Goodbye to Yesterday...

In case you haven't checked yet, your grades are now posted. Enjoy your summer, 10 o'clock class!
Good luck, 11 o'clock class!

Own Your Ignorance

Here's an excerpt from a podcast I listen to called Jordan, Jesse GO! Two guys in their twenties are jovially discussing a favorite topic of mine: owning your ignorance. (Remember this during our discussion of the death penalty?)

Other sincerely awesome stuff from them is available at Maximum Fun.

Moopheus

Here are some links on animal ethics:

• Vegetarians Still Love the Smell of Bacon
• David Foster Wallace: Consider the Lobster
• How to Cut Back on Meat Slowly
  
• Animal Research (Peter Singer's Sometimes OK with It!)
• Peter Singer on Michael Vick & Dog Fighting
  
• Audio Interview with Peter Singer
• Michael Pollan's "An Animal's Place"
• Is Worrying About the Ethics of Your Diet Elitist?
• Huge List of Resources on the Moral Status of Animals

The Meatrix

We Have to Give?!?

Here is some stuff on giving to charity.

First, if you buy the arguments for giving to charity, you might want to research which charities aren't squandering their donations. Here's a link to lists of reputable charities, sorted by type of charity (such as hunger or international relief).

Next, check out The Hunger Site. You can donate food FOR FREE there! You can also donate rice for free by playing a word game at FreeRice. Links to other charitable organizations are at the bottom of this post.

The next two links will help those who can't find their Vice & Virtue textbook. This one's from Peter Singer, the same guy we read for class. It's his updated argument with some interesting specific proposals:

The next is the James Shikwati interview we read for class. (Shikwati's organization is online here. A similar organization you can donate to is online here.) The NPR program Fresh Air just aired a radio interview with someone who agrees with Shikwati's claim that most government aid to developing nations is doing more harm than good.

Here's an interesting article in which Nicholas Kristof discusses many of the concerns Shikwati raises about giving aid to African nations. I especially recommend reading the last section of the article.

Here's an article on all the reasons why we might give away the money we earn. This article even references Thomas Nagel's anti-I'M-SPECIAL-ism.

Next, here is Peter Singer's appearance on The Colbert Report. He's talking about our next topic: animal ethics.

Next, here's another short video of Peter Singer on giving to charity:


Finally, here are some cheaper charities designed for people who can't donate a lot of money:

• The $10 Club
  
• Microcredit
• Oxfam
  

Paper #2 Guidelines

Due Date: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Worth: 15% of final grade

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay on the topic below. Papers must be typed, and must be between 600-1200 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

Explain your conception of personhood as it relates to morality.

(1) First, briefly explain and critically evaluate the different conceptions of personhood that we have discussed in class. Be sure to explain each conception offered by Mary Anne Warren, Stephen Schwarz, James Rachels, and Roger Scruton.

(2) Second, explain how each of these authors uses their conception to attempt to settle the particular ethical debate he or she wrote about. (Warren on abortion, Schwarz on abortion, Rachels on euthanasia, and Scruton on animal rights).

(3) Third, explain your conception of personhood: do you agree with one of these authors’ conceptions, or do you have one of your own?

(4) Fourth, explain the solution that your conception of personhood gives to the ethical debates of abortion, euthanasia, and animal rights.

When considering your conception of personhood, be sure to answer the following questions: Which living creatures are persons, and which living creatures are not persons? Do you believe that you need to be a “person” in the moral sense in order to have moral rights (in particular, the right to life and the right to not suffer unnecessarily)? Can someone have moral rights before they have moral duties? Be sure to fully explain and philosophically defend each of your answers.

Death Penalty Box

Here are some links on the death penalty.

This first link is a large collection of resources on the ethics of capital punishment. I mean, wow.

In class, we discussed the financial cost of the death penalty. Although it's common sense to think that keeping a criminal in prison for life would cost more than putting her to death, many studies suggest that the opposite is true. The additional legal battles in death penalty cases may cost more than a life sentence.

Finally, here's a nice article on measuring the reliability of the justice system. How often do courts convict the wrong person?

