BA 7070 Exams

BA 7070 Online

Examinations

Midterm Exams

Final Exam

Note: Everything to involved in this course up to the date of an exam, may be covered by the examination: text readings, Wall Street Journal readings, other readings, discussion board topics, lectures, and any other tasks and activities that are part of this course. Your individual thoughtfulness will be an essentail component of your grade on each exam. Therefore, collaboration between students can prove to be counter-productive. More importantly, in this ethics course, exam-related collaboration violates academic integrity.

Mid-Term Exams and Final Exam: Two Parts

Each of the two mid-term exam, and two of three parts of the final exam, are "take-home" exams, available to the student at the Course Documents section of the Blackboard site for this course. The allocation of points between types of questions (multiple choice versus essay) will vary from exam to exam, and the number and amount of points of (each type of) questions will vary from exam to exam.

Note: before taking an exam, carefully read the Blackboard Student Assessment Guide.
Note: before taking an exam, also carefully re-read all of the information on the Quizzes and Surveys page of the syllabus.

For example, never email exam answers or any other other online work to Prof. Spalding. Work done on Blackboard is not accepted in hard copy, by email, or in any other format or media. Noncompliance with these instructions (by attempting to email work to Prof. Spalding) will result in negative points, not positive points. (A zero is at least better than negative points!)

Part One (the multiple choice/true false portion) is completed on Blackboard in the same manner as quizzes.

Part Two (short essay) is also separately completed on Blackboard in approximately the same manner as quizzes. Use complete and proper sentences:
Each Midterm Exam consists of two parts:

Part One (multiple choice) must be completed in one sitting within one hour. This is done in exactly the same manner as Quizzes.
Part Two (short essay) must be completed in one sitting in one hour. Use your own words, and follow each of the recommendations below. Each essay may be as long as a maximum of 500 words, and is graded on content, clarity, thoughtfulness, reasoning, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and scholarly tone. Of these, thoughtfulness is the most important, but all affect the grade.

Essay Exams are Windows-Sensitive. Never attempt to take an exam from an unstable connection, because if you lose your connection during the exam you will be locked out and lose all credit for the exam (exams may not be taken more than once on the Blackboard system). Also, do not have other software or windows open on your computer when you are ready to take an exam. If you attempt to multi-task during an exam, you run the risk of being locked out of the exam. If you are locked out, you will likely receive zero credit for that exam.
Essay Exams are Graded Manually. Upon completion and submission of your essay exam, you will receive a status notice ("Needs Grading") and a score of "Grade Not Available." In addition, if you View your Grades in the Tools section of Blackboard, your Grade will have a gray or green exclamation mark ! . If you click on that exclamation mark and receive your status notice about the essay exam needing grading, and grading not available, this indicates that you have successfully submitted your essay exam.

Points are added to your MyGrades tool within two weeks of the due date for the essay exam. Comments or feedback are usually added to the MyGrades tool within a week or so after the points are added, and can be viewed by clicking on the drop-down menu in the same cell (on the MyGrades tool) as the points for the essay exam.

Check for Padlocks! If you start to take an exam and you do run into a problem or interruption prior to hitting the button, you might see a padlock symbol instead of a grade when you attempt to View your Grades in the Tools section of Blackboard. In any event, always View your Grades to check for a padlock immediately after submitting any online multiple-choice or essay exam. Unless you are able to have your essay exam reset, you will end up receiving zero credit for that exam, because a padlock symbol is an indication that none of your work was received on Blackboard.
If you start to take an exam and you do run into a problem or interruption prior to hitting the button, and you see a padlock symbol instead of a grade when you attempt to you View your Grades in the Tools section of Blackboard, there is a small chance that you will be able to ask Prof. Spalding to reset your exam (and even then, probably no more than once per semester). Email Prof. Spalding right away (remembering to follow the email protocols for this course), asking him to reset your exam, so that:

