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GENERAL INFORMATION FOR ALL OF DR DAMEROW'S COURSES HIS 101, HIS 102, GOV 201, GOV 202, GOV 207, GEO 201 FALL SEMESTER 2012 SEPTEMBER 5 TO DECEMBER 21
Fall Semester 2012 Course Time Room American Government and Politics, GOV 201-003
TTH 8:00 - 9:20 a.m.
Office Hours:
Fall Semester 2012
Dr. Damerow Tel.: (908) 709-7189
I prefer Emails over phone calls.
GENERAL INFORMATION: ATTENDANCE: Mandatory. Excessive cutting authorizes the instructor to lower the course grade. When a student must be absent from class, it is desirable to advise the instructor in advance. Test dates should never be missed without prior notice. They can not be made up. BE PREPARED: Bring a notebook and a pen to class. Your book will not usually be required. For exams, you need both a pencil and a pen. Read the assignments before the class. Participate. Ask questions. NOTE TAKING: It is imperative that you take notes. Two to five pages of notes per class are usual. If you average less, see the instructor. Audio cassette or other recordings are NOT permitted. CELL PHONES must be turned off. If you expect an emergency call, put the phone on vibrate. All electronic devices must be turned off. You don't listen to music or text while in class. HOURLY EXAMINATIONS: Exams have both an objective and an essay component. The objective questions, usually multiple choice, are drawn largely from the main textbook; the essay questions relate to the class lectures. For all exams, you need both a pencil and a pen. MAKE-UP POLICY: Make-up exams are NOT a student right. They may be given at the discretion of the instructor for legitimate reasons, such as your own hospitalization. When granted, make-ups are scheduled at the convenience of the instructor. If make ups are granted, they are given at the end of the semester after the Last Hourly Examination at a time convenient to the instructor. It is also possible that the instructor will drop the lowest grade for all students in a given course. Those who have missed one of the regularly scheduled exams will have this lowest grade count as their make up. They will not be given an additional make-up possibility. Two missed hourly exams can not be made up. The oral class instructions may modify these general principles.. QUIZZES: Announced and unannounced quizzes may be given at the discretion of the instructor. Quizzes cannot be made up. NO EXTRA CREDIT. My courses do not allow extra credit work. The grade in your regular work is your grade for the course. GRADING AND EXAMINATION POLICIES. See separate instructions for each particular course. FINAL EXAMS ARE GIVEN DURING THE FINAL EXAM WEEK: Beginning December 17. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION DEPARTMENTAL PREREQUISITES FROM MY COURSES:
English 089 and English 099
English 101 for GOVERNMENT 207 English 101 is a co-requisite for GEOGRAPHY 201 It is my recommendation that all students taking my courses be fluent in English reading and writing at a college proficiency level. LETTER GRADES: The Student Handbook indicates the grading system used at the College. Numerically, an average course grade of 59 and below is a grade of "F". 60 and above is "D"; 70 and above is "C"; 80 and above is "B"; and 90 and above is "A". D+, C+, and B+ are given if the course grade is above 65, 75, or 85, respectively. There are no A+ grades at the College. TUTORING: Students must arrange for their own tutoring assistance if needed. Help may be available through the Academic Learning Center (ALC). Please check with the ALC if tutors are available and, if so, at what times. STUDY TIME REQUIRED: In addition to the lectures, you are required to read, study, and master an average of 50 to 75 pages per week in these 15-week courses. It is standard practice to study two to three hours per 50-minute lecture period in a course. A three credit course should require six to nine hours of home study per week in addition to attending classes. If you carry a full academic load of 15 credits hours per semester, then you should study an additional 30 to 45 hours per week. Attending your classes and studying will give you sixty hours of work. Being a full-time student is a full-time job. CHEATING: Don't do it. Copying information from another student, looking at a crib sheet, text messaging, or other methods of looking up information during an examination is considered cheating. Such behavior will lead to an F on the exam, may result in expulsion from the class, and, given the severity of the offense, dismissal from the College. Helping another student to cheat is also a cheating offense. This includes giving "a friend" old term papers or tests. Buying a term paper on line is also