EG Grading Policy

Responsibility

All course grades, including bonuses and penalties, are shown in the EG Gradebook. Therefore, you can see the grades we have assigned to you. You are responsible for ensuring that these grades are correct. For example, if you have a zero for a lab report grade but submitted the report, it is your responsibility to notify your faculty member as soon as possible.

Shortly after the end of the semester we calculate the grades using the grades shown in the EG Gradebook. If you have missing grades and have not identified them to your faculty member, they will be considered zero. We will not be able to investigate any claims of missing or erroneous grades after the semester is over.

For lab reports, some of the reports are individual reports, and others are team reports. For individual reports, you will prepare the entire report yourself, using the data your team collected. As individual efforts, you will receive individual grades. For team reports, the entire team shares in the preparation of the report, and all the members of the team receive the same grade.

All presentations are team efforts, and all members of the team will receive the same grade. Similarly, since the projects are team efforts, all members of the project team will receive the same grade.

Course Grade Breakdown

Figure 1. Course Grade Breakdown.

Item	Breakdown
Teaching Assistant Lab Reports (Technical Content)	20%
Writing Consultant Lab Reports (Written Expression)	20%
Lab Quizzes	5%
Recitation Presentations	15%
Semester-Long Design Project	30%
Lecture Attendance	10%
Total	100%

Note that there is neither a midterm nor a final exam for this course.

Lab Reports

All lab reports are due by 11:59:59PM the night before the next lab. This means that in most cases the lab report will be due about a week after you've performed the lab. However, if your lab does not meet the next week (e.g., because of a holiday), then your lab report would (most likely) be due the week after when the lab does meet again. This rule generally applies to unforeseen school cancellations such as snow days, emergencies, and evacuations as well; when events of this nature do occur, your faculty member and teaching assistants (TAs) will be in contact with you to provide event-specific information and instructions via email and the announcements page on the EG Website.

Teaching Assistant Lab Report Grade Breakdown

Figure 2. TA Lab Report Grade Breakdown.

Section	Breakdown
Abstract	5%
Introduction	20%
Experimental Procedure	30%
Data/Observations	30%
Discussion/Conclusion	15%
Total	100%

All lab reports are graded for technical content by the teaching assistants of the grading committee, under faculty supervision, on a basis of 100 points. At the end of the semester, all the TA lab report grades are averaged together, excluding extra credit lab reports. This is then weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1. The weights used for each lab report grade are broken down in Figure 2.

Writing Consultant Lab Report Grade Breakdown

All lab reports are graded for grammar and style by your writing consultant (WC) on a basis of 100 points. At the end of the semester, all the WC lab report grades are averaged together, excluding extra credit lab reports. This is then weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1.

Competition Lab Bonus

Figure 3. Competition Bonus.

Minimum Number of Teams	Place	Bonus
0	1st	+10
4	2nd	+5
8	3rd	+2

Some of the labs are competitions. To reward those teams who perform well, the point bonuses in Figure 3 will be added to the lab report grades for both the TA and WC for the appropriate teams.

If there is no report required for a competition lab, the bonuses will be divided by ten and applied to the presentation for that lab (i.e., the first place team will receive a presentation bonus of one point, etc.).

Lab Report Lateness Penalty

For lab reports that are late up to one week, a mandatory 20 point penalty will be applied. For lab reports more than one week but less than two weeks late, a mandatory 40 point penalty will be applied. For lab reports more than two weeks late, no credit will be given. Exceptions will be reviewed on a case by case basis, and can only be granted by your faculty member.

There is a final cutoff date for the submission of any and all work; it is 11:59:59PM the night before your final presentation. Any work received after the cutoff date will not be graded and will receive no credit, regardless of how late it actually is.

Lab Quizzes

At the start of each lab session there will be a brief quiz about the lab you will perform that day and lectures from a previous week. This ensures that you have read the lab ahead of time, and are prepared to perform the lab. This also ensures that you listened to previous lecture presentations. If you are not present for the quiz, you will receive a grade of zero. This ensures that you will be on time for the lab. Therefore, BE ON TIME FOR THE LAB! Quizzes are graded on a basis on 10 points. At the end of the semester, all the quiz grades are averaged together. This is then weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1.

