= 67 - 69%D= 63 - 66%D-= 60 - 62%F= below 60%