General Syllabus
What is the purpose of a General Syllabus?
There is a lot of information that applies across all courses I teach at Vanderbilt. I do my best to keep that information here so that it’s as up to date as possible. Students are responsible for information in both General Syllabus found here and the course-specific syllabus found on their course Brightspace page.
Please see the syllabus on your course website for policies related to your particular class. General policies governing all my courses can be found here. I reserve the right to modify, change, and supplement both the general and course-specific syllabi as needs arise. I am looking forward to an excellent semester with you.
Communication
I ask that you provide me with the respect that I should spend my time engaging with students in meaningful ways, not pointing you to material you can find on your own. Be sure to check the syllabus, course website, course content, and classmates before emailing me. This is important training for life after college – when you have a question, the first thing you do should not be to email your boss. I do not want to discourage you from engaging with me. I love teaching because I love interacting with students. However, I do not want to engage with you in ways that nurture your inability to critically think and prevents me from meaningfully engaging with other students.
I am committed to checking and responding to email from students within 24 hours Monday-Friday. If 24 hours have passed (M-F) and I have not responded, please forward your email again. It likely got buried in my inbox and I will welcome the reminder. If you email me regarding an assignment less than 24 hours before the due date, you cannot reasonably expect a response before the assignment is due.
I have kids at home. I want to turn my attention toward them after school hours. This means that emails sent after 3pm will usually not be responded to until the next business day.
Do I want to grade you? Nope.
I do not want to be grading you. I do not find any joy or satisfaction in marking your transcript. I wish it were not part of my job. Unfortunately, marking your transcript is part of my job. I love my job and incredibly lucky to be here at Vanderbilt with you so I will not jeopardize the trust placed in me by the university. To this end, I will not bump, curve, round, or scale grades at the individual student level, due to any circumstance. Do not ask me to do this. Such a change in student’s grades can lead to unfairness and subjectivity in how students are assessed and would be unfair to your peers. If you attempt any conversation with me focused on asking for bumps, favorable rounding, or additional opportunities not afforded to other students I will respond to you that you have asked me to step outside the bounds of my integrity, I am offended, and I will never serve as a reference for you in the future. I understand other professors may take liberty to do this and may disagree with me on this point. However, I personally see it as a violation of your collective trust in me to (1) take the responsibility of accurately marking of your transcript with the utmost seriousness and (2) treat everyone in the class as equally as possible.
Posting of grades
Once a grade has been posted for five days, it will not be changed unless there is documented evidence that the student attempted to address the grade with the relevant teaching staff beginning within this five-day timeframe.
Grading Scale
The grading scale follows the standard +/- grading system found on Brightspace (i.e., to two decimal places, no rounding).
Consequences of our human brains in one room
Human brains are incredible, but they are limited in capacity. Attending to and ignoring information takes cognitive effort.
Because I have a human brain, students coming late and leaving early can be distracting for me. I’m trying to give the best lectures I can because someone is paying for each student to be in them. When you come in late or leave early, know that you are reducing my ability to focus, impacting the quality of lecture of everyone else in the room, pointing to your own egotism.
Because you have a human brain, you should use paper and pen/pencil to take notes in class and not a digital device. I know many of us want to be immune to this advice, but we are still all using human brains that are limited in capacity and influenced by dopamine hits. Devote your limited mental energy to learning rather than ignoring alerts and the screen activity of your neighbors.
If you are in a class that allows computers, and you want to pretend you have a super superior special brain (spoiler alert: you don’t), then you will need to be seated in the back rows of class. This allows folks who are using paper and pen/pencil to focus their limited mental energy on learning rather than ignoring your devices. When you sit down for class each day, look down the row you are sitting in and behind you. If you see students next to or behind you NOT using laptops, then you are not far enough back, and I expect you to move back. Otherwise, I will stop lecture and remind you to do so, and we will all wait for you to gather your things and move. Sounds awkward. I don’t want to do that to you, but I will, because your classmates are making better choices than you. Let’s avoid it altogether please.
You know what they say about assumptions…
I know it’s hard to keep up with what different professors allow and don’t allow in their classes. That is simply part of the university structure. Do not assume because a professor allows something in their class, it’s allowed in mine. I have tried to articulate common issues in the general and course-specific syllabi. I’m not gatekeeping my stance on issues. If it’s not articulated in writing, then I think it’s wildly obvious or I have rarely or never encountered it. You need to ask the teaching staff first, and then me, rather than assuming anything important related to this course. For example, other professors offering extra credit, accepting late work, or rounding grades has no bearing on whether I do those things. Your assumptions will be at your own risk.
No Extra Credit – No Extra Work – It Goes Both Ways
I do not offer extra credit. If the majority of the class does poorly on an individual assignment, and I bear the responsibility for the low performance, then I will adjust the assignment’s weighting or grading accordingly. I would not suggest the class does *more* work to makeup for my failure. The inverse is also true. If an individual student or even the majority of the class does poorly on an assignment, and after careful review I do not reasonably bear responsibility, then those grades will stand. The teaching staff and I will not do *more* work (i.e., grading) to makeup for your failure.
Religious Holidays
To ensure that accommodations may be made for students who miss class to observe a religious holiday, you must inform me in writing before the end of the third week of class, or as soon as possible if the holiday occurs during the first three weeks of the semester.
