- Penalties for Late Work: All assignments are due on the scheduled day and time. Each day late without a pre-approved extension will result in the reduction of your grade by 1/3 of a letter (e.g., an A- will become a B+).
- Excused Absences: If you are sick or facing other extenuating circumstances that force you to miss class, please notify your tutor as soon as possible and provide some form of written documentation. We will work with you to make up what you missed in such cases.
- Religious Observances: We will make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled assignments or required attendance. Please notify us of any such conflicts during the first week of the semester.
- Classroom Interactions: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate and safe learning environment. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. We will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise us of this preference early in the semester so that we may make appropriate changes to our records.
- Academic Freedom: The University of Hong Kong is a community of students, faculty, and staff who work together to discover new knowledge, create new ideas, and share the results of our scholarly inquiry with the wider public. Although new ideas or research results may be controversial or challenge established views, the health and growth of any society requires frank intellectual exchange. Academic freedom refers to this type of free exchange and is thus essential to any university’s mission. Moreover, academic freedom supports collaborative work in the pursuit of truth and the dissemination of knowledge in an environment of inquiry, respectful debate, and professionalism. In order to encourage the open exchange of ideas in the context of this class and protect students and teachers, we will not be recording lectures and tutorials.
- Warning against Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s work, words, or ideas without proper acknowledgement. In all your assignments, including your blog posts and drafts, you must always make clear where you have borrowed from others by identifying the original source and extent of your use of another’s work. This obligation holds whether the sources are published or unpublished and whether they are in print or on the internet. This also applies to class PowerPoint slides, which should be cited if used in assignments. As stated in the University of Hong Kong’s Full-Time Undergraduate Handbook, “The University does not allow or tolerate plagiarism…. Any student who commits plagiarism is liable to disciplinary action which can result in serious consequences – including expulsion from the University.” For more information on plagiarism and how to avoid it, please read the booklet “What is Plagiarism?” (https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/) and consult your teacher if you have any questions.
- SEN Support: If you have a disability or special educational needs (SEN) that require an accommodation, please speak with the teacher and consult SEN Support at CEDARS (https://www.cedars.hku.hk/cope/sen). SEN Support will determine appropriate accommodations and will work with your course coordinator to make sure these are available to you.
- Counseling: As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, or loss of motivation. CEDARS is here to help with these or other issues you may experience. You can learn about the free, confidential mental health services available on campus by calling (852) 3917 8388, emailing cedars-cope@hku.hk, or visiting https://www.cedars.hku.hk/cope/cps/appointment to schedule an appointment. Help is always available. In addition to counseling, CEDARS also offers a range of other services, including help with housing and career advice: https://www.cedars.hku.hk/.
- Writing Assistance: For additional help on your writing, you may book a one-to-one 30-minute consultation session with a tutor at the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES) Writing Center (https://www5.caes.hku.hk/writingcentre/). It can be enormously helpful to ask someone to read your essays and to provide feedback on strength of argument, clarity, organization, etc. They can get quite busy during peak times, so make sure to request an appointment well in advance of any deadlines.
- PLEASE NOTE: The teachers reserve the right to make modifications to the syllabus throughout the semester. Topics, readings, and assignments may be adjusted depending on the situation. It is your responsibility to check your email and the course website on Moodle regularly for announcements, guidelines, and updates.
