L571: Information Architecture for the Web Syllabus: Spring 2007

Requirements

To receive a passing grade in this course, you must turn in all of the assignments and the term project and do your presentation. You cannot pass this course without doing all of the assigned work, however, turning in all of the work is not a guarantee that you will pass the course. Grades of <I> (Incomplete) may be assigned in this course after discussion with the instructor, but depending on the circumstances, there will be a penalty applied at the discretion of the instructor.

All papers and assignments must be submitted on the dates specified in this syllabus. If you cannot submit an assignment or cannot deliver a presentation on the date it is due, it is your responsibility to discuss your situation with the instructor, preferably in advance. Given that your reasons or problems are legitimate, arrangements for the completion of the outstanding work can be made; this will occur, however, at the discretion of the instructor.

There will be a penalty for work turned in after the assigned date, and this will also be applied at the discretion of the instructor.

Your written, web-based, and oral work will be evaluated according to five criteria; it must:

Be clearly written, marked up, and/or presented;

Contain HTML markup that has been done by hand and which conforms, at a minimum, to the HTML 3.2. One assignment must conform to the HTML 4.01 Standard and one assignment must conform to the XHTML 1.0 standard;

Demonstrate a degree of insight into the concepts, issues, and trends in both the areas you investigate in the assignments and in the course content;

Demonstrate a degree of originality in your reviews, analyses, and projects; and

Display some familiarity with the appropriate current and/or classic literatures where appropriate.

There is a more detailed description of how you will check your own markup using HTML validators on the assignments page. There is a link at the bottom of the box that will take you back here.

Borderline grades will be decided (up or down) on the basis of class contributions and participation throughout the semester.

Academic dishonesty

There is extensive documentation and discussion of the issue of academic dishonesty here in the Indiana University "Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct" with a special section added for graduate students here. Of particular relevance is the section on plagiarism:

3. Plagiarism
A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does any of the following:

a. Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;

b. Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;

c. Uses another person's idea, opinion, or theory; or

d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge.

From: http://www.dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index1.html

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's ideas, words, or opinions without attribution. Any assignment that contains plagiarized material or indicates any other form of academic dishonesty will receive a grade of F. A second instance will result in an automatic grade of F for the course. Penalties may be harsher depending upon the severity of the offense. See Indiana University's "Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct" [link to code].

There is more to avoiding plagiarism than simply citing a reference. To aid students both in recognizing plagiarism and in avoiding the appearance of plagiarism, Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services has prepared a short guide entitled "Plagiarism: what it is and how to recognize and avoid it". This guide is available at: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html. It provides explicit examples of plagiarism and offers strategies for avoiding it. Each student should be familiar with this document and use it as a guide when completing assignments.

Dr. Russel Williams, at Florida State University, offers tips on avoiding inadvertent plagiarism:

If you take material that is not yours, from any source whatsoever, and copy it into assignments for this class, you must provide an appropriate footnote, endnote, parenthetical, and/or bibliographic reference to the source of the material.

Any material quoted verbatim from other sources must be enclosed in quotation marks and its source attributed as noted in item #1 above.

Material not taken verbatim from a text, but is paraphrased must also be attributed in the manner indicated in item #1

Indiana University and School of Library and Information Science policies on academic dishonesty will be followed. Students found to be engaging in plagiarism, cheating, and other types of dishonesty will receive an F for the course. As a rule of thumb, when in doubt, cite the source!

The following definitions of letter grades have been defined by student and faculty members of the Committee on Improvement of Instruction and have been approved by the faculty (November 11,1996) as an aid in evaluation of academic performance and to assist students by giving them an understanding of the grading standards of the School of Library and Information Science:

Grade GPA MEANING

A 4.0 Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations

A- 3.7 Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner

B+ 3.3 Very good work. Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus

B 3.0 Good work. Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and is at an acceptable level

B- 2.7 Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials.

C+
C 2.3
2.0 Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials

C-
D+
D
D- 1.7
1.3
1.0
.07 Unacceptable work. Course work performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree. For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course with a passing grade.

F 0.0 Failing. Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean.

Grade	GPA	MEANING
A	4.0	Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations
A-	3.7	Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner
B+	3.3	Very good work. Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus
B	3.0	Good work. Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and is at an acceptable level
B-	2.7	Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials.
C+ C	2.3 2.0	Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials
C- D+ D D-	1.7 1.3 1.0 .07	Unacceptable work. Course work performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree. For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course with a passing grade.
F	0.0	Failing. Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean.