RLS 111/0200 (FCCE)--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--Syllabus (Fall 2011)

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You can quickly reach the following syllabus segments through clicking the appropriate links: Attendance Rules -- Disability Accommodations -- Exams -- Grading -- Make-up Exams -- Missing of Quizzes -- Quizzes (General). 

Instructor: Fritz Wenisch. Meeting place: URI Providence Center, Shepard Building, 80 Washington Street. Meeting time: Wednesdays 9-11:45 A.M. Office: Kingston Campus, Chafee 179. Phone: 874-2226 (office); 783 0373 (home—I do not mind being called at home, and it is easier to reach me there than in my Kingston Campus office). E-mail address: fwenisch@mail.uri.edu. Office hours: Every class day during the break, or before or after class. If these times are not convenient for you, speak to me before or after class in the classroom (or call me), and we will agree on a mutually acceptable time. For those of you who "hang around" the Kingston campus, my regular office hours there are Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00-12:00, Wednesdays 2-2:50, and by appointment.

Web page: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/phl/wenisch/homepage.htm

Exam dates: Midterm exam: October 26; final exam: December 14. There will also be quizzes at the beginning of most class meetings

1.    Text--Other course materials—Internet access required: The text for the course is, Fritz Wenisch: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--Differences, Commonalities, and Community. If you still need to order it, click "ordering information." Study questions and other information will be posted on the course web page; consequently, internet access is required. The main page of the course web site also contains links to on-line versions of the Bible and of the Koran.

[Note: See also the "Attendance Rules" web page, accessible through the "RLS 111/0200 Main Page."]

Attendance requirement: This is not a correspondence course. Class attendance from the beginning to the end of each class meeting is a course requirement which will strictly be enforced. You will be penalized not only for missing, without justification, an entire class, but also a part of a class. Here are the attendance rules:

Definition of "class segment"—penalties for missing a class segment: Each class meeting is divided into two class segments, one from the beginning of the class to the beginning of the break, the second from the end of the break to the end of class. For each class segment missed and not excused according to the provisions specified below, there will be a two-point deduction from your class average, a score of "zero" for a quiz you may miss, or both. (Being absent for an entire class meeting means, therefore, a four-point deduction, and possibly, a score of "zero" for a quiz as well.) Also, coming late or leaving early are defined as absences.

No passing grade for missing more than eight class segments: Further, you will not receive a passing grade if you miss more than eight class segments (that is, more than four class meetings, or the equivalent). Missing nine or more class segments means an automatic failure for the course, unless you have a medical or another legitimate excuse for most of your absences (verifiable documentation will be required). If you do have a medical or another legitimate excuse for most of your absences, you will receive an Incomplete, provided that the other requirements the University sets for incomplete grades are met.¹

Conditions for waiving of penalties: If your absence (or tardiness or leaving early) has a legitimate reason, such as illness, the penalty will be waived, provided you present documentation justifying your absence, and you demonstrate to my satisfaction that you studied the material covered during the class segment(s) you missed. To demonstrate this, you must: (1) carefully read and study the textbook segments covering the material you missed (see "Tidbits and Progress Page," accessible from the course site's main page, for the page numbers on which that material can be found); (2) write answers to the study questions dealing with that material; (3) fill in the Absence Make-up Work Cover Sheet (a copy was handed out during the first class; it also can be downloaded from the course web site); (4) staple a copy of the document verifying the reason for your absence as well as your make-up work to that sheet; (5) hand the packet to me at the beginning of the class immediately following your absence(s). (For an absence during the final class meetings, the deadline is at the beginning of your final exam for this course.)

Timely return from the break required: During each class, there will be a ten-minute break. The beginning time of the break will vary; however, each time, I will begin teaching ten minutes after the start of the break. You are required to return to the classroom on time, or you will be marked "absent" for the second class segment that day.

It is your responsibility to know these rules, and to adhere to them. I will not remind you of them. (My lawyer Larry Lockcase from Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe urged me to add that this applies also to the other provisions of the syllabus.)

3.    Quizzes: Starting with the second class meeting, there will be a short quiz at the beginning of each class, except for the class of the midterm and the class of the final. The first ten minutes of each class will be reserved for these quizzes. Each quiz will cover the material discussed during the immediately preceding class meeting, unless announced otherwise in advance. I reserve the right not to give a quiz on a particular day.

