Grades
Your course score will be determined as the following weighted average:
| Item | Weight |
| Written homework & participation | 15% |
| WebAssign | 5% |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Midterm examinations | 40% |
| Final examination | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
We will convert this score to a letter grade beginning with these values as cutoffs:
| Cutoff | Letter Grade |
| 93 | A |
| 90 | A- |
| 87 | B+ |
| 83 | B |
| 80 | B- |
| 75 | C+ |
| 65 | C |
| 50 | D |
These cutoffs might be adjusted, but only in the downward direction (to make letter grades higher).
A Note on Grades of ‘W’ and ‘I’
You may drop the course in the first two weeks without it appearing on your transcript. After that, and through the ninth week, you may withdraw and receive a grade of ‘W’ (Withdrew Officially) on your transcript. No withdrawals are granted after the ninth week.
A grade of ‘I’ (Incomplete) is granted only in the rare circumstances that an emergency prevents a student in good standing from finishing the course in its last few weeks. As per the CAS Bulletin:
“Students who are ill or have a serious personal problem should see, call, or write to an adviser in the College Advising Center, College of Arts and Science, New York University, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East, Room 905, New York, NY 10003-6688; 212-998-8130.”
Participation
Your instructor may choose to include a class participation component in the course grade. The manner in which class participation is assessed is determined by individual instructors. Please refer to your section’s syllabus for details.
Homework
There are two media for homework in Calculus II.
There will be frequent online assignments administered through the online homework software WebAssign, which is a required course material. WebAssign problems are computational in nature and assess the techniques introduced in class. Many of these problems will resemble examples in the textbook or from class. You will get immediate feedback on your progress and will get five chances to ensure it. WebAssign is accessed directly through the course’s NYU Classes website.
There will also be problems to write up on paper each week and turn in. These problems will require more than just procedure, might connect two or more things together, and will more closely resemble the harder examination problems.
One of the major goals of college-level mathematics education is to move students from computational processes to conceptual thinking and communication. That is the biggest difference between this course and a high school course, even an Advanced Placement course. Mathematics is more than a bag of tricks and there are not a limited number of “types” of problems that can be asked. The goal in class is to prepare you to do the homework and not necessarily to show you how to do your homework. The learning occurs when you can move yourself into the unknown territory.
You may by all means work in groups on the homework assignments. Collaboration is a big part of learning and of scholarship in general. However, each student must turn in their own write-up of the solutions, with an acknowledgement of collaborators.
Grading of Written Homework
Undergraduate graders will grade the written homework promptly. Graders will be expecting you to express your ideas clearly, legibly, and completely, often requiring complete English sentences rather than merely just a long string of equations or unconnected mathematical expressions. This means that you could lose points for unexplained answers. See the examples in the textbook for examples of how to write up solutions to a problem well. Some examination problems will also ask for justifications, so this will be good practice.
Each problem will usually be worth 3 points. Graders will grade each 3-point part according to the following rubric:
| Points | Description of Work |
| 3 | Work is completely accurate and essentially perfect. Work is thoroughly developed, neat, and easy to read. Complete sentences are used. |
| 2 | Work is good, but incompletely developed, hard to read, unexplained, or jumbled. Answers which are not explained, even if correct, will generally receive 2 points. Work contains “right idea” but is flawed. |
| 1 | Work is sketchy. There is some correct work, but most of work is incorrect. |
| 0 | Work minimal or non-existent. Solution is completely incorrect. |
If you have a question about how a problem is scored, please check the rubric above to see which line best describes your work. If you are still unsure, contact your instructor. The instructor may confer with the grader about the score.
In fairness to fellow students and to graders, late homework will generally not be accepted. Because sometimes things more important than mathematics homework come up, you have some free passes: your lowest problem set score will be dropped in the final grade calculation.
Grading of WebAssign Homework
As with any assessment software for which answers in multiple formats are possible, answers which are essentially correct may occasionally be graded as incorrect due to format issues. In order to take this into account in a way that minimizes inconvenience, the lowest five WebAssign scores will be dropped in the final grade calculation. Please do not further contact your instructor to fix scores for WebAssign assignments where answers that are essentially correct are graded as incorrect due to format issues.
Quizzes
There will be quizzes which will be administered during recitation. Consult your instructor and/or your section’s NYU Classes page for the specifics of your quiz policy.
Examinations
During the semester, there will be two midterm examinations in class.
The final examination for all sections of Calculus will take place on Friday, May 15 , 2020, 10:00–11:50 am. (Location TBA) Note that the final examination is a subject group examination and is not scheduled by class meeting time.
Examinations will contain a mixture of computational and conceptual problems. Some of them will resemble homework problems, while some will be brand new to you. The final examination is likely to be a mixture of multiple-choice and free-response problems.
Policy on Out-of-sequence Examinations and Missed Quizzes
We are only able to accommodate a limited number of out-of-sequence examinations due to limited availability of rooms and proctors. For this reason, we may approve out-of-sequence examinations in the following cases:
- A documented medical excuse.
- A University-sponsored event such as an athletic tournament, a play, or a musical performance, or certain other non-rescheduleable academic- or career-related activities such as a job interview or graduate school visit. Athletic practices and rehearsals do not fall into this category. Please have your coach, conductor, or other faculty adviser contact your instructor, or consult with your instructor whether your non-reschedulable academic- or career-related activity qualifies.
- A religious holiday.
- Extreme hardship such as a family emergency.
We will not be able to accommodate out-of-sequence examinations and quizzes for purposes of more convenient travel, including already purchased tickets. Please note again the date of the final and plan your travel accordingly.
Scheduled out-of-sequence examinations and quizzes (those not arising from emergencies) should be taken before the actual examination. Makeups should occur within one week of the regularly scheduled examination or quiz, otherwise a score of zero will be given.
If you require additional accommodations as determined by the Center for Students with Disabilities, please let your instructor know as soon as possible.
Exceptions
Your lowest written homework score and lowest five WebAssign scores will be dropped when computing your average for the final grade. This means you can take a “free spin” for any reason you want, be it time to spend on another class, a family emergency, or an unusually packed social calendar. In fairness to the graders and other students, late homework will not be accepted.