Concurrent Enrollment
Grade Policies

The students' official grades are kept on USU's Canvas. We have been instructed to do so by the Utah State Board of Higher Education.

If there is any discrepancy, the USU grade is the correct grade.

I copy the grades over to Box Elder's system as often as I practically can. I simply copy the final grade from USU. You can see the last date when I did so; I change the assignment date to the date I copied the grades last.

You can see details of the student's grade at any time. They can show them to you or I am happy to share them with you. If you want detail from me, just ask via email.

At the university level, students are expected to submit assignments on time. When students submit their work late, they do not understand the subsequent concepts as well (they are not building on existing knowledge as well as they could be).

Late assignments are penalized 4% of the potential grade per day late.

Therefore, an assignment that is only one day late receives a very mild penalty. Students may choose to submit an assignment or two a little late to support their mental or physical health. I fully support this; that's why the penalty is very small at the outset.

On the other hand, I have learned that it is not a kindness to allow students to turn in all assignments at the last minute without penalty. Students do poor work on rush jobs. They are more likely to engage in academic dishonesty. And, most importantly, the stress of attempting to turn in multiple assignments at the last possible date hurts their mental health. I've found that it's far nicer to have higher expectations.

Exceptions to the late penalty are NOT made for vacations. Reasonable accommodation (one extra day) is made for illness or school excused absences (students can put the reason in the submission comment box on Canvas).

Test retake policies are decided by the department. They are therefore different in each course.

POLS 1100 US Government does not allow test retakes under any circumstances.

HIST 1700 allows one retake within a two week window. That two week cutoff is very strict; no student can take the test after two weeks has passed under any circumstances. I tell the kids not to wait until the last minute as it seems they invariably get sick on the last day.

USU 1320 Civilization: Humanities does not have any tests.

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Some policies:

• Tests must be taken with me before or after school in ALL circumstances.

• Students may not take tests during other class periods or at lunch. I am happy to arrive exceptionally early and I stay late every day except Friday (I have meetings on Friday).

• Students may not use any outside materials during tests that are not explicitly authorized. I recommend checking the "cheating" section for details.

• Because tests pull from a random bank of questions, tests must be completed in a single sitting.

• To ensure test integrity, students cannot access test questions outside of a testing session. Any access to these questions is an especially egregious example of cheating.

The university is understandably more strict than the high school. The university leaves the punishment for academic integrity violations up to the instructor (high school administrators cannot override these penalties). These are the mostly likely outcomes of academic integrity violations:

• On an assignment: A zero on the assignment that cannot be made up.

• On a major project or a test: An F in the course.

• In all circumstances, I am required to report academic dishonesty to the university. The report goes to the department head, the associate dean of the college, and those who oversee concurrent enrollment. The university can choose to add sanctions in addition to those I listed above.

At the beginning of the course, students complete an assignment that makes them intimately aware of USU's academic integrity requirements. "I didn't know" is never an excuse.

Parents sometimes adopt a "kids will be kids" attitude towards academic dishonesty. I do not share this feeling; nor do the professors who oversee the course.
Academic honesty is immensely important at the college level and will be treated accordingly.

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Here is USU's Standard on Academic Integrity from their Code of Conduct (I've highlighted sections parents sometimes ask questions about):

Students have a responsibility to promote academic integrity at the University by not participating in or facilitating others' participation in any act of academic dishonesty and by reporting all violations or suspected violations of the Academic Integrity Standard to their instructors.

The Honor Pledge — To enhance the learning environment at Utah State University and to develop student academic integrity, each student agrees to the following Honor Pledge:

1. 1. 1. Cheating: (1) using or attempting to use or providing others with any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, examinations, or in any other academic exercise or activity, including working in a group when the instructor has designated that the quiz, test, examination, or any other academic exercise or activity be done “individually”; (2) depending on the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor [note that this includes unauthorized use of an AI] in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; (3) substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for oneself, in taking an examination or preparing academic work; (4) acquiring tests or other academic material belonging to a faculty member, staff member, or another student without express permission; (5) continuing to write after time has been called on a quiz, test, examination, or any other academic exercise or activity; (6) submitting substantially the same work for credit in more than one class, except with prior approval of the instructor; or (7) engaging in any form of research fraud.

      2. Falsification: altering or fabricating any information or citation in an academic exercise or activity.

      3. Plagiarism: representing, by paraphrase or direct quotation, the published or unpublished work of another person as one's own in any academic exercise or activity without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes using materials prepared by another person or by an agency engaged in the sale of term papers or other academic materials.