Current Issues in IR

Course code: IRS 507

Semester and year: Spring 2025

Day and time: Mondays 18:30 – 21:15

Instructor: Pamir H. Sahill, Ph.D.

Instructor contact: pamir.halimzai@aauni.edu

Consultation hours: On Mondays 18:00-18:30, and Tuesdays 14:30-15:15 CET at Faculty Lounge/Teams. The students will need to email to arrange a consultation meeting.

 

Credits US/ECTS	3/6	Level	Advanced
Length	15 weeks	Pre-requisite	No pre-requisites
Contact hours	42 hours	Course type	Master Required

1.      Course Description

This course aims to provide and provoke its readers with the most recent dilemmas of international politics. 

It is in the nature of current events that they raise more questions than they give answers, and it is only with hindsight years later, that future scholars will have more insight. This however does not preclude us from thinking about the poignant situations: on the contrary, it is expected that graduates of International Relations would be able to “think on their feet” and give their best educated opinions at a time of need. This course thus throws the students “into the fray” of current issues, fresh scholarly papers, recent expert reports, legal proposals, hot-off-the-press journalist opinions and political press-releases; it exposes its students to multiple media and to sources coming from multiple disciplines. 

The goal is to practice the ability to look at such an issue, think about it, evaluate it, from multiple angles. To think about its broader connections and impacts, within and beyond existing theoretical frameworks, to think about outcomes and processes of change.

2.      Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Think about and analyze a current issue of international politics from at least two theoretical perspectives/angles
• Think about a current event in its broader connections and implications
• Consider and work with a variety of information sources: from scholarly articles to real world evidence
• Form an opinion, a position on an issue (which is usually the first step towards finding a solution)

3.      Reading Material (All readings are available on the course site in NEO)

Required Materials (Books and Articles): 

1. Acharya, Amitav (2017): “After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order”, Ethics & International Affairs, 31(3): 271 – 285; doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S089267941700020X
2. Amoore, Louise, and Raley, Rita (2017): “Securing with algorithms: Knowledge, decision, sovereignty”, Security Dialogue, 48(1): 3-10
3. Feng, Huiyun and He, Kai (2024): “Why will China and Russia not form an alliance? The balance of beliefs in peacetime,” International Affairs, 100(5): 2089–2112; doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae184.
4. Goeckeritz, Issac (2020): “The Rights of Nature: A Global Movement,” Mar 31, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuFNmH7lVTA
5. Grzymala-Busse, Anna, Fukuyama, Francis, Kuo, Didi and McFaul, Michael (2020): “Global Populisms and Their Challengers”, Stanford – Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
6. Ikenberry, G. John (2018): “The end of liberal international order?”, International Affairs, 94(1): 7–23; doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iix241.
7. Lanoszka,  Alexander (2019): “Disinformation     in         International   Politics”, European Journal of International Security, 4(2): 227-248
8. McCarthy, Daniel R. (2018): “Introduction: Technology in World Politics”, in McCarthy, Daniel R. (ed.) Technology and World Politics. An Introduction, London and New York, Routledge: 1-21.
9. Mearsheimer, John J. (2019): “Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order”, International Security, 43(4): 7-50
10. Millward, James and Peterson, Dahlia (2020): “China’s System of Oppression: How It Developed and How to Curb It”, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC.
11. Pereira, Joana C. (2021): “Towards a Politics for the Earth: Rethinking IR in the Anthropocene”, in Chandler, David, Franziska Müller and Delf Rothe (eds.) International Relations in the Anthropocene. New Agendas, New Agencies and New Approaches, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan: 21-37
12. Putin, Vladimir (2021): “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians”, Kremlin, Jul 12, 2021. Available at: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181.
13. Shaw, Ian, and Akhter, Majed (2014): “The Dronification of State Violence”, Critical Asian Studies, 46(2): 211–234
14. Zuboff, Shoshana (2019): “The Discovery of Behavioral Surplus”, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Great Britain, Profile Books: 63-97.

