A late paper carries an 8 point penalty (unless that would make your score negative for that assignment, in which case your score is 0). Please note that the homework point values sum to 272, but your homework average is based on a total of only 240. (The number 240 is called the Standard Total, or ST.) This means that you could turn in 4 of the 12 homework assignments late and still conceivably end up with a 100% homework average. I would recommend making every effort to turn in every assignment on time, and using the 32-point buffer as insurance against (i) completely unforeseen, unavoidable circumstances, and (ii) the "borderline letter grade scenario". (Read on.)
Notice that Homework #1 is worth 48 points, while Homework #10 is worth only 10 points. So if your HW #1 paper is late, and you receive an 8 point penalty, you're likely to think that's not too bad. But if your HW #10 paper is late, you're likely to think the 8 point penalty is outrageous. But the effect is purely psychological, because the way to think of it is that it's an 8 point deduction from your homework total. So it really makes no difference which particular assignment score reflects the deduction. Nevertheless, if your raw score on HW #10 is 7-out-of-10, the full 8 points won't be deducted, because that would put you behind someone who didn't turn in HW #10 at all. Right? So your score would be 0 in that case.
If you miss class on a day HW is due because you are ill, you must have documentation to excuse the homework assignment due that day. The assignment won't be accepted for grading, but that assignment will be treated as though you were never required to do it in the first place. Here's how that works: Let's say you are excused from Homework #6, worth 18 points. We take 272 minus 18 and get 254. Then we take 254/272 and get 93.38%. Then we take 93.38% of 240 (the ST) and get 224.12. This gives an Adjusted Standard Total (AST) which applies to you. Your HW average, then, computed at the end, will be your Homework total divided by your AST.
The ST (or AST) is rigged so that if you turn in every assignment on time and have perfect scores on all of them, your HW average would be 113.33%. Under Method A, below, this effectively adds 4 percentage points to your overall average, effectively lowering the letter grade thresholds. So it is a kind of Homework Bonus which can boost you into the next letter grade range. This is the remedy for the "borderline grade problem". The grade cutoffs are applied strictly because of the largesse built into the HW point system.
Homework is scored according to three criteria: (i) evidence of conscientious effort on your part to work all problems completely and correctly, (ii) the clarity of the work, and (iii) the correctness of the work. Regarding point (ii), Explain your work and write what you are thinking. In other words, don't just think, "Hmm ... change of variable ... linear equation." Write it down. Write, "Now we change variables to convert to a linear differential equation." You needn't do that at every single step, but every now and then transitional statements like this are helpful, not only to your reader, but to you, to get you into the habit of thinking through your work more clearly and getting your thoughts outside of your head, where you can organize them better. This habit of sprinkling sentences through your write-up will carry over to exams, where it is especially important. Because, when we grade exams, the only way we can tell what was going on in your mind is by looking at what you've put on the paper. You cannot claim afterward that you were thinking this, or that, if there is no written evidence of it. So use the homework as practice for writing up very clear work.
Collaborative effort on homework is encouraged, because (i) the chance for you to articulate mathematical ideas to your peers (as you help them with problems) is effective in concretizing your understanding of the concepts, and (ii) you are likely to benefit from the insights of your peers, who may reveal connections that you had not made. However, each student should individually write up his or her own work, and you should never give your pals access to the final version of your homework write-up. In cases where two or more homework papers are clearly the work of one mind, the score due will be split equally among those involved.
Save all returned homework and exam papers until you have actually seen your final grade for 21-260. Occasionally errors occur and a homework score does not get recorded. (Perhaps your paper gets "stuck" to the one above it as your TA is processing a stack of papers.) In case a discrepancy results, the matter cannot be resolved unless you can produce the returned paper as evidence.
Questions regarding the grading of exams or of homework must be brought to me at my office, outside of class. No such issues will be addressed in the lecture room. (The only exception would be a simple clerical error, e.g., the points on the front page of the exam are mistotalled.) If you have a question or concern, please come during office hours or email me to make an appointment. Sorry, but there just isn't time to try and resolve grading issues on the fly, in the lecture room. Also, TAs are not authorized to make any changes to any scores (unless, again, a simple clerical error is involved).
OFA Grade
90-100 A
80-89.999 B
70-79.999 C
60-69.999 D
0-59.999 R
Your OFA will be determined by applying both weighting Methods below
and determining which is more favorable to you. (We will do the
comparison automatically; you do not have to indicate a choice.)
Final Grade Method A Final Grade Method B
-------------------- --------------------
15% Exam 1 18% Exam 1
15% Exam 2 18% Exam 2
15% Exam 3 18% Exam 3
25% Final Exam 36% Final Exam
30% Homework 10% Homework
Again, the Homework average is computed by taking the total number of HW points you earned (maximum possible 272) and dividing by the ST of 240 (or your AST if you were excused from one or more assignments).