Grading and Academic Conduct

Content Warning 

This course may include content that can be difficult, provocative, and/or upsetting. If you have concerns about any of the topics covered, please contact me to discuss how to handle sensitive course material. 

Late Assignment Policy

We are living in difficult times and this requires a politics of care and understanding. Late assignments are generally not accepted. However, they can be considered if students provide some prior communication with the professor and TA who is assigned to your quiz section. An email discussing the circumstances and timeline toward completion is required for this consideration. Assignments are due by 11:55PM on the date specified.

Incomplete grades Links to an external site. may only be awarded if a student is doing satisfactory work up until the last two weeks of the quarter. 

Workload Expectations 

Please note that you are responsible for reading all materials assigned, but due to time constraints all materials may not be covered extensively. 

Grading and Assignments

All assignments should be typed, double spaced with one-inch margins with a reasonable font such as Times New Roman at 12pts. Script type is unacceptable. Works should be cited under an appropriate citation style. Assignments are to be posted online they should be in .doc or .docx (Word) format. Please do not post documents in Pages or any other format, you will risk my not being able to view and read them and will be penalized for not having turned in an assignment. The only acceptable method for submitting assignments is through Canvas in the proper assignment slot. If you are having trouble with exporting files into the correct format, contact me BEFORE the first assignment is due so that we can troubleshoot your issue.

Email Policy

• I do not accept any assignments via email.
• Emails received after 5pm may not be read until the next day.
• Please allow two full business days for email response follow ups.
• Please refer to this article for tips on how to write an email to professors (and truly, to any professional): https://medium.com/@lportwoodstacer/how-to-email-your-professor-without-being-annoying-af-cf64ae0e4087#.xlqs29bzvLinks to an external site.

Writing Support 

The Writing Center Links to an external site. supports students in GWSS courses. Their tutors assist at all points of the writing process—from brainstorming to the final draft—so that your written work clearly and effectively communicates your ideas. You can also seek help through other campus sites: Odegaard Writing and Research Center Links to an external site. or Academic Support Programs.  

Student Conduct:

Admission to the university carries with it the presumption that students will conduct themselves as responsible members of the academic community. As a condition of enrollment, all students assume responsibility to observe standards of conduct that will contribute to the pursuit of academic goals and to the welfare of the academic community. That responsibility includes, but is not limited to: Respecting the rights, privileges, and property of other members of the academic community and visitors to the campus and refraining from any conduct that would interfere with university functions or endanger the health, welfare, or safety of other persons; complying with the rules, regulations, procedures, policies, standards of conduct, and orders of the university and its schools, colleges, and departments. Misconduct includes student conduct that intentionally and substantially obstructs or disrupts teaching.

Plagiarism

Students at the University of Washington are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct. Most UW students conduct themselves with integrity and are disturbed when they observe others cheating. The most common form of cheating is plagiarism, presenting someone else’s work as your own.  The University of Washington takes plagiarism very seriously. Plagiarism may lead to disciplinary action by the University against the student who submitted the work.  To avoid unintentional misconduct and clarify the consequences of cheating see the Student Academic Responsibility Statement at the following link: http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdfLinks to an external site.

Academic Integrity 

Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. It is therefore essential that all of us engaged in the life of the mind take the utmost care that the ideas and expressions of ideas of other people always be appropriately handled, and, where necessary, cited. For writing assignments, when ideas or materials of others are used, they must be cited. For assignments in this class that require citations, please use Chicago Style formatting. In any situation, if you have a question, please feel free to ask. Such attention to ideas and acknowledgment of their sources is central not only to academic life, but life in general. Please acquaint yourself with the University of Washington's resources on Academic Conduct Links to an external site.. Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to cheating (sharing answers and previewing quizzes/exams) and plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s). 

AI and Writing Assignments

AI is obviously a tool of massive importance, and as you can imagine, of major concern as it relates to academic integrity. Written assignments are crafted to enrich your learning experience, they are graded with care under the assumption that students have written them with care. While large language AI technologies like Chat GPT may be a useful tool for generating templates, and offering prompts or guidance for the direction of your written assignments, you should take this opportunity to write your assignments yourselves. 

Classroom Community, Diversity & Inclusion 

You are learning from the course materials, the instructor, teaching assistants, and each other. You will have different viewpoints and perhaps even strong feelings about certain topics discussed in class. The different perspectives you bring are vital to the learning process. We expect you to listen to each other with respect, interest, and attentiveness. It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds will be well served by this course and that the materials presented will respect differences of gender, sexuality, disability, age, class, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. The UW Diversity webpage Links to an external site. provides an overview of the ways the university addresses this value.  

Access and Accommodations  

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. 

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu Links to an external site.. 

Technology Protocol  

Cell phones may not be used in class unless required to create an inclusive and accessible learning environment. Always request permission from the instructor and other students before recording any class content. 

Grade Appeal Procedure

A student who believes that an instructor erred in the assignment of a grade, or who believes a grade recording error or omission has occurred, should first discuss the matter with the instructor[1], before the end of the following academic quarter.  If the student is not satisfied with the instructor's explanation, the student, no later than ten days after his or her discussion with the instructor, may submit a written appeal to the chair of the department, with a copy of the appeal also sent to the instructor. Within ten calendar days, the chair consults with the instructor to ensure that the evaluation of the student's performance has not been arbitrary or capricious. Should the chair believe the instructor's conduct to be arbitrary or capricious and the instructor declines to revise the grade, the chair, with the approval of the voting members of his or her faculty, shall appoint an appropriate member, or members, of the faculty of that department to evaluate the performance of the student and assign a grade. The dean and Provost should be informed of this action. Once a student submits a written appeal, this document and all subsequent actions on this appeal are recorded in written form for deposit in a department or college file. (UW Student Guide, General Catalog, Grading)

Incompletes

An Incomplete is given only when the student has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work until within two weeks of the end of the quarter and has furnished proof satisfactory to the instructor that the work cannot be completed because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control. A written statement of the reason for the giving of the Incomplete, listing the work which the student will need to do to remove it, must be filed by the instructor with the head of the department or the dean of the college in which the course is given. (UW Student Guide, General Catalog, Grading)

Concerns about a Course, an Instructor, or a Teaching Assistant

If you have any concerns about a GWSS course, instructor or teaching assistant, please see the instructor or teaching assistant as soon as possible.  If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or teaching assistant, or are not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the chair of the department Shirley J. Yee.

[1] If you have questions regarding a grade for an individual paper, first contact the TA.