4.      Teaching methodology

• Seminar-style interactive lectures
• Individual and group work
• Involving students in theory and data-driven research
• Surprise quizzes

5.      Course Schedule

Date	Class Agenda
February 03, 2025	Topic: Introduction to the Course Content and the Role of Theory in IR Description: The first part of the session will outline the structure of the course and what is expected of students during the semester. All assignments and grading processes will be explained. In the second part, there will be a discussion on the role of theory and methodology in academic work, as well as the importance of multi/interdisciplinarity in International Relations (IR). Reading: None. Assignments/deadlines: None.
February 10, 2025	Topic: Liberal International Order: Crisis or Decline? Description: Lecture. The session discusses the rise of liberal international order and puts it in its context, before exploring scholars’ works on its crisis and/or decline. Reading: Ikenberry, G. John (2018): “The end of liberal international order?”, International Affairs, 94(1): 7–23; doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iix241;  and Mearsheimer, John J. (2019): “Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order”, International Security, 43(4): 7-50 Assignments/deadlines: Book review projects will be discussed.
February 17, 2025, 2025	Topic: How Many World Orders? - A Description: Lecture. The lecture examines the (emerging) world order, debating the idea of multipolarity/multiplexity with a special focus on the rise of China and Russia. Reading: Acharya, Amitav (2017): “After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order”, Ethics & International Affairs, 31(3): 271 – 285; doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S089267941700020X; Feng, Huiyun and He, Kai (2024): “Why will China and Russia not form an alliance? The balance of beliefs in peacetime,” International Affairs, 100(5): 2089–2112; doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae184; and Putin, Vladimir (2021): “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians”, Kremlin, Jul 12, 2021. Available at: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181. Assignments/deadlines: Students submit B readings. Students finalize books for review which will be approved.
February 24, 2025	Topic: How Many World Orders? - B Description: Mini lecture offering an alternative and critical perspective on the future of the world (dis)order(s). Students’ presentations and discussion. Reading: Provided by students, uploaded to NEO’s Students’ Readings folder. Assignments/deadlines: Presentation. Students revise all readings and lectures’ content for the quiz.
March 03, 2025	Topic: A Brave New World of Artificial Intelligence -A Description: Lecture. A discussion on the rise of big data capitalism, AI and the use and impact of technology on global politics within the context of IR. Reading: McCarthy, Daniel R. (2018): “Introduction: Technology in World Politics”, in McCarthy, Daniel R. (ed.) Technology and World Politics. An Introduction, London and New York, Routledge: 1-21, Fuchs, Christian (2019): “Karl Marx in the Age of Big Data Capitalism”, in Chandler, David and Fuchs, Christian (eds.): Digital Objects, Digital Subjects: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Capitalism, Labour and Politics in the Age of Big Data, London: University of Westminster Press: 53–71, doi: https://doi.org/10.16997/book29.d. Assignments/deadlines: B readings. First quiz.
March 10, 2025	Topic: A Brave New World of Artificial Intelligence - B Description: Mini lecture on the posthuman condition in the age of big data and cyborgs along with a critical analysis. Students’ presentations and discussion. Reading: Provided by students, uploaded to NEO’s Students’ Readings folder. Assignments/deadlines: Presentation. Students choose books for reviews which will be discussed before approval in the next lecture.
March 17, 2025	Topic: In-class mid-term written exam. Students must bring laptops to class to answer exam questions via NEO.
March 24-28, 2025	Midterm Break Assignments/deadlines: Students submit readings for B sessions for April 07 and April 28, by March 28, 11:59 (23:59) CET.
March 31, 2024	Topic: Surveillance Capitalism - A Description: Lecture. The session explains the ways surveillance is used as a means of biopolitical control, and to achieve goals deemed crucial for national security and interests. It critically discusses the emergence and consolidation of surveillance capitalist governmentality, and its globalizing biopolitical effects. Reading: Millward, James and Peterson, Dahlia (2020): “China’s System of Oppression: How It Developed and How to Curb It”, The Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.; and Zuboff, Shoshana (2019): “The Discovery of Behavioral Surplus”, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Great Britain, Profile Books: 63-97 Assignments/deadlines: Students inform the instructor about progress regarding book review projects.
April 07, 2025	Topic: Surveillance Capitalism - B Description: Mini-lecture further expanding on the previous session’s discussion on surveillance capitalism. Students’ presentations. Reading: Provided by students, uploaded to NEO’s Students’ Readings folder. Assignments/deadlines: Presentation.
April 14, 2025	Topic: Disinformation, Populism and Democracy - A Description: Lecture. Using case studies and actual examples, this lecture will discuss the impact of disinformation on global politics, the revival of populism, democratic backsliding, and the future of democracy. Readings: Grzymala-Busse, Anna, Fukuyama, Francis, Kuo, Didi and McFaul, Michael (2020): “Global Populisms and Their Challengers”, Stanford – Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and Lanoszka, Alexander (2019): “Disinformation          in         International   Politics”, European Journal of International Security, 4(2): 227-248 Assignments/deadlines: Students prepare for the quiz.
April 28, 2025	Topic: Disinformation, Populism and Democracy - B Description: Mini-lecture on disinformation and propaganda in the Global South. Students’ presentations. Reading: Provided by students, uploaded to NEO’s Students’ Readings folder. Assignments/deadlines: Presentation. Students revise all readings and lectures’ content for the.
May 05, 2025	Topic: The Anthropocene and Climate Change Description: Lecture. In this session students will learn about the notion of Anthropocene and its usage in IR. The session explores climate change from both green theory and environmentalist perspectives. Reading: Pereira, Joana C. (2021): “Towards a Politics for the Earth: Rethinking IR in the Anthropocene”, in Chandler, David, Franziska Müller and Delf Rothe (eds.) International Relations in the Anthropocene. New Agendas, New Agencies and New Approaches, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan: 21-37; and Goeckeritz, Issac (2020): “The Rights of Nature: A Global Movement,” Mar 31, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuFNmH7lVTA Assignments/deadlines: Students should submit their book reviews via NEO by May 11, 2025, 23:59 (11:59 pm) CET. Students prepare for the final quiz.
May 12, 2025	Topic: War and Conflict in a Globalized World Description: Lecture. The lecture presents a futurology of the security practices and how wars are/will be fought. It also explores the emergence of a new power technology complementing the Foucauldian coercive, disciplinary, and biopower technologies as well as Mbembe’s necropower. Reading: Amoore, Louise, and Raley, Rita (2017): “Securing with algorithms: Knowledge, decision, sovereignty”, Security Dialogue, 48(1): 3-10; and Shaw, Ian, and Akhter, Majed (2014): “The Dronification of State Violence”, Critical Asian Studies, 46(2): 211–234 Assignments/deadlines: Surprise Quiz.
May 19, 2025	Topic: Book Review Presentations Description: Students present their reviews of the chosen books. Assignments/deadlines: None. Students can finally relax

