DAS 100: Course Requirements, Grading, and Attendance Policy
Course Requirements
Your grade in this course will be based on attending class, attending events, writing papers, and participation in class discussion. A detailed breakdown of the points for each of these activities will be provided by your instructor.
Twelve events have been selected for this course. One event is listed as optional and your attendance at that event will be worked out with your particular instructor. Your attendance at the other events is required. If you cannot attend a given event, let your instructor know in advance. If your reason for not being able to attend is valid (some proposed reasons might not be considered valid), your instructor will give you an excused absence. You will then need to attend a make-up event. Work with your instructor to identify a suitable event. You are also required to attend class each week. Failure to attend an event or attend class will result in a loss of points. If you miss class or an event unexpectedly and are therefore unable to let your instructor know in advance, immediately contact your instructor and discuss your reason for missing the class or event. You will receive an F in this class if you have three or more unexcused absences for the scheduled events.
Grading options
Students may elect to take this course on an A/Pass/Fail basis. If you do not choose that option, you will be graded by the regular method. The reality is that taking the course on an A/Pass/Fail basis is not a particularly good option because in that case you will not obtain University General Education or Humanities/Fine Arts credit. If, however, you want to take the course on an A/Pass/Fail basis, please see Dean Joe Aistrup in the first two weeks of the semester to make those arrangements.
Readings
For each required event, there is assigned reading material that will help you better appreciate the upcoming event. Read this material before you attend the event. These readings will also be part of class discussion and would be useful as part of your paper on the event. Take great care, however, to not plagiarize from the reading or from any other written material. For some events, additional material can be found on web sites that will be provided to you.
Written Assignments
Academic credit is earned when students demonstrate that they have learned something in a course. In this course, you will demonstrate what you have learned through the written assignments or critiques that you will complete, and from class discussions about the events.
Acceptable papers are those in which you demonstrate that you have learned something from attending the event, the class discussion that followed, and the assigned reading. Your paper should be a critical review in which you express your thoughts and reactions to the event and place the event in some wider context (such as may be suggested by the required reading). We want you to express your opinions and to support them with relevant information. Your paper will be assessed in terms of your demonstration of learning and in terms of your presentation and defense of your opinions, not in terms of the opinions themselves. Prepare your papers using a word processor. Computers are available to you in residence halls and in numerous academic buildings on campus. Please remember to always use the spell-check feature of your word processing program. Some instructors may accept clearly legible hand-written papers.