Grading - anjavdl/PHY517_AST443 GitHub Wiki
Final Grade
Lab reports, homeworks, proposals and final presentations contribute to the final grade with the following weights:
| Assignment | Weight |
|---|---|
| Lab 1 Analysis + Report | 20% |
| Lab 2 Analysis + Report | 20% |
| Lab 3 Analysis + Report | 20% |
| Homeworks | 20% |
| Project proposal + evaluation of peer proposal | 10% |
| Final presentation | 10% |
Late penalties
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=0.74.
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.
Blind grading and submission format
Lab reports, homeworks, and the proposal will be graded blindly. Therefore, label your submissions only with your SBU ID, not your name. The homeworks should be submitted as a single pdf file, named 123456789_HWX.pdf, replacing 123456789 with your SBU ID and X with the homework number. If more than one pdf file are submitted, only the most recently submitted will be graded.
Lab reports should also be submitted as pdf files, named 123456789_LabX_123456788_123456787.pdf, replacing 12345678? with your SBU ID, resp. the SBU IDs of your co-authors, and the X with the Lab number. For Labs 2 and 3, if a jupyter notebook is submitted in addition to the main report, it should also be in pdf format, and follow the same naming convention, e.g. 123456789_LabX_123456788_123456787_code.pdf.
Absences
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.
Plagiarism
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.
ChatGPT and other AI tools
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a widely used tool, and students in this class are encouraged to learn to use this tool. Example use cases include programming help, proof-reading lab reports, etc. However, as with any tool or reference, proper credit needs to be given. Each lab report therefore needs to state the specific use AND a short reflection about the usefulness and correctness of the application. The use of AI tools without such a statement is considered plagiarism (see above).