6.      Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads)

Assignment	Workload (average)	Weight in Final Grade	Evaluated Course Specific Learning Outcomes	Evaluated Institutional Learning Outcomes*
Class Participation (Attendance is mandatory)	22	20%	Explore current issues from different theoretical angles and offer critical assessment, clearly communicate ideas, and strengthen public speaking.	1, 2
Mid-term Exam	30	20%	Polish and strengthen critical thinking, understand concepts and theories, efficiently comprehend, explain, and use various theoretical approaches with the help of concrete cases and examples, and refine academic writing skills.	1, 2
B Session Presentation	40	25%	Think about a current issue of international politics from at least two angles, and explore its implications, consider and work with a variety of information sources, and offer a plausible and critical analysis with personal opinion	1,2, 3
Readings and lectures related Quizzes	32	15%	Understand concepts related to current issues in world politics and enhance critical thinking.	1
Book Review and Presentation	26	15% + 5%	Advance and strengthen critical thinking, comprehend and explain notions and concepts in the chosen book, critically assess its content, refine research and academic writing, and strengthen public speaking.	1, 2, 3
TOTAL	150	100%

*1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action

7.      Detailed description of the assignments

B Session Presentations:

The course will focus on 6 current issues beginning in session 2. For 4 issues (beginning in the third week), there will be A and B sessions. All A sessions are lectures exploring an issue from different theoretical/conceptual/methodological positions. 

For each B session, the student must prepare a presentation on two academic works from two different perspectives that are relevant to the stated current issue. The student must email the readings to the lecturer by the end of the relevant A session i.e., one week before the presentation. During the mid-term break, the students will submit readings for all the remaining B sessions by March 28, 11:59pm/23:59 CET. 

