Grading Policy
Grading Policy: Students are expected to attend
class, complete the readings, participate in class
discussions, and consult the website throughout the term.
These steps will help you to learn the material covered on
the exams. There will also be several, group take-home
activities assigned during the term. They will allow you to
gauge your progress and provide you with credit for class
participation. Grades will be based on the assigned work as
follows:
| Grading Instrument | Undergraduate | Graduate |
|
Midterm
exams |
33.3% | 30% |
| Cumulative Final Exam | 33.3% | 30% |
| Homework/Class Participation | 33.3% | 20% |
| Graduate Term Project | 20% |
|
| Total | 100% |
100% |
Group activities: Homework
for the class will consist of readings and occasional group
take home activities. Students are encouraged to discuss the
readings with others students in the class before and after
class meetings.
Undergraduate Term Project: During Week 12 the
undergraduates in the class will be split into four groups
to conduct a “jigsaw” assignment in which each group is
assigned to read and present material on the regional
oceanography of a major ocean basis. Each group will have
half the assigned class time to present on the regional
oceanography of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian or Southern
Ocean.
Graduate Term Project: This course will require
significant amounts of independent scholarship at the
graduate level. Graduate student will be expected to
research a particular topic of interest on the syllabus,
generate a bibliography of publications from the literature
and complete a term paper on the subject. Students will be
guided through this process during the term as they complete
various stages of the project: (1) Bibliography of sources,
(2) description of research question, (3) outline, (4)
initial draft, (5) final draft.
Exams: Each exam will consist of short answer and
essay questions. The questions may involve calculations or
the interpretation of maps, diagrams, and graphs. The
midterm exams will give students an opportunity to
demonstrate their knowledge of the material presented. While
the midterm exams will be non-cumulative, the final exam
will be cumulative. Exam scores may be curved at the
discretion of the instructor, but each student has the
potential to succeed in this course. Students are expected
to pick up their graded exam papers in class when they are
returned, or to make arrangements to do so at office hours.
Make-up Exams: Students are expected to manage their
academic and personal activities responsibly during the
term. Students who miss an exam must provide a written
excuse no later than 48 hours after the scheduled start time
of the missed exam in order to receive a make-up exam.
Make-up exams will consist of several essays and short
answers that cover the same material as the in-class exam.
Legitimate excuses for missing an exam include written
documentation for the following: conflict with another
official Kent State University activity (such as a field
trip), your own illness, a death in the family, and military
or intercollegiate athletic commitments. If you are involved
in military or official university athletic activities,
review the exam schedule at the beginning of the term and
consult with the instructor prior to the exam if you have a
conflict. If you have an illness, personal crisis or
family tragedy that results in missing an exam, you must
contact the instructor by phone or email no later than 48
hours after the scheduled start time of the exam. It
is very important that you provide your name and an email or
phone where you can be reached in your message.