Course Policies, Absences and Attendance.

08 Oct 2020

tl;dr: It's a course that relies on peer-learning. That means you being in class is really important. Being absent will effect your grade.

The structure of this course makes it critical for you to be in attendance. The way we’ll learn is through sharing of perspectives in discussions, through case studies and (guest) lectures, through in class exercises, and through discussion/critique of the work we make. This means it’s beyond important for you to be in class and on time.

Attendance

Plain and simple, you should be in every class.

There is however a difference between excused and unexcused absences. In most cases where you give some prompt or early notice, it’s considered an excused absence. Equally, if there’s exceptional circumstances (illness, etc.) you won’t be penalized for this.

If you need to miss a class for any reason, inform the instructor before the class if possible, and/or after the missed class. Unexcused absences can adversely affect your grade. You shouldn’t expect to receive a passing grade without regular attendance and participation in class. More than two unexcused absences means you will fail the course unless appropriate documentation is provided.

During class times, students are expected to give their full attention to the class materials, discussions and seminars. Students found to be consulting non-class related material, using their mobile phone or engaged in social networking will be immediately deemed absent.

Absences

Students must notify faculty in advance of planned absence for religious holiday or school-related event (i.e. varsity sports trip). Contact the instructor ideally before class if it’s possible and if not within 24 hours.

If there’s an unplanned absence for medical or personal reasons, let us know. Accommodations can be made attendance and course deliverables. In case of an extended absence for medical or personal reasons, contact the Senior Academic Advisor by mail, e-mail or phone, who will notify the appropriate faculty. Faculty reserve the right to request a formal document verifying a medical excuse.

If you have a planned, professional absence or will be attending a or school-related event , let us know as early as possible. Generally speaking, we’ll be very understanding and accommodating when you let us know ahead of time.

In all cases where you’ve missed a class, you’re responsible for understanding the course content and future deliverables. Make sure you meet with a classmate to find out what material you missed or ask to meet with the instructor or TA before the next class, or ask for help on the course Slack.

Lateness

Lateness will also negatively affect your participation grade. But remember that any lateness affects the whole class. It is particularly disruptive to those presenting outcomes or during a review session; and it is particularly disrespectful to show up late to a guest talk. Being on time allows class to start promptly and for us to focus on your work. Be a responsible and good member of the learning community.

Attention

When you’re in class, pay attention. Students are expected to give their full attention to the class materials, discussions and seminars. Don’t be on your phone, texting, tweeting, emailing, etc. If you’re using your laptop, it should be for taking notes or class related activities. For everything else, it can wait. If a student is found to be consulting non-class related material, using their mobile phone or engaged in social networking, it will reduce your participation grade. Repeat offenders in a single class will be marked absent.

And if you’re asleep, you might as well not be in class. This counts as an absence.

Participation

While participation is not a graded component, it is expected. As part of the our learning community you are asked to be engaged, ask questions, contribute your insights and support your peers. This includes:

a) Attendance - being present in classes and maintain a strong record of attendance over the duration of the course; b) In-Class Engagement - being engaged in the classroom activities, actively and productively contributing to in-class discussions and project critiques; and c) Out of Class Engagement - being an active and productive contributor to the classroom Discord server, supporting peers online, sharing knowledge with the class, etc.

The expectations for strong participation in the class can be found in the following characteristics:

• Always be respectful of yourself, others, and the instructor, and doesn’t unfairly or destructive criticize anyone else’s ideas or work.
• Initiate contributions more than once in each class session or provide supportive resources and feedback on the class’s digital channels;
• Give comments that are insightful & constructive.
• Listen attentively when others present materials and perspectives.
• Build on other remarks and contribute to the dialogue.
• Routinely share with, and support the efforts of others.
• Brings needed materials to class and be ready to work.
• Be awake and engaged in class, and avoid disruptive behavior.

Attendance, Absences, Lateness and Effects on Grades

• Students arriving more than 15 minutes late are marked absent for the day.

• Students leaving more than 10 minutes early from class for meetings or other projects will also be marked absent for the day.

• Except for the first day of class, students can miss class 2 times without penalty. These course absences will be considered as free pass options and will not reduce that student’s grade. Additional absences lower their course grade by a letter grade per class.

This does not apply to final presentations, and/or milestone critiques/reviews where external guests/clients are present

Recording

In this classroom, meetings and class sessions may be audio/video recorded for educational use to support students with accommodations in this course. Recordings will be made available after class. Recordings may not be downloaded, redistributed, shared or used beyond this class.

