(no subject)
So, last Thursday I wrote a midterm, which to put mildly raped me pretty bad. (I don't feel a need to throw in imagery). It was like trying to write a calculus final without having learned how to take derivatives. I wasn't too worried as I figured not a lot of people did well. I didn't realise how many people didn't do well/how retardedly hard the midterm actually was until I received this e-mail:
***TO ALL STUDENTS CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN ELEC271:***
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE **CAREFULLY**.
YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT DUE TO THE SHORT NOTICE,
AND THE SCOPE OF THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE DESCRIBED BELOW,
IT WILL NOT BE FEASIBLE TO PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES TO A
LARGE NUMBER OF INQUIRIES, ***SO PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY QUESTIONS
TO ANY FACULTY MEMBER OR TO ANY SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER***.
INSTEAD, PLEASE USE THE TIME UNTIL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006, TO
CONSIDER THE INFORMATION PRESENTED BELOW AND TO MAKE A DECISION.
................
This important message has four main points, as outlined below.
(1) For any students who have been considering a decision on whether
to drop ELEC271 (although such a step may not be advisable for students
for whom this course is core to the program), a special exception has
been made with respect to the official drop deadline of Nov. 3 for
ELEC271. Students wishing to drop this course now have until Friday, Nov.
10, to make that decision. (The extension in the deadline applies only to
ELEC271 and not to any other course.)
(2) The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has made
arrangements to immediately begin offering a second section in the course
ELEC271 for Fall 2006 with a different instructor, and this new section
will continue to the end of the Fall 2006 term. The new instructor has
previously taught this particular course. Note that each section of
ELEC271 will have its own exams. Students currently in ELEC271 will
have until Friday, Nov. 10, to decide in which section they will be
officially enrolled. The choice of section will dictate which final exam
students will be required to write in December. The official class lists
for each section will be used for exam/room scheduling and the tabulation
of final marks, based on the section chosen by each individual student.
***There will be forms available for students wishing to enroll in the
new section of the ELEC271 in the office of Patty Jordan, WLH 401, until
the end of Friday, Nov. 10. The collected information will be conveyed to
the University Registrar for proper updates on QCARD to officially reflect
a change in section, and hence which final exam will be written.***
(3) The new section of ELEC271 will begin having lectures immediately.
The *tentative* initial lecture will be at 8:30am on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Efforts are underway to finalize the schedule (which will hopefully match
the current slot for ELEC271) and the room locations for the new section.
**PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, FOR ROOM INFORMATION.**
Students may attend lectures in the new section during the week of
Nov. 6-10 in order to decide whether to register in the new section of the
course by Nov. 10. In addition to three lectures and one tutorial per week,
the possibility of a fourth lecture per week is also being considered,
likely at 5:30pm in order to avoid timetable conflicts. This additional
session each week, if confirmed, would possibly be used for additional
discussion about the material covered during the other three lectures,
but that has not been decided for certain at this point.
(4) The week of Nov. 6-10 in the new section of ELEC271 will largely
be devoted to review of much of the material in the first half of the
course. The tutorial time in the week of Nov. 6-10 will be used as part
of this review; it will not be used as a normal tutorial. In the week of
Nov. 13-17, **AT LEAST ONE AND POSSIBLY TWO IN-CLASS MIDTERM EXAMINATIONS**
are tentatively planned on the reviewed material. For the remainder of the
term, as much of the second-half material in the course will be covered in
the new section of the course as time and progress permits.
................
It is important to stress again that it will not be feasible to answer
a large number of individual inquiries in a timely fashion, so please
refrain from sending any questions to any faculty member or support staff
member with respect to this announcement. Instead, review the information
above, consider any updated information that will be sent to you later by
email, and take the time available until Friday, Nov. 10, to make a decision
regarding the choice that has been outlined above.
Naraig Manjikian, Ph.D., P.Eng., Assoc. Prof.
Acting Head
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario, CANADA K7L 3N6
Email: naraig.manjikian@queensu.ca
Tel: (613) 533-6000 x75128
Fax: (613) 533-6615
http://www.ece.queensu.ca
I laugh.