I will also be collecting your annotated readings (or other preparation document) in order to assess your preparation skills and give you feedback. Participation records will be created during class by your peers (and me) marking up rubrics.
You cannot get credit for preparation or participation if you miss class or do not hand in an annotated reading I will allow for 1 class absence (and/or missing reading) over the quarter (e.g., for sickness, job interviews). In other words, I will drop the lowest preparation/participation grade. Showing up ready to participate counts for a lot, even if you don't say much. Participation is about quality, not quantity. I cannot accept the turn-in of a marked-up paper in lieu of coming to class; they are a package. Note that participation in the class discussion boards counts as participation.
I don't expect you to be great analysts or discussants right out of the box. So, at the beginning I will be primarily grading effort, but by the end I will also be looking at the quality of the results.
As with discussion, your presence is required for the lab presentations, even if you won't be presenting that day. You are allowed one absence during the quarter. An absence earns half-credit for your team's lab, on the assumption that you contributed to the lab in your absence.
Final grades are assigned according to the following scale:
A = 93.34-100.00 A- = 90.00-93.33 B+ = 86.67-89.99 B = 83.34-86.66 B- = 80.00-83.33 C+ = 76.67-79.99 C = 73.34-76.66 C- = 70.00-73.44 D = 60-69 F = 00-59A+'s are awarded at the discretion of the professor according to extraordinary performance and contributions to the course.