Quizzes cannot be made up. If you miss a quiz, it will be recorded as a zero, unless you have a legitimate excuse, present it to me in writing (with documentation if indicated) at the first class meeting for which you are present following your absence or tardiness, and comply with the other applicable requirements for being excused from having been absent or late for the class segment during which the quiz took place. (This includes handing me the written answers to the study questions about the material you missed.) Late excuses will not be accepted. No exceptions will be made. If there is a legitimate excuse and if it is presented in accordance with the rules spelled out here, the quiz missed will not be used for calculating your quiz score; your cumulative quiz score will be based on the remaining quizzes only.

Missing a class for a legitimate reason does not excuse you from a quiz that may take place during the class at which you return. Rather, you are expected to read the textbook segment on the material you missed (page numbers will be provided on the "Tidbits and Progress Page" following the class you missed), and studying the material.

4.    Exams: There will be two exams, a midterm and a final. (For dates, click the "dates" link.) The midterm exam will cover the class material from day one on; the final will be limited to the material covered after the midterm, unless announced otherwise.

If you miss an exam for a legitimate reason (such as illness), arrangements for a make-up exam may be made. You must contact me and make arrangements for a make-up exam prior to the time at which the regular exam is scheduled, unless contacting me is absolutely impossible (because you have been kidnapped by aliens, for example¹). You need, of course not actually take the exam in advance. Make-up exams will not be given during class time. Also, they will be given only on the Kingston campus. Doing poorly on an exam is not an acceptable reason for a make-up. No exceptions to these rules will be made.

5.    Important note on the class of the midterm exam: The midterm exam will take place on the date specified above from 9-10:15 A.M. There will be teaching after the midterm exam (as well as a quiz during the subsequent class meeting). I will begin teaching at 10:15 A.M.

6.    Coming late for exams and/or quizzes: Coming late for an exam or a quiz does not automatically disqualify you; but you will not be given extra time. Your exam or quiz will be collected at the end of the exam or quiz period. However, if you come after the first student who has seen an exam or a quiz has left the classroom, you will be disqualified. Further, you will be disqualified from a quiz if you come four or more minutes after the quiz blanks have been handed out. No exceptions will be made.

7.    "After-the-fact" excuses for quizzes and exams: If you think that you are not sufficiently prepared for a quiz or an exam, and that you deserve special consideration because of an illness or the like, you must speak to me ahead of time. "After-the-fact" excuses will not be accepted; that is, if you attempt a quiz or an exam, you are "stuck" with the result. No exceptions will be made.

8.    Disabilities: If you intend to ask for special accommodations because of a disability, you must adhere to the deadlines and other provisions established by URI's Disability Services. Further, I am urging you to call a need for accommodations to my attention by the end of the second class meeting you attend, and to see to it that a mutually acceptable accommodation plan can be agreed upon by that time. If there is a problem with getting a written accommodation request from URI's Disability Services within that time frame, you are still strongly encouraged to see me within my deadline; we may be able to work out a satisfactory agreement even prior to receipt of the official request. For exams and quizzes, generally, no retroactive accommodations will be made; in particular, the lack of a timely official accommodation request from Disability Services will not be considered as a justification for a retroactive accommodation.

9.    Grading:

Criteria: The chief criterion for evaluating your work is the degree of your knowledge and understanding of the material presented in class. A secondary criterion is evidence that you have worked continuously during the semester, as measured by how you score on the quizzes. When grading your answers, I will look for correctness, clarity, and completeness.

I consider having no unexcused absences as complying with a minimum expectation; consequently, a clean attendance record by itself will not improve your score. Such a record will, however, motivate me to decide in your favor whenever the rules allow me to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Weighting of assignments: The cumulative quiz score will count for 20% of the final score; the midterm exam and the final exam will count for 40% each. If there are absences for which the penalties have not been waived, two points will be deducted for each class segment you will have missed. (Remember: No passing grade if you miss nine or more class segments.) In the case of students with no unexcused absences, the lowest quiz will be dropped.

Numerical values: The following numerical values will be used to determine letter grades:

10.    Please note: Important oral or written announcements, including announcements modifying the terms of this syllabus, may from time to time be made in class during the semester. If you miss class (or are late for class or "daydream" during my announcements), it is your responsibility to inquire whether such announcements have been made.

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