The student should be able to summarize the arguments of each text, think about a current issue of international politics from at least two angles, and explore its implications, and offer a plausible and critical analysis along with their personal opinion. For every academic paper, the student will have 10 minutes to present. This means that each presentation will be 20-minute long. 

If a student is absent for an unexcused reason on the day of their presentation, they will receive an automatic failure of the assignment.

The student’s grade is based on the degree of understanding of the texts, arguments, and theories, and their ability to engage in informed discussion utilizing the texts.

Assessment Breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Technical: 1.                  being present 2.                  being prepared being within time/structure limits	50%
Substantive: 1.                  demonstrating knowledge of the theories 2.                  ability to utilize this knowledge in a clear, concise, well- structured manner 3.                  think about a current issue of international politics from at least two angles, and explore its implications, 4.                  consider and work with a variety of information sources, 5.                  offer a plausible and critical analysis with personal opinion	50%
Total	100%

 

Mid-term Exam:

The mid-term exam will include questions from lectures and Session A readings. The exam will have two parts. The first, worth 40% amount, will have short answers. All answers should be between 150-200 words long. Not following the word-limit will affect the grade. 

The second part of the exam will be comprised of two essay questions, having 60% weightage of the total marks. The essay questions will be about two current issues, for which, the students will be provided with two academic excerpts from papers that will serve as points of departure for their analysis. The students will efficiently comprehend, explain, and use various theoretical approaches with the help of concrete cases and examples, demonstrate refined academic writing skills and will offer a comprehensive, critical analysis along with their personal opinions. Each essay answer should be between 700 and 750 words long. Not following the word-limit will result in receiving a lower grade. The exam session lasts for 120 minutes. After the allotted time, the exam will not be available. 

The exam will be given online to all students via NEO on March 17, 2025, at 18:35 (6:35 pm) CET. All students must be present during the exam in the classroom and remote students will be taking it via Teams with their cameras on throughout the session. 

All students must bring their laptops to the class so that they can access NEO. 

If an on-site student cannot attend the exam due to a justified (and excused) reason, they will take it on campus on a different date, otherwise, they will receive an automatic failure for the assignment. 

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Polish and strengthen critical thinking and understand concepts and theories	35%
Efficiently comprehend, explain, and use various theoretical approaches with the help of concrete cases and examples	40%
Refine academic writing skills, offer robust analysis along with personal opinion.	25%
Total	100%

 

Surprise Quizzes:

Apart from discussing reading assignments each week, surprise quizzes will be given to students from readings, lectures, and mini-lectures. These will be short answers, in written form. All answers should be between 150-200 words long. Not following the word-limit may affect the grade. All surprise quizzes will be given to all students via NEO. All quizzes must be answered during the allotted time in class, at campus (and via Teams if the student is taking the course remotely). 

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Understand concepts related to current issues in world politics	50%
Practice and refine critical thinking	50%
Total	100%

 

Participation:

Attending and participating in class is one of the best ways to gain an understanding of the course topic and material. Participation is premised on having read the assignments for that particular day and actively engaging in the class discussion. 

Participation does not mean speaking for the sake of speaking, asking questions that are off topic, criticizing another person for not understanding something, carrying on a private conversation with another student. Participation does mean contributing thoughtfully to the conversation or debate, asking questions if something is not understood, honestly attempting to answer a question even if you are not sure you are correct. 

The student’s grade will be based on the quantity and quality of participation.

Assessment Breakdown:

Assessed area	Percentage
Technical: 1.       Being present	0%
Substantive: 1.                  engaging in the class discussion 2.                  attempting to answer questions 3.                  asking questions when something is not understood 4.                  refraining from talking off topic 5.                  refraining from talking with individual students outside the bounds of the class discussion 6.                  refraining from using phones refraining from using computers for non-class purposes	100%
Total	100%

 

Book Review and Presentation:

Students will choose a book about a current issue relevant to the field(s) of IR/ir, do research, and write a 1,500-word (excluding the reference list) essay in which they will provide a comprehensive critical analysis along with their personal opinion. Students must strictly follow the minimum 1,350 and maximum 1,500 word-limit. Not doing so will affect the grade.

