Students interested in observing the night sky through small telescopes have several opportunities. 1. The Painter Hall Observatory has UT Student/Staff Night on Fridays from 9:30 to 10:30. Public Night is on Saturdays, 8:30 to 10:30. These sessions are free and open to all ages; no reservations are required. If you have questions, call Feng Ma at 471-0445. 2. The Astronomy Department sponsors weekly "star parties" on the 14th floor observing deck of R.L.Moore Hall 30 minutes after sunset (8:00 p.m.) on Wednesdays this fall. This is free and open to the public.
There is no required comprehensive final exam in this course. However, I will schedule an optional final for anyone who is not content with their final grade, or who has had to miss an exam during the regular semester. Your score on the comprehensive final will replace your lowest exam score in computing your average. The date, time, and place for this exam will be determined by the University, and this exam cannot be administered early or late, not for any reason. The exam will be comprehensive, including questions on all the material covered in the course, and will consist entirely of multiple choice questions.
If you should miss one and only one of the four exams, for any reason, you will be given the opportunity to make up the one exam by taking the optional comprehensive final and make-up exam described above. There will be no exceptions (i.e., no "special" make-up exams or "special" reasons). You do not need to disclose your reason for missing an exam and you do not need to notify Professor Scalo or the TA. This means that there will be no late exams given, except possibly if there is a documented medical emergency or imperative nonacademic reason and the exam can be taken within one day of the scheduled exam. If there are documented medical emergencies or imperative nonacademic reasons to miss more than one exam, you may be able to drop the course (see "Drops" and "Incompletes below).
If at the end of the semester you are just under the cutoff for a grade (by, say, one, or two, or 0.3 percentage points), whether you are just under a D, say, or an A, do not call Professor Scalo asking him to lower the cutoff -- this is unfair to all concerned. Cutoffs will not be lowered to accommodate your individual score. Instead, you have a viable option: If you would like to improve your score, you should take the optional comprehensive final.
Grades on late homework assignments will be decreased by 10 percent per day late. If you do need to turn in a late assignment, deliver it to the TA's office as soon as possible.
If you have any special request of any sort (excluding those not allowed, like lowering the grade cutoff), please put the request in writing. Please compose a written document, addressed to Professor Scalo, clearly and explicitly stating your request and why it is reasonable. Include a phone number so that I can contact you about your request.
Obviously (I hope), this procedure does not apply to minor requests such as "Could you write a little larger on the board?," etc.
An incomplete (X) will only be considered for students who cannot complete the required course work for reasons other than lack of diligence (illness or other imperative nonacademic reasons), but only if the student has a passing grade on the work completed.
Academic dishonesty will result in failure of the course and a report to the Dean of Students, who will decide on further action. Because of the large size of this class and the temptations involved, it will be important to keep your eyes from wandering and to guard your own exam. Also, bring your UT ID card with you to exams and be prepared to show this card if asked.