Texts

• We will be using the 2nd edition of "Introduction to Optical Mineralogy", by William Nesse.
• We will use the text extensively - bring it to lecture and lab..

Other resources

• The tentative content of labs and lectures is available.
• The web contains superb resources for this course and for general earth science. Check out these links and others.
• Email will be a useful way to communicate with other students and your professor. I encourage you to subscribe to our email list, geo406. Send to listproc@lists.wwu.edu the command: sub geo406 yourFirstNameHERE yourLastNameHERE. If you are reading this from your own machine (i.e., with a mail program whose reply address is your email address), then you can have your computer send the email for you.
  • Be sure, in the email you send, to replace the "yourFirstNameHERE" and "yourLastNameHERE" with your actual name.
  • Be sure to send the email from your regular account (the list server checks the return address to see where to send the emails)
• I have posted an anonymous comments form. In this way you can give me feedback on my teaching. If you don't want to fill out the whole survey, you can just skip to the end of the form and write a comment in the space provided.

Lab

• Exercises - Your Lab assignments are due at the beginning of the following lab period without penalty. Complete labs will be graded on a Check plus (11 pts), or Check (10 pts), or Check minus (9 pts) basis. Incomplete labs will be graded according to the amount completed. Assignments handed-in after the beginning of the next lab are late. They may be turned in up to one week late for a grade reduction of one mark. No credit will be given for labs turned in later than one week after due.
• Exam - There will be a lab practical exam during the final lab session, which will focus on techniques covered in the lab sessions.
• You may need a hand lens for some labs(10x magnification is best), when there are hard specimens to accompany the thin sections. These can be obtained cheaply at the WWU Bookstore. Also, there are numerous Geological Supply catalogs that carry excellent hand lenses - ask me.

Grades

• 30% of the grade will be based on in-class evaluations.

This portion of the grade is calculated from the results of one midterm exam (closed book) worth 200 points, and also of some very short quizzes (collectively worth 50 points). The full-period exam dates are listed below; attendance at these exams is required. In general, a missed exam will be cause for a grade of 0, unless an acceptable medical excuse is is presented, or a leave of absence from the Office of Student Life. In general, make-up exams will not be given, and your grade for an excused absence on a full-period exam will be calculated as the average of your final exam and the full-period exam you do take. The short quizzes mentioned above may not be announced in advance, and they cannot be made up if missed (although the lowest 10% of them will be dropped).

• 40% of the grade will be based on the final exam.

This portion of the grade is calculated from the results of the lecture and lab final exams - each is worth 200 points. The lecture final will be held as scheduled by the registrar (Monday, March 18th, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm). It will be comprehensive and closed-book, and it will cover primarily lecture material. There will also be a lab practical exam, held during the last lab session, Thursday, March 14th (during the normal lab time, 12:00 - 1:50 pm). It will focus on lab topics, and emphasize mineral identification and other techniques covered in lab.

• 30% of the grade will be based on non-exam work.

This portion of the grade is calculated from your laboratory work and any course homework and projects.

• The grades will be curved.

Based on the above distribution, the maximum number of points possible will be (1000). The curve will be calculated and grades assigned in the following manner:

• First a point corresponding to the top of the curve will be obtained from the average of (1)the maximum possible points and (2) the maximum points achieved by any member of the course.
• Each student will be assigned a percentage score obtained by dividing their points by the top-of-the-curve value calculated above. These will be rounded to the nearest 0.1% (so 79.94% = 79.9%, not 80.0%)
• Finally, letter grades will be assigned by reference to these percentages. Although the cutoffs for each letter grade will not be assigned until the end of the course, they will be no greater than the following:

Prerequisites

• Grade of C- or better in Geo 306

Important Dates

• Exams
  • First in-class midterm exam - Thursday, February 7
  • Lab practical exam - Thursday, March 14
  • Course final - Monday, March 18
• University deadlines
  • University regulations allow a drop without incurring a "W" on or before Monday, January 14.
  • Last day for late course withdrawal is Friday, February 22

Other Important Notes

• Group work
  • There may be some occassions for group work, and group activities. Furthermore, I encourage you to form study groups, discuss questions about the material, and quiz each other on lab and lecture topics. There may even be some group assignments, where a group grade is assigned for work completed. However, you must do your own work on exams and on most assignments. If it is ever unclear what collaboration is acceptable on an assignment, ask your professor!
  • Anyone caught cheating on an exam or turning in work that is not his or her own will be dealt with in accordance with the General Catalog's Appendix D - Academic Dishonesty Policy and Procedure. If you're not familiar with this section, you may want to review it.
• Special exam conditions
  • If you have a condition verified by the Office of Student Life that requires non-standard exam conditions, you must notify me at least one week before the exam in question. I would prefer notification as soon as possible, preferably within the first two weeks of class.