Students will choose a book and discuss it with the course convener in class, as well as at the end of the second and third weeks of the course. Students will be assisted in choosing appropriate books. Once finalized, the pdfs of books must be emailed to the course instructor so that they are uploaded to NEO for other students to go through them before the book review presentation. 

Reviews should summarize key arguments of the book, its theoretical/conceptual premise, and methodological approach. The body of the essay will an academic analysis that should lead to a reasonable conclusion. The review must use Chicago referencing style (i.e., in-text author-date system) plus a list of references at the end. Bear in mind that Wikipedia is not a proper academic SOURCE. Students need to rely on academic literature and credible media information sources for their reviews. 

All reviews should be submitted via NEO by May 11, 2025, until 23:59 (11:59 pm) CET. Progress with the research work will be discussed in class. Missing the deadline may result into failing the essay assignment. 

After submitting their book reviews, the students will prepare a 7-8-minute-long PowerPoint presentation about it and present during the final session of the course. 

Note: For the general requirement and School policies about research ethics and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), please refer to section 8 of this syllabus. 

Assessment breakdown

Assessed area	Percentage
Critical Insights and academic writing,	50%
Comprehend and explain notions and concepts in the chosen book, critically assess its content.	25%
and strengthen public speaking	25%
Total	100%

 8.      General Requirements and School Policies

General requirements

All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work.

Electronic communication and submission

The university and instructors shall only use students’ university email address for communication, with additional communication via NEO LMS or Microsoft Teams.

Students sending e-mail to an instructor shall clearly state the course code and the topic in the subject heading, for example, “COM101-1 Mid-term Exam. Question”.

All electronic submissions are through NEO LMS. No substantial pieces of writing (especially take-home exams and essays) can be submitted outside of NEO LMS.

Attendance

Attendance, i.e., presence in class in real-time, at AAU courses is default mandatory; however, it is not graded as such. (Grades may be impacted by missed assignments or lack of participation.) Still, students must attend at least two thirds of classes to complete the course. If they do not meet this condition and most of their absences are excused, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course. If they do not meet this condition and most of their absences are not excused, they will receive a grade of “FW” (Failure to Withdraw). Students may also be marked absent if they miss a significant part of a class (for example by arriving late or leaving early).

Absence excuse and make-up options

Should a student be absent from classes for relevant reasons (illness, serious family matters), and the student wishes to request that the absence be excused, the student should submit an Absence Excuse Request Form supplemented with documents providing reasons for the absence to the Dean of Students within one week of the absence. Each student may excuse up to two sick days per term without any supporting documentation; however, an Absence Excuse Request Form must still be submitted for these instances. If possible, it is recommended the instructor be informed of the absence in advance. Should a student be absent during the add/drop period due to a change in registration this will be an excused absence if s/he submits an Absence Excuse Request Form along with the finalized add/drop form.

Students whose absence has been excused by the Dean of Students are entitled to make up assignments and exams provided their nature allows. Assignments missed due to unexcused absences which cannot be made up, may result in a decreased or failing grade as specified in the syllabus.

Students are responsible for contacting their instructor within one week of the date the absence was excused to arrange for make-up options.

Late work: No late submissions will be accepted – please follow the deadlines.

Electronic devices

Electronic devices (e.g. phones, tablets, laptops) may be used only for class-related activities (taking notes, looking up related information, etc.). Any other use will result in the student being marked absent and/or being expelled from the class. No electronic devices may be used during tests or exams unless required by the exam format and the instructor.

Eating is not allowed during classes.

Cheating and disruptive behavior

If a student engages in disruptive conduct unsuitable for a classroom environment, the instructor may require the student to withdraw from the room for the duration of the class and shall report the behavior to the student’s Dean.

