Weather Update for Exam I in General Chemistry I Lecture Spring 2014
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Labs for the rest of this week has been canceled. We will do the labs scheduled for this week next week. I am trying to convince Mr. Ragsdale and Dr. Williams to let me do the last lab "Molecular Structures" lab in the lecture as a handout instead of the week of 4/8/14 Tuesday to 4/11/14 Friday. I am certain that the other lab professors (Ms. Herbert and Ms. Melton) will be giving a lab final exam the last week of lab classes. So if they give a lab final exam, that will have to be the week of 4/15 Tuesday to 4/18 Friday if we just simply move up all the labs by one week.
(4/18 Good Friday, 4/20 Easter, 4/21 Monday last day classes, 4/22 Tuesday Reading Day, 4/23 Wednesday final exams start, our lecture final exam 4/24 Thursday)
Definitive Exam I Date - Exam I in the lecture (originally scheduled for 1/28 Tuesday) will be given on 2/4 Tuesday covering the same material. I already made up Exam I before the snow days. We will move Quiz III to 2/11 Tuesday. (This is the same as the tentative rescheduled exam dates.) If you miss Exam I, if you have documentation, then I will replace Exam I by either an averaged grade (missing EI / your average all exams = class average EI / class average all exams) or the Final Exam grade whichever is higher. Weather will not be an acceptable excuse for missing the 2/4 class. (Please note that I had the class sign at the beginning of the semester stating that I may email updates about the class to your FMU email by your FMU email. )
If you do not have documentation, I will replace a missing Exam I by your Final Exam grade. (keep in mind that I will replace only one missed exam with the final exam grade - if you miss more than one exam this semester, with no documentation, you will earn a zero on the second {I left out the word second when I was emailing this to your blackboard and "Mastering" emails earlier today} missed exam.) This is just the missed Exam policy stated in the syllabus exactly as stated in the syllabus. You need to come with a calculator, a pen or pencil and any ID. You will have to have all of your bookbags and giant purses in the front of the room exactly as previously discussed. I will not allow you to use a cell phone as a calculator. If I run out of calculators for you to borrow (I have about 5 or 6 calculators. $5 to $10 at discount stores), you will just have to set up your problems and leave them for the SA & LA. (MC you will have to hand do your calculation.)
####### Note: There are no make up exams given at a later time. I post the exam answer key as soon as the class is finished taking the exam. I do not give the same exam that I gave the rest of the class at a later time. I do not give a make up exam at a later time. There is no "back door" to this policy. I do not tell the entire class that there is no make up exam and then give a make up exam to a select few students.
It takes me about 2 to 3 solid days to make up an exam. I will not give the same exam at a later time because with 150 students taking the exam, it would be almost impossible to keep the exam content secure even if everyone in class tried their best to not tell anyone else what was on the exam. I do not give the same exam at an earlier time because that would be unfair because there would be selective leakage of exam material to some segment of the class but not to the entire class. If I made up make up exams for every exam and every quiz, I would be non stop making up makeup exams and quizzes all the time. I already give 3 exams and a final exam and 7 quizzes which comes out to about a quiz or exam almost every week.
From my syllabus: "......... Examples of valid excuses include: medical grounds, death in the immediate family and documented weather related transportation problems and university business. You must have hardcopy documentation such as a doctor’s signed note on letterhead, newspaper article for funeral or a letter from a professor stating that you worked on behalf of the university on the given date. Examples of working on behalf of the university could be that you were a part of an official university sports team or that you represented the University at a conference. Examples that are not valid excuses include: personal problems, going away for the weekend, intramural sports, etc. (In general acceptable excuses for absences for missed exams will be much more rigorous than acceptable excuses for absences with no missed work.) ...." NOTE: I already stated that weather is not an acceptable excuse for missing the 2/4 exam. ####
Now that you have all this extra time to study for Exam I, I am sure that you will all do very well on Exam I. See you Tuesday 2/4. I will be around of course in my office LSF 303H 9 am to 4 or 5 pm every business day until 2/4 so if you need to ask me something, I am here. (no I am not trying to earn extra money by tutoring - I am just trying to be helpful and to reassure you that everything is OK.)
posted by Dr. Hahn 1/30/14 at 10:40 am from her FMU office (section blocked off with the ### updated 1/31/14 at 3:10 am from her Florence apartment. I think I woke up because I heard someone walking around and either going into or out of an adjacent apartment.)
