Physical Geology Lecture Policies

Lecture Class Policies

GOL 105 is an introductory course that focuses on the physical, chemical and biological processes that continuously transform the surface of our home planet. After completing the course, students should be familiar with the cycles of energy and material that occur on Earth and be able to identify common minerals, rocks and landforms. There are no prerequisites for enrollment.


lecture meetings	2:00 to 3:20 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays, 438 Bisdorf.
cancellation	Official college closures are announced on the NOVA home page and at 703-323-3770 (or at 703-330-3770 in Prince William County). If inclement weather, or other emergency, causes cancellation of a lecture meeting, you are still required to learn the material in the Powerpoint presentation for the missed meeting.
attendance	Except as required by NVCC, attendance at lecture meetings is not mandatory. It is unlikely that you will do well in the course if you are habitually absent.
electronic devices	You must obtain my prior permission before using any electronic device during lecture meetings.
lecture tests	There are four in-class lecture tests, given at approximately equal intervals during the semester. If you miss one of the first three tests, you must arrange to take a makeup exam within one week at the Testing Center. If you miss the fourth test, you must make an immediate arrangement with me for a makeup.
book report	Midway through the semester, a written report is due, critiquing a book of your choice.
lecture grade	There are five components of the lecture grade—the four tests and the research report. Each is worth 20% of the total. The lecture grade is 60% of your whole grade for GOL 105. (The remaining 40% is the lab grade.)
cheating	The lecture tests and book report are *not* group activities. Each must by completed by the individual student working alone. I reserve the right to penalize anyone that I catch cheating. The minimum penalty is a zero grade for the test or report. The maximum is expulsion from GOL 105 with a grade of "F".
plagiarism	Plagiarism is the submission, as if it were your own work, of essentially unaltered material written by someone else. Plagiarism is not limited to copying from printed sources, like books or magazines. If you copy and paste more than a phrase or two from a web site without acknowledging the true author, then you have plagiarized. Plagiarism will be treated as a form of cheating in this course. Please understand that using the ideas of others is not plagiarism. Otherwise, we would have to reconstruct geology by ourselves from scratch during the semester. To avoid plagiarism, restate any borrowed ideas in your own words before submitting a written assignment.
voluntary withdrawal	You may withdraw yourself from GOL 105 with a no-credit "W" grade until Monday, November 2. Up to that date, you may also change your status to audit. After November 2, a "W" grade is possible only with documentation signed by the dean, and no change to audit status is allowed.
disability	If you require special accommodations because of a disability, you must submit appropriate documentation to a Disability Services counselor. As early as possible in the semester, give me a copy of the Accommodation Request Form.