The Geography of Europe Course Policies

Basis of Grading

Your semester grade will be determined as follows:

	10%	Exam 1	10%	Participation
	10%	Exam 2	10%	Book Reviews
	10%	Exam 3	10%	Norway Simulation
	20%	Final Exam	20%	Term Paper

Class Participation, Discussion, and Attendance

Your grade will be determined precisely as described above, meaning there is a specific component based on class participation. In order to participate, you must be present in class, and you are expected to attend each and every class session. Because emergencies do come up, you will be allowed 4 absences for the semester, though you will be held responsible for the material you miss. With your 5th absence, however, provided it is unexcused, you will receive an F for the course regardless of your test and paper scores, as per Geography Department policy.

In class, you should try to play as active a role as possible. On certain occasions, such as the in-class simulation/debate we will conduct near the end of the semester on Norway's decision to enter the E.U., you will have a well-defined role in class. During case studies and review question-and-answer sessions, however, the burden will fall to you. If you want this course to be vibrant, exciting, and engaging, you must help make it so by reading materials before class and by interjecting comments and questions in class.

To encourage as much participation as possible, each student will have the opportunity during the semester to earn up to 10 bonus points to be added to his/her final exam score. To earn these points, you need to bring in xerox copies of short articles or news items about Europe from newspapers like the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, or the Christian Science Monitor or from magazines like Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, or The Economist (all of which may be found in the periodical room of the library). Then, at the beginning of class, you should be prepared to relate briefly the events or issues discussed in the articles to one of the topics we've discussed in class.

Alternatively, those of you who function better in cyberspace may relate to the class items found on the World Wide Web. Of particular interest are both news items about specific events in Europe (check the CNN or U.S. News and World Report home pages to name a few) and more general home pages with information on, say, the European Union or Bosnia. If you "submit" an item from the Internet, be sure to provide the complete URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address so that others may visit the site.

Up to 4 points will be assigned per item at the discretion of the instructor. Similar or identical items submitted by a number of students will earn fewer points; items submitted by only a few or by one student will earn the maximum. There will be no other extra credit assignments during the semester.

Exams

There will be 4 examinations during the semester, including 3 regular exams and a cumulative final exam. Each exam will consist of 3 sections-short answer, essay, and mapping. Short answer questions will include such items as definitions, identifications, listings, and brief explanations. Essay questions will usually be comparative rather than merely descriptive, especially on the final exam. There will always be an option to select 1 of at least 2 possible essay topics.

Mapping questions will include regional patterns and place locations from both the lectures and the textbook. In addition, you will be responsible for the following items for each of the exams:

Exam 1 - all of the countries in and bordering upon Europe,
Exam 2 - all of the capital cities west of 15º E longitude, and
Exam 3 - all of the capital cities east of 15º E longitude.

Basemaps

You will be provided with blank basemaps of Europe, including one that is identical to those that will appear on your exams. As overhead transparencies of various maps accompany most lectures and since this information will appear in the mapping section of your exams, you are encouraged to make extra copies of the maps for use in taking class notes. Transparencies are always available during office hours.

Late Work

Late work will not be accepted in this course. Instead, consider the written assignments due as of the first day of class. You may submit these papers for credit through the dates indicated on the schedule, but consider those dates to be deadlines. After those dates, I will not accept your work for any reason . . . even illness or excused absence. Your syllabus contains all of the instructions for these assignments, and you must budget your time accordingly. You should plan on submitting your work at least a week before the dates shown on the schedule. That way, you can avoid missing the deadlines.

Incomplete Grade

If, as the semester ends, you have outstanding assignments or missed exams, do not assume that I will assign you an "Incomplete" for a grade. Since missed exams must be made up within one week of the original test date and since I will not accept late work under all but the most extreme circumstances, be aware that I will record these items as Fs in my grade book. If that lowers your final average to 59.5 or lower, you will receive an F for the course. If you feel an I is appropriate for this course due to an illness or extended emergency of some sort, you must speak to me about it personally and request the Incomplete before grades are due on Wednesday, May 17.

Authorized Aid and the Honor Code

The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Put simply, authorized aid for this course is as follows: your own personal knowledge on all exams and your own writing on the term paper and book review. In other words, you are to do your own work. You are encouraged to include relevant quotations from other authors in your papers, but be sure to cite them properly. Anything not listed here is considered unauthorized aid.

This does not mean, however, that collaborative work is entirely unauthorized. For one, you are encouraged to take your book review and/or term paper to the Writing Center to be reviewed. You may follow any suggestions you may get at the Center. You are also encouraged to allow fellow classmates to review your writing and offer suggestions on ways to improve it. Just keep in mind at all times that the actual writing is to remain your own. Though there is no written component to the assignment, you will need to collaborate with the partners in your group for the Norway simulation late in the semester.