Unless specifically indicated in your class’s syllabus, the following are the policies that are in place for all of my classes. Please do not hesitate to ask me if you have any questions.
Attendance
Attendance is extremely important in my classes; the bulk of the work we do takes place in discussion, and you can’t do that work if you’re not there (and ready) to participate. Excused absences require official documentation from student health and/or the dean of students’ office. You are permitted the equivalent of one week of unexcused absences during the course of this semester — meaning that, if our class meets twice a week, you can miss two sessions without penalty (one if the course meets once a week; three if the course meets three times a week). Each further unexcused absence will result in the lowering of your final grade in the course by one step (i.e., A- to B+).
Unavoidable absences due to travel for athletic events are of course excused, but you must notify me in advance. Conflicts with other events and appointments should be avoided if at all possible.
If you miss class, it is your responsibility to check with your classmates in order to find out what happened in class. Few things annoy me quite as much as being asked “did I miss anything?” The answer to that question may be found here.
Lateness (of you)
It drives me absolutely bonkers when people walk into class after it’s begun. It’s both rude and distracting. Get to class on time; every three late arrivals will add up to one unexcused absence.
Lateness (of work)
You have a number of grace days equivalent to the number of weekly class sessions, which you may use as needed, so long as you notify me in advance. For instance, if an assignment is due on a Monday, but you have a big exam on Monday, you can use a grace day and turn that proposal in on Tuesday. Please note, however: a “day” is twenty-four hours long, and ends at 5.00 pm. If you don’t turn the assignment in until Wednesday morning, that’s two grace days. Any lateness beyond these grace days (or lateness without notification) will count against your grade. Please note that because these grace days are freebies, I will give no extensions. Don’t even ask.
The Writing Center
I’m of course happy to meet with any of you during my office hours to discuss your work and ways to make it better. That said, I also want to encourage you to make use of the Writing Center, which is located on the second floor of Smith Campus Center, above the Coop Fountain, and which offers students free, one-on-one consultations at any stage of the writing process — from generating a thesis and structuring an argument to fine-tuning a draft. The Writing Fellows — Pomona students majoring in subjects including Economics, Molecular Biology, English, Politics, and Religious Studies — will work with you on an assignment from any discipline. Consultations are available by appointment, which you can make online: http://writing.pomona.edu/writingcenter. This is a phenomenal resource, one that I hope you will make good use of.
Disabilities
I am happy to accommodate the learning difficulties or other disorders that you may be dealing with as needed. Please note, however, that Pomona’s policy on disability accommodations requires that the disability be documented with the dean of students’ office before I can make any accommodations. If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible. I am happy to be of any support that I can.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty in any form will result in automatic failure of my class. Period. If you have any concerns about what constitutes academic dishonesty, refer to the official Pomona policy, or ask me.
updated 28 August 2009