Communicating

Feel free to contact me through any of these methods:

AIM: jboggs22
Email: jboggs@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-244-1139 (cell); 703-596-0342 (office).
Twitter: clioweb

Please note that I will not discuss grades by phone, email, or instant messenger. If you’d like to discuss your grade, please make an appointment to talk with me in person. All class announcements and any individual correspondence will go to your GMU email account, per university regulations.

Students with Disabilities and Illnesses

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at (703) 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Similarly, if during the semester you contract an illness, or are injured in some way that prevents you from completing assignments regularly and on-time, you will also need to contact the DRC.

Late Assignments

In a class where collaboration and peer feedback are frequent, punctuality is absolutely necessary. Assignments not ready for presentation cannot benefit from class feedback; late blog posts result in fewer comments and less exchange among participants. Therefore, assignments are due on the date indicated on the syllabus; blog posts are due at noon the day before the due date in order to give class members a chance to comment. Late assignments and blog posts will be accepted up to a week after the due date; One letter grade, however, be deducted. After the grace period, late submissions will receive an “F” except in cases of documented and university sanctioned reasons.

A Word of Warning: I will not accept technology-related excuses for late or incomplete assignments. Computers, like many other things built by human beings, are imperfect. A computer or other technology-related problem can (and probably will) occur, so you should take steps to minimize these problems. Back up your work obsessively. Complete your assignments as early as possible. If your computer shorts out, your hard drive crashes, or the Internet goes down, make sure you have access to other computer resources. There are several computer labs for students on campus, which are free to use.

Grades

Grades for the course are assigned in the following manner:

A—Outstanding work, complete mastery of the material presented, combined with some originality.
B—A solid command of the material with some minor gaps or mistakes.
C—Some knowledge of the material; Infrequent but significant confusions and errors present.
D—An incomplete, minimal knowldge of the material; Frequent and/or major confusions and errors
F—A complete lack of understanding of the course material.
I—There are no incompletes given in this course except in cases of bona fide and documented instances in accordance with the regulations of the university.
P—For a “pass” a “B” average is required.

If you receive a grade or criticism from me with which you do not agree, feel free to discuss it with me during my office hours or by appointment. I am open to changing a grade if given sufficient reason, but be very prepared to make your case. I will not discuss grades by email, phone, or instant messenger; only in person, by appointment.