We have a very simple yet strict ''no (need for) excuses'' policy: Everyone has a 20% ''no fault'' allowance for missing assignments - with no questions asked. Specific rules for each assignment type are given below.
READING AND LECTURES
Reading references are listed in the syllabus with the lecture in which the topic is covered. Giving the book at least a diagonal read before lecture is highly recommended and will greatly contribute to your understanding. Attending lectures is also highly recommended but not mandatory. Recordings of lectures will be made available as long as the tablet lecturing works. (Blackboard lectures cannot be captured in our room. For concerns about these webcasts please contact ETS.) Slides from the lectures are posted in the forum but should not be viewed as full lecture notes. (However, topics that don't appear on the slides will surely not appear on exams.)
DISCUSSION SECTIONS, PRACTICE PROBLEMS, AND QUIZZES
Practice problems are listed in the syllabus with the lecture in which this material is discussed. Work on specific core problems from this list is due in the section directly following each lecture (usually Wed/Fri) - as a starting point for group work during sections. Two full write-ups of solutions from these lists are due in the following section (usually Monday). Exceptions to this rhythm are listed on the syllabus. This active learning rhythm is further detailed in the forum.
Take-home quizzes will be taken remotely in most weeks between Monday 6pm and Tuesday 5pm, as listed on the syllabus and see forum for online submission logistics. (You need to be signed up and read emails from the forum to receive the quiz assignments.)
Each quiz consists of two standard problems from the material of the previous lectures, as listed in the syllabus. These quizzes primarily serve as feedback on your level of understanding and thus will be graded for each problem on a scale of
2 - problem is essentially solved (up to e.g. small algebra error) / you have the skill, and are able to communicate the path to solution understandably
1 - good start towards a solution / correct solution but unclear presentation / you need to refine this skill by ((insert crucial feedback))
0 - little or no progress towards a solution / you need to look at this topic from scratch
When calculating grades, we will drop the 2 lowest quiz scores (out of 12 - noting the first quiz is graded for effort), the 5 lowest scores for Wed/Fri-type submssions (out of 24), and the 5 lowest scores for Monday-type submissions (out of 24).
EXAMS
There will be two midterms and a final.
Due to scheduling constraints it is not possible to give makeup exams.
However, you can miss one midterm, for whatever reason, without need to communicate an excuse. Missed midterms are recorded with score 0, but then everyone's lower midterm score is replaced by the final score - if that is higher.
So there is no penalty but also no benefit to missing one midterm. On the other hand, missing both midterms or the final will seriously harm your grade and make it very difficult to pass the course. This can usually only be resolved by an incomplete grade (see below).
All exams and quizzes are ''closed book'' and do not allow for (or require) course related materials other than pen and paper. In particular, these may not be brought into the room for midterms or final. If you learn the material as intended, then there is no need to memorize many rules or formulas, and there will be no use for calculators.
Unlike the quizzes, full credit for an exam question requires the correct answer (not just up to a sign or factor), in a box, and with a correct and readable derivation or justification of the answer. Unjustified correct answers will receive little or no credit. The graders are looking for demonstration that you understand the material, and the world is looking for professionals who do not make ''silly errors'' such as unit conversions that can have catastropic results.
To further maximize credit, cross out any work that does not justify your answer.
However, if you determine that your solution is wrong but cannot fix it, you can get partial credit for explaining what you were trying to do, and how you know that your result is wrong.
Exam or quiz grades cannot be changed except for egregious errors such as overlooking an entire page of your work.
For exams, the correction of such egregious grading errors needs to be discussed with and initiated by your GSI. (The gradescope regrade request option will not be offered due to frequent misuse.)
If you don't understand what you did wrong in a problem, please ask for clarification - because this is crucial for learning, not because it might change the score. All exams and quizzes are graded by a fixed scheme, thus (with the exception of egregious errors) regrading individual exams would be unfair to everyone else.
GRADES
Your course grade will be determined from the weighted average of 15% Wed/Fri-type submissions (best 19 out of 24 scores), 15% Monday-type submissions (best 19 out of 24 scores), 10% quizzes (best 10 out of 12 scores), 15% for each midterm, 30% final.
Here the lower midterm score (in particular if you missed it) will be replaced by the final score if that is higher. If you miss both midterms, then one counts with score 0. If you miss the final, it counts with score 0, unless you provide sufficient evidence for an incomplete grade (see below).
Letter grades will be determined on an absolute scale of 100-85% A, 84-70% B, 69-55% C, 54-0% D/F unless comparisons with prior MATH54 grade distributions warrant an adjustment in your favour. (Yes, there will be +,- grades ... no, we won't commit to more specific cutoffs.)
EXCUSES
We expect that the 20% no fault allowance (detailed above) will cover all but the most extreme circumstances.
Differently put: Reliably meeting 80% of a given set of expectations, despite unforeseen circumstances, is a professional skill that your instructors will demonstrate (hopefully very close to 100%) and that - if you don't already have it - is a core goal for this course.
If you can foresee possibly having to miss more than 20%, consider the question whether you might not benefit from learning the material at another time.
If you do want/need to pursue the course despite missing over 20% of assignments, you will need to contact your GSI with detailed written evidence of your exceptional circumstances (e.g. a doctor's note that explicitly excuses missed assignments listed with dates). In such cases, assignments would usually be made up for by oral exams or using the score of the final exam.
Incomplete grades will, according to university policy, only be given if
you have "completed and passed a majority of the work required" (i.e. based on at least one midterm and five quizzes are scoring at least a C) before unanticipated events beyond your control make it impossible for you to complete the course. In such cases, contact your GSI as soon as posible after the events, and arrange for detailed written evidence.
To make up an incomplete, one ordinarily takes the missed assignments in another Math 54 class, taught by a different instructor, in the subsequent summer or regular semester.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Students requiring accommodations for exams must arrange for the Disabled Students Program (DSP) to send a "letter of accommodation" to the instructor (not GSI) at least one week before the deadline by the DSP, i.e. three weeks before an exam. Due to delays in processing, we recommend contacting the DSP office before the start of the semester.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY
Please review the campus-wide commitments to
Academic Integrity
and Principles of Community; in particular:
We affirm the dignity of all individuals and strive to uphold a just community in which discrimination and hate are not tolerated.
In fact, instead of focussing on the fine line of ``appropriate behavior'', we invite every member of this course community to strive for their actions in all contexts to be genuinely respectful and supportive rather than merely appropriate.
We embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our obligation and goal. In fact, we are only too aware of many undue stressors on you, as a student and multifaceted human, in these times at UC Berkeley, and are committed to supporting you with overcoming any unfair obstacles.
In order for us to provide support in an equitable manner, we ask you to let us - or another source of support or crisis counseling - know about your distress as soon as possible.
In our experience, cheating is almost always caused by unaddressed stress, and expectations to ``get away with it'' can be conditioned by relatively privileged circumstances.
This is why asking for support is part of your coursework, and also why we adopt the following policy as part of our commitment to equity:
Anyone caught cheating on any assignment - including the use of prior course materials that have not been explicitly shared with all students in this course - will receive a failing grade and will be reported to the University Center for Student Conduct.