Grade scale

Your overall course grade will be converted from a percent grade to a letter at the end of the semester according to the following grade scale:

Grading scheme

Your overall course grade will come from the following components

  • 50% HOT topics
  • 10% WeBWorK
  • 10% Participation
  • 10% Term test #1
  • 10 % Term test #2
  • 10 % Final exam

HOT topics (50%)

Most of your grade will come from short weekly assessments called HOT topics. Your HOT topic grade will be the number of H grades you earn out of 10. Read the details carefully here.

WeBWorK (10%)

WeBWorK is an online homework platform. Login information will be emailed to students.

  • A student who correctly completes half of the WeBWorK questions throughout the semester will receive full credit for their WeBWorK grade (lower WeBWorK grades will be scaled accordingly).
  • You will have homework sets due every Monday night at 11:59pm. For any questions you do not answer correctly by then, you can earn 50% credit by submitting correct answers by Tuesday at 11:59pm.

Participation (10%)

Staying engaged in your online class is critical for success. Each time you engage in one of the following activities, you will earn one participation point. Your participation grade will be the number of points you earn out of 20.

  • Participating in OpenLab discussions
    • You will be given prompts to post on the OpenLab throughout the semester, but this is your website, so you may submit a post whenever you want! You will get credit for posts that are relevant to course content.
  • Submitting a question on the WeBWorK Ask for Help forum
    • Don’t forget that you can always click on the “Ask for Help” in WeBWorK; you’ll be able to see what other questions have been asked about the problem you’re working on…your question may have already been asked and answered!
  • Attending virtual or in person tutoring at the Atrium Learning Center
    • Other virtual tutoring is available; if you attend tutoring that can provide digital verification slips, they may be submitted to your instructor for participation credit.
  • Attending office hours
  • Sharing work on the board during class sessions.
  • Other options for earning participation credit may be available later in the semester.

Term tests (10% each)

You will take two term tests during the semester. More details will be announced as the dates approach. No make-up tests will be given; any student who has an excused absence from a test will have each of the other tests count for more toward their final grade. For an absence to be excused, the student must seek approval from the The Center for Student Accessibility (the instructor cannot excuse an absence). If a student has more than one excused absence from a test, arrangements with their instructor must be made ASAP.

  • Test #1 on lessons 1-10, taken during week 7 (week of October 10)
  • Test #2 on lessons 11-20, taken during week 14 (week of November 28)

Final exam (10%)

The final exam is cumulative. More details will be announced as the date approaches.

  • Final exam on lessons 1-25, in class on Tuesday, December 20