No Assignments Accepted Late: Assignments for each week are due at 11:59 PM on Sundays unless otherwise directed in the assignment. I will allow one extra day (till end-of-day Sunday) if you need it. New assignments for the next week should become available by noon on Monday. All assignments, quizzes, and exams must be completed and submitted before the due date. Because you have ample time to complete assignments, late work will not be accepted. You should start early enough so that if/when you experience problems, we can work them out prior to the due date. Working with technology can be challenging. You will have problems. Websites will go down, Internet connections will not work, devices will not charge, etc. If you wait until the due date, you risk not completing your work on time. When you have technical issues, contact me early. Technical problems on the due date are NOT an excuse for turning in assignments late. I do occasionally extend due dates if you have a good reason for asking for the extension, and if you have contacted me early.
Resubmitting Assignments: For most assignments, you are allowed two attempts prior to the due date (this does not apply to exams). If you submit two attempts, only the second attempt will be graded. You are not allowed to resubmit after the due date or after an assignment has been graded.
Missed Exams: If you are absent and miss an exam, you will receive a grade of zero. If you have special circumstances which require you to miss an exam, you may contact me to see if other arrangements can be made. Requests for makeup exams or other arrangements are granted only if you have an exceptional reason for missing an exam, such as a medical emergency or death in the family. It is your responsibility to initiate arrangements for a makeup or other arrangements. Approval should be cleared with me prior to the date of absence. If it is not possible to contact me prior to the exam, within 24 hours after missing the exam, you must email me and explain the reason you missed the exam. The format of a makeup exam may differ substantially from that of the regularly scheduled exam. Only one exam may be made up.
Academic Honesty: Academic honesty is expected from all students, and dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. Please consult the LSC-PA policies (Section IX, subsection A, in the Faculty Handbook) for consequences of academic dishonesty. You are expected to complete all assignments yourself. All exams must be completed on your own, with no assistance from anyone else and without the use of notes, textbooks, or any other materials, unless specifically expressed in the exam instructions. This includes, but is not limited to, accessing previous homework, accessing websites, or communicating with others when taking the exam. You are also NOT allowed to share information about exams with others. Some exams may be password-protected. You are NOT allowed to share passwords with anyone else for any reason. All electronic devices must be put away during your exam. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, electronic watches, headphones, ear buds, and electronic eyewear.
Accommodations: If you have accommodations from the Office for Disability, talk to your instructor about these during the first week of the semester. Students with accommodations should also check with the teacher two weeks prior to exam(s) to arrange for any accommodations.
Exam Information: You will be required to take your exams in the classroom, during the regular class time and using a LSCPA computer (no laptops). You will be observed with a monitoring program while you complete your exam. You will have 1 hour to complete each exam. Your screen activity may be recorded during exams.
Confirm Arrangements: Always confirm any important arrangements or discussions with me by emailing me using your Lamar email. Verbal communication, phone calls, etc will not be “official” unless confirmed in an email.
Original Coursework: All coursework must be original for this semester. If you took this course previously, or have done a similar assignment in the past (in another class, for example), you must recreate your assignments this semester.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and similar technologies is encouraged as a learning and study tool in this course. Students are encouraged to use AI to help them better understand course concepts, review material, ask questions, generate additional examples, practice applying concepts, and prepare for quizzes and exams.
However, AI may not be used to complete graded coursework unless the instructor specifically states otherwise.
Appropriate Uses of AI
Students may use AI to:
- Explain difficult concepts in different ways.
- Ask questions about course topics.
- Generate examples or practice problems.
- Create study guides, summaries, flashcards, or practice quizzes.
- Receive feedback on their understanding of a concept.
- Practice applying course concepts to new situations.
- Prepare for quizzes and exams.
Prohibited Uses of AI
Students may not use AI:
- During quizzes or exams.
- To answer quiz or exam questions.
- To complete graded assignments.
- To generate answers that are submitted for a grade.
- In any situation in which the instructor specifically prohibits AI use.
Unless otherwise stated by the instructor, all work submitted for a grade must represent the student's own knowledge and work without AI assistance.
The Purpose of This Policy
AI can be an extremely useful tutor, study partner, and learning resource. The goal of this course is to help students learn how to use these tools effectively while also ensuring that each student personally masters the required course content.
A useful rule to remember is:
Use AI to help you learn the material—not to do your graded work for you.
Students are ultimately responsible for knowing and understanding the course material. AI-generated information can be incomplete or incorrect, so students should verify important information using course materials and other reliable sources.
Additional Policies for In-person (Face-to-Face) Classes
- Turn your cell phones to vibrate when in the classroom.
- No food or tobacco products are allowed in the classroom.
- Only students enrolled in the course are allowed in the classroom, except by special instructor permission.
- Electronic devices (including, but not restricted to, watches, cell phones, tablets, electronic eyewear, and laptop computers) shall not be used during examinations unless specifically allowed by the instructor.
- Use of electronic devices during normal class hours distracts other students, disrupts the class, and wastes valuable time. Your instructor has an obligation to reduce such disruptions and may impose such restrictions as he deems necessary.
- Unless specifically designated otherwise by your instructor, exams must be taken in the classroom, during class time, and without access to any outside resources and without communication with anyone other than the instructor. You are not allowed to share exam login passwords with anyone else and you are not allowed to take the exam outside of the classroom.
- If you are tardy for any exam or quiz, you will be allowed to take the exam or quiz only with the instructor’s approval. If you are allowed to take the exam, you will only have the timeframe allocated to the class to complete the exam. You will not be allowed additional time for the time you missed by being tardy.
- Missed quizzes and missed in-class assignments (assignments to be completed during a class period) will each be recorded as a zero. No makeup quizzes or in-class assignments will be given. Quizzes and In-class assignments are considered Assignment grades.
- You are responsible for completing and submitting all assigned homework when due, and for being prepared for each class meeting. This applies even if you were absent for the previous class meeting.
Copyright:
Some material in this course may be copyrighted. These materials may be used only for instructional purposes this semester, by students enrolled in this course. These materials are being used fairly and legally. No one may distribute or share these copyrighted materials in any medium or format with anyone outside this class, including publishing essays with copyrighted material, uploading copyrighted material to Facebook or YouTube, or painting or performing copyrighted material for public display.
Copyright violation is not the same thing as plagiarism. Plagiarism is intellectual dishonesty. Offenses of plagiarism result in lower grades or failing scores, and professors and the college strictly enforce plagiarism rules. There is never any acceptable use of plagiarism. Copyright violation is a legal offense, punishable by large fines and penalties.
Copyrighted material can be used if permission from the material’s creator is obtained, or if its use meets the standards of fair use in an educational setting. For example, a student can quote a line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a report without violating copyright but still be guilty of plagiarism if the quotation is not properly documented.
If you are in doubt about what material can be freely used, ask your professor.
It is important that you always look in the Content section each week for your assignments. Don't just look at the items that are due, or at the Blackboard calendar, etc. Work through the folder(s) assigned for the week, from top to bottom in the order they are presented in the folder.