GOVT 329 Tort Law and Pub Pol Syllabus - George Mason University

assignments may be rescheduled, but any make-up assignment may be designed to be more difficult than the
original and may be in a different format. A late submission of an out-of-class assignment without legitimate
excuse, written documentation and instructor approval of the delay, may result in a reduction of fifteen grading
points for each day it is late, up to a maximum of three days, at which time no late submissions will be accepted
unless the student’s situation warrants reconsideration of the penalty policy. The day-late-penalty will be assessed
in full immediately after the designated submission time and such penalty will reoccur each subsequent day at the
same designated time.
*A substitute (make up) for an in-class assignment will only be provided if a student can document that the
absence from class was due to a personal, unavoidable problem that made attendance impossible or exceedingly
difficult. Note: there are additional requirements for make up quizzes.
Submission of Essay:
Other than the exception listed below, all papers must be submitted in hardcopy paper format on the due date, at
the designated time. In case of a documented emergency a paper may initially be emailed, provided it is emailed
by the deadline time and provided further that a paper copy is submitted within a short and reasonable period of
time thereafter. A written explanation of the email-qualifying emergency must accompany the paper’s hard copy
submission or the paper will be assessed penalties for lateness. Exception: The submission of the Presentation
Summaries should be sent by email whenever the 48- hour-in-advance time period does not coincide with a class
period. In that case an emailed copy suffices and there is no other requirement to bring in a paper copy at a later
date.
Summary of Work Required:
Writing Review (5% of final grade): To improve college level writing skills, students will have one brief “skill
review” assignment, which will be graded as pass (100) or variations of fail (0-70). A failing grade will be based on
writing errors and/or a lack of significant content. For those students who have recently completed a similar
assignment in my other courses, the new submission may be a modified version of prior work provided that the
student affirms in writing that the assignment has been reviewed and updated as needed.
Quizzes (35% of final grade)
A quiz based on that day’s reading assignment and/or on all previous course material will occur on five random
dates throughout the semester (tests may occur at various times in the class period). Students may use their
notes for any such quiz. Students are encouraged to prepare notes as they read each day’s reading assignment
and to bring these notes and all prior notes to each class. Notes can be handwritten or typed and can be part of
group study sessions. However, any professionally prepared notes or photocopies from the course texts, other
books, and/or websites are not permitted. Notes must be in paper format and cannot be accessed via any
electronic device during a quiz.
The top three quizzes will be used to calculate the student’s grade. Two quizzes can be missed or failed without
grading penalty.
The quiz grades will be: A (adequate-full credit), H (half credit), or F (failed-no credit).
Grading (based on A=1 and H = .5): 3 “A” tests= 100; 2.5 tests=85; 2 tests =70; 1.5 tests = 60; 1 test = 50; 0.5
test = 25
Make up quizzes will be given on the day of the final exam for those who qualify by missing two or more quizzes,
with each missed opportunity being for a valid, documented reason. If a student misses only one quiz, there is no
opportunity for a make up quiz. If a student misses two quizzes, there is one make up quiz; three missed quizzes
= two make up quizzes.