Calculating your Overall Score

We will use the average out of FOUR assignment categories plus your final exam score to calculate your overall score in the course. The averages or categories that we use are: exams, homework, learning exercises, and REEF. Your overall score will be calculated using the percentages shown below for each category.

Grade Breaks

Course grades will be determined according to the following scale or cut-offs:

Your score is calculated to the nearest 1/100th - that's 2 places PAST the decimal. So the only digit that is rounded "up" is the 1/1000th's digit.

Exam Day Conflicts

There should be very few conflicts with the exam times, since they are given during your regularly scheduled class time. There are certain circumstances that create a conflict of schedule and we will try to accommodate you:

1. You are away from UT as part of a University-sponsored activity. For such instances, you will provide written documentation on UT Letterhead explaining the reason for your absence.
2. The exam is in conflict with a religious holiday. If your exam is in conflict with a religious holiday you must provide notice of the conflict at least 14 days in advance.

We do not offer any other alternate exam periods for other reasons. If you fit one of the above conflicts, please contact the Chemistry Student Services Office (BIO 4.04, 512-471-1567) for help in scheduling your exam.

Please reschedule ALL exams that you will have a time conflict with for the entire semester.

SSD Students

If you are a student registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities and receive special accommodations for your exams, the Chemistry Student Services Office (BIO 4.04) is equipped with a limited number of seats in a reduced distraction environment for the administration of exams. Please submit your SSD letter to them.

NEW INFO and Site: (updated 9/2/2017) Please go to this online sign-up page and reserve your time for accommodated exams for this course. You may contact Chemistry Student Services (512-471-1567) with any questions related to setting up SSD accommodations for a chemistry class. If you want to handle this in person, go to BIO 404 and the folks there will get you set up. If you have questions and prefer email, send your questions to undergraduates@cm.utexas.edu with any questions, and someone will answer them as soon as possible.

Reschedule ALL exams that will require accommodations.

Exams

Five examinations will be given during the semester. Exams will be given during class time. Each of the exams will be about 20-25 questions that are all multiple-choice questions. The number of choices of choices will vary anywhere from 2 up to 10 choices. Each student will turn in their exam copy, scratch paper, and a bubblesheet (an answer sheet that will be scanned and graded). Exam scores will be available on Quest. Quest is only used for exams and the grading of exams - there is no cost associated with Quest for this course. Students will login to Quest (your uteid login and password) to check their exam scores and see which questions they missed and got right.

Final Exam

The final exam WILL be comprehensive and mandatory. This means that all the material covered during the course will be on the exam. It is typically 50 multiple choice questions. The final exam will be counted as 25% of your overall grade. The final exam schedule is set by the registrar's office and cannot be changed. ALL students will take the final exam - there are no exemptions, regardless of grade status.

Work in the Class

In Class Stay Fully Engaged

Opportunities to test your prior knowledge, your progress on the learning curve and your mastery of chemical principles will be given in class using REEF. These opportunities will come in the form of in-class "clicker" questions. We will typically have between 3 and 5 questions each day. You can always check your current status by using the REEF app or website login. It is very important that you remember to bring your "device" so that you can answer questions and get credit this way. A fully engaged student who attends class regularly will have a REEF score in the upper 70's to high 90's (percentage), assuming you typically get questions right. Anything considerably less than this indicates something is not quite "right". The score from REEF will be 5% of your overall score in the course.

Work Outside the Class

Online Work

Learning Exercises: Work outside the class is to read and learn via the "Learning Exercises" (LE's) in Canvas. Each section of content from our gchem site has a matching LE quiz in Canvas. The LE's are designed to test your knowledge of various concepts for the course. The LE's are generally fairly easy and you can easily see how you are doing via your scores for the LE's. Because LE's are set for multiple attempts to "get it right" you should be able to have a high average. Remember that the LE's are graded and your average is 5% of your overall grade - so stay engaged and get these "easy" points.

Sapling Homework: There are two homeworks per unit (exam) for this class. The Homework typically will consist of slightly more difficult problems than the learning exercises and are very closely associated with the types of question we have on exams. The homework is graded and will count 5% toward your over all grade in the course.

