Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is expected without question in this course. Students who are found to have submitted dishonest materials or get caught cheating during exams will suffer the following two consequences: (a) A grade of F in the course; and (b) A report of the incident filed with the university. This report may stay on your permanent collegiate record and may also be subject to further disciplinary action being taken by the university. Dishonest materials consist of papers you wrote for someone else, papers someone else wrote for you, plagiarism, and tests that you took for someone else or that someone else took for you.  Moreover, if your name appears on a team paper, you are expected to be able to explain whatever answer / solution / derivation is on the paper.  Failure to explain the team's answer by any individual will result in a grade of zero for the team.

• Anything you submit for grading must be your own work. For help with paraphrasing and referencing please see the SJSU Library Tutorial on Plagiarism

The following websites also show you how to paraphrase properly and avoid plagiarism:

• Indiana University - Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
• Purdue University - Research and Citation Resources

Attendance

Attendance will not be taken during class but will be taken during lab. If you miss a class you are still responsible for any material discussed or assignments given. A large portion of each class will be used for problem-solving in small groups.  All students are expected to participate in class discussions and problem-solving.  Students who are often absent will find themselves at a disadvantage during the tests.  If the class has a lab and you miss a lab session, you will get zero score on this lab.

Students with disabilities

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability or if you have emergency medical info to share with me or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building needs to be evacuated, please make an appointment with me ASAP or see me during office hours.

Teamwork

You will be required to work in teams for a number of assignments. Please make yourself available to meet and work with your teammates outside of class.  I will form all the teams.  To get full credit on a team assignment, your teammates must give you at least 80% in all areas of peer review (see team member report card).  Otherwise, your score for this assignment will be your team's score multiplied by the average peer review score you received from your teammates. If you disagree with the scores you receive from your peers, you may provide an explanation in writing and request an individual exam on the assignment.

You have 2 responsibilities as a team member: (a) to learn your assigned material and perform your individual task, and (b) to teach your material to your teammmates.

Tests / Presentations

Unless otherwise indicated, all tests are closed book and notes.  You are only allowed ONE PAGE of notes, which should not include any solved problems or any derivations of fundamental equations.  Each test will usually consist of 2 parts. The 1st part will have questions on the theory and simple applications. The 2nd part will involve problem solving including open-ended questions.

There will be no make-ups for missed tests or oral presentations, unless you make special arrangements with me beforehand.

Time Commitment

Success in this course is based on the expectation that you will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of 45 hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation / studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, etc. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus. However, keep in mind that this minimum time commitment may only get you a C- in the course.