Students engaging in behavior which is suggestive of cheating will, at a minimum, be warned. In the case of continued misconduct, the student will fail the exam or assignment and be expelled from the exam or class.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism obscures the authorship of a work or the degree of its originality. Students are expected to create and submit works of which they are the author. Plagiarism can apply to all works of authorship – verbal, audiovisual, visual, computer programs, etc. Examples are:

• Verbatim plagiarism: verbatim use of another’s work or part of it without proper acknowledgement of the source and designation as a verbatim quotation,
• Paraphrasing plagiarism: paraphrasing someone else’s work or part of it without proper acknowledgement of the source,
• Data plagiarism: use of other people’s data without proper acknowledgement of the source,
• False quotation: publishing a text that is not a verbatim quotation as a verbatim quotation,
• Fictious citation: quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to an incorrect or a non-existent work,
• Inaccurate citation: citing sources in such a way that they cannot be found and verified,
• Ghostwriting: commissioning work from others and passing it off as one’s own,
• Patchwriting: using someone else’s work or works (albeit with proper acknowledgement of sources and proper attribution) to such an extent that the output contains almost no original contribution,
• Self-plagiarism: unacknowledged reuse of one’s own work (or part of it) that has been produced or submitted as part of another course of study or that has been published in the past,
• Collaborative plagiarism: delivering the result of collective collaboration as one’s own individual output.

At minimum, plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment and shall be reported to the student’s Dean. A mitigating circumstance may be the case of novice students, and the benefit of the doubt may be given if it is reasonable to assume that the small-scale plagiarism was the result of ignorance rather than intent. An aggravating circumstance in plagiarism is an act intended to make the plagiarism more difficult to detect. Such conduct includes, for example, the additional modification of individual words or phrases, the creation of typos, the use of machine translation tools or the creation of synonymous text, etc. The Dean may initiate a disciplinary procedure pursuant to the Academic Codex. Intentional or repeated plagiarism always entail disciplinary hearing and may result in expulsion from AAU.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Tutoring Center

The use of artificial intelligence tools to search sources, to process, analyze and summarize data, and to provide suggestions or feedback in order to improve content, structure, or style, defined here as AI-assisted writing, is not in itself plagiarism. However, it is plagiarism if, as a result, it obscures the authorship of the work produced or the degree of its originality (see the examples above).

AAU acknowledges prudent and honest use of AI-assisted writing, that is, the use of AI for orientation, consultation, and practice is allowed. For some courses and assignments, however, the use of AI is counterproductive to learning outcomes; therefore, the course syllabus may prohibit AI assistance.

A work (text, image, video, sound, code, etc.) generated by artificial intelligence based on a mass of existing data, defined here as AI-generated work, is not considered a work of authorship. Therefore, if an AI-generated work (e.g. text) is part of the author’s work, it must be marked as AI-generated. Otherwise, it obscures the authorship and/or the degree of originality, and thus constitutes plagiarism. Unless explicitly permitted by the instructor, submission of AI-generated work is prohibited.

If unsure about technical aspects of writing, and to improve their academic writing, students are encouraged to consult with the tutors of the AAU Academic Tutoring Center. For more information and/or to book a tutor, please contact the ATC at: http://atc.simplybook.me/sheduler/manage/event/1/.

Course accessibility and inclusion

Students with disabilities should contact the Dean of Students to discuss reasonable accommodations. Academic accommodations are not retroactive.

Students who will be absent from course activities due to religious holidays may seek reasonable accommodations by contacting the Dean of Students in writing within the first two weeks of the term. All requests must include specific dates for which the student requests accommodations.

9.      Grading Scale

Letter Grade	Percentage*	Description
A	95 – 100	Excellent performance. The student has shown originality and displayed an exceptional grasp of the material and a deep analytical understanding of the subject.
A–	90 – 94
B+	87 – 89	Good performance. The student has mastered the material, understands the subject well and has shown some originality of thought and/or considerable effort.
B	83 – 86
B–	80 – 82
C+	77 – 79	Fair performance. The student has acquired an acceptable understanding of the material and essential subject matter of the course but has not succeeded in translating this understanding into consistently creative or original work.
C	73 – 76
C–	70 – 72
D+	65 – 69	Poor. The student has shown some understanding of the material and subject matter covered during the course. The student’s work, however, has not shown enough effort or understanding to allow for a passing grade in School Required Courses. It does qualify as a passing mark for the General College Courses and Electives.
D	60 – 64
F	0 – 59	Fail. The student has not succeeded in mastering the subject matter covered in the course.

* Decimals should be rounded to the nearest whole number.

Prepared by and when: Dr. Pamir H. Sahill   January 14, 2025.

Approved by and when:  Dr. George Hays II  January 25, 2025.