Recitation Presentations

Your recitation TA will grade your presentation under faculty supervision on a basis of 10 points. If you are not present for the presentation, the rest of your team will give the presentation without you, putting an unfair burden on them. In addition, if you have not been excused by your faculty member ahead of time, you will receive a zero for the presentation. This is true even if you arrive for the recitation after the presentation has started, so BE ON TIME FOR THE RECITATION!. At the end of the semester, all the presentation grades are averaged together. This is then weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1.

Lab Presentations

Figure 4. Lab Presentation Grade Breakdown.

Component	Breakdown
Technical Content	60%
Demonstration of Understanding	15%
Proper Spelling and Word Choice	5%
Proper Slide Format	5%
Presentation Skills	15%
Total	100%

After you've performed a lab, you will usually be doing a presentation of it at a later recitation. Your presentation will be done (usually with a lab partner) as a group. The weights used for each lab presentation grade are broken down in Figure 4.

Milestone Presentations

Figure 5. Milestone Presentation Grade Breakdown.

Component	Breakdown
Project Objective and Background	25%
Technical Description	30%
Milestone Deliverables	40%
Project Assessment	10%
Total	105%

As the term progresses, you are required to present progress information at certain points during the project timeline called milestones. Refer to the syllabus for specific dates. There are deliverables due at each milestone. Refer to your project write-up for more information. The milestone presentations are graded on a basis of 10 points. The weights used for each milestone presentation grade are broken down in Figure 5.

Recitation Presentation Lateness

Your recitation presentation is due prior to the start of the recitation. Your recitation TA will communicate to you what specific time that is. The presentation must be submitted to eg.poly.edu, and a hardcopy of the presentation must be made by the time the recitation starts.

Because the presentation is done "live", NO LATE RECITATION PRESENTATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DEADLINE, AND YOUR TEAM WILL GET A ZERO FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

Semester-Long Design Project Grade Breakdown

Figure 6. SLDP Grade Breakdown.

Component	Breakdown
Final Presentation	50%
Project Completion & Delivery	50%
Total	100%

The semester-long design project (SLDP) grade is based on a weighted average of the final presentation, the completeness of the project, and the ability to deliver on deadlines. The final presentation grade is an overall assessment of the completeness of your project, as well your performance during the Final Presentation. The SLDP grade is weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1.

The SLDP design must pass Benchmark Assessment A by the end of Model Shop Session 1 (Lab 6).

• Extra credit is awarded to any team that completes their Benchmark Assessment A early. The form must be signed and dated at least seven days prior to the due date. One point (out of 50) of extra credit will be awarded to your Project Completion & Delivery grade.
• Failure to pass the assessment will result in a 10-point (out of 50) penalty to your Project Completion & Delivery grade.
• Lateness of up to one week will be tolerated in order to receive a reduced penalty of 4 points. Any attempts at the assessment more than seven days past the due date will be considered to have failed the assessment, regardless of the result.

The SLDP design must pass Benchmark Assessment B by the end of Model Shop Session 2 (Lab 9).

• Extra credit is awarded to any team that completes their Benchmark Assessment B early. The form must be signed and dated at least seven days prior to the due date. One point (out of 50) of extra credit will be awarded to your Project Completion & Delivery grade.
• Failure to pass the assessment will result in a 10-point (out of 50) penalty to your Project Completion & Delivery grade.
• Lateness of up to one week will be tolerated in order to receive a reduced penalty of 4 points. Any attempts at the assessment more than seven days past the due date will be considered to have failed the assessment, regardless of the result.

In order to complete the project, a Final Submission package must be delivered. Refer to the syllabus for specific due dates.

• Extra credit is awarded to any team that submits all project deliverables early. To be considered early, the design must be commissioned at least one week early and all project deliverables must arrive at EG at least one week prior to the SLDP submission due date. Refer to the syllabus for specific dates and times.
• Failure to submit project deliverables will result in a grade of zero for your SLDP grade.
• Lateness in submitting project deliverables will result in a 16 ²⁄₃-point (out of 50) penalty to your Project Completion & Delivery grade.

Semester Long Project Bonuses and Penalties

Figure 7. SLDP Bonuses and Penalties List.