(1) IF you email Prof. Spalding plenty of time prior to the deadline for the exam; and
(2) IF Prof. Spalding happens to receive and read your message in plenty of time prior to the due date and time for the exam; and
(3) IF you have not already established a habit or pattern of asking for your quizzes and exams to be reset, then Prof. Spalding may, in response to your email request, agree at his discretion to "clear" your failed attempt to take the exam. (Note, if the error message is simply that you took too long to complete and submit the exam, your exam will not be reset. Instead, a score of zero will eventually be assigned on the Blackboard system.) And, then,
(4) IF you still have time prior to exam deadline, and IF Prof. Spalding has agreed to reset it (#1 through #3 above), you will then be able re-taket the exam "from scratch" and hopefully earn more than the zero that would otherwise have been earned. You will likely have different exam question(s) than you had on your first attempt to take the exam.
No guarantees, of course, so the earlier you take each exam (for example 20 hours before the deadline rather than 2 hours before the deadline), the more likely you will be able to complete it on time. If you wait until two or three hours prior to the deadline to take your exam, you will have assumed the risk of not leaving Prof. Spalding sufficient time to receive and act on your request in time for you to re-take your exam prior to the deadline, and you will therefore receive a zero for that exam.
If you are unsuccessful in having your exam reset in time for you to re-take it, consider that you have invested all of your 30 "slack" points into that exam. But in the future, find your way to a more reliable computer and internet connection (such as a campus lab or library computer), and be sure to re-read this page regarding multi-tasking and the opening of too many windows.

Note: 95 percent of all Exam computer-related problems pertain to the student's computer and connection. Never assume that the problem is with Blackboard, the Wayne State computer system, or the quiz itself. If you experience any problems with an exam, your best and most reliable solution is to find your way to a better computer and connection. Of course, it is also important that you follow the recommendations on this page as well. But if you are in the habit of always assuming that computer-related problems are the fault of "the network" or some external technical glitch, try to break that habit in this course. Start your troubleshooting by moving to a better computer and connection. If you are using a dial-up connection, move to a high speed internet connection. If you are using wireless access, move to an Ethernet or hard-wired access. If you are using a laptop, move to a desktop. Etc. Campus computers (in the libraries and campus computer labs) are among the more reliable connections.
Warning: if you run over the time allotted for the exam, even by one second, you will also not receive credit for that exam. If you start to take an exam and and take one second longer than the allotted time prior to hitting the button, you will likely receive a red exclamation mark ! (or possibly a red question mark ? or a padlock symbol) instead of a grade. When this happens, the red exclamation markor other symbol will eventually be removed, but will be replaced by a zero.

If you Want a Copy. Copies of exams are not available after the exam. If you want a copy of your exam, you must:

Be using an updated browser (preferably Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher), while taking your quiz.
Print a copy of the exam while you are taking the exam, but BEFORE you hit the button.
Before you hit the button, review your printout (printed copy of the exam). You might need to make a notation of your answers on the printed copy itself.
If the above procedure was not successful, before you hit the button, copy the exam page, and then past the information into Notepad, Word Pad, or your word processor, in another window on your computer. Again, you might need to make a notation of your answers before you hit the button. Notepad or WordPad are a better choice than a word processing program, due to the sensitivity of the Blackboard quiz system when other programs or windows are opened.
If you do not make a copy of your exam before you hit the button, you will not be able to go back and obtain a copy. If you continue to have problems, you might wish to take these instructions into a campus computer lab and request help (or ask a fellow student)..

Part Three of Final Exam

Part Three of Final Exam. The third in-class (closed book, closed notes) 50-minute part of the final exam is worth 50 points and takes place as indicated in the Schedule of Assignments. Bring pencils and a good eraser only, to the in-class part of the exam. All paper will be provided. This part of the exam will emphasize vocabulary and definitions, and may be in the form of a crossword puzzele. Plan to bring your student identification card (Wayne State University OneCard) to the exam.

Optional Part Three of Final Exam. Students may, if they choose, take an optional online oral exam instead of an in-person written exam for Part Three of the Final Exam. This brief interview takes place online at a time scheduled in advance sometime during the term of the course, and requires that the student make use of headphones with microphone, a web cam, and the Blackboard Live Classroom communication tool.

