Frequently Asked Questions

     

Course Policies

Why aren't the notes on the web or in the library?

We're trying to encourage students to actually attend the course and pay attention in the classroom. Even students with good intentions do less well when the notes are simply provided to them. Basic outlines of the lectures are provided on the web site (see "Calendar"), which should help you to prepare for and follow the lectures.

Why do you harp on attendance?

I'm aware that many students have poor attendance habits. I'm aware that some students have sets of notes and files from previous semesters. I know that many courses (including THIS course, when other instructors teach it) post the notes on the web or put them on reserve in the library. However, I was also in college for 10 years, and I know just how much I got out of courses that promoted bad habits in this manner. To be blunt, YOU WILL LEARN MORE IN THIS COURSE IF YOU ATTEND. Making you learn more is my job. Sometimes students get frustrated when their grade suffers because they missed quizzes or key material; these policies help prevent that.

Will the book be on reserve in the library?

Eventually. It should be on reserve in the Undergraduate Library. In practice, sometimes it takes a long time to get a book put on reserve, especially when there is confusion about who is actually teaching the course. But why do you want the book on reserve, anyway? If you didn't buy the book, you're probably in a world of trouble, right? Think about it.

I can't/won't buy the book because --insert excuse here--. Is that a problem?

Short answer: yes. Most of the homework problems come from the book. Reading the book will greatly improve your retention of the material. Do not try to use old editions of the textbook, as the figure numbers and the homework problems won't match up.

Where can I pick up my old tests?

You can't. You are not allowed to pick up and keep your old tests. Period. If you want to go over the test to see how you did, you are welcome to come to my office during office hours or to schedule an appointment. All copies of the test must remain in the classroom--taking home a copy of the test is a very serious offense.

Grades

My friend took this class x semesters ago. He never went to the class and still got a B. Why am I failing?

In recent semesters, we have increased the importance of attendance in this course. Less of the material is explicitly out of the textbook, the notes aren't in the library or on the web, and we've introduced the extra credit quizzes. Overall, grades have increased markedly, but those students with attendance problems have generally done worse under the new policies.

Will you be grading "on the curve"?

Probably not. In the past, setting the grades at 90%=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, and 60%=D has worked just fine in this course, and that's unlikely to change.

I'm unhappy with my grade. Can I do extra credit work? Can I drop my lowest grade?

The only extra credit that is allowed is the extra credit quizzes. No exceptions are possible. We do not allow the students to "drop" a grade-- everything you do in the classroom counts toward your final grade.

How do the "extra credit quizzes" work? How many will there be?

Firstly, I don't know how many quizzes there will be or when they will be. Okay, so here's how the scores work:

All semester long, I'll keep track of the TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS you receive. Let's say that you have 20 points.

Then I'll look and see how many points THE BEST STUDENT has. Let's say that this student has 40 points.

Okay, so let's say that all of the extra credit is worth 10%. (That's pretty typical... it usually ranges between 8% and 11%.) Then the BEST STUDENT will get 40/40 * 10% = 10%. And you will get 20/40 * 10% = 5%. This number is added to your total grade at the end of the semester. So if your grade is an 87%, you'll get a 92%--in other words, you moved up a letter grade by only getting 1/2 of the quiz points!

Why are you so tricky with the extra credit points?

Firstly, it isn't all that tricky. Secondly, we don't want students to know exactly what their extra credit is worth so that they don't COUNT on it. If you are uncertain whether you are going to get 3 points or 6 points or 10 points, you generally will work harder on the final. Remember, extra credit is NOT an alternative to studying--you still have to do well on the exam!

How well do students do in this class?

Generally quite well. About 2/3 of the students have gotten As or Bs in the last few semesters. This is not a "weed-out" class.

So altogether the homework for the whole semester only adds up to 1/6 of the final grade. That means that each homework assignment is only worth about 2.8% of my final grade. That means that the homework isn't very important, right?

Wrong! Firstly, 2.8% of your grade doesn't seem like a lot until you get a zero for those points. Secondly, EVERY HOMEWORK PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT! I never waste your time on the homework; every problem has something to do with what you need to know for the exam.

Technical Issues

What's the deal with the "ats113.com"? Why isn't this a "creighton.edu" website?

The domain ats113.com is at Creighton, but it refers to a particularly messy website address--flare.creighton.edu/schragej/ats113/index.html. Since most of the homework and review sheets are handled solely through the website, it was very important that we create an address that is easier to access and remember--we don't want anyone to get a zero on an assignment just because they couldn't find the website.

So, what's with the ugly web site?

Yeah, it's pretty ugly this year, but it contains all the same information (actually, MORE information) that it has in the past. I got a couple of neat ideas to make it look better, but it turned out a bit psychodelic.

No, I mean it's REALLY ugly.

Oh, well, maybe this website isn't completely compatible with your browser. I know that it looks best on Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4 and higher. There are some color problems when you render the site in Netscape Navigator, regardless of the version. It also looks less pleasing on a Mac, for some reason. If you encounter problems other than these, please let me know.