Volcanoes & Earthquakes : Geology 1003/001
Syllabus : Fall and Spring Semesters
Instructor: Dr. Weaver

• Lectures: Fall - TR, 12:00 to 1:15 pm, SEC A235 (2nd floor, NW corner, Sarkeys Energy Center).
                 Spring - MWF, 12:30 to 1:20 pm, SEC A235 (2nd floor, NW corner, Sarkeys Energy Center).
• Office Hours: Room 734, SEC tower, by appointment (make appointment by e-mail).
• E-mail: bweaver@ou.edu
• Required Text: None; course notes are on-line.
• Notes: To keep lecture material current, course notes are on-line at ve.ou.edu

Lectures: Attendance at lectures is expected and attendance will be monitored via the use of Clickers. Also, much of the lecture material will not come directly from the on-line notes, so it will be difficult to do well in the course without attending the lectures. The lecture-by-lecture outline is somewhat flexible, and changes may be made as the course progresses. However, the exams will be given on the days indicated in the Outline. Some of the lecture periods will include, or be devoted to, the showing of videos relating to various aspects of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Email: I will send email to your OU email address (e.g., Fred.Z.Bloggs-1@ou.edu) and it is my assumption that it will reach you, so if your OU email is not your primary email account make sure that your OU email is automatically forwarded to your primary (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) email address.

Grading: 500 total points are possible for the semester, distributed as follows:

The three exams during the semester (see the Outline web page for dates) will comprise a mixture of multiple choice and true/false response questions (50 questions on each exam).

The final exam (see the Outline web page for date and time) will comprise a mixture of multiple choice and true/false response questions. Half of the final (50 questions) will cover recent material from the last quarter of the course, and half (50 questions) will cover material from the entire semester (i.e., be comprehensive).

Bonus Points: In addition to exams, occasional "extra credit" quizzes, exercises (some including a writing component), etc., will be given; you can earn up to 50 bonus points from these assignments. Over the full semester the total bonus points available will come to more than 50; at the end of the semester your bonus points are scaled to a maximum possible of 50. For example, if there are 200 possible bonus points over the semester and you gain 160 of the 200, that will scale to 40/50 bonus points. As detailed below, bonus points are very important as they can improve your final letter grade. You only gain bonus points, and reap their potential benefit, by making the effort to attend class!
Additionally, if you attend at least 80% of the class I will add 25% to your bonus points at the end of the semester, and if you do more than 90% of the bonus exercises I will add 25% to your bonus points at the end of the semester (e.g., if you satisfy both, the 40/50 bonus points above would become 60/50).

Grades are not based on a fixed percentage of exam points; letter grades are based on class rank (i.e., a 'curve'). That is, the top 15% of the class will receive an A, the next 20% B, the next 30% C, the next 20% D, and the bottom 15% F. At the end of the semester, the exam points (500 being the maximum possible) for each student are totaled and the point totals are ranked from highest to lowest. Grade boundaries, based on the curve, are then determined. Your scaled bonus points (out of 50) are then added to the exam points, and may have the effect of lifting your point total above a grade boundary (e.g., if you have a middle B from the exams your bonus points may lift you above the A/B grade boundary). This is not trivial or insignificant; typically one half (or more) of the students (those who make the effort and regularly attend class!) receive a higher letter grade due to their bonus points. REPEAT: Grades are NOT decided on a 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, 0-59 = F basis, or any other fixed scale. After each exam you will be told your tentative letter grade at that point. Exam scores, bonus points, and tentative and final letter grades will be posted on D2L.

Make-up exams will not be given. The only acceptable reason for missing an exam is an excused absence; a medical excuse must be verified by a note from a physician. In this situation, the next scheduled exam taken will also count for the number of points available for the exam that was missed. For an unexcused absence from an exam a score of zero points will be given for that exam.
If the final exam is missed for an excusable reason a grade of I (incomplete) will be given for the course and the final will have to be made-up at a later date.

Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, cheating, taking a quiz or doing a homework for someone else, plagiarism, etc. Students are expected to be familiar with the Student Code and Academic Misconduct Code and to know what constitutes proper academic conduct. The instructor will have no hesitation in pursuing a charge of academic misconduct against any student found violating the code.

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course are requested to speak with the professor as early in the semester as possible. Students with disabilities must be registered with the Office of Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations in this course. The Office of Disability Services is located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166, phone 405/325-3852 or TDD only 405/325-4173.