Youth In Asia

Ali G's Take on Euthanasia

Group Presentations: 11:00 Class

Here are the group assignments for the 11:00 AM class. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team Stem Cells (1st on Friday, 5/2/08)
Christine, Danielle, Fawn, Jeff, Mike, Ryan

Team Homosexuality (2nd on Friday, 5/2/08)
Chuck, Nick, Rachael, Raul, Sukhbir

Team Porn (1st on Monday, 5/5/08)
Abi, Catie WITH AN 'IE' NOT A 'Y,' Erika, Geraldine, Jeanna, (Walt)

Team Prostitution (2nd on Monday, 5/5/08)
Alex, Brianna, Gina, Joe, Kathy, Scott

Team Torture (1st on Wednesday, 5/7/08)
Anthony, Nikko, Jason, Jess, Jim, Shaneta

Team Steroids (2nd on Wednesday, 5/7/08)
Daniel, Jon, Ryan, Shane, Steve

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Friday (5/2/07), Monday (5/5/07), and Wednesda (5/7/07). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterwards.

Group Presentations: 10:00 Class

Here are the group assignments for the 10:00 AM class. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team Homosexuality (1st on Friday, 5/2/08)
Caleb, Melissa, Mike, Stephanie, Susan, Suzette

Team Torture (2nd on Friday, 5/2/08)
Anne Marie, Jennifer, Jim, Rebecca, Steve, Sean

Team Egoism (1st on Monday, 5/5/08)
Courtney, Frances, Krista, Sochima

Team Steroids (2nd on Monday, 5/5/08)
Erica, Holly, Hugh, Kristina, Nick

Team Stem Cells (1st on Wednesday, 5/7/08)
Anthony, Dan, Dwayne, Jeremy, Kelly, Theresa

Team Moral Psychology (2nd on Wednesday, 5/7/08)
Amanda, Freddy, Jamie, Jenna, Shawn, Tim

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Friday (5/2/07), Monday (5/5/07), and Wednesda (5/7/07). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterwards.

Team Prostitution

Here are some links on prostitution:

Feminism & Prostitution (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Radio Show on Morality of Prostitution (Philosophy Talk: check the additional links at the bottom of this page)
Why Is Prostitution Illegal? (Slate)
So Why Is Porn Legal? (Slate)
Legalize It, Already! (Reason)
Prostitution in America and Europe (Atlantic Monthly)
Sex Trafficking Around the World (NY Review of Books)
It Helps Marriages! (Times of London)
Utilitarians for Hookers? (National Review)
Criticism of the Utilitarian Arg (National Review)

And just in case you change you mind and go back to police brutality, here are some links:

Wikipedia Article on Police Brutality
Human Rights Watch Report on Police Brutality (1998)
Culture of Complaint (Slate)
The Police's Code of Silence (New York Times)
"Don't Tase Me, Bro!" Incident: Brutality? (Wikipedia)

Team Moral Psych

First, I recommend reading about the theory of moral development that Lawrence Kohlberg developed in the 1960's, along with Carol Gilligan's criticism of his theory.

Also, here are several links to articles that discuss some recent topics in moral psychology:

Richard Rorty Reviews Moral Minds
Interview: Moral Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
The Disgust Scale
An Evolutionary Theory of Morality
Brain Scans of Moral Decisions

Team Egoism

First, you should read some of the section on Morality and Self-Interest (beginning on page 31o) in our Vice and Virtue textbook. Some specific articles worth reading: Rachels's "Egoism and Moral Skepticism" (pages 332-342), Pojman's "Egoism, Self-Interest, and Altruism" (345-349), Rand's "The Virtue of Selfishness" (342-345), and Browne's "The Unselfishness Trap" (327-332).

