Practical Implications of Missing a Class

Catching Up: Students who miss a class, whether or not the absence is College-approved, are responsible for catching up on any material, instructions, or work they missed. This includes (1) contacting a classmate to obtain notes and copies of any documents distributed in class, and (2) carefully reviewing the course website for new homework, announcements, and tasks due for the next class.

Accommodations for College-Approved Absences: As a general rule, when an accommodation is required for a missed in-class assessment, the student will complete an alternative assessment outside of class time in the teacher’s office, which may take the form of an oral examination. Assessment accommodations are not available to students who chose not to attend or who were absent for non-approved reasons, such as transportation or work-related issues.

Punctuality

Each class starts at a specific time so that everyone can convene at the same time and work can begin. Students who wish to attend class must therefore arrive on time. Once the door is closed, students can't come in.

The following policy applies only to the student who arrives late due to exceptional circumstances:

Fifteen minutes after the beginning of class, the teacher will open the door and let the late student in.. The student will enter the room quietly and take the seat closest to the door. Students who are more than 15 minutes late will not join the class and will be marked as absent.

Most importantly, this opportunity to join the class late is a privilege, not a right, and will be limited to exceptional circumstances and cannot be a recurring event. Students who arrive late repeatedly will receive an email informing them that they can no longer join a class late.

Joining a class late may prevent a student from completing graded tasks.

Use of AI Tools

Restricted Usage: Unless explicitly permitted by or discussed with your teacher, the use of digital text or image generators (such as ChatGPT, QuillBot, Copilot, or Gemini) for producing written assignments or graded work, including short assignments like forum posts, is not permitted. Non-compliance will be considered academic dishonesty.

Rationale for Restricted Usage: Experts know best how to prompt AI tools and evaluate the quality of their output. Our assignments focus on developing your own understanding and skills through original work, allowing you to build the expertise you will need throughout your academic, professional, and personal life. By engaging in original work with restricted AI assistance, you will develop your unique voice and perspective, which will set you apart and bring value to your future projects. This policy also allows for fair assessment of your growing knowledge and abilities.

Maintaining Integrity: All submitted work should be your own creation, maintaining a consistent writing style and quality throughout the semester. If evidence emerges that this policy has been violated, even after grading, the assignment's grade will be revised to uphold our standards of academic honesty.

Oral Defense: In some cases, you may be invited to discuss your work in a one-on-one conversation with your teacher. This serves as both an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and a means to verify the originality of your work.

Electronic Devices

CELL PHONES must be put on silent mode and put away before class. If your cell is on your desk or in use, I will pause and wait for you to put it away. Due to their significant impact on everybody’s learning and my teaching, recurring cell phone disruptions will be addressed immediately. Students may be required to leave class or to put their cell phone on my desk at the beginning of class if they wish to keep attending class.

LAPTOPS cannot be used for note-taking during teacher-centered activities such as lectures. However, students will be encouraged to bring their device to class for specific activities that require access to digital documents or apps.

TABLETS may be used during lectures if they are used strictly for note-taking and used in a way that minimizes any disruptions the screen may cause; tablets should be used like a paper notebook, that is, flat on the desk.

Communication Plan

MIO messages that read like text messages will be ignored: Write a clear subject line and begin your email with a respectful salutation line like “Dear Mr. Paquet,” “Hello Mr. Paquet” or “Hello Stéphane.”

MIO: Students can contact the teacher via a MIO message. The teacher should reply within 24 hours on weekdays (weekends and holidays excluded).

Urgent Technical Issues: For urgent matters like broken links or missing documents on the course website, send a MIO message clearly titled with “TECHNICAL ISSUE” in the subject line for prioritization.

Meeting with Teacher: Send a MIO message

To promote better support and communication, students are encouraged to meet with the teacher, either in person or online, at any time during the semester. To arrange a meeting, please send a message to the teacher via Mio. Be sure to include your availabilities in the message.

Required Course Material

• Tomine, Adrian. Sleepwalk. $24.95 (approx.). Available at the College online bookstore.
• A very good English pocket dictionary.

Evaluation Activities