These are policies which you are expected to be aware of and adhere to throughout the semester. Any breaking of the policies, requests to break a policy, etc, may result in a penalty.
Mandatory Attendance - Any course activity that is listed as having Mandatory Attendance must be attended (see Valid Exceptions below) without excuse. Any such class activity where you do have a valid exception, must be made known to the instructor before said activity, not after. Notification after the activity will be categorized as an invalid exception.
Non Mandatory Attendance - Any course activity that is listed as having Non Mandatory Attendance is simply that, a class you are not required to attend. If you do not want to attend, that is your privilige, you do not need to contact the instructor concerning your absence. Be aware that whether or not you attend, you are still responsible for the material covered in the activity.
All Exams, Quizzes, etc are by nature automatically a Mandatory Attendance Activity
Picture IDs must be presented when handing in your exam or quiz. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, all exams, quizzes, projects, etc are to be completed individually. You should talk to no one during an exam or quiz other than the instructor or a teaching assistant. Speaking to other students at any time (such as while waiting to hand in your materials or waiting to present your ID) could cause the topic of your discussion to come under question, creating an academic honesty issue.
If you are allowed to drop an exam, quiz, project, miss class, etc, you do not need to inform the instructor which individual item will be dropped. Instead, the lowest score you receive will automatically be taken as your drop.
The dates & times of Final Exams are listed on the schedule of courses. They are non-negotiable (the University has selected them and so that order is maintained, every course must follow this schedule). You have access to this information before the semester even begins and are expected to arrange any travel schedules around it. Some courses do not have or require a final exam. If this is the case in your course, it will be noted within the Syllabus.
Many, if not all, of your Projects and Home Works will be submitted electronically. Be aware that your computer complications or problems do not consitute a valid excuse for not submitting the assignment on time. Do not wait until the last minute when submitting the project, instead leave yourself enough time to ensure there are no last minute difficulties.
If you are submitting using a submission system, print out the confirmation of submission page for your own records, to validate the submission was received.
At times during your collegiate career you will wonder if you fit within the University Exception clauses, allowing you to receive a Make Up Exam, an Incomplete Grade, or some other type of exception. Wonder no more! I am going to list for you now the circumstances in which you would qualify.
You need to contact your instructor before the activity occurs to be considered for the exception. There are very few events which would impede your participation on an exam, quiz, etc warranting an exception, that you would not be aware of well before (at least a few hours) the start of the activity. Depending on the severity of the problem, your instructor will determine whether a make up, dopping the course, or Taking an Incomplete in the Course is the appropriate action.
The Dates of exams, quizzes, etc are posted online before the end of drop/add. If you have a conflict, resolve it (by dropping the course or moving the outside activity) before the end of the drop/add.
Because projects, homeworks, etc are given with a range of time for completion, the only exceptions allowed will be those that fit within the guidelines of Valid Exceptions and must impair you for the whole duration of the assignment, not just at a single point. These are activities that you can complete by simply planning ahead. The exceptions make an allowance for an unplanned crisis.
If you miss multiple activities with Valid Exceptions, you need to speak with the instructor immediately, it is possible that Taking an Incomplete in the Course or dropping the course is your best option and the instructor will have the best advice for you.
If you are allowed to drop an exam, quiz, project, etc or if you are allowed to miss a certain number of mandatory attendences, note your excused absences must exceed the allotted number for a make up or special consideration to be given. For Example:
You are allowed to miss 3 labs without penalty. You choose to go miss lab three times without a valid excuse, even if the fourth time you miss you have a valid excuse, it does not remove the absences you have already taken. You will not be penalized for the excused absence, but for the previous unexcused absence.
Suppose you have three excused absences, then a fourth, then a fifth, etc, you will need to take the course incomplete. You have missed too much of the course to really have a fair chance at being successful and should postpone completion to another semester.
The purpose of drops, allowed absences, etc is to accommadate the circumstances of life that make having a free exception a nicety. However, use these times wisely, because they are there to aid you in extenuating circumstances, not just on every whim.
Taking an Incomplete means you will be completing the requirements of the course in a future semester. Incompletes are very rare. You do not determine the circumstances that qualify for an incomplete, the instructor of the course does. In extenuating circumstances, your instructor will advise you on the best course of action and your different options (possibly an incomplete, dropping the course, etc).
You will not redo the whole course, unless in the infrequent circumstance you were hindered at the very beginning of the semester. Instead, you will only finish all the exams, quizzes, projects, etc that you missed or were impaired on.
When resolving an incomplete, you are required to audit the course. By auditing the course, you will be officially registered, but will not receive a new grade, instead you simply make up the old one. Forms and information for auditing can be found in the Registrar's office and here.
It is your responsibility to ensure all instructors involved are aware of the circumstances and that they come to a resolution on your final grade assignment. Note, If you do not resolve an incomplete in a timely manner, it changes automatically from an I on your transcript to an E. Your instructors have no control over this, it is a University Policy. Once you complete the course activities, a change of grade form will be submitted by the instructor who gave you the I originally.
If you approach me and ask to resolve an incomplete in one of my courses, I require the following:
I have begun to observe an increasing trend of course conflicts created by other UF faculty who are not following UF policy. As always, we try to be as accommodating to our colleagues as possible. However, there are times when a faculty member will run over during lecture or schedule an out of class activity. This type of situation is understandable and will happen at times. However, it is a breach of UF policy if this happens and conflicts (over laps into) another scheduled course for the students involved.
Sometimes the resolution is easily handled, when a student can make up any work or course material. Also, when the out of class activity is scheduled during the evening examination period per UF policy. In addition, when the appropriate documentation, following UF guidelines for extenuating circumstances, is presented. However, in the event that another course attempts to extend into the regularly scheduled activities of one of my courses, scheduled during the normal class day, you should inform the other faculty member of the conflict immediately. If the other faculty member persists in penalizing you in any way, for example, extending lecture beyond the normal period, such that you must choose to miss my course or some of theirs. Please, contact me immediately, so that I can address the matter with the other faculty member.
There is no reason why you should ever be penalized by another faculty member for attending my course at its regularly scheduled time. Such a penalty is a direct violation of UF policy. Again, please notify me immediately regarding such a circumstance.