| Prerequisite | RHE 306 and admission to Major Sequence |
Mon., Aug. 31 , 2009 |
Last day of official add/drop period |
| Wed., Sept. 23 , 2009 | Last day to drop course without a possible academic penalty |
You may find the content in this course and its learning process to be different from your other courses, but you can lay a good foundation for your success in the class by meeting the following course requirements.
Your final grade will be determined using the following percentages:
| Writing Assignments | 60%* |
| Homework | 10% |
| Oral Presentations | 14% |
| Peer Reviews | 06% |
| Class Participation | 10% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
* Graduated scale: Letter & Resume=06 points, problem description=08, project rationale=08, technology description=10, implementation plan=12, complete proposal=16.
Note: There is no final examination given in this course.
All assignments are graded based on the maximum number of points for that particular assignment (see scale above). Peer reviews are worth a total of 6 points and the final presentation is worth 14 points.
The grading scale for your final grade is the following:
97-99 = A+, 93-96 = A, 90-92 = A- 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82 = B- 77-79 = C+, 73-76 = C, 70-72 = C- 67-69 = D+, 63-66 = D, 60-62 = D- Below 60 = F
All writing will be graded for content and form. Content includes appropriate and complete data, logical argument, and adequate supporting evidence. Form includes using an appropriate style and organizing your paragraphs and sections logically.Form also includes writing clearly for the specific audience and using graphics effectively.
With each assignment handed back, you will receive a completed "grading criteria" form. Please read the comments on these forms carefully; they are your key to improving your writing and building on your strengths.
Presentations also will be graded for content and form. Form includes delivery strategies, such as maintaining eye contact and projecting your voice appropriately, as well as easy-to-follow organization and effective use of visuals.
As the semester progresses, we will talk more specifically about the audience for your various written assignments and presentations, but in general you should contextualize all technical terms and concepts. Clear engineering communication neither goes over the audiences' heads nor "dumbs-down" its content.
See also the Grading Information, Grading Consistency, and Grading Standards pages.
Class Participation
Class Participation is worth 10% of your grade and consists of these categories of participation, listed in order of importance:
Points are awarded for each category based on individual performance and contribution to team activities. Simply showing up in lecture and lab is not enough to earn a good participation grade.
Peer Review
Peer Review is worth 6% of your grade. You will receive a maximum of 2 points for each written peer reivew. We will do three reviews in lab - if you have to miss one, you will need to make up the review for a later assignment. The number of points you earn depends on this:
Homework
Homework assignments are worth 10% of your grade. Everyone must submit individual written homework. Maximum points are indidicated for the following categories:
Specifications for Written Work
To use the computers in the Studio Classroom (ECJ 3.402), students will login with a UTEID and link to class and personal folders. We ask that all students use Webspace to store their documents for this class: https://webspace.utexas.edu.
On the CE 333T home page, the announcements are always suitable for public consumption. Details, reminders, etc., relevant only to students in CE 333T will be e-mailed through BlackBoard. My email address is hart@mail.utexas.edu. I encourage you to use email to communicate with me and with your TA outside of class and office hours.
Please be aware of the following policies that will help you get the most out of this class.
Active Learning
Research on learning and teaching has shown definitively that students learn better if they are active in the process. Passive learning – when students listen to a teacher lecture for more than 20 minutes – is just not effective. We will practice active learning in several ways: through in-class and in-lab discussion, through hands-on writing and review in the lab, through team work, and through student-led teaching sessions. You will work in teams in both lecture and lab, and at the beginning of several lecture sessions, student teams will teach the grammar and writing lessons. The best way to learn is to teach someone else.
Late Assignments
Because improving writing is a cumulative activity, each assignment builds on the previous one. The class, therefore, has a relatively strict late-paper policy. All written assignments are due at the beginning of your class on the day indicated on the Schedule of Assignments. Written assignments are considered late from the end of that class until one week later. One full grade will be deducted from late written assignments, whether they are handed in one hour late or one week late. Assignments later than one week will not be accepted and will receive a grade of "0." The final writen assignment must come in bound and on time; see Schedule for due date and time. Please do not e-mail any assignments unless requested to do so.
Attendance Requirements
Please make every effort not to miss lecture or lab sessions. All labs and lectures involve your active participation and your collaboration with other students. If you partner with another student, you have a responsibility to that person, as well as to yourself, to come to class and learn how to accomplish successfully the work for the course.
For the written peer review labs, you should bring a word-processed draft of your current assignment, at least 3/4 complete. To receive full credit for attendance in these labs, you and your draft must both be there.
Regrading Policy
You may request from me a regrade of any assignment. Please submit, within one week of receiving the grade, both the original graded assignment (along with the criteria sheet) and a written explanation of why you believe the assignment is undergraded. I will contact you with a decision within two weeks.
Evaluation Plan
The course, the instructor, and the teaching assistants will be evaluated toward the end of the semester using the Common Form from the UT Measurement and Evaluation Center. In order to gather more timely evaluation, I will also ask you, several times during the semester, to comment (anonymously) on the content and organization of the course.
Academic Integrity
Both faculty and students at world-class universities must maintain high standards of academic integrity. According to the UT General Information Catalog, "Since the value of a university degree depends on the absolute integrity of the work done by each student for that degree, a student must maintain a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work" (p. 108). Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.
I expect that you or you and your partner are the sole author(s) of all your written work, except where you have given proper credit for borrowed words and graphics. If you repeat phrases or sentences from another source, you must place the phrase in quotation marks as well as fully cite the source. To not do so is to plagiarize, which can result in, among other things, a failing grade for the course. We'll talk in class about why giving this credit is also critical to the scientific and technological endeavor. Please see the information about plagiarism on the site.
If you are writing about a similar topic in another class, you may "borrow" from your own writing, but you must indicate the source (i.e., reference your own report/presentation) and place any duplicated language in parentheses. If you are writing about a similar topic in another class, please talk to me early in the semester to avoid any unintentional self-plagiarism.
For more information on academic integrity and scholastic dishonesty, please see the Student Judicial Services web site. And, see the information and scenarios on this site.
University Web Sites and Privacy
Web-based, password-protected class sites will be associated with all academic courses taught at the University. Syllabi, handouts, assignments and other resources are types of information that may be available within these sites. Site activities could include exchanging email, engaging in class discussions and chats, and exchanging files. In addition, electronic class rosters will be a component of the sites. Students who do not want their names included in these electronic class rosters must restrict their directory information in the Office of the Registrar, Main Building, Room 1. For information on restricting directory information, see page 7 of the Course Schedule or this web page.
Accessibility
The University of Texas at Austin provides, upon request, appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement in SSB 4.104 or at 471-6259 (Videophone 232-2937) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations. For more information, contact that Office at 471-4641, or the Cockrell School of Engineering Coordinator of Engineering Students with Disabilities at 471-4382.