Also, here are some links:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Egoism
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Egoism
Reason's Issue on Ayn Rand
Rand, Net Philosopher-Queen (London Review of Books)
Benevolent Egoism: Yes, But is it Egoism? (Reason)

Team Steroids

Here are some links:

An Unfair Advantage (Center of Applied Ethics)
Steroids DESTROY Baseball (Detroit Free Press)
In Defense of Steroids (Reason)
The Overhyped Harm of Steroids (National Review)
Don't Believe the Hype (Reason)
The Steroid Wars (New Yorker)
Yes, Steroids Enhance, But So Does Steak (Slate)
HGH: No Side Effects, But it Doesn't Work (Slate)
Remember, THG Was Legal and Not Banned by B'ball (Slate)

Team Stem Cells & Cloning

First, for research on stem cells, you should check out the section of our Do the Right Thing textbook on fetal tissue transplants (pages 303-328). Then, for research on cloning, you should check out the 3 articles on cloning in our Vice & Virtue textbook (pages 421-462), as well as Shannon Smith's article on cloning in our Do the Right Thing textbook (pages 349-360).

Here are some links on stem cell research:

NEW! Ethics of Stem-Cell Research (SEP)

Wikipedia Entry on Stem Cell Controversy
A Moral Defense of Stem-Cell Research (Boston Review)
New Technique that Doesn't Destroy Embryos? (New York Times)
[Clarification (NY Times) Quelling the Hype (National Review)]
Even Newer Technique
Will Stem-Cell Research Help? (National Review)
Selling Alternatives Short (National Review)
What About Adult Stem Cells? (Weekly Standard)
What Pro-Lifers are Missing in the Stem-Cell Debate (Slate)
Embryo Ethics (Boston Globe)

And here are some links on cloning:

Overview of Cloning Debate
Science of Cloning (Human Genome Project)
Email Debate on Cloning (Slate)
Human Clones: Why Not? (Slate)
UN Urges Ban on Cloning (Weekly Review)
Confusion over Cloning (New York Review of Books)

Team Homosexuality

First, you should check out the section of our Do the Right Thing textbook on homosexuality, which begins on page 607.

Also, here are some links:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Homosexuality
Why the Religious Are Against Gay Marriage (Slate)
The Claims of Nature (Reason)
Gays and Genes (New York Review of Books)
Gay Marriage Email Debate (Slate)
Slippery Slope Args Against Gay Marriage Suck! (Slate)

Team Porn

First, you should check out the section on censorship and porn in our Do the Right Thing textbook, which begins on page 513.

Also, here are some links:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Porn & Free Speech
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Porn & Feminism
Can Feminism & Porn Coexist? (Bitch Magazine)
Exorcising Pornography (1985 Boston Review)
Exchange: MacKinnon & Dworkin (New York Review of Books)
In Praise of Porn (Reason)

Team Torture

Here are some links:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Torture
The Dark Art of Interrogation (Atlantic Monthly)
Torture at Abu Ghraib (New Yorker)
How Much Torture is OK? (Reason)
A "Never Torture" Policy is Absurd (Weekly Standard)
Should We Care How Intelligence Is Gathered? (Atlantic Monthly)

Mashups

For those who don't know what a mashup is, you're in luck. You can start with one of the best ones out there:

(December 4th, from DJ Danger Mouse's Grey Album)

The internet has more to say about the Grey Album here.

Kant, You Ignorant Slut

I thought it might help us all if I opened up a post dedicated solely to complaining about how tough the Immanuel Kant reading was. Leave your best Kant insults in the comments of this post.

[can't get enough Kant?]
[want tips on reading these articles?]

Snow Day!

Our class is cancelled today, Friday, February 22nd, because of the snow. In fact, all classes at Camden County College are cancelled today.

Enjoy!

Links Worthy of a Swine

Here are some links that are loosely related to the stuff on Utilitarianism that we are studying. Most of these deal with psychology. There's a lot of psychological research on happiness popping up lately. The first link is an overview of the psychology of happiness:

Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness

The second is a slightly optimistic take on our ability to change our baseline level of happiness. This is important to know for an ethical theory that values maximizing happiness:

The Hedonic Set Point Can Go Up

The next link deals with a famous moral thought experiment, the trolley problem. This gets brought up a lot when evaluating Utilitarianism:

Psychology of the Trolley Problem

The last link is an advanced overview of consequentialist ethical theories. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, since it only looks at the consequences of an action to figure out whether an action is morally good or bad:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry: Consequentialism

So what makes you happy? WaWa? Ping pong? Cookies?

Paper #1 Guidelines

The first paper is due at the beginning of class on Friday, March 7th. It's worth 5% of your final grade. Here's the assignment:

Assignment: Write an argumentative essay on one of the topics below. Papers must be typed, and must be between 300-600 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

1. Out of the eight ethical theories that we have studied (cultural relativism, divine command, J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism, Kant, Aquinas’s natural law, Aristotle’s virtue ethics, Kohlberg’s moral development, and Gilligan’s ethics of care) which do you think is best? Why? What are some (at least two) seemingly good objections that someone might make to that theory? How would you reply to those objections? Explain & defend your position.

2. Provide a detailed criticism of one of the ethical theories we’ve discussed in class. First, explain the theory, and present a charitable argument (what you take to be the best argument) in its favor. Then critically evaluate the argument. What are good objections to the argument? Consider how a proponent of the theory might respond to your objections, and explain why these responses are unsuccessful.

3. Which do you think is more important in determining whether an action is morally right or wrong: the consequences of the action (what happens as a result of the action), or the motivations behind the action (the reasons why someone chooses that action over other actions)? Why? [NOTE: I’m not looking for one right choice here. You can choose either side, as long as you defend it with a well-reasoned argument.] Name two ethical theories that we have studied that care more about the consequences of an action. Then name two ethical theories that we have studied that care more about the motivations behind actions. In arguing for one side over the other, describe a specific moral dilemma in which these theories would give different decisions based on the action’s consequences vs. its motivations. Be sure to fully explain and defend your position.

4. In class, we’ve discussed the “Hitler Intuition”: Hitler’s actions don’t just seem wrong for you or me; they seem objectively wrong. Many have used this intuition to support the claim that there must be an objective morality of some kind. Examine this intuition.
-If you agree that it is solid evidence for objective morality, explain
exactly how this intuition works. What makes it objectively true that Hitler was immoral? What is the basis of your judgment? In other words, what grounds objective morality? Which ethical theory we’ve discussed do you think this supports? Explain and defend all your answers.
-If you do not believe that this intuition is solid evidence for objective morality, you are probably a relativist. Explain why this intuition doesn’t provide enough evidence for the existence of an objective morality. Why is it OK to say that Hitler’s actions weren’t universally bad? How is it that Hitler is simply bad to me, but not objectively bad?

5. Within the parameters of ethical theories discussed in class, write on a topic of your choosing. (Sean must approve your topic by Friday, February 29th.)

Quiz of God

A quick reminder: we decided to move the quiz back. We're now taking it at the beginning of class on Wednesday, February 13th.

Also, here are two links on God Ethics (divine command theory). The first is a transcript of the entire debate excerpted in our John Arthur reading on the existence of God.

F.C. Copleston & Bertrand Russell Debate

The second link is an advanced overview of god ethics, again from my favorite free online philosophy encyclopedia:

Theological Moral Theories

Legalize Adultery!

As we discussed in class, there are a few states with adultery laws on the books: Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Maryland. Of course, the laws are rarely enforced.

My favorite punishment is Maryland: a $10 fine. Actually, the $10 fine is fitting, given Alexander Hamilton's messy personal life.

Relative To You, But Not To Me

Here are some links on ethical relativism. The first is an interview with a moral psychologist who supports a sophisticated version of ethical relativism.

Interview with Moral Psychologist Jonathan Haidt

The second one is an advanced overview of various versions of moral relativism from my favorite free online philosophy encyclopedia.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Moral Relativism

Yes, there is more than one free online philosophy encyclopedia.

Email Subscriptions

So why does this course have a blog? Well, why is anything anything?

A blog (short for “web log”) is a website that works like a journal – users write posts that are sorted by date based on when they were written. You can find important course information (like assignments, due dates, reading schedules, etc.) on the blog. I’ll also be updating the blog throughout the semester, posting interesting items related to the stuff we’re currently discussing in class. I used a blog for this course last semester, and it seemed helpful. Hopefully it can benefit our course, too.

Since I’ll be updating the blog a lot throughout the semester, you should check it frequently. There are, however, some convenient ways to do this without simply going to the blog each day. The best way to do this is by getting an email subscription, so any new blog post I write automatically gets emailed to you. (You can also subscribe to the rss feed, if you know what that means.) To get an email subscription:

1. Go to http://cccethics08.blogspot.com.

2. At the main page, enter your email address at the top of the right column (under “EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION: Enter your Email”) and click the "Subscribe me!" button.

3. This will take you to a new page. Follow the directions under #2, where it says “To help stop spam, please type the text here that you see in the image below. Visually impaired or blind users should contact support by email.” Once you type the text, click the "Subscribe me!" button again.

4. You'll then get an email regarding the blog subscription. (Check your spam folder if you haven’t received an email after a day.) You have to confirm your registration. Do so by clicking on the "Click here to activate your account" link in the email you receive.

5. This will bring you to a page that says "Your subscription is confirmed!" Now you're subscribed.

If you are unsure whether you've subscribed, ask me (609-980-8367; slandis@camdencc.edu). I can check who's subscribed and who hasn't.

Course Schedule

Ethical Theories
January 23 – 25: Introduction to Class
Wednesday: Check. Check One. Sibilance. (intro to class; no reading)
Friday : How to Do Philosophy in 50 Minutes (no reading)

January 28 – February 1: Relativism/Divine Command
Monday: Relativism: Herodotus, Benedict (VV 134 -143)
Wednesday: Relativism: Nagel (VV 174 – 178)
Friday : Divine Command: Mortimer (VV 79-83)

February 4 – 8: Divine Command Theory/Utilitarianism
Monday: Divine Command: Arthur (VV 83-91)
Wednesday: Utiliarianism: Mill (VV 95-100)
Friday : Utilitarianism: Williams (VV 100-107)

February 11 – 15: Utiliarianism/Deontological Theory
Monday: QUIZ #1; Utilitarianism: group work (no reading)
Wednesday: Deontological Theory: Kant (VV 113-123)
Friday : Deontological Theory: group work (no reading)

February 18 – 22: Deontological Theory/Natural Law
Monday: Deontological Theory: Taylor (VV 128-133)
Wednesday: Natural Law: Dimock (DTRT 43-51)
Friday : Natural Law: group work (reread Dimock [DTRT 43-51])

February 25 – 29: Virtue Ethics
Monday: Virtue Ethics: Aristotle (VV 201-208)
Wednesday: Virtue Ethics: Rachels (VV 251-265)
Friday : Virtue Ethics: group work (catch up on the week’s readings)

March 3 – 7: Ethics of Care/Social Contract Theory
Monday: Ethics of Care: Kohlberg’s Moral Development (handout)
Wednesday: Ethics of Care: Gilligan’s Ethics of Care (handout)
Friday : PAPER #1 due; Social Contract: Rawls (DTRT 464-483)

March 10 – 14: Social Contract Theory/Review
Monday: Social Contract: Rawls (DTRT 464-483)
Wednesday: Review for Midterm (no reading)
Friday: MIDTERM

March 17 – 21: Spring Break
SPRING BREAK! (no class) (woo?)


Applied Ethics
March 24 – 28: Abortion
Monday: Abortion: Warren (DTRT 183-189)
Wednesday: Abortion: Schwarz (DTRT 190-201)
Friday: Abortion: group work (catch up on the week’s readings)

March 31 – April 4: Euthanasia
Monday: Euthanasia: Rachels (DTRT 255-267)
Wednesday: Euthanasia: Chamberlain (DTRT 268-276)
Friday: Euthanasia: group work (catch up on the week’s readings)

April 7 – 11: Euthanasia/The Death Penalty
Monday: Euthanasia: Quill (DTRT 284 -288)
Wednesday: Death Penalty: Pojman (DTRT 361-370)
Friday: Death Penalty: Bedau (DTRT 371-383)

April 14 – 18: The Death Penalty/World Hunger
Monday: Death Penalty: group work (catch up on readings)
Wednesday: QUIZ #2; World Hunger: Singer (VV 365-374)
Friday: World Hunger: Arthur (VV 375-380) & Shikwati (VV 381-384)

April 21 – 25: World Hunger/Animal Rights
Monday: World Hunger: group work (catch up on readings)
Wednesday: work on group presentations (no reading)
Friday: Animal Rights: Rachels (VV 467-473)

April 28 – May 2: Animal Rights
Monday: Animal Rights: Scruton (VV 496-500)
Wednesday: PAPER #2 due; Animal Rights (catch up on readings); work on group presentations
Friday: group presentations

May 5 – 9: Group Presentations/Review for Final
Monday: group presentations
Wednesday: group presentations
Friday: Review for Final Exam

May 12: Final Exam
Monday: FINAL EXAM

Course Details

Introduction to Ethics
Camden County College, Blackwood Campus
Philosophy 131, Spring 2008
Section 01: Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 10:00 – 10:50 a.m. in Madison 311
Section 02: Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. in Madison 311

Instructor: Sean Landis
Email: slandis@camdencc.edu
Phone: 609-980-8367
Course Blog: http://cccethics08.blogspot.com

Required Texts
Vice & Virtue in Everyday Life, 7th Edition, Christina & Fred Sommers (VV)
Do the Right Thing, 2nd Edition, Francis J. Beckwith (DTRT)

About the Course
This course is designed to get us thinking hard about morality. We're going to ask and try to answer a bunch of broad and fundamental questions. We'll ask the obvious questions: what are the right things to do, and what are the wrong things to do? But we'll also examine trickier questions. What makes an action good or bad? What does it mean to be morally good or bad?

The course is split into two parts. In the first half of the course, we'll study several ethical theories. We'll examine different answers philosophers have offered to the above questions. In the second half of the course, we'll apply these theories to particular ethical problems, including abortion, euthanasia, world hunger, and animal rights. The goal of this course is to develop a philosophical understanding of what underlies moral claims and apply this understanding to our own ethical beliefs.

Grades
90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
below 60% = F.

Quizzes (2) 7.5% each (15% total)
Midterm 15%
Final 25%
First Paper 5%
Second Paper 15%
Homework 5% total
Oral Report 15%
Attendance/Participation 5%

Exams: The midterm tests everything covered during the first half of the course, and will last the full period (50 minutes) on the scheduled day. The final exam is cumulative—that is, it tests everything covered throughout the whole course, not just the second half. The final lasts 50 minutes, and will take place on the last day of class.

Quizzes: Unlike the exams, quizzes will not be cumulative. Quiz #1 tests everything covered during the first 4 weeks of class, and quiz #2 tests everything covered after exam #1 (weeks 7 through 9). Quizzes will last 20 minutes, and be held at the beginning of the period on the scheduled day.

Oral Report: The oral report will be a group project presented in front of the class toward the end of the semester. Each group of 3-4 students will research an ethical topic not explicitly discussed in class and present a 10-15 minute presentation on it.

Papers: There will be two papers, the first a short one on ethical theory and the second a longer one on one or more of the applied topics we discuss.

Homework: Homework assignments are due at the beginning of class the day they are due.

Classroom Policies
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students found guilty of either will definitely fail the test, quiz, or assignment – and possibly the entire class. NOTE: Working with fellow students on group projects or homework assignments is not cheating. Copying a fellow student’s completed homework assignment is cheating. (Come to me if you are unsure what constitutes cheating or plagiarism.)

Excused Absenses: Make-up exams, quizzes, in-class projects, or oral reports will only be rescheduled for any excused absences (excused absences include religious observance, official college business, and illness or injury – with a doctor’s note). An unexcused absence on the day of the exam or quiz will result in a zero on that exam or quiz.

Important Dates
January 18: Last day to drop a course & receive a 100% refund.
February 4: Last day to drop a course & receive a 50% refund.
February 11: Last day to sign up to audit a course.
April 28: Last day to withdrawal from Fall Classes.