Syllabus: Spring 2024
Office Hours
Office hours are a combination of on-campus and online. I am in my office on campus every Monday and Wednesday, but I have online office hours via Zoom every Tuesday and Friday from 11:00AM–12:00PM. Office hours are always 'walk-ins welcome!' You never need an appointment for office hours. But if you need to see me outside of these times, please contact me and we will set up a meeting at a time that works for both of us! This link is valid for the duration of the semester.
Know The Policy
All students must comply with the University policy regarding face coverings (https://uca.edu/coronavirus/students/).
Lecture
Things are different this semester, so please be sure to read carefully. Surprise! You will be earning points for attending and participating in lecture.
Plan to attend every lecture. Like last semester, you will be actively engaged in solving problems. This semester, you will also receive point for attendance: seven points per lecture, with a maximum of 200 points, or 20% of your grade (30 lectures).
Quizzes
There will be quizzes due every Tuesday and Friday. Twenty quizzes are scheduled, and fifteen will count toward your grade. Quizzes are worth 20 points each, for 30% of your course grade.
No late quizzes will be accepted. All quizzes must be submitted via Blackboard, and the Assignment will disappear after the deadline. If you miss a deadline for any reason, Quizzes 16–20 should be used as make-ups.
Quizzes will follow the same ENGR 2311 format. Rather than solving a problem for me, I will be giving you an incorrectly solved problem. Your job will be to locate, identify, and correct the errors.
Exams
There will be five exams this semester. Each test will cover two chapters, and you will solve two problems from each chapter. Tests will go live at 8:00 AM two days before the exam is due. On the due date, your exam must be submitted no later than 6:00 PM. Check the course calendars for specific dates.
Exams are open-resource. However, it goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that the publisher’s Solution Manual is not an acceptable resource. Asking the ‘experts’ at Chegg or CourseHero is a risky proposition; I advise against it. Use the textbook (May I strongly suggest the example problems?), the problems worked in class, the sample problems in the Online Classroom, and the relevant Quizzes.
Submit exams like portfolios. You should download the test paper, which will be provided as a .pdf document. Once you have the test, you can choose how to proceed. You can print it out and work on paper, or edit the .pdf directly on your preferred device. Once you are satisfied with your responses, convert your test to a .pdf document. You should upload your completed test using the appropriate BBoard assignment. Notice that this is just an Assignment, not a Portfolio. You will be able to upload multiple documents as necessary.
The Temptation To Cut Corners
Transcribing exam problems from the Solution Manual is a clear violation of UCA’s Academic Integrity Policy. And yet, you might be tempted to do it. You’re running out of time, you’re frustrated, your other classes are getting really hard…the rationalizations will seem perfectly reasonable to you, and it might seem like no big deal.
It’s a big deal. And you don’t need a sanctimonious lecture from me telling you so. You know it’s not honest. But here are a few things you might not know: the Solution Manual for this textbook has errors in it (there’s no solution manual that doesn’t). When you blindly copy the error, you are tipping your hand. The manual is also written by a person (or several people). Those people (typically grad students) will have their own quirks of style, and their style is not your style. How do I know? Because you are copying style conventions that are not taught in any American school, but which are standard in other parts of the world. And the person writing the manual may or may not even be using the relevant method demonstrated in the book, so there’s that.
Asking the Chegg or Course Hero ‘experts’ is also a violation of UCA’s Academic Integrity Policy. It’s also an amateur move. You will either get a scan of the page from the solution manual (see above), or you will get ‘expert’ help from an international student who will use all those aforementioned style quirks that you might not recognize, but I will.
Simply solve the problems yourself. When you need help, please ask. You will always be able to ask questions anonymously on the Blackboard discussion threads. Problems which have been transcribed from the Solution Manual will receive zero points. Or worse, depending on how pervasive the problem is. See the Academic Integrity section .
Problems which may not be completely numerically correct, but which are also clearly your own original work, will always be worth more points. Always.
Points and Grades
Scores will be reported using Blackboard, but you should keep track of your point progress over the semester. Points may be earned in the following ways:
Participation:
30 lectures @ 7 points each = 200 points
= 20%
Quizzes:
15 quizzes @ 20 points each = 300 points
= 30%
Exams:
5 exams @ 100 points each = 500 points
= 50%
Total:
= 100%
Letter Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Point Range
890–1000
790–889
690–789
600–689
0–599
You have enormous control over your grade; 50% of your grade should be at or near perfect. You have already been attending class regularly, so keep doing what you have already been doing. You also have plenty of quiz experience now and ought to be able to spot and correct errors quickly!
Academic Integrity
The University of Central Arkansas affirms its commitment to academic integrity and expects all members of the university community to accept shared responsibility for maintaining academic integrity. Students in this course are subject to the provisions of the university's Academic Integrity Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees as Board Policy No. 709 on February 10, 2010, and published in the Student Handbook. Penalties for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on an assignment, a failing grade in the course, or any other course-related sanction the instructor determines to be appropriate. Continued enrollment in this course affirms a student's acceptance of this university policy.
It is also a matter of academic and personal integrity to take responsibility for withdrawing yourself from this course if the situation requires it. The last day for unrestricted withdrawal with a W is 04/08/24. Only W grades may be assigned through the 12th week of the semester. After this date, only grades of A, B, C, D, or F will be allowed.
Student Evaluations
Student evaluations of a course and its professor are a crucial element in helping faculty achieve excellence in the classroom and the institution in demonstrating that students are gaining knowledge. Students may evaluate courses they are taking starting on the Monday of the twelfth week of instruction (04/10/23) through the end of finals week by logging in to myUCA and clicking on the Feedback Hub.
Americans With Disabilities Act
UCA adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS), 450-3613.
Title IX Disclosure
If a student discloses an act of sexual harassment, discrimination, assault, or other sexual misconduct to a faculty member (as it relates to "student-on-student" or "employee-on-student"), the faculty member cannot maintain complete confidentiality and is required to report the act and may be required to reveal the names of the parties involved. Any allegations made by a student may or may not trigger an investigation. Each situation differs and the obligation to conduct an investigation will depend on those specific set of circumstances. The determination to conduct an investigation will be made by the Title IX Coordinator. For further information, please visit: http://uca.edu/titleix.
*Disclosure of sexual misconduct by a third party who is not a student and/or employee is also required if the misconduct occurs when the third party is a participant in a university-sponsored program, event, or activity.