Extra Practice: On canvas there are assignments that are called "Extra Practice". These were our actual homework assignments last year before we switched to Sapling for homework. So these are fully thought out assignments that are challenging and like exam questions. Although they are graded in canvas, they do not count at all toward your final course grade. You can choose to do them, or not.

Worksheets: Skill drilling worksheets are available from within the gchem website but are not graded. The drilling worksheets are designed to help build your problem solving skills such that you can be successful in the course. The keys to the worksheets are also on the gchem site.

More about the Exams

Be sure and bring your approved non-programmable, non-graphing calculator (TI-30xa) to the exam. We cannot provide calculators. You CANNOT use your cell phone or any other device as your calculator. Each student will receive a unique exam copy with a specific version number on it. There is a different exam version for every student in the class; no two students can have the same version numbers (it is impossible). We will keep ALL exam materials after the exam is over. You MUST turn in your exam, a bubblesheet, and all scratch paper when you complete your exam. Make sure you sign each part of your exam.

You CANNOT make-up a missed exam for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. If you have a University approved conflict that requires rescheduling an exam, you must notify the instructor within the first 5 class days of the summer course. You get to drop one exam score from your overall average, so for whatever reason you miss, that particular exam score (a zero) will be your dropped exam.

More About the Final Exam

We will not allow you to take the final early, late, or with another section.

A final exam cannot be made-up in any way. Final exam times are scheduled by the registrar's office and cannot be changed for any reason. Show up at the right place and the right time or get a zero on the exam. The final exam WILL be comprehensive. This means that all the material covered during the course will be on the exam. The final exam will be counted as 25% of your overall grade. If you keep up with the material for the semester, the final will not be any more difficult than the four exams.

Cheating

If you get caught cheating in any way, whatsoever, you will have to discuss the situation with us. We will arrive at a penalty and write up a formal report. The minimum penalty for cheating is receiving a 0 on the assignment on which you cheated. In this class, in addition to all the traditional types of cheating (looking at someone else's answer, utilizing "cheat sheets" of any form or fashion – paper or digitized, getting an advance copy of an exam or quiz), we also consider allowing someone else to enter answers in class with your phone or tablet cheating. For example, if you send your iPhone to class with another class mate or an individual who is not you and you are caught, you and your accomplice will be penalized. If you deny the allegation, we will proceed by filing a formal report to the Judicial Services in the Dean of Students Office as is policy. Judicial Services will decide the final penalty after a hearing on the matter. For more information, read in the General Information Catalog about scholastic dishonesty (i.e. cheating).

Drop Date

The last day to drop the course (or switch to pass/fail) is Monday, April 2, 2018. This will require you to go to your college and get a drop form. Before the deadline, you can finish the drop procedure by yourself. After the deadline, students must go to the Dean's office, WCH 2.112, to begin the appeal for substantiated non-academic reasons. If you still have your OTE (one time exemption) drop available, you have until the last regular class day to drop the course (Friday, May 4, 2018).

Students with Disabilities

Please notify me of any modification/adaptation you may require to accommodate a disability-related need. You will be requested to provide documentation to the Dean of Students' Office, in order that the most appropriate accommodations can be determined. Specialized services are available on campus through Services for Students with Disabilities. The official wording is this: The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY or Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259, http://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/

Observance of Religious Holidays

Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that the student must notify each instructor at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates he or she will be absent to observe a religious holy day. For religious holidays that fall within the first two weeks of the semester, the notice should be given on the first day of the semester. The student may not be penalized for these excused absences but the instructor may appropriately respond if the student fails to complete satisfactorily the missed assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the excused absence.

How can I be prepared for an emergency?

Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated. Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside. Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when entering the building. Students requiring assistance in evacuation shall inform their instructor in writing during the first week of class. In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors.

Do not re-enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police Department, or Fire Prevention Services office. Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): 512-232-5050

Does this course carry a FLAG?

Yes! Quantitative Reasoning QR

This course carries the Quantitative Reasoning flag. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems.