Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry
Policy on Course Attendance, Performance,
Participation and Behavior
1.
Students are expected to attend all scheduled
course sessions and should be prepared by reading in advance any relevant
material assigned or provided. Participation (defined by interacting with the
instructor, working problems at the board, individually or in groups, using
personal response ÒClickerÓ systems and other mechanisms defined in the
syllabus) is expected.
2.
Students are reminded that instructors are not
required to accept assignments submitted late, except in instances allowed
according to College policies. College Policies as defined in the Student Code
of Conduct apply to lecture, recitation and laboratory portions of all courses.
3.
Laboratories are an integral part of education in
chemistry courses. As a result, participation in all laboratories scheduled for
a course is expected. Unless alternate activities are scheduled, students can
expect that their laboratory section will meet each week, and failure to attend
laboratories may lead to failure in the course.
4.
The minimum passing score for courses in the
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is 70%. Thus, in order to pass a
course, a student must earn a total of 70% of the available points or score
values (either raw or adjusted).
This is inclusive of the laboratory portion of the course.
5. The
laboratory for a course must be passed, normally by earning 60% of
the available score or points for the laboratory, in order to pass
the course. Exceptions may be noted in syllabus.
6. Students
are expected to bring to laboratory the laboratory manual (or printout of the
experiment), a laboratory notebook (if required), a calculator, ruler or other
materials as specified by the instructor or in the syllabus.
7. Students
are not allowed to work in the laboratory without direct faculty supervision.
8.
Unless announced in advance, SAFETY GOGGLES (WHICH PROVIDE A COMPLETE SEAL AROUND THE EYES AND ARE
EQUIPPED WITH INDIRECT VENTS) ARE REQUIRED TO BE WORN AT ALL TIMES IN THE
LABORATORY. STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN SAFETY GOGGLES.
9. Open-toed
shoes (e.g. sandals, ÒBirkenstocksÓ, flip-flops, etc), unrestrained long-hair, excessively loose clothing and other items which
may be easily ignited or snag on apparatus are not allowed.
10. Food, drink, candy, cosmetics, tobacco products,
etc. are not allowed in the laboratory.
11. Students
are expected to be attentive to the material and any experiments and apparatus
in the laboratory. The following must be turned off and stored away from the
laboratory bench while in laboratories:
Portable
music players (e.g. iPods, MP3 players and the like)
Cellular
telephones, pagers, text messaging devices and the like
Other
portable electronic devices as defined by the laboratory instructor
12. Horseplay,
practical jokes, Ògoofing aroundÓ or interfering with other studentsÕ work is
not allowed in the laboratory.
13. Students
should not expect to be able to makeup missed laboratory sessions or
experiments. If a makeup session is possible, it will be at the discretion of
the laboratory instructor and will normally be during the same week as the
missed laboratory section.
14. Students
will not be permitted to work in any laboratory section other than that they
are registered for unless they have the written approval of both their regular
instructor AND the instructor in the section they wish to enter.
Course instructors
may modify these guidelines as necessary to meet the requirements of individual
courses or chemical specialties in consultation with the Department
Chairperson. Students should expect to receive a copy of these guidelines in
their course syllabus or be given a copy by the course instructor (either in
paper form or by electronic mail).