In assessing students’ work, the instructor will focus on the following factors applicable to all assignments (specific criteria for each assignment will be detailed later):
Your grade is based on your performance during the semester. It includes readings, participation and in class exercises (that means you must attend all classes) and assignments.
Grading for individual assignments is based on the quality of the finished work:
| Grade | Percentage | Performance |
| A+ | 97% to 100% | Excellent |
| A | 93% to 96% | Excellent |
| A- | 90% to 92% | Excellent |
| B+ | 87% to 89% | Good |
| B | 83% to 86% | Good |
| B- | 79% to 82% | Good |
| C+ | 76% to 78% | Unsatisfactory |
| C | 73% to 75% | Unsatisfactory |
| C- | 70% to 72% | Unsatisfactory |
| D+ | 67% to 69% | More than unsatisfactory |
| D | 64% to 66% | More than unsatisfactory |
| D- | 61% to 63% | More than unsatisfactory |
| F | 60% and below | Unacceptable |
It’s critical that students learn to include a diverse set of voices in their stories – something that is often glossed over when finding stories in spreadsheets and online sources. You are encouraged to look for stories about and voices from communities that are underrepresented.
Deadlines are mandatory. Homework and reading assignment reviews are due two weeks from the date of assignment, unless specified otherwise. Late assignments will not receive any credit, unless discussed with the instructor.
You must turn in your assignments before the date and time given to you as a deadline. For each day you miss a deadline you will drop half a grade on your assignment. Plan ahead and remember: done is better than perfect. It will always be better to hand in something than nothing. If you are having trouble with your assignment let the instructor know immediately, do not wait until it is too late. In return you will get feedback about your assignment from the instructor within reasonable time.
It is a serious ethical violation to take any material created by another person and represent it as your own original work. Any such plagiarism will result in serious disciplinary action, possibly including dismissal from the CUNY J-School. Plagiarism may involve copying text from a book or magazine without attributing the source, or lifting words, code, photographs, videos, or other materials from the Internet and attempting to pass them off as your own. Please ask the instructor if you have any questions about how to distinguish between acceptable research and plagiarism.
In addition to being a serious academic issue, copyright is a legal issue.
Never “lift” or “borrow” or “appropriate” or “repurpose” graphics, audio, or code without both permission and attribution. This guidance applies to scripts, audio, video clips, programs, photos, drawings, and other images, and it includes images found online and in books.
Create your own graphics, seek out images that are in the public domain or shared via a creative commons license that allows derivative works, or use images from the AP Photo Bank or which the school has obtained licensing.
If you’re repurposing code, be sure to keep the original licensing intact. If you’re not sure how to credit code, ask.
The exception to this rule is fair use: if your story is about the image itself, it is often acceptable to reproduce the image. If you want to better understand fair use, the Citizen Media Law Project is an excellent resource.
When in doubt: ask.
Observe the VCU Honor Pledge in any class- and homework activities