cheating. PLAGIARISM: When doing a term paper, copying information from any source without quoting and footnoting is considered plagiarism. It is a cheating offense. My courses require the Turabian format or Chicago Manual format for footnotes and bibliographies. COURSE PHILOSOPHY: You are taking college-credit courses which are intended to transfer to four-year institutions. College-level study skills and maturity are assumed. CLASS BEHAVIOR: It should not be necessary to state, but coming late to class, talking to friends during the lecture, receiving or making cell phone calls, or leaving during a class to go to the bathroom, except in unusual circumstances, are unacceptable behaviors. It is not acceptable to come consistently late to class. Arriving more than 20 minutes late will constitute an absence. Walking in and out of class repeatedly during the same class period is unacceptable. The instructor has the right to ask you to leave a class. Failure to comply will result in asking the Campus Security to remove the student from class. Electronic devices like beepers and cell phones SHOULD be turned off during the class period. If you must, your phone can be put on vibrate. But, you are not permitted to respond to these calls. You can not walk in and out of class to receive your messages. You may type your class notes directly into a portable computer, but you may not videotape or record. You may type in your notes but may not perform other computer operations. During exams, all electronic devices must be turned off. You may not leave an exam and return without PRIOR permission. If you must leave, hand in your exam. During class discussions or in answering questions, controversial opinions may be expressed and are, indeed, encouraged. Academic freedom is a right of students and professors. Rude or threatening language are unacceptable and you will be asked to leave the class if your behavior becomes disruptive. This list of "dos and don'ts" has become necessary as a preventative. I have never had to throw a student out of my classes. There has rarely been disruptive behavior. Collegiality has been the rule in my classrooms and I intend to keep it that way. So don't get scared when reading all these injunctions. NO EXTRA CREDIT. My courses do not provide for extra credit. ROLE OF PARENTS: Privacy laws prohibit instructors from disclosing grades and other information about college students over 18 years of age. This is not a high school. Please don't have your parents call me if you are doing poorly. Fight your own battles. RECORDING DEVICES: Not permitted. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. In accord with College policies and public law, appropriate accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. Please see the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Counseling Department. WITHDRAWALS FROM COURSE WITHDRAWAL: The last date by which students may withdraw officially from this
course during the
FALL
Semester 2012 is Wednesday,
October 24. Students must withdraw
officially through the Registrar's Office in order to receive a grade of W on their
transcripts. Unofficial withdrawals, that is no longer attending classes for whatever
reason, result in a grade of F. LATE WITHDRAWAL: The College also has a Late Withdrawal policy for legitimate reasons such as hospitalization or severe family problems. A form, available from the Counseling Office and the Department Secretary, needs to be filled out stating why the late withdrawal is necessary. At the instructor's discretion, this late withdrawal may be granted. Different instructors have different standards on what is a legitimate reason for a late withdrawal request. Poor grades are not viewed as legitimate reasons by many. Late withdrawals are not designed to be a method for avoiding an 'F' grade and they are not a student right. My late withdrawal standard will be announced in class. I am generally very liberal about granting late withdrawals, but this liberal policy ends on Tuesday, November 20 for the Fall Semester 2012. Thereafter no late withdrawals are given for any reason. To get
a Late Withdrawal, you, the student, must
personally see me. Get the Late
Withdrawal Form from the Registrar's Office or the Economics-Government-History
Department Secretary. Fill it out. You must see me personally. I will not sign a form placed in my mailbox or left with the department secretary. You are asking me for a favor. The least you can do is take the trouble to see me. This liberal late withdrawal policy ends on November 20. NO WITHDRAWALS ARE GIVEN AFTER THAT DATE.
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Updated August 23, 2012
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