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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| Component | Labs 2-3 | Labs 4+ |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Content | 60% | 60% |
| Demonstration of Understanding | 10% | 20% |
| Proper Spelling and Word Choice | 5% | 5% |
| Proper Slide Format | 5% | 5% |
| Presentation Skills | 20% | 10% |
| Total | 100% | 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. Your recitation TA will grade your presentation under faculty supervision on a basis on 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. The weights used for each presentation grade are broken down in Figure 4.
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
| Presentation | Breakdown |
|---|---|
| Milestone 1 | 10% |
| Milestone 2 | 15% |
| Milestone 3 | 15% |
| Final Presentation | 60% |
| Benchmark Assessment A | Required |
| Benchmark Assessment B | Required |
| Commissioning Statement | Required |
| Total | 100% |
The semester-long design project (SLDP) grade is based on a weighted average of the milestone presentations and the final presentation. The milestone presentations are graded on a basis of 10 points. The final presentation grade is an overall assessment of the completeness of your project, as well your performance during the Final Presentation. Each of the SLDP presentations are weighted according to the table in Figure 5. The SLDP grade is then weighted according to the Course Grade Breakdown table shown in Figure 1.
The lateness policy for Milestone presentations is the same as for other recitation presentations.
Items shown as Required do not have weight in calculating the SLDP grade, but must be successfully completed to receive a grade. The project will be considered incomplete until these items are submitted.
For Milestone 2, you must submit your signed Benchmark Assessment A form at recitation.
- 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 date of your Milestone 2 presentation. One point of extra credit will be awarded to your Milestone 2 presentation, for a maximum Milestone 2 presentation grade of 11 out of 10.
- Failure to submit the form at recitation will effect a penalty to your Milestone 2 presentation. The maximum penalty that can be applied is 4 points, and Benchmark Assessment A must be completed in order to complete the project.
For Milestone 3, you must submit your signed Benchmark Assessment B form at recitation.
- 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 date of your Milestone 3 presentation. One point of extra credit will be awarded to your Milestone 3 presentation, for a maximum Milestone 3 presentation grade of 11 out of 10.
- Failure to submit the form at recitation will effect a penalty to your Milestone 3 presentation. The maximum penalty that can be applied is 6 points, and Benchmark Assessment B must be completed in order to complete the project.
Semester Long Project Bonuses and Penalties
| 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
|
EC20 | +2 +4 |
| Retrieval and Delivery System (RDS) | ||
| Completion of Project | EC21 | +10 |
| All Projects | ||
| Faculty Award | EC22 | up to +10 |
| Liquidated Damages | LD | -10 per business day, until grade is zero |
Figure 6 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 the at the end of the Open Lab session on the last reading day 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 X 30 X 3 ) hours. Each additional fuel cell collected will earn your team +2 on your SLDP grade.
For this semester, this new extra credit will be recorded as EC22.
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).
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