COURSE POLICIES
for GC/GEOS/HWR 107a
Guidelines for a happy and successful semester
Office Hours:
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the fact that both the professor and TAs hold regularly scheduled
office hours during which they patiently wait for someone to come talk with them about Global Change.
Please take advantage of office hours to obtain extra help understanding the material or to discuss questions
that may arise from the lecture or reading material and to fulfill your "conference" requirement with the
professor.
Attendance:
Attendance is expected at every lecture and lab. Students are responsible for all material presented during these
periods even if they are absent. Regular attendance is extremely important for this course in order to keep up
with the material; furthermore exam questions will be drawn directly from lecture notes. Random attendance
checks will take place periodically during the semester. A poor record on attendance checks will have a
negative effect on your grade if you are borderline at final grade time.
Lab Exercises:
Exercises are due on the date announced in lab, usually one week after the lab period. No exercises will
be accepted for credit later than 1 week after the scheduled due date and no full credit if late.
Writing Assignments:
Writing is an important part of this course. Why? "Writing in general education courses places students in
an active relationship with the body of facts, ideas, and theories presented in courses and helps them develop
a critical appreciation of the ways knowledge is acquired and used. Writing also develops the attitudes of mind
essential to the wise and humane use of knowledge and intellectual skills: respect for evidence, reason, and
the contingent nature of truth, open-mindedness; motivation, involving personal characteristics such as
initiative, curiosity, and an appetite for learning; and the willingness to pursue a line of inquiry to its logical
conclusion." (The University of Arizona General Catalog, 1995-97, p. 63.)
All writing submitted in this course is expected to be legible, typed whenever practical, in proper grammatical
form, spelled correctly, expressed in complete sentences, clear and "to-the-point" (translation = no B.S.)
Do not plagiarize. In your writing assignments, do not copy anything word-for-word without putting
it in quotes and referencing it. Do not copy any idea without referencing it. Every sentence or paragraph in
your writing assignments will fall into one of three categories: 1) Direct quote from an article you read; 2) Idea
from article you read, expressed in your own words; or 3) Your own idea. In the case of 1 or 2, it is
NECESSARY to reference the source from which the quote or idea came. If it is a quote (1), it must appear
in quotation marks. Try to use your own words to express your ideas.
Make-up Exams:
A make-up exam will be arranged only if we are notified in person or by phone prior to the time of
the scheduled exam and are given a legitimate excuse (with validation). If you do not show up for an
exam and do not contact us prior to that exam, no make-up or credit will be allowed and your exam score will
be zero points.
Final Exam:
All students must take the Final Exam during its regularly scheduled time -- no early final exams will be
given. (See p. 15 of the Fall 1995 Schedule of Classes for official University policy on this.)
Probation? Special needs?:
If you are in academic trouble or involved in any special academic program (e.g., SALT), please let us know
within the first three weeks of the semester. If you are willing to work, we will try to do everything
we can to help you achieve your goals for this course. (Do not wait until the end of the semester to inform
us of your situation because by then it is too late to help you.)
Dropping:
(We hope not!) The last day to drop the course using RSVP (it will be deleted from your transcript)
is September 20. The last day to drop with a "W" is November 1. To receive
a W, you must have a passing grade at the time you drop the course and obtain the instructor's
signature. (Your passing status will be determined by the % of the total possible points you have earned
at the time you drop.)
Code of Academic Integrity:
A synopsis of the University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity will soon be attached. You are
responsible for knowing it, understanding it, and adhering to it.
Care of the Lecture Hall and Computer Lab
Food & drink are not permitted in the lecture hall and computer lab; please refrain from bringing them in.
Prepared by Katie Hirschboeck -- katie@LTRR.arizona.edu -- Last updated September 5,
1995