Some notes on points and grades

A rough rule we are following is that there is about 1 pt worth of assessment credit available for each 10 minutes of work in the course. 

So, for example, the inter-video quizzes for an hour of video will be worth approximately 6 pts. We vary this as needed, but that's the median we shoot for. 

For a reading plus reading response assignment that takes a slower student (let's say second quintile) an hour and a half to complete, we might award 9 or 10 points. For a test that should take six hours of study or review to ace, we might award 35 points. (In all cases we overspec the time required by figuring out a median time and buffering it to account for slower students).

This tends to avoid high stakes scores and cramming, and focuses students on issues of efficacy and effort. 

It also allows faculty to use the course core in different ways (a huge reuse issue) -- if you want to use the course as a one credit supplement instead of a two credit supplement, for example, just choose 270 points of activities (45 hours * 6) for your students to participate in -- or allow your students multiple paths to get to a set point goal.

For more information on the general structor of this course see, Start Here. 

For more information on credit options in this course see, Course Credit Options.