Course Syllabus

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Instructor: Dr. Gerald A. Miller, P.E.

Associate Director and Rapp Foundation Presidential Professor Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Areas of Interests and Expertise: geotechnical engineering, laboratory and in situ soil testing, unsaturated soil mechanics, soil-structure interaction, chemical stabilization of soil Phone: 405-325-4253 Email: gamiller@ou.edu Zoom Office hours: T 12:30–2:00 pm (CT) or by appointment Click here for Zoom link to office hours     Meeting ID: 939 9789 5039    Passcode: 24658627

Teaching Assistant Information

TA: Tareq Abuawad

TA's Email: Tareq.Z.Abuawad-1@ou.edu

Office hours for Tareq will be established once the semester begins. 

Course Prerequisites 

Undergraduate soil mechanics

Zoom Class Meetings

T, R 11:00 am-12:15 pm (CT) Via Zoom

Course Materials

Das, B.M. and Sivakugan, N. (2019). Principles of Foundation Engineering, 9th Edition. Cengage Learning, Stamford, Connecticut.

Grades

Breakdown

Assignments (≈10)	10%
Quizzes (10)	10%
Project (1)	5%
Midterm Exams (2)	35%
Final Exam	35%
Participation	5%

Scale

90-100%	A
80-89%	B
70-79%	C
60-69%	D
Below 60%	F

Course Components

Video Lectures

The course is broken into 10 modules of 1 week to 2 weeks in duration. Each module has video lectures posted in Canvas that present essential information for the topic in that module. These include PowerPoint voice over lectures and light board videos. You should do the reading and watch these videos prior to our Zoom meeting times.

Zoom Class Meetings

Each week we will meet via Zoom on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm (CT). These meeting times will be used to address your questions, go over example problems, review for exams, and discuss other course related information. 

Participation 

In addition to completing reading assignments, watching online lecture videos, and taking quizzes, students are expected to participate by attending Zoom class meetings. Because you are asked to devote significant time to study the online lecture videos, participation is required in only one (1) of the two (2) Zoom Class Meetings each week. However, you are encouraged to attend both Zoom Class Meetings to enhance your learning experience.

Assignments

All assignments are to be prepared neatly and professionally. Calculations should be performed on engineering paper and a straight edge and/or French curve should be used where appropriate. Assignments may be typed and graphing software used where appropriate.  Collaboration among students is encouraged; however, assignments should represent individual work. Unless otherwise noted, assignments should be scanned or compiled as a single PDF file and uploaded to Canvas by the due date and time. 

Quizzes

Each module has an online quiz associated with it that must be completed by the end of the module. 

Project

A design mini-project will be assigned during the second half of the semester and will be due at the end of finals week.

Exams

All exams will be open book (class textbook and notes only, unless specified otherwise). The exams may be comprehensive. Completed exams should represent your own work. Exams will be administered through Canvas.

Course Policies

Communication Plan

Please post your questions about the technical content of the course on the discussion board in each module. These questions may be of general interest to the entire class. If you are not comfortable posting your questions there, you may email your question directly to both the TA and instructor and one of us will respond. We will generally respond to discussion board or email questions within 24 hours M-F, but on weekends there may be more of a delay depending on our availability. The instructor will also use questions posted to the discussion board to guide the selection of material covered during in-class meetings. If you have suggestions or questions you would like the instructor to cover during in-class meetings, you may indicate so on the discussion board, or send an e-mail to the instructor, ideally, at least one day before class.

Other questions for the instructor can be emailed directly to the instructor or discussed during office hours.

For Canvas issues please refer to the help contact information on the course web page.

Late Policy

Late assignments will be accepted with penalty unless a properly documented and compelling excuse is presented. Arrangements may be made to hand an assignment in late if the instructor is notified in advance and the reasons are compelling. The instructor reserves the right to judge whether an excuse or reason for late assignments is compelling. Otherwise, late assignments will be accepted for three days after the due date (i.e. the following Wednesday at 11:59 pm) with a penalty of thee points per day (out of a total of 100). The first day late begins the minute after the due date and time and continues for 24 hours at which time the second day late begins (e.g. if due date is at 11:59 pm on January 31, the first day late begins at 12:00 am and ends at 11:59 pm on February 1, the second day late begins at 12:00 am and ends at 11:59 pm February 2, and the third day late begins at 12:00 am and ends at 11:59 pm February 3). 

Academic Honesty

Students are required to abide by the policies set forth in the Student Code (see http://integrity.ou.edu). Students, who cheat on an exam, or copy homework without working the problems themselves, will receive a grade of zero for that piece of work and will be reported to the OU Integrity Council, for possible further action. While we encourage you to work together and help each other, you must turn in your own work, showing your own thoughts and your own processes. Simply asking someone to look at their work is not considered “working together.” Please do not show anyone your work, let anyone copy your work or share electronic files of assignments with each other. Feel free to talk through the possible solutions, but make sure you do your own work. 

Codes and Policies of Behavior

Each student should acquaint her or his self with the University’s codes, policies, and procedures involving academic misconduct, grievance, sexual and ethnic harassment and discrimination based on physical handicap. 

Writing Center

For those who need help with writing skills, please consult the Writing Center at http://www.ou.edu/writingcenter/  

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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

ACADEMIC POLICIES AND STUDENT SUPPORT

Mandatory Masking Policy

While this course does not involve classroom interactions, when students are on campus they are expect to abide by all University of Oklahoma policies related to the Pandemic. As outlined by the University of Oklahoma¹s Chief COVID Officer, until further notice, employees, students, and visitors of the OU community will be mandated to wear masks (1.) when they are inside University facilities and vehicles and (2.) when they are outdoors on campus and social distancing of at least six feet is not possible. For the well-being of the entire university community it is important that everyone demonstrate the appropriate health and safety behaviors outlined in the University Mandatory Masking Policy (https://www.ou.edu/coronavirus/masking-policy). As this mandate includes all campus classrooms, please make sure you are wearing your mask while in class. If you do not have a mask or forgot yours, see the professor for available masks. If you have an exemption from the Mandatory Masking Policy, please see the professor to make accommodations before class begins. If and where possible, please make your professor aware of your exemption and/or accommodation prior to arriving in class.

If a student is unable or unwilling to wear a mask and has not made an accommodation request through the ADRC, they will be instructed to exit the classroom.

Catalog

Please familiarize yourself with the student catalog: http://catalog.ou.edu/courses/courses.htm

Online Library

Students can use the University of Oklahoma library by visiting: http://libraries.ou.edu/

Academic Misconduct

It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity, available at http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html 

This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

Go to http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html to learn more about the rules for avoiding plagiarism. Watch this video and then test your skills in avoiding plagiarism by taking this plagiarism tutorial and quiz. 

Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.

Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please visit the Disability Resource Center and other disability services at OU at: http://drc.ou.edu/

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues

Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Please see www.ou.edu/content/eoo/faqs/pregnancy-faqs.html for commonly asked questions.  

Title IX Resources  

For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24.7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. 

Religious Holidays

It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.

Copyright Policy

It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or his/her authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user’s access to some or all of the university’s computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.

Registration and Withdrawal

If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of Admissions and Records or online at http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/academic_calendar.html

Student Grievances

For issues involving discrimination, sexual harassment, English proficiency, academic misconduct (including plagiarism and cheating), and academic appeals (disputes over academic evaluation), specific grievance procedures are clearly mandated and outlined in the Student Code handbook.  Copies of the handbook may be obtained by contacting the Center for Student Life (325-3163).  Click here to for the University of Oklahoma Student Code.