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Because FMU is opening at 12:30 in the afternoon, our lecture classes are canceled this morning. We will probably have our Exam I on Tuesday 2/4/14. (I will email more details and updates later.)
The labs this week on Thursday and Friday are not certain. If we do labs this week and since there is a CHEM 102 lab on Monday of the week, they would have to set up for the CHEM 101 lab for Thursday and Friday, get rid of it on Monday and then reset up again on Tuesday and Wednesday if the labs go on this week on Thursday and Friday.
Since I do not set up the labs and Mr. Ragsdale has helpers who set up the labs on specific days, I cannot say with certainty if we will go on with labs on this Thursday and Friday as scheduled. I requested that we not do labs Thursday and Friday and that all the labs get moved up one week. I also asked that the last lab, the "Molecular Structures" labs be completed as a handout in the lecture so that you are not doing the lab final exam the week before reading day and final exams start.
potential schedule [if they do not let me do the "Molecular Structures" lab in the lecture]
[lab final exams given during the week of 4/15 Tuesday to 4/18 Friday (Good Friday)] Easter Sunday 4/20/14 last day classes 4/21 Monday, reading day 4/22 Tuesday, final exams start on 4/23 Wednesday
If anyone is worried about driving in this weather today, just plan on coming in to do the lab next week (as a makeup lab) when the labs should be re - set up with the "Series of Chemical Changes lab" for Tuesday and Wednesday in one of my lab sections (if you are in my Thursday lab section).
I will email a definitive answer as soon as Mr. Ragsdale and Dr. Williams (the Chemistry chairman) have decided on how they want to do it. This may involve Mr. Ragsdale getting a hold of the students who do the lab setup and maybe more money to pay students who set up the labs.
posted by Dr. Hahn 7:40 am 1/30/14
Dr. Williams said that he and Mr. Ragsdale would be deciding about the labs this morning so I trekked to my office this morning and am now sitting in my office but no one else is here. Palmetto Street looked like no snow had fallen at all except for a few patches of snow/ice on very short stretches of road. They did a really good job on clearing away the snow. I am pretty confident about snow driving from my prior snow driving experience. I guess he meant that they are email meeting this morning about the lab schedule. posted by Dr. Hahn 9:20 am 1/30/14 from her FMU office
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The university will be closed on 1/28 Tuesday and 1/29 Wednesday. This notice is based on an official announcement sent to all faculty and staff. Thursday's schedule will be decided by the university on Wednesday afternoon.
The date for Exam I will probably be scheduled for Tuesday 2/4. Any updates will be sent to your blackboard email address and also will be posted at my website at http://JulietHahn.com
posted by Dr. Hahn at 6:10 pm from her Florence apartment
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If the FMU closing is only in the afternoon of 1/28/14, then Exam I will probably go on as scheduled. I am going to make up and print the exam so that I will be ready to give Exam I at the sceduled time in any case. posted by Dr. Hahn on 1/27/14 at noon from her FMU office
If there is a closing of Francis Marion because of the weather (snow/freezing rain/sleet) on 1/28/14 Tuesday (the day scheduled for Exam I in the General Chemistry I Lecture), I will post the updated schedule on:
(1) this blackboard website
(2) my website at http://JulietHahn.com
(3) your email associated with blackboard
If you get this announcement, please let other students in class know where I will post the update.
If FMU closes tomorrow, I will probably reschedule Exam I to 2/4/14 Tuesday covering the same material. (We will then have to move Quiz III from 2/6 Thursday to 2/11 Tuesday.)
I do not want to reschedule the Exam to Thursday and end up with some students coming to class not sure whether we will be having an exam or not. If FMU does not cancel classes, it is possible that we may go ahead with the sceduled exam. (Of course I don't want anyone to get into an accident on the way to take the exam so if you provide me with a internet weather report for where you live that states that there was freezing rain/snow, I will consider that an excused absence and I guarantee that it will not hurt your grade for the semester.)
If you get this message and want to say something about when you want the reschedule exam (if it is necessary), email me back and I may take your suggestions into consideration in making the final decision if necessary.
posted by Dr. Juliet Hahn at 8:50 am 1/27/14 from her FMU office