MY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Robert J. Shine

September 1, 2009

It is my hope to treat each student with respect and to treat all students in a fair and equitable manner. If you think that I am not treating you properly, please inform me or inform the Dean of the School of Theoretical and Applied Science in G-326. For your part, I feel you have a responsibility to work as diligently and ethically as possible. To help you better understand my requirements, I have drafted this document to guide you. Please notify me if there is anything that needs further clarification. I will use these policies and procedures in my work with students. You should also read the Course page of the course that you are enrolled in for more specific information about the policies and procedures for that course.

Attendance Policy

Attendance at all class meetings is expected. You should expect that your absence from class will adversely affect your performance in the course. Your grade in a course will be based solely on your performance and will not be adjusted upward based on hardships you may have. With this said, I have tried to adopt a system that allows some flexibility as life today is complex. Please see the course outline page for the course you are taking for exact information about that course.

Laboratory Safety Procedures

You must always work carefully in the laboratory. Eye protection must be worn at all times when experiments are in progress. You are advised to wear old clothes to the lab in case you have a chemical spill. Good laboratory technique and careful work will result in a higher grade. Be sure you know the location of eye wash, safety shower and fire extinguishers in the lab. Be aware that many chemicals are flammable or toxic or both. Be sure to consult the MSDS for each chemical you are using so that you know the hazards involved. In general, you can find the MSDS for a chemical on the web by typing the chemical name and msds in the Google search box.

Academic Honesty

Cheating—Cheating hurts both you and your fellow students. It hurts you by giving the false impression to others that you know something you do not know. This is likely to place you in an environment or a course for which you are not prepared and where you will perform poorly. It hurts other students by making them appear less capable than they really are. If you are caught cheating you will be disciplined according to the College procedures.

Plagiarism—Plagiarism is defined as “copying or imitating the language, ideas, and thoughts of another author and passing off the same as one’s original work.” (Webster Intercollegiate Dictionary) Downloading and submitting material from the web without placing the downloaded material in quote marks and failing to cite the exact URL of that source is plagiarism. Just as it is extremely easy for you to do this, it is just as easy for Instructors to find the source of your material. Search engines available to Faculty have helped me find the exact source of plagiarized material in as little as 15 seconds. If I find that you have plagiarized material in an assignment, you will receive a zero grade for that assignment.

Testing and Grading

Please see the course outline page for the course you are taking for exact information about testing and grading for that course.

Make-Up Tests—Make up tests will generally not be given. If you have a documented serious reason for missing a test, please notify me as soon as possible before or after the test date.

Incomplete Grade—An incomplete grade will be assigned only if the following conditions are met:

1. You must have completed most of the required material in the course before the end of the semester.

2. You must have a C or better grade for the work that has been completed.

3. You must have a very valid reason for an incomplete grade.

4. You must make your request for an incomplete grade in writing and you must submit the completed form by the deadline.

5. You must prepare a written plan on how the incomplete material will be completed and the deadline dates for completing that work. All incomplete grades that I give must be resolved with 21 days after the end of the semester or the incomplete grade will be changed to an F grade. It will be your responsibility to ensure that this deadline will be met.

6. You must take a very active interest in keeping in touch with me during the make up period. It is your responsibility to insure that you have personally contacted me at least once a week.

Classroom Manners

Please turn off all cell phones and pagers before entering the classroom. If you are expecting an emergency call, you may leave the phone on. In such a case, please sit near a door and leave the room quickly if your phone rings.

Please do not surf the web or check your e mail during class unless I give you permission to do so.

Please do no have private conversations while I am presenting course material. This is very distracting to me and for other students who are trying to pay attention. You may ask me questions as I present material if more explanation is needed.

Please do not leave the classroom until I dismiss the class unless you have an emergency.

The College generally does not allow eating or drinking in the classrooms or laboratories.

Contacting Robert Shine

You may contact me by any of the following methods.

1. E Mail bshine@ramapo.edu

2. Office phone—201-684-7719--Home Phone 201-444-4150

3. Office location—G-250

4. US Mail—Robert Shine, TAS, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ 07430

5. Secretary—G-326—201-684-7734

If you are having difficulty or have questions, please contact me as soon as possible. Do not wait until the last minute as I may not be immediately available. Your failure to be able to contact me does not extend any deadline date. If I have not responded to your e mail or phone message within 24 hours you can assume I did not receive the message. You should then try to contact me again or contact the secretary.