This option for Part Three of the final exam involves a 10 to 15 minute onlnine conversation between the student and Prof. Spalding about the overall course content, and usually takes approximately fifteen minutes.

The oral exam consists of an informal interview, and is designed to allow you to briefly explain a few things you have learned in the course, how that information might be useful in the future, and similar topics. There is no advance list of specific questions for this general discussion.

As a precondition for taking Part Three of the Final exam, students are required to have Sent to Prof. Spalding a scan of their student identification card (Wayne State University OneCard) by way of the Digital Drop Box tool on Blackboard. The scan should not be emailed, because, as explained at the Email Protocols page for this course, emails with attachments are never opened or seen by Prof. Spalding.

For information about the technology required for online oral exams, see the Online Technology and Skills page of the syllabus. Remember that the student must use a web cam; Prof. Spalding does not conduct an oral exam unless he can see you.

Possible times for oral exams will be posted on the Announcements page (front page) of the Blackboard site for this course.

After the times for oral exams are posted on Blackboard, if you plan to take Part Three of the Final Exam as an online oral exam rather than as an in-person closed book and closed notes written exam, send Prof. Spalding an email with your requested times. This is assigned as the Second Email Assignment.

Include a first, second and third choice.

Include (along with your name and the CRN) "Request for Oral Exam" in the Subject line of your email.

Do not request an oral final exam until after you have Sent Prof. Spalding your scanned OneCard. Remember to use the Send button, not the Add button, on the DropBox.

Your assigned interview time will be posted as a feedback/comment on the MyGrades tool of Blackboard, within a week of the scheduled time for the interviews. Interview times are assigned on a first come, first served basis. Once all time slots requested by earlier-submitted students are filled, students (who submitted their requests later than other students) are assigned times within an hour or two of their requested time slots.

Assigned times can be viewed (within approximately one week of the scheduled start of the Exam Part Three interviews as announced on Blackboard) by clicking on the drop-down menu in the same cell (on the MyGrades tool) as the points for the Second Email Assignment. (Points for the First Email Assignment are posted prior to the end of the semester, but usually not until the end of the course.)

In deference to the additional effort required to take an online oral exam, as opposed to simply showing up with a pencil for the in-person exam, up to 20 points extra credit may be awarded to students who successfully complete the oral exam option on the first attempt as scheduled. Students who do not successfully complete their interview (including visual interaction with webcam and headset) at the first attempt, will not earn extra credit and may flind themselves taking the in-person Part Three of the final exam instead of the online Part Three. See the Points page of the syllabus for details.

Other Information About Exams

Academic Integrity. Strict compliance with the Wayne State University Academic Integrity policies and the Student Code of Conduct are required in this course. Any cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or other academic dishonesty will result in an automatic grade of E for this entire course, irrespective of the specific context or assessment involved (quiz, homework, exam, etc.). In addition, charges will be filed with the Judicial Officer of the Dean of Students Office. For more information, see the Student Code of Conduct brochure. There is zero tolerance of academic dishonesty in this course.

"Make-up Exams" are generally not required in this course, because students are able to take their exams online from virtually anywhere in the world during the approximately 24-hour to 30-hour exam availability period. If a student experiences a genuine emergency, such as a health emergency requiring hospitalization (for which documentation can be provided), a make-up exam may be scheduled at the discretion of the instructor. Vacations, wedding plans, work schedules, and the like, are not considered genuine emergencies for purposes of determining whether a make-up exam will be offered. Make-up exams are not offered online. Instead, make-up exams are arranged to be proctored on campus (Main Campus) during regular business hours, usually within a week of the regularly scheduled online exam. Make-up exams do not necessarily follow the same format, and do not necessarily have the same questions or the same types of questions, as the online exam.

Feedback in the form of comments on the essay part (Part Two) of exams can be found on the My Grades tool on Blackboard, usually within two weeks of the exam due date.

