Grading Policies

Assessment Weights

Assessment Weight Dropped
Homework (9) 20% Lowest 1
Quizzes (6) 25% Lowest 1
Mini Projects (2) 20% None
Term Project 25% None
Readings (8) 10% Lowest 1

The drop policies are identical for BEE 4850 and BEE 5850. Where the two sections differ is in the work required, not in how leniently it is marked — see the syllabus.

How Work Is Graded

  • Homework is graded by the TA on Gradescope. Every question is checked against the posted solution key; two or three questions per assignment additionally receive written feedback. See Homework Policies for why the depth varies.
  • Quizzes are graded by Prof. Srikrishnan and the TA using the same principles as the homework assignment key. These are scanned and graded on Gradescope.
  • Mini projects are graded by Prof. Srikrishnan using the rubrics.
  • Term projects are graded by Prof. Srikrishnan. The proposal is graded substantively, not for completeness — it is the only place in this course where problem formulation is assessed. The check-in is pass/fail.

Late Policies and Extension Requests

  • Homework can be submitted up to 24 hours late for full credit. The solution key is posted when that window closes, and no submissions are accepted after that point. The lowest homework assignment is dropped.
  • Mini projects and project deliverables can be submitted up to 24 hours late for 50% credit. Submissions after 24 hours will not be accepted unless an extension was granted (in which case there is no late penalty until the extension date). This lets us release solutions and return grades ASAP.
  • Request extensions ahead of the deadline. Justified extensions will only be granted for university-approved reasons or emergencies such as illness, injury, learning accommodations, etc., and will be limited to 1-2 days depending on the circumstance. Deadlines in other courses, job interviews, etc. are not reasons for extensions. Ask yourself whether the circumstances leading to your extension request interfered with submission due to poor planning or because they rendered you incapable of work and/or submission. Extensions requested after the deadline will only be considered prior to solution release and for extreme circumstances (e.g. hospitalization during the last day, hence limited communication access).
  • Under extreme circumstances, we will forgive assignments. There are circumstances under which a 24 hour extension is insufficient, such as long-term illness or serious injury. In these cases, we will compute your course grade as if the forgiven assignment never occurred, which will result in your other assessments having more weight.
ImportantThe Drops Are There To Be Used

One homework assignment, one quiz, and one reading are dropped automatically. That is not slack for you to plan around — it is insurance for the week when something goes wrong. If you burn all three in February because you were busy, and then get sick in April, we are both in a worse position than if you had come to talk to me.

Regrade Requests

  • Submit regrade requests on Gradescope within one week of the grade release. We recommend talking to Prof. Srikrishnan or your TA about grading concerns before submitting a regrade request, but no grades will be changed outside of a formal request through Gradescope.
  • All regrade requests must include a brief justification for the request or they will not be considered. Good justifications include (but are not limited to):
    • My answer agrees with the posted solution, but I still lost points.
    • I lost 4 points for something, but the rubric says it should only be worth 2 points.
    • You took points off for something, but it’s right here.
    • My answer is correct, even though it does not match the posted solution.
    • There is no explanation for my grade.
    • I got a perfect score, but my solution has a mistake (you will receive extra credit for this! see below!)
    • There is a major error in the posted solution; here is an explanation (full credit for everyone, but Prof. Srikrishnan will decide what constitutes a “major error”! see below!).
  • We will only regrade what you submitted. Any “new” information in the regrade request will not be considered beyond the justification. An explanation may help us identify where to look if your solution is different than the official solution but correct, but the submitted answer must be interpretable as a correct solution on its own merits.
  • The first regrade request will be handled by the member of the course staff who graded the problem. If Prof. Srikrishnan did not review the first request, he will handle any subsequent regrade requests for the same submission. Once Prof. Srikrishnan issues a response to a regrade request, further requests for that submission will be ignored.
  • If you submit a regrade request correctly reporting that your problem was graded too leniently, your score will be increased by the difference (we want to reward this type of honesty and self-awareness!). For example, if your score was 8/10, and you point out that you should have gotten a 3/10, your score will be a 13/10.
  • If a significant error is found in the official solutions, everyone in the class will receive full credit for the relevant (sub)problem. Prof. Srikrishnan has discretion as to what errors are “significant.”