General Teaching Policies
Dr. Lotfi K. Gaafar
520 Academic Center, ext. 5355
e-mail: gaafar@aucegypt.edu

Office Hours: MW 11:00- 12:00, T 1:00 – 3:00, R 1:00 – 2:00, and by appointment.

Teaching Philosophy
I believe that universities are training camps to prepare students for their professional career. My role as a professor is to help students learn engineering material as part of a complete experience that relates the material to its real life applications and is conducted in a professional environment. More important than learning the specifics of the presented material is to develop an engineering sense and good self-learning abilities.

Computer expertise, oral and writing communication skills, and teaming skills are essential in the engineering workplace. To achieve this, an integrative semester project is included in all my courses.

I provide a high level of support for learning through office hours, an interactive discussion format in the classroom, and detailed observations about strengths and weaknesses on graded material. Individual treatment is vital, but all students must be treated fairly and have the same opportunities available to them.

I make the following assumptions about my students:
1. They seek to maximize the meaningful learning that they can achieve given scarce resources of time and energy.
2. They attend the class to learn not to socialize.
3. They are interested in learning the course material as well as earning a good grade.

In light of the philosophy and assumptions above, my teaching policies are designed to achieve the following objectives:
1. Support my role as a learning facilitator.
2. Create a professional learning environment inside the classroom and outside it.
3. Help the students improve their self-learning abilities.
4. Related all course contents to real life applications.
5. Treat students fairly and provide them all with the same opportunities.

Course Information: Except as otherwise indicated in class, course material will be posted on my homepage (http://www.aucegypt.edu/gaafar). You are advised to visit my homepage daily before class.

Assignments: Assignments are due in class before the beginning of the period on the day announced. Late assignments will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Assignments must be submitted in the following format to be considered for grading:
1. Use A4 paper.
2. Use only one side of the paper.
3. Attempt all problems.
4. Include a cover page with: student name, ID#, homework #, and the honesty statement (see below).

Quizzes: There will be a quiz at the beginning of the last class every week. Any excuses for missed quizzes will not be accepted. Instead, the lowest two quiz or submitted assignment grades will be dropped to account for unforeseen events.

Grade Changes: Grade changes will only be considered if requested within one week from when the graded material is returned to the student.

Makeup Policy: In cases when a student misses any of the two midterm exams for a valid and verifiable reason, the score of the final exam will replace the missing score after appropriate scaling. Students missing the final exam will automatically receive a grade of F. There will be no makeup for in-class quizzes.

Attendance: Attendance is a must. AUC policy will be strictly applied. You must sign the class pledge form before the end of the second week of the semester.

Any questions related to the nature of the quizzes or exams must be asked in the classroom. This is to guarantee that all students have the same opportunity and information. You are welcome to ask any other types of questions in my office or through any other form of communication.

The Honesty Statement

All reported material in any course must be accompanied with a cover page including the following honesty statement handwritten by the individual submitting the report, or by the team leader in cases of teamwork:

1. Individual:

"I hereby certify that this report is done entirely by myself. No part of this report is copied or obtained from external sources or colleagues, except as referenced."

2. Teamwork:

"I hereby certify that this report is the exclusive work of the listed team members. No part of this report is copied or obtained from external sources or colleagues, except as referenced."

Academic Honesty: The University's academic dishonesty policy will be strictly enforced. Students involved in any form of academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will receive a grade of "F" for the course with further action to be recommended to the appropriate authorities. It is regrettable that such a statement has to be made.

Final Grade:
All courses are scored out of a total of 600 points. The final grade is determined according to the following table:

558-600 points 93%-100%	A	480-497 points 80%-82.8%	B-	402-419 points 67%-69.8%	D+
540-557 points 90%-92.8%	A-	462-479 points 77%-79.8%	C+	360-401 points 60%-66.8%	D
522-539 points 87%-89.8%	B+	438-461 points 73%-76.8%	C	below 360 points below 60%	F
498-521 points 83%-86.8%	B	420-437 points 70%-72.8%	C-