I assess participation and professionalism at multiple points during the semester, adjusting the grades in this performance area up or down to reflect how you have done up to that point in the term as a whole. Your final course grade in this area will reflect which of the following descriptions best describes your class engagement and professionalism as a whole:
"A" students attend all of the classes they can
(i.e., all seminars except those missed for illness,
university-sanctioned activities, or similarly unavoidable
and justifiable absences they explain to their
instructors). They ask questions, listen carefully to the
insights of other students, and actively participate in
many meetings. It is evident from their body language and
responsiveness that these students are consistently and
fully engaged in class, trying to get as much out of the
face-to-face setting as they can. Their comments and
questions reflect the fact that they are completing most
reading assignments as they are assigned. On tests and
papers, it is clear that A students are putting their best
effort into the course and doing the assigned
homework.
"B" students attend all of the classes they can,
and they closely follow what is going on in seminar
discussions. At a minimum, they are consistently active
listeners, whose body language and note taking indicate
full engagement in the details of the class almost all of
the time. Unlike "A" students, "B" students rarely
contribute to the discussion in seminars or only make
general comments, indicating that they are not prepared to
discuss in any detail the reading materials assigned for
the day. While it is sometimes difficult to tell how well
B students are reading in advance, they fully participate
in all class exercises and are well prepared when I have
indicated in advance that a particular seminar meeting
will require them to carefully review specific materials.
On tests and papers, it is clear that B students are
putting effort into getting the most they can out of the
course and making an effort to do most, if not all, of the
assigned homework.
"C" students typically miss several classes for no
apparent cause, rarely if ever participate in class
discussions unless directly prompted to do so, and show no
evidence of having prepared in advance for seminars. It
frequently appears that C students would rather be
somewhere else and are attending class meetings solely to
meet the attendance requirements or passively absorb some
of the information that they will need to do well on
tests. C students always are respectful toward other
students and the instructor, but through their body
language, limited or no note-taking, and lack of
interaction with other students, they show little evidence
of being fully engaged in the class on a day-to-day basis.
Despite their modest engagement, these students carefully
adhere to the maximum-absence policies, do their best to
arrive and leave on time, turn in work when they are
supposed to; and provide reasonable, credible, timely
explanations when they are not able to meet assignment
deadlines. On tests and papers, it is difficult to tell if
C students are reviewing assigned homework or putting
consistent effort into getting the most they can out of
the course.
"D" and "F" students demonstrate in multiple
ways and on an ongoing basis that they are not
intellectually engaged in the class, and they repeatedly
act in ways that are obviously unacceptable in a
professional work environment. They do things like zone
off for large stretches of class time on a regular basis,
use their phones or computers in class (in the absence of
pre-approved accommodations), wander in late often, or
leave the classroom for long periods of time for no
apparent reason. For D students, these behaviors continue
after they have been flagged by the instructor with
comments, earlier professionalism grades, or Starfish
flags. Meeting the basic requirements of a professional
working environment includes showing up and doing your
work when you are supposed to. It is unprofessional to
accumulate more than the maximum number of permissible
absences in a course or repeatedly turn in assignments
late for no apparent reason and without reaching out to
explain why work is missing.