Skip to content

Assessments

The course will have the following point distribution.

Note

Quizzes are designed to ensure you have a strong conceptual understanding of the material needed for the projects. To pass the course with a C or higher, your quiz average must be at least 73%. If your quiz average is below 73%, your overall course grade will be capped at a C–, regardless of your project grades.

Examples:

  1. Case 1: Strong Quiz Average
    • Quiz Average: 80%
    • Project Average: 90%
    • Final Grade: 87.2% (B+)
  2. Case 2: Barely Passing Quizzes
    • Quiz Average: 73%
    • Project Average: 85%
    • Final Grade: 81.6% (B–)
  3. Case 3: Low Quiz Average
    • Quiz Average: 65%
    • Project Average: 95%
    • Final Grade: 68.4% (D+)

This policy emphasizes the importance of mastering the concepts in quizzes to succeed in the course.

Late submissions

I am mindful of the diverse nature of deadlines, particularly in the scientific realm. It is noteworthy that the scientific community frequently submits manuscripts and reviews days, weeks, or months after the editor's request. Such practices are widely understood. Conversely, submitting a grant application even a minute past the deadline makes it ineligible for review.

I will use the following late assignment and extension policy. It encourages timely submissions while acknowledging the influence of external commitments and unforeseen circumstances.

  • Each assignment has a specified due date and time.
  • Assignments submitted after the due date will incur a late penalty.

  • The late penalty is calculated using the function: % Penalty = 0.01 (2.083 × hours late)2 rounded to the nearest tenth. This results in approximately:

    Hours late Penalty
    6 1.6%
    12 6.2%
    24 25.0%
    36 56.2%
    48 100.0%

  • Assignments will not be accepted more than 48 hours (2 days) after the due date.

  • The penalty is applied to the assignment's total possible points. For example, if an assignment is worth 100 points and is submitted 36 hours late, the penalty would be approximately 56.2 points.

No exceptions to this policy will be made.

Submitting all assignments on time can earn you up to a 2% bonus added directly to your final grade. For each assignment you submit on time, you will receive a proportional percentage of this bonus. For example, if you submit 7 out of 8 assignments on time, you would receive a 1.75% boost to your final grade. Meaning if your final grade is 89.0% (B+), this bonus will bump your final grade to 90.75% (A–).

Given that this bonus is automatically available to everyone, I will not provide an additional bump to your final grade.

Quiz makeups

Attendance and participation in all scheduled quizzes are essential for your success in this course. However, we understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise. The following policy will apply to balance flexibility with maintaining academic standards.

No makeup quizzes will be offered due to time constraints and the difficulty of creating equivalent assessments. Instead, flexibility will be built into the grading system.

  • Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped automatically.
  • The cumulative final exam will replace all quiz grades lower than your final score.

Examples:

  1. Case 1: Missed a Quiz

    • Quiz grades: 85%, 90%, 95%, 80%
    • Final exam: 0%
    • Dropped grade: 0%
    • Total quiz grade: (85 + 90 + 95 + 80)/4 = 87.5%
    • Outcome: Skipping the final does not negatively affect your average.

  2. Case 2: Took the Final Exam and Scored Higher

    • Quiz Grades: 70%, 75%, 65%, 80%
    • Final exam: 78%
    • Adjusted quiz grades: 78%, 78%, 78%, 80%
    • Dropped Grade: 78%
    • Total quiz grade: (78 + 78 + 78 + 80)/4 = 78.5%
    • Outcome: The final exam improved your overall quiz average.

  3. Case 3: All Quiz Grades Above the Final Exam

    • Quiz grades: 88%, 90%, 85%, 92%
    • Final exam: 80%
    • Adjusted quiz grades: No replacement, as all quiz grades exceed the final exam.
    • Dropped grade: 80%
    • Total quiz grade: (88 + 90 + 85 + 92)/4 = 88.8%
    • Outcome: The final exam does not lower your average if your quiz grades are already strong.

Scale

Letter grades for this course will be assigned based on Pitt's recommended scale (shown below).

Letter grade Percentage GPA
A + 97.0 - 100.0% 4.00
A 93.0 - 96.9% 4.00
A – 90.0 - 92.9% 3.75
B + 87.0 - 89.9% 3.25
B 83.0 - 86.9% 3.00
B – 80.0 - 82.9% 2.75
C + 77.0 - 79.9% 2.25
C 73.0 - 76.9% 2.20
C – 70.0 - 72.9% 1.75
D + 67.0 - 69.9% 1.25
D 63.0 - 66.9% 1.00
D – 60.0 - 62.9% 0.75
F 0.0 - 59.9% 0.00