Can I submit some work outside of the normal course policies? Can you change the way my grade is calculated?
Examples:
- Can I submit an extra credit assignment that is not on the syllabus?
- Can I submit late work past the official late work deadline?
My answer:
It depends on the situation. Special accomodations are appropriate in extenuating circumstances.
Special accomodations are not appropriate in normal circumstances. Normal circumstances affect a large number of your peers the same way they affect you, they are predictable, and they do not impede your ability to complete coursework.
The below table shows some factors you can use to determine whether your situation is likely to be treated as normal or extenuating.
| Extenuating Circumstances | Normal Circumstances | |
|---|---|---|
| Affects | you, uniquely | you and a large number of your peers |
| Likelihood | Unlikely | Likely |
| Predictability | Relatively Unpredictable | Relatively Predictable |
| Impact | Impacts your ability to complete coursework | Doesnāt impact your ability to complete coursework |
| Recoverability | Recovery/mitigation is/was out of your control | Recovery/mitigation is/was in your control |
| Origin | Outside school and necessary related activities | Within school and necessary related activities |
| Voluntarity | non-voluntary (you didnāt end up in this situation on purpose) | The circumstance was the result of a voluntary choice |
Not all of the factors in the left column are required, but the more factors are present, the more likely that your situation will be treated as extenuating.
An example of an extenuating circumstance (I hope that none of these ever happen to you):
- you were involved in a car accident
- you experienced a sudden illness
- death of a loved one
An example of a normal circumstance:
- You are graduating and need a passing grade in this class to get your degree
- The assignment submission website was overloaded at 11:59pm
- Your laptop died at 11:59pm
- You didnāt perform as well as you expected on an assignment or exam
Where is the final exam for our class?
Ignore this answer if I have posted an announcement, Piazza post, or an email specific to the class youāre taking.
Unless otherwise indicated, the final is in the room listed on Schedule Builder.
If no room is listed specifically for the final on Schedule Builder, and I havenāt posted an announcement, you can assume the final exam is in the same room that lectures were in.
In 7/7 academic terms that Iāve taught so far, the final exam was in the same room as the lectures.
Our class is using zybooks ā can you open the answers to the solutions?
In previous classes, Iāve kept these hidden, for the following reasons:
Apparently zybooks doesnāt want these to be all revealedā¦ see: https://support.zybooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035883294-Use-of-exercise-solutions-Can-exercise-solutions-be-revealed-in-bulk
This means I cannot make these all visible at once, I have to click through each one individually :(
I also think there is some value in keeping a set of exercises without public solutions, especially for future classes.
In future classes, maybe we can organize a vote and reveal the top 5 or 10 requested solutions before an exam.
Iām registered for one of your classes, but I have a time conflict
One-time conflict (Attending a conference, family visiting, club competition, etc.)
This is usually fine. I may ask you to take any exams in advance some time during the same week, and you may receive a modified copy of the exam. Lectures are typically recorded, and discussions are recorded at the discretion of the TAs for the class. I wonāt move assignment deadlines (projects, homework) unless the time conflict is due to hardship.
Recurring time conflict
For ongoing time conflicts, please see: the article on this site about PTA numbers
There is a waitlist for one of your classesā¦
What should I do? Will the waitlist get smaller? Will there be a course expansion?
Waitlists do typically shrink before and during the first weeks of class, up until the drop deadline. How much will the waitlist decrease for a particular class? Your guess really is as good as mine. Your peers might be able to help you estimate.
Courses in the CS department are sometimes expanded. If this is going to happen, I typically wonāt know about it until close to the drop deadline. At this point the department will contact me and ask if Iām ok with having the course expanded. I usually say yes.
See also: the article on this site about PTA numbers
Should I keep up with the assignments while Iām on the waitlist?
Youāll have to decide for yourself. If you expect to make it into the class, I would suggest that you keep up with the assignments.
Will you adjust the grading policy for me because I was waitlisted?
Unfortunately no =( This complicates the grading too much to be practical. It would also disadvantages the registered students, since they would be expected to complete work on time between the start of class and the drop deadline.
Will this class be recorded?
If the classroom supports lecture capture, I will record the lectures, except in ECS188.
How to find out:
- Get the classroom for the course from Schedule Builder
- Check this link to see what kind of lecture capture is supported for the room.
Can I audit your class?
In most cases, I am happy to have folks audit the class.
Send me an email with subject line ECSXYZ request to audit, replacing ECSXYZ with the real course code.
Please note the following:
-
I generally recommend that auditors do not participate in group work. If you really want to participate in group work, please ask. I will ask you to commit to giving the same level of effort that you would as a graded student.
-
Your individual work will probably not be graded, or may be graded at a lower priority than work from registered students. You are welcome to assess yourself based on any posted assignment solutions, rubrics, etc.