Viewing Grade and Blackboard "Averages"

After completing a quiz or exam, it is a good idea to Vew your Grades at the Tools section of Blackboard to make sure you did not trigger a padlock (see above). When you do, you might notice "class average" scores on Blackboard. Those averages are automatically calculated by the Blackboard system, and have absolutely nothing to do with your grade or your relative standing in class (the Blackboard averages often include scores of zero for students who have dropped the class, or other irrelevant or confounding data). This course is not graded on a curve, and your Points are calculated in the manner described in the Syllabus. Just ignore the class average statistics shown on Blackboard. They mean nothing.

Disappointed in your performance on the multiple choice portion of your exam? Remember that your exam consist of more one part, and that only the score for the multiple choice part appears automatically upon submission. It is not uncommon for students to perform better on essay exams than on multiple choice exams, especially if the essay exam answers are thoughtful and well-written, and reflect the student's engagement with the lectures, readings, and other activities in this course. Also, as in the case of quizzes, students who do not earn high scores on multiple choice exams, are often able to at least partially offset those lower quiz scores by earning 100 percent of the available points on homework, surveys, class participation, email assignments, and other tasks where thoughtfulness, timeliness, good grammar, and carefully following the instructions, contribute more to the earned points than the technical correctness of the work.

Additional Notes Regarding the Writing of Essay Exams.

It is important to write well.

When responding to questions about ethical or moral truth-claims:

Try to avoid attempting to support a claim, with other (unsupported) claims. An assertion that something is morally wrong because it is abusive - or unethical or biased or disloyal or unfair or in violation of an inherent right - is a circular assertion. This is the most common mistake made by students in this course.
Remember to distinguish between facts (e.g., the existence of competing objectives or a conflict of interest), and behaviors that favor self-interest from the interests of others to whom a duty is owed. Conflicts of interests are often unavoidable; behaviors that respond to such conflicts by violating duties in favor such self-interests can be unethical.
Remember to distinguish between that which is legally wrong, and that which is morally wrong. If you answer a question that asks whether something is morally wrong by making reference to legal violations, you are missing the point.
Harm - even as a result of actions - is not necessarily unavoidable. In fact, moral and ethical decisions often avoid choosing between actions when all possible choices are likely to result in some unfavorable consequences.
Try to avoid falling into the trap of assuming that any and all harmful consequences are necessarily the result of immoral actions or decisions.
Try to use critical thinking, even when addressing the role and obligations of the government.
Try to avoid arriving at the conclusion that anything the government does is correct or moral or right and proper, without first establishing the moral foundation for such a conclusion.
Remember that the board of directors, not executives, are drectly responsible to the stockholders for setting executive salaries, and have a fiduciary obligation to oversee executive compensation.
When an essay question requires that an assumption, such as reliable empirical data, be accepted or adopted for purposes of an essay question that addresses an ethical question, an answer that denies or quibbles with that assumption is nonresponsive.
Try to deal with the ethical dilemma as presented, without first attempting to change the premises.
Try to avoid equivocation. When an essay question calls for a claim, go ahead and make a claim and support it, rather than attempt to straddle both sides of an issue.
Try to avoid confusing moral arguments with prudential arguments that point solely to the optimization of monetary or economic outcomes.
Remember that the board of directors, not executives, are drectly responsible to the stockholders for setting executive salaries, and have a fiduciary obligation to oversee executive compensation.
Remember to distinguish between a properly supported claim, and general opinions, in response to an essay question. Claims that may seem obvious to the student, remain unsupported unless the student provides a well-articulated supportive argument.

In addition:

Be sure to write full and complete sentences, not half-sentences or short phrases.
Be sure to proofread your essay answers, so that adverbs are not written as nouns, or vice versa.
Be sure to check your spelling before you submit your answers.
Be sure to avoid slipping into the first or second person while writing a response to an essay question. Instead, attempt to maintain a scholarly and well-presented response to the specific essay questions on the exam.

Essay exams should also be well-written, using proper grammar, sentence structure, and syntax. For example:

DON'T

bold

underlines

italics

EMPHASIS!

For More Information on Test Taking, See:

Multiple Choice Exam Tips