Common University Policies

Please go to www.jmu.edu/syllabus to read policies and information common to all JMU courses.

My General Course Policies

1. Final Letter Grades: The average of students' numeric grades (weighted as specified elsewhere) will be converted to letter grades at the end of the semester using the "traditional" approach. That is numeric grades between 90% and 100% will be converted to a letter grade in the "A" range, numeric grades between 80% and 89% will be converted to a letter grade in the "B" range, numeric grades between 70% and 79% will be converted to a letter grade in the "C" range, numeric grades between 60% and 69% will be converted to a letter grade in the "D" range, and numeric grades of less than 60% will be converted to an "F". I will use "+" and "-" grades at my discretion. Please note that the syllabus may also designate specific coursework as required for a passing grade in the course.

2. Individuals with Disabilities: JMU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandate reasonable accommodations be provided for students with documented disabilities. The rights and responsibilities of individuals with disabilities are described in Student Handbook. If you have need of accommodations, you must:

  1. File the necessary documentation and suporting evidence with the Office of Disability Services.
  2. Obtain an "Access Plan Letter" from the Office of Disability Services.
  3. Schedule a meeting to speak with me at the start of the semester. (Make sure to bring your "Access Plan Letter" to this meeting.)

I will then make every reasonable effort to accommodate your needs.

3. Religious Observances: If you cannot satisfy a requirement of the course for scheduled religious reasons you must let me know by the end of the second week of the semester. If it was not possible for you to know of a religious absence before that time, you must let me know as soon as the issue arises, at least two weeks in advance. In some cases you will be required to "make up" the requirement, in other cases the distribution of requirements will be changed.

4. Weather: In general, I will follow the university's decisions and only cancel class when the President or a designee has closed the University as described in Policy 1309. The class may or may not be re-scheduled.

If you cannot satisfy a course requirement because of extreme weather when the University is open, you must inform me immediately by both telephone and email. In some cases you will be required to "make up" the requirement, in other cases the distribution of requirements will be changed.

5. Withdrawals: I do not give grades of "WP" or "WF" except in extremely unusual circumstances. Therefore, pay attention to the university's normal withdrawal deadlines. The current add/drop and withdrawal deadlines can be found on the Common University Policies website (see link above) and on the JMU Registrar website.

Should something catastrophic happen to you after the deadline for course withdrawal, you should consider speaking to someone in the Office of the Dean of Students about withdrawing from the University for the semester.

6. Office Hours: Students are very welcome to come to my regular office hours, which do not always require an appointment but may sometimes be organized by sign up sheets. Other meeting times may be available by appointment. Please note, however, that office hours are a supplement to regular class meetings, not an alternative to them.

7. Intellectual Property, Releases, and Related Matters:

  1. You may not record the visual or auditory portion of lectures and/or other classroom activities (using any medium), in part or in whole, without the explicit written permission of the course's instructor. You may, of course, "take notes" during lectures, but they must be handwritten or typewritten. (Typing notes requires permission of the instructor, but is permitted under special circumstances). In addition, students may not distribute, in any form, class recordings that I make available, and if any copies are made for personal use, they must be destroyed at the end of the semester. I retain copyright on all lectures and lecture materials.
  2. In general, as discussed at Copyright@JMU, a student's coursework is her/his intellectual property. However, when you submit an assignment, you are granting a limited reproduction right to JMU. That is, your work may be copied both for assessment and the determination of its originality.
  3. In addition, if various course activities (including lectures) are recorded (auditory and/or visual recordings)for various reasons, you may be recorded as part of this process (e.g., asking or answering a question). By participating in this course you are granting JMU a release/consent for the use of your likeness for any purpose the University deems fit in the interest of education, knowledge, research, marketing, advertising, or public relations.