Description	Label	Value
Early Submission of Project	EC1	+10
Supermarket Logistics System (SLS)
Completion of Project	EC2	+3
Railroad Train Guidance System (RTGS)
Completion of Project	EC3	+8
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)
Completion of Project with Hybrid Design	EC4	+15
Completion of Project with Skimmer Design	EC5	+10
Completion of Project with Rover Design	EC6	+5
Bomb Disarming Robot (BDR)
Completion of Project Using Black Tunnel Route	EC7	+3
Completion of Project Using Ramp Route	EC8	+6
Disruption of Triangulation System	EC9	+3
Retrieval of at Least One Triangulation Device	EC10	+6
Search & Recovery Robot (SRR)
Completion of Project	EC11	+5
Traversal of Spilled Fuel Area	EC12	+2
Activation and Traversal of Solar Panel	EC13	+2
Retrieval of Unity Module	EC14	+2
Retrieval of Quent Module	EC15	+3
Retrieval of Pirs Module	EC16	+4
Disaster Relief Robot (DRR)
Completion of Project	EC17	+8
Completion of All Six Tasks	EC18	+2
Activate Second Power Generator	EC19	+2
Retrieval of Additional Fuel Cells Total of Two Fuel Cells Total of Three Fuel Cells	EC20	+2 +4
Retrieval and Delivery System (RDS)
Completion of Project	EC21	+10
Extra Fuel Cells	EC22	up to +10
Security Infiltration Drone (SID)
Completion of Project	EC23	+10
Retrieve Data Canister(s)	EC24	up to +10
All Projects
Faculty Award	EC25	up to +10
Liquidated Damages	LD	-10 per business day, until grade is zero

Figure 7 shows the bonuses and penalties that will be added to or subtracted from the SLDP.

The project is due at the final presentation. The project is considered late after that time. There is a final cutoff date for the submission of any and all work related to the SLDP; it is at the end of the Open Lab session on the last day of undergraduate classes of the semester. This means that at the cutoff date or 10 days after the final presentation (whichever comes first) an incomplete project will receive a grade of zero.

For example, if you do an early submission of a BDR that uses the ramp route and the project is scored as an 80, your SLDP grade will be 80 (the base) + 10 (early submission) + 6 (ramp route), for a total grade of 96.

If you turn in your project early to get early submission credit, you must do your project presentation using the CD you submitted, with no additional material. If you change your presentation from what's on the CD, you will not receive the early submission bonus.

NEW (Spring 2013) RDS Extra Credit

For every fuel cell collected after achieving the 175-hour goal, your team will receive +2 on your SLDP grade. For example, if your team delivers two 30-hour fuel cells to Billy's Hospital, you would have accumulated 180 ( 2 × 30 × 3 ) hours. Each additional fuel cell collected will earn your team +2 on your SLDP grade.

Lecture Attendance

Attendance will be taken at the lectures each week. As you enter the Auditorium, your student ID card will be scanned to confirm your attendance. Be sure to have it with you, and have it ready as you approach the door.

At the end of the semester, the percentage of times you were recorded as present will be used in calculating your final grade, as shown in Figure 1.

Reporting Incorrect Grades

On the EG Website, you'll be able to select the course gradebook, where you can see all of your grades. We advise you to check it frequently. If there are missing grades for work that you submitted, bring it to your faculty member's attention. As you can tell from the preceding material, you will be receiving many grades from this course, and with hundreds of students taking the course it is possible that some work will be lost. If this happens, we will resolve it quickly. However, it is your responsibility to notify us when this occurs. Any missing work will be treated as a zero grade, so it is in your interest to make sure that this doesn't happen.

Grade Appeals

When you receive your graded work, you may feel that you have been graded unfairly. For example, points may have been deducted because of a missing component that was actually there. If, after consideration, you believe there was an error made in grading any of your work, you should bring it to the attention of the supervising faculty member for your section. The faculty member will want your original graded work plus any grade sheets that were attached to it by the staff. They will then review it using the EG1003 grading guidelines used for all sections and make any required adjustments. The last opportunity to request a grade appeal or to point out missing grades on the course gradebook is during your last recitation (the recitation in which you give your final presentation).

Grading Cutoff

Any work submitted after 11:59:59PM the night of the last day of undergraduate classes for the semester will not be graded.