CRJ 540: General Class Info

Here are some of the questions that have come up regarding expections,
grading, and such.

BAD HOMEPAGE LINKS: If you come across a link that doesn't work,
just cut/paste and let me know. Also, if you find a discrepancy in
assignments, let me know. In general, when there's a discrepancy in
dates or points, and it's not caught and changed in ample time, select
which benefits you as a student.

CLASS WEBPAGES: You will sometimes see links from our class homepage
that direct you to a page that has a header that seems to be from
a different class in sociology or political science or another crim
justice program. That's because I occasionally tweak assignments that
worked in similar classes for other classes. Although the actual
content might be changed, I might miss changing the original class 
title, because it's in tucked in the html lines, not the content area.
Same with my contact info or other stuff. Don't worry about it: I'll
try to catch it all, but I just did ran a file-count, and I have 3,245
class files on my homepage, so there's lots to keep track of there.

WEBBOARD: As you've probably figured out, I spend lots of time online 
and usually have a substantial online class component. WebBoard is to
give us a chance to talk about things that we can't get to in class.
It's only 10 percent of our grade this semester, which isn't much, but
there's usually lots of good info that can help clarify class material.
What I'm looking for is simple: I like to see people involved in issues,
or raising questions, or giving answers, or otherwise mucking about with
ideas and trying to understand them. It's also a place for clarifying 
things that might have been unclear in class. The expectation is
a few posts a week. People might miss a week or two here and there, but
over the 16 week term, there should be demonstration of a pattern of
involvement with issues.

CLASS PARTICIPATION GRADE: Like WebBoard, this is a demonstration of a
pattern of involvement by asking questions (especially during others'
presentations), answering questions, and showing that you've done the
readings.

POP QUIZZES: After reading some of the papers and listening to class
discussions, I don't think there's a need for pop quizzes, and I'll
trust you all to do the work. I'll delete this component, making the
total class points worth 900 (making a final grade of A 810 to 900;
B would be 720 to 809).

FINAL EXAM/PROJECT/EXERCISE: I don't know what this will be. It WILL NOT
be a conventional sit-down exam. It will be something that will be
decided over the course of the term as we see what the interests are
and what we've covered. While it might require some reasonable
preparation, it will not be anything you can study for, unless you
didn't do any work over the term. The intent is to pull things together,
not to regurgitate information. Past examples have been debates,
small-group exercises, skits, guest speakers who challenge the class
and the task is to "attack" the speaker, or something else. Whatever
it is, it will be interactive.

PRESENTATIONS: A separate set of instructions on this is coming later
tonight. I'll put it on the class homepage and send out a link as well.

ASSIGNMENTS: I'll be putting up at least one assignment a week. Only
a few will be required. Although the combined total is only 100 points
(about one every other week), you can, and are encouraged to do, many
more. Why? Because you can score as many points over 100 as you wish,
and these will be added to your final point total. That way, if you're
low in one area (final paper, WebBoard), you can make it up on the
assignments. Example: if you have 650 points of the 800 points excluding
the assignment component, or 77 percent, a C average, but if you had
160 assignment points, that would be 810, 90 percent, which would give
you an A. So, rack up as many assig points as you can. That's why some
of the assigs might be labeled "extra credit." They're relevant to the
class, but actually extra/bonus ways to earn points.

COURSE PROGRESS: How do you know your course standing? Just ask! If
anybody is in danger of falling before a B, I'll let you know and work 
with you to move upward.

WHY NO EXAMS? Simple. Trust. I trust grad students to do the reading and
fill their minds. You demonstrate your competence on other ways, and
that's why we have writing and presentations.

If you have any questions about anything, shoot over an email t:
     jthomas@math.niu.edu

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