Administration
    People, policies, and procedures

    Arch 324/624, Introduction to Structural Design, University of Virginia
    Copyright © 1996-2008 Kirk Martini. Last Modified Mon, 24-Mar-2008 14:50
       Table of
    Contents

    • People
    • Lecture Etiquette
    • Homework
    • Grading
    • Lab Sections
    • Summary of Important Dates


    People

    Instructor:

      Kirk Martini

    There are several ways to get in touch with me:

    • Office Hours or appointment: Meeting in person is the best way to address extended questions, deal with special problems, discuss studio work, and to get to know each other. It is best to arrange appointments through e-mail.
    • E-mail: E-mail is good to clarify ambiguities in homework problems and administrative matters, and to make appointments.
    • Feedback Form: The feedback form is for anonymous comments, suggestions, and complaints.
    • Assessment Committee: The assessment committee is a group of students from the class who will meet with me weekly to discuss concerns they have heard from classmates. If you have a concern about what is happening in the class, you can tell a member of the assessment committee, and they will relay it to me.

    Teaching Assistants:

      Alissa Diamond

      au2c at virginia.edu

      Office Hours: Tue 10 AM - noon

      Insil Lee

      il4c at virginia.edu

      Office Hours: Sun 5-7 PM

      Graham Peterson

      gmp8c at virginia.edu

      Office Hours: Thu 4-6 PM

      Bryce Powell

      bhp5g at virginia.edu

      Office Hours: Sun 7-9 PM


      TA desk locations on 4th floor.

    Lab Assistants:

      Feyza Senolsun

      fs3r at virginia.edu

      Office Hours: Tue 12-2 PM


      Lab assistant desk locations, 3rd floor.

    Assessment Committee:

    • Sarah Collins
    • Yong Jun Choi
    • Charles Smith


    Lecture Etiquette

    Lecture is a group activity, and so requires social consideration and respect among members of the group. This is particularly important in our lecture room where people sit closely packed. Activities that distract surrounding people are inconsiderate and disrespectful; this is particularly true of using electronic devices (e.g. texting, emailing, or browsing), but also applies to reading newspapers and other distracting behavior.


    Homework

    Homework problems will be assigned with most lectures. Place your completed homework in the marked slots outside my office; labeled by discussion section. Submit homework before 10:30 AM 1:15 PM on the day it is due. I will collect homework from the slots at 10:30 1:15, but will continue to accept homework without penalty until 10:45 1:30.

    Always include the following information on all homework you submit:

    • Your section number (e.g. 1 or 2 corresponding to the two lab sections).
    • The assignment number (e.g. Homework 2)
    • Your name.

    This will help us to score, record, and return your homework promptly and accurately.

    Late Homework

    Submit late homework to the slot marked LATE HW near my office door. Please write the time and date when you put it in the slot.

    Scoring procedures for late homework are as follows: When late homework is collected, the number of late days is recorded. At the end of the semester, the late days are totaled and your homework total will be adjusted as follows:

      0 total late days add 10 points
      0.5 to 2.5 total late days add 5 points
      3 to 5 total late days add 0 points
      more than 5 total late days subtract 2 points for each day over 5

    Late days will be counted in half-day increments. the counting starts at the initial homework due time, with another half-day added at 5 PM, and then another at the following 8 AM, continuing. The time from 5:00 PM Friday to 8:00 am Monday counts as one half-day.

    If you have special circumstances, such as a family illness, that prevent you from submitting an assignment on time, please contact me as soon as possible.

    Homework Presentation

    Presentation will be considered in grading homework, and is based on logical clarity and flow. The key considerations are organization and readability. Each problem has one half point for presentation.

    Well organized homework solutions allow graders to review and return the work more quickly, and will be a more useful resource for you later to study for licensing exams. The annotated example illustrates key points of clear presentation.

    In addition, all homework solutions must be on stapled (not paper-clipped) 8.5x11 inch paper, so that pages are not lost in handling. Work on odd-sized paper or unstapapled pages may be lost in handing and receive no credit.


    Grading

    Grades are based on cumulative points from four categories: homework, quizzes. a final examination, and class participation. The calculation of letter grades includes weighting factors. The weighting will be approximately as follows:

      homework 25%
      quizzes 30%
      project 15%
      final 25%
      participation 5%

    Homework, quizzes, the project and the final will be assigned numeric scores based on the understanding and reasoning ability they demonstrate.

    Class participation is based on my perception of each student's contribution to the progress of the overall group, encompassing things like contributing to discussions in lecture, assisting other students in section, and interacting with other students when we break into smaller groups. The default participation score is 3 out of 5, which means I know your name and recognize your regular attendance. 5 corresponds to consistent positive contributions in lecture and lab.

    Points will be totaled and weighted so that a score of 100 represents full points in all categories. Because of the weighting factors, points from the different sources are not equivalent; 10 points on a quiz is not equivalent 10 points on a homework assignment. Based on past experience, the class average will be in the neighborhood of 80, corresponding to a letter grade B+. The A-minus range typically starts in the mid eighties. The C+ range typically starts in the low sixties. Note that if everyone gets 90% then everyone gets an A. There's no harm in helping your classmates; it's strongly encouraged.

    As the course progresses, I recommend that you monitor your standing by maintaining a record of your points earned as a percentage of total points possible; it is not necessary to consider weighting factors since they have a relatively minor impact.

    Assignment and test scores will be posted near the end of the semester for you to check that scores are recorded correctly.


    Lab Sections

    In addition to lecture meetings the course has lab sessions at the days and times listed below. The lab sessions will be working sessions focusing on extended problems and projects.

      Section Room Time Teaching Assistants Lab Assistant
      1 302 Campbell Thu 9:30 - 10:45 Graham Peterson,
      Alissa Diamond
       
      2 302 Campbell Thu 11:00 - 12:15 Insil Lee,
      Bryce Powell
      Feyza Senolsun


    Summary of Important Dates

      Thursday Feb 21, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
      (Friday Feb 22, 7:00 - 10:00 if snow)
      quiz
      Thursday Feb 28, in section meeting model project
      Thursday Apr 3, 7:00 - 10:00 PM quiz
      Thursday May 1, 7:00 - 10:00 PM final examination

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Arch 324/624, Introduction to Structural Design, University of Virginia
    Copyright © 1996-2008 Kirk Martini. Last Modified Mon, 24-Mar-2008 14:50
      Table of
    Contents