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Grading
Lab reports, homeworks, proposals and final presentations contribute to the final grade with the following weights:
| Assignment | Weight |
|---|---|
| Lab 1 Analysis + Report | 15% |
| Lab 2 Analysis + Report | 20% |
| Lab 3 Analysis + Report | 15% |
| Lab 4 Analysis + Report | 20% |
| Homeworks + Participation in discussions | 10% |
| Project proposal + evaluation of peer proposal | 10% |
| Final presentation | 10% |
Each lab comes with weekly deadlines following the date of the observations. The report has to be handed in by four weeks after the observations. For each day that the work / report is late, the grade will be multiplied by a factor of 0.95.
Example: Observations are taken on the night of Friday, Sept 7. The analysis deadlines are Sept 14, 21, and 28; the report is due Oct. 5 before midnight. If the first analysis check-in is Sept. 17 (three days late), and the report is sent in on Oct. 8 (also three days late), the final grade will be multiplied by (0.95)^6=0.86.
If you take observations on a day where your lab report is due, the lab report will be due on the day after without penalty. (This applies only for actual observations, if we have to cancel because of weather, the report is due on the original day.)
Exceptions to the late penalties are "delay days". Everybody starts out with 7 "delay days", and can use these to avoid late penalties. For analysis check-ins, they have to be used with the group, i.e. every member is charged (if one member has no more delay days, the late penalties apply instead). For lab reports, delay days are used on an individual basis.
The deadlines for proposals and final presentations are strict; no credit will be given for work handed in after the deadline.
Class attendance is mandatory.
For every lecture or data analysis class missed, one point (on a scale of 100) will be subtracted from your final score. An exception is if you have completed all your data analysis check-ins and tutorials for that week; in this case, you do not have to come to data analysis sessions. In addition, you can miss 2 non-consecutive data analysis sessions without penalty, as long as you let the instructor know beforehand.
Missing the time allocation or presentation classes will result in 0 points for the participation score of that assignment.
In observational astronomy, the most valuable resource is telescope time. If you miss (or are exceedingly late to) an observing session that you scheduled without a proper excuse and/or without notifying the instructors, you will be given a 50% penalty on your lab report.
Any incidence of plagiarism will automatically result in a grade "Q" (academic dishonesty). Examples of plagiarism specific to this class are:
- Copying parts of somebody else's lab report verbatim
- Copying parts of somebody else's lab report, slightly modifying each sentence
- Copying somebody else's observing proposal
The consequences of the "Q" grade are discussed here and here.