Where recordings are be made, this is not offered as an alternative to attendance, unless you have an accommodation. You are expected to be present during scheduled meeting times. Additionally no student may record any classroom activity without express written consent i.e. because the course will be recorded you are not given the permission to do so also.

Materials in this course—unless otherwise indicated—are protected by United States copyright law Title 17 of the United States Code.  Materials are presented in an educational context for personal use and study and should not be shared, distributed, or sold in print—or digitally—outside the course without permission.

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity is expected at all time. Carnegie Mellon has a established as well-defined policy on this subject which can be found at: https://www.cmu.edu/policies/student-and-student-life/academic-integrity.html

In addition, students are required to uphold the Community Standards of CMU as summarized in the “Carnegie Mellon Code” and expanded up in the student handbook The Word.

It is the responsibility of the student to both verse themselves with and adhere to these policies. This, for example, requires the proper acknowledgement of any work used in course deliverables by appropriately citing sources. You should familiarize yourself with CMU’s policy for academic integrity, and carefully read the section on Plagiarism (even if you think you fully understand what it means).

For the purposes of this class, copying material from another source or using the ideas in paraphrased form without proper acknowledgment is plagiarism. Any violations of the policy will be reported to the Dean of Students’ office with a recommendation that the appropriate officials impose the strongest possible penalties against the student committing the violation. All necessary and appropriate sanctions will be issued to all parties involved with plagiarizing any and all course work. Plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty that is in violation with these policies will not be tolerated, will result in failure of the course and, potentially, further disciplinary action.

A note on the use of generative AI systems in this course:

This course will ask you to prepare written assignments, code and other outcomes. Generative AI programs (ChatGPT, DALL-E, etc.) are powerful tools that can support creative writing, your learning and productive pursuits. You can choose to use generative AI on some of the assignments in this course. However, your ethical responsibilities as a student remain the same. You must follow CMU’s academic integrity policy (see above). This policy applies to all un-cited or improperly cited use of content, whether that work is created by human beings alone or in collaboration with a generative AI.

In the case that you are using generative AI: the work must still represent a substantial intellectual outcome and be largely your own work. Additionally, if you use a generative AI tool to develop content for an assignment, you are required to include attribution(s) to and statement of the tool’s contributions to your work. In practice, cutting and pasting content from any source without citation is plagiarism. Likewise, paraphrasing content from a generative AI without citation is plagiarism. Similarly, using any generative AI tool without appropriate acknowledgement will be treated as plagiarism. 

For guidance on how to cite and attribute generative AI in your text, you can refer to the following the guidelines established by the APA Style Guide (https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt). Note attribution should include the name and specific version of the tool used. Submitted work should include the exact prompt used to generate the content as well as the AI’s full response in an Appendix.

Here are some specific expectations for your use of AI generation tools in this course:

• You can include AI generated content verbatim into a writing assignment with quotations and a citation. 
• You can paraphrase AI generated content with a citation.
• You can include non-text AI generated content (images, video, code, etc.) with an appropriate citation.
• You can use generative AI to check your work for improvements, typographic errors, etc providing you state the support you gained from the tool.
• You will conduct your own research and generate bibliographies yourself for topics that you have researched.
• You will not use or present generative AI content that you pass off as your own work. 

Finally, it is important that you recognize that generative AI tools frequently provide users with incorrect information, create professional-looking citations that are not real, generate contradictory statements, incorporate copyrighted material without appropriate attribution, and sometimes integrate biased or offensive concepts. Code generation models may produce inaccurate outputs. Image generation models may create misleading or offensive content. While you may use these tools in the work you create for this class, it is important to note that you understand you are ultimately responsible for the content that you submit. Work that is inaccurate, biased, unethical, offensive, plagiarized, or incorrect will be treated as such during the evaluation of your work. 

Academic Accommodations

If you have a disability and have an accommodations letter from the Disability Resources office, I encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with me as early in the semester as possible. I will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate. If you suspect that you may have a disability and would benefit from accommodations but are not yet registered with the Office of Disability Resources, I encourage you to contact them at access@andrew.cmu.edu.

If you are unwell and cannot attend class for a medical reason, accommodations for course deliverables and required attendance can be provided. In this circumstance, contact me as soon as possible and set up a time to meet (once you are well enough to do so) to discuss. It is recommended that you provide documentation (e.g. a note from a doctor) or if the medical issue will be ongoing, to work with the office of Disability Resources.

Questions?

If you have questions about this or your coursework, please let me know.