For students, from the Vanderbilt University Student Handbook:
Religious Holy Days and Practices
It is the policy of Vanderbilt to reasonably accommodate students so that they do not experience an adverse academic consequence when sincerely held religious beliefs or observances conflict with academic requirements.
Absence from classes or examinations for religious reasons does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of absence. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty with reasonable notice of the dates of religious holidays on which they will be absent, preferably at the beginning of the semester. It is incumbent on students who miss a class to catch up on any material discussed and assignments given during that class period.
Students who wish to request an academic accommodation for a religious observance should submit their request in writing directly to the instructor of the course well in advance of the absence, preferably at the beginning of the semester. Students and instructors who have questions or concerns about academic accommodations for religious observance or religious beliefs may contact the Equal Opportunity and Access Office.
Academic Integrity
As your instructor, I am obligated to report well-founded suspected academic misconduct. According to Vanderbilt, the faculty role in the honor system states: “If suspicion is strong or if evidence is available, the faculty member is obligated to report the incident to the appropriate honor council. It should be understood, however, that the faculty member need not have evidence in hand before notifying the appropriate council–just well-founded suspicion.” I love my job and will therefore abide by this obligation.
Artificial Intelligence
I am excited about generative AI. I think that students are well served by becoming familiar with AI tools. I am interested in allowing AI to be used in many cases in my class on assignments where appropriate, provided it is disclosed, per the Vanderbilt University Academic Affairs Guidance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. However, AI will not be permitted on any assignment unless I specify its use in writing. If you are interested in using AI on an assignment, please ask me and I will consider if it would enhance your education.
Late work
By definition, a due date in this class refers to the point in time by which something must be done.
The default in all classes, on all assignments, is that late work is not accepted. While I reserve the right to accept late work, with or without penalty, under circumstances I deem reasonable, students must recognize that they should never assume late work will be accepted.
Notifications
You are responsible for all course-related announcements made in class and in writing. I am not purposefully gatekeeping class information, but I may remember to say something in class but then forget to post it. I may remember to post something and not remember to mention it in class. I’ll do my best to cover all my bases, but you need to as well by (1) attending every class period or getting notes from a trusted classmate, (2) checking your email daily, and (3) checking Brightspace regularly.
Email us back
If the teaching staff or I email you about anything related to class, you are expected to respond. If you do not respond within a reasonable amount of time, then we will assume you are either incapacitated or no longer interested in passing the class and the appropriate university officials may be notified.
Casual rigor
It is one of the greatest gifts of my life to have the opportunity to share my passion for psychology with undergraduates. The energy that I get out of interacting with people at your stage of life is one of my favorite ways to spend an hour. I love getting to know you, getting to cheer you on in and outside of the classroom, and having the opportunity to teach you about psychology. However, do not misinterpret my interest in supporting you and the casual and welcoming environment that I like to cultivate as a lack of expectations and rigor or as an open door for departing from the honor code or expectations of societal norms (e.g., due dates). My classroom (virtual and in person) is both a warm, welcoming environment and a place of rigorous expectations.
Student Access
All reasonable accommodations will be made for students registered with the Student Access Department. Any requests that are not approved through their office will not be granted.
Accommodations not specifically requested by SA in official SA letters will not be made.
Although I will accept SA paperwork at anytime during the semester for future assignments, retroactive accommodations will not be made.
Statement on sexual misconduct/relationship violence
“Vanderbilt is committed to providing a community built on trust and mutual respect, where all can feel secure and free from harassment. Sexual misconduct including sexual violence, sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, and stalking, violates a person’s rights, dignity and integrity and is contrary to our community principles and the mission of the college. The University is committed to fostering a community that promotes prompt reporting of sexual misconduct and timely and fair resolution of sexual misconduct reports. Creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment is the responsibility of everyone at Vanderbilt.
We encourage all members of our campus community to seek support from the Project Safe Center; 615-322-7233. We encourage community members to report all incidents of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct directly to the Title IX Coordinator (615-322-4705). Staff in these departments will assist in eliminating the misconduct, preventing its recurrence, and addressing its effects.”
Emergency Preparedness
“The safety of students, faculty, and staff at Vanderbilt University is of the utmost importance. As a Vanderbilt student, you are automatically enrolled in AlertVU, which is used in emergencies which pose an imminent threat to the community. If you need to contact the Vanderbilt Police in an emergency, call 911 from any campus phone or (615) 421-1911 from any other phone. Additional information about emergency preparedness is available online.”
https://emergency.vanderbilt.edu/vu/quick-ref-guides/
Inclusivity and Diversity
This class will respect differences in background and identity. One way in which we will endeavor to do so will be to use respect and withhold judgment when sensitive topics occur in the reading and class discussion. I am open to any and all conversations offering suggestions on how to better respect differences in background and identity. Please be aware of the below offices on campus supporting historically minoritized groups on campus.
The K.C. Potter Center for LQBTQIA+ Life
The Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center:
The Margart Cuninggim Women’s Center
Be safe. People love you.
Oh the places you will go!
Toni Morrison said it best: “I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”
I hope that I free and empower you during our time together. If you can think of a way that I could do better, reach out and let’s chat about it.