Economics Common Syllabus

Beginning with autumn quarter, 2003-04, courses taught in the Department of Economics are covered by a common set of course management policies approved by the Faculty.

Students are responsible for knowing and abiding by these course policies.

 

I. Attendance

a. Courses have individual policies regarding class attendance.

b. Exam attendance

Exam attendance at the specified time is required. There are a few exceptions to this rule, and if you are requesting one of these exceptions you must email the course instructor, copying the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Pete Klenow, (klenow@stanford.edu)

The exceptions, detailed below, are health emergencies, death in the immediate family, Stanford business that takes you away from Campus, and documented disabilities. There are no other exceptions. (There will be no exception  for students attending job interviews or beginning jobs or internships before the end of the term, or for other non-educational reasons would prefer not to be at the University when the exam is scheduled.) Since the exceptions are narrow and clear cut, your email asking for an exception should be short and to the point.

i. Death of an immediate family member may require you to travel away from campus to attend services. Immediate family members are your parents, siblings, spouse, and children.

ii. Health emergencies are when you are in the hospital or clinic during the time of the course exam. Vaden physicians will certify when the student with the health emergency was seen. Documentation from the health care facility must follow your email.

iii. Absence from campus on Stanford business is usually for athletic competition. Work through the AAC in order to take your exam at the same time (or slightly earlier, if absolutely necessary) as other students in the course. The only difference will be the test location.

iv. Disabled students who are working through the SDRC may, in some circumstances, take examinations at a different place than the rest of students. See SDRC section below.

Students are responsible for making sure, at the beginning of the term, that they can attend the exams. Registering for a course means that you certify that you will be present for the exam (unless one of the explicitly stated exceptions above arises.)

Economics courses enforce the every other seat rule for examinations, and exams are to be taken either in the examination room or the designated overflow room if one is needed.

c. On time exam attendance

Students who arrive late will have less time to finish the exam. The exam time is never extended.

II. No make-up exams

Other than the exceptions listed above, exams will not be rescheduled for a different time or place.

 

III. Withdrawals and Incompletes

Stanford provides an option for students to withdraw from courses. Students may withdraw up to the end of the 8th week of classes for any reason. Students may request incompletes after that deadline provided (1) the only work that is incomplete is the course final exam or final paper and (2) there is a health emergency or a death in their immediate family (these are clear cut boundaries, see the precise boundaries under "exam attendance, above.) Students should promptly (once healthy and past initial grieving) work out an arrangement for clearing an incomplete with the instructor. The typical arrangement is taking the final for the same course offered in a later term. The University rules about incompletes, such as that they turn into NP after a fixed period of time, apply here.

 

IV. Deadlines

Late work, whether problem sets, exams, papers, or other work, does not count for course credit. It gets a grade of zero. No exceptions.

 

V. Weighting

Weighting different aspects of students' work is, like the rest of grading, necessary. The relative weights on the different elements of the course work are set by the instructor. So are the rules that permit (or do not permit) dropping the lowest problem set score. The department has no set weights. One department-wide rule is that, if the course permits dropping the lowest problem set score, a student who has entered a course late and missed the first problem set drops that one, not a later one.

 

VI. Correcting Errors in Grading

This section lays out rules and procedures for requesting a correction of a grading error. Requests for grading correction should clearly and succinctly state the unambiguous error you believe has occurred. Errors in grading due to illegible or garbled answers are not subject to correction. Students who have been graded incorrectly should petition for a correction in writing to the Professor, copying the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Pete Klenow (klenow@stanford.edu).
Students must not approach either instructor or TA with an oral request before making their written request.
Requests should be extremely short and must focus on the specifics of the grading error.
Requests should occur within a week of the work being returned (for example, within a week of the work being placed in the academic office.)
The entire graded work (problem set or examination) should be resubmitted; there is no guarantee that grades will rise as, statistically, positive and negative errors in grading are equally likely. If the request arises because you think different students have been graded differently, all the affected students should submit their work as a group (there is no guarantee that only upward adjustments will occur.) Note that this policy applies only to specific and unambiguous errors, not to such items as disputes over grading policies, protests about the form or content of an examination, or claims of learning not displayed in the work.
Requests for a correction which do not state, with particularity and specificity, the error to be corrected will be rejected.

Here is the appropriate form of a request to correct an error grading:

"Dear Prof. X:

I am a student in your economics 999 course. I believe that the grades on my midterm were added up incorrectly. As you can see from the bluebook I left in your mailbox, I have 25 on each of the four questions, but 73 on the exam. I have not spoken with you or any of the TAs about this, and am copying the DUS on this email.

Sincerely,

Fred."

 

Requests after the end of the term are further limited by the University's policies.
See https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/grades/inc_chg_rpt_grades.htm#rev_end_qtr_grades

 

VII. Honor Code Issues

The Honor Code is a very important part of student life, and the Department of Economics takes it seriously. The Department encourages course instructors to fully comply with their responsibilities to honorable students under the Honor Code. https://www.stanford.edu/dept/vpsa/judicialaffairs/guiding/honorcode.htm

The Department reserves the right to undertake procedures that will catch violations of the Honor Code, such as photocopying work before it has been returned.

 

VIII. Disability Issues

Students with documented disabilities: Students, who have a physical, psychological, or learning disability, that may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class must initiate the request with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), not with the instructor. The SDRC will evaluate the request along with the required documentation, recommend appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in which the request is being made. Students should contact the SDRC in the first week of the quarter as timely notice is needed to arrange for appropriate accommodations. The SDRC is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk. Also see https://www.stanford.edu/group/OAE/

Be sure that your instructor, the SDRC, and you have a common understanding, at least two weeks before any examination, of the precise logistical arrangements by which you will be accommodated.