Class Participation Points.  Points are awarded for active participation in class.  "Active participation" may mean taking notes, looking up values in your text, performing calculations, or explaining a concept to the entire class.  The 2.5 points that you may receive are awarded by your Manager, if s/he thinks you have been active and you did not sleep!  If points are assigned to a company member who was sleeping, I will talk to your Manager to determine why points were assigned.  Contrary to popular belief, instructors can tell when students are sleeping.

Absences due to circumstances beyond your control will not cost you these points.  Absences you arrange as an elected decision, such as a medical school interview, are under your control and cannot be credited.  Your Manager will take all this into account when making point assignments.  Class participation points are awarded individually.

Problem Sets.  One problem set is assigned each week and is due on Tuesday at the start of class.  The problems assigned will come from your text.  Specific problem assignments are contained on the course syllabus.  The 12 assigned Problem Sets are worth a total of 10 points each.  Each set ten or less problems, and each problem has one or more parts. Each of these will be weighted equally (say one point), no matter what their relative complexity is, and broken down as per:

o Wrong answer, but a sincere effort made = 33%
o Wrong final answer, but at least half of the problem right = 50%
o Right answer, with work shown = 100%

Punctuality is highly valued.  Your homework grades will be assessed penalties as follows if they are not turned in at the start of class on the day due:

o Handed in by the start of class on the due date = 1.00
o Handed in between zero and one class periods late = 0.5
o Handed in more than one class period late = 0.25

The individual parts of each problem will be scored this way, and the individual scores added to get a total (say 14 for a set with 8 problems and 2 parts per problem). This final score will then be expressed in terms of 10 points (here, for example, 14/16 = 0.88 and 0.88 * 10 = 8.6 points).  In this way you will get the same amount of credit for working a simple problem as you do for working a hard one, making it a management decision on your part as to how much time to spend on any one problem, compared to another, both to accumulate a score and to prepare for the final examination.

If this particular homework assignment was turned in one class period late the score would be adjusted for the lack of punctuality:  8.6 point * 0.5 = 4.3 points earned.  Clearly, punctuality is very important, except in circumstances beyond your control (which, by the way, does not include forgetting the assignment in your room on the day it is due).

DAIT Assignments.  These problems are intended to help each person in the company interact with others to develop expertise in handling the class software, which currently includes Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint) and LabVIEW.  These packages are core parts of information management systems, and everything you can learn about them now should be of immediate help to you when you go to work or to professional or graduate school.

The experiments will be brief.  They will be done by companies in a role-playing mode.  The responsibilities will be divided according to the following criteria:

Manager is responsible for the write-up and turning the material in on time, in a form that will satisfy the grade expectations of all in the company.  Manager will get the grade for the experiment and everyone else in the company will get the same grade.

Chemist will acquire all formulas and all data needed to put into the formulas to meet the objectives of the experiment.  In the case where calculations are not required, Chemist will be responsible for gathering all specific information required, including library references and book selections.

Software will be responsible for locating, launching, operating, and closing any program that Manager needs to use Chemist's data to reach the experiment's objectives.

Hardware will be responsible for locating and starting any computers needed for Software, and for operating any printer Manager needs to output material to hand in.  In the event electronic mail is used to hand in the experiment, Hardware will be responsible for making any connections to the network needed to effect the mail.

The role assignments for the DAIT assignments will be the same as those assigned in the lab for laboratory experiments.  Role assignments will rotate for DAIT assignments in the same way they rotate for laboratory experiments.  It will be up to Manager to assure that all the responsibilities are met.  It is in each person's professional benefit to learn as much as possible about using computers in a professional situation by complete participation in the computer experiments.

A particularly important part of the DAIT assignments will be to become facile in networking with others in the class, and outside, by using the Internet and the electronic mail.  Most of these assignments will be submitted electronically.  Three of the DAIT assignments are worth 25 points; the others are worth 15 points.  Each company member will receive the same grade as Manager.

Quizzes.  Three quizzes will be given as indicated on the course syllabus.  They will be taken during the first twenty minutes of a class period and will be followed with class.  The quizzes are based on material assigned as reading in your text.  They are meant to bridge the time between exams and are designed to reward those who keep up with their reading on a regular basis.  Each quiz is worth 20 points, closed book, taken under the St. Olaf Honor System.

Class Examinations.  Three 85 minute examinations will be given.  Their dates are listed on the course syllabus.  Each exam will be worth 150 points.  My exams typically cover homework problems, class notes, lab work and reading material.  Spreadsheets we have worked on in class or lab will also appear on exams.  If spreadsheets appear on the exam, they will be complete and require mainly interpretation.  Such spreadsheets often will be taken from actual lab work by Companies in the course.  Bring an electronic calculator to all exams.  Exams will be taken individually, and graded the same.  They will be closed book and taken under the St. Olaf Honor System.  Note that we have a scheduled exam on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

If on the day of an exam you cannot come to class due to illness or other emergency, you must call (x3498) and let me know before class that day.  Do not have a roommate or friend call.  Do not send me an email.  If you cannot reach me, leave a message with someone in the chemistry office (x3104).  In a real crisis, call the Dean of Students office (x3615)-- sophomores should ask for LaRue Pierce, juniors and seniors should ask for Steve McKelvey.  If you should ever miss an exam due to oversleeping, etc. see me IMMEDIATELY--no email.

Final Examination.  The final exam for this course consist of two components.  The first component will be a laboratory exam in which you will answer questions based entirely on the semester's laboratory work. All of the questions will be based on (or actually taken from) the Management Interviews.  This exam will be taken individually.  It will be Manager's responsibility to make sure that everyone in the Company knows what was discussed during these interviews, since that is the only effective way to prepare for this examination.

The second component is a self and group evaluation of each individual in the Company's function on the final exam.  Both components will be completed under the St. Olaf Honor System.  The exam is scheduled for Friday, December 14, 9:00-11:00.  Attendance at the final exam is mandatory.

Final Grading Scheme.

Students in this course are NOT graded on a "curve."  A "curve" implies that someone can only get an "A" if someone else gets a lower grade.  Grades are based on a "profit sharing" approach.  Your efforts to teach each other what you need to know, and doing so to such a degree you can raise the class average on an exam, will cause the class average to increase.