Students with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.



Dr. Welsh's office is on the 2nd floor of the Physics Building, Room 235, just across the street from the front entrance of the GMCS building.

SAFETY ISSUES
The CSU takes the issue of classroom and campus safety very seriously. To find information about San Diego State University's emergency preparedness plan and opportunities for training on many aspects of the classroom/workplace see: SDSU Emergency Preparedness.
SDSU Campus Safety

• Be aware of your surroundings.
• If you see something suspicious, report it!
• If you have an emergency, call 911 from any phone on campus.
• Other incidents, call Campus Dispatch at 4-1911.
• In the evening, call Campus Escort if you would like an escort to your vehicle or campus dorm.

If ever an emergency alarm goes off, please collect your stuff and calmly evacuate the building. The meeting point is at the grass-covered area just outside the Physics building (next to the bicycle symbol on the map below).




Expectation on Studying and other Topics:

Expectation on Studying: In high school, students spend ~35 hours a week in school and only a few hours a week studying on their own. In college, students are in class for about 15 hr/week and complete their education on their own time. They are much more responsible for their own learning. College students should spend 2 additional hours per unit per week for every hour that they spend in class. For 15 units, that means an additional 30 hours a week outside of class. This is what is recommended, and this is what professors are expecting. If you do this, you are very much more likely to earn the grade you want.

Policy On Extra Credit
No extra credit projects will be allowed on individual basis, but on occasion the class as a whole may be able to earn extra credit. This may be announced in class or on the Important New part of our class website. Also, I have a general policy that if any mistakes are found in any part of the course (e.g. in the syllabus, class web pages, class lectures, class notes, exams, or textbook) the student who first points the error out may earn extra credit. It depends on the nature of the error: typographical errors will not earn extra credit (unless many are present). Updates to the on-line lecture notes also do not count as errors. But something like a wrong time for the final on the syllabus would definitely earn extra credit. Also, students who participate a lot in class may earn extra credit. If a student asks a particularly good question, I may award that student extra credit. Basically, my philosophy is that if a student does something that benefits the entire class, that student may earn extra credit. No extra credit will be awarded if it only benefits the individual seeking the extra credit.

Incomplete Grades
If for whatever valid reason you cannot complete the course, an Incomplete grade may be an option. A failing or lower-than-desired grade is not a valid reason; typically medical and family emergencies are acceptable reasons, if proper documentation is provided. You must contact me prior to the final to request approval to receive a grade of Incomplete. An Incomplete contract form must be agreed upon and filled out and kept on record. Failure to complete the assigned work within one calendar year will result in an Incomplete being computed into the grade point average as an "F" (or a "NC" if the course has been taken CR/NC). SDSU Office of the Registar Course Incomplete Contract Form

SDSU Explorations Course
This course helps fulfill the 9-unit requirement for Explorations in General Education and takes the goals and skills of GE Foundations courses to a more advanced level. Your three upper division courses in Explorations will provide greater interdisciplinary, more complex and in-depth theory, deeper investigation of local problems, and wider awareness of global challenges. More extensive reading, written analysis involving complex comparisons, well-developed arguments, considerable bibliography, and use of technology are appropriate in many Explorations courses.
This is an Explorations course in Natural Sciences. Completing this course will help you learn to do the following with greater depth:
1) explain basic concepts and theories of the natural sciences;
2) use logic and scientific methods to analyze the natural world and solve problems;
3) argue from multiple perspectives about issues in natural science that have personal and global relevance;
4) use technology in laboratory and field situations to connect concepts and theories with real-world phenomena.
(except from the 2014 SDSU Curriculum Guide)


Plagiarism and Cheating Policy:
Plagiarism is not tolerated and will result in automatic failure of the assigment, loss of any extra credit points, a full letter deduction in the course grade, and will be reported to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities. Plagiarism is theft. If you copy more than 4 words in a row from any source (including the textbook, class notes, etc ) and do not reference that source, you may be committing plagiarism.