Course: CRIM 6307 Extent of Crime and Measurement

Professor: Tomislav Kovandzic

Term: Fall 2009
Meetings: Thursday, 4:00-6:45 pm
Classroom: GR 4.204

Professor’s Contact Information

Office Phone: 972.883.6847
Email Address: tkovan@utdallas.edu
Office Location: GR 2.116
Office Hours: Thursday 1-3 pm, at other times by appointment

Student Learning Objectives

The objectives of the course will be to master the following topics well enough to
begin doing research analysis using data derived from any of the three primary
sources of crime statistics: police-based measures (e.g., UCR, NIBRS), victim
surveys (e.g., NCVS), and self-reports of criminal behavior (e.g., Monitoring the
Future, National Youth Survey).

(1) Clear understanding of how crime measures are constructed and what these
measures reflect.
(2) Types of information contained within major data sources.
(3) Measurement issues (i.e. validity and reliability) related to major data sources
of crime.
(4) Compatibility of crime measures (e.g., nature of crime, prevalence, changes
over time).
(5) How to access crime data from the internet and conduct basic descriptive
analyses (more on this below).

Course Requirements
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. I assume students have
completed the equivalent of an undergraduate course in statistics/research
methods and thus will be able to conduct a simple descriptive analysis using
some statistics program (e.g., Stata), or the on-line data analysis systems
available for many data series. Students without previous experience with Stata
are encouraged to take a tutorial. Several good Stata tutorials can be found
online through Stata’s “resources for learning Stata” web page available at
http://www.stata.com/links/resources1.html.

Assignments
Data series and data collected for specific research purposes are readily
available. Regular data series are collected in part for routine monitoring, and in
part to facilitate research. Most publications by agencies such as the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) center on monitoring, examining trends, or presenting
tabulations of crime data with selected correlates. Theory-based analyses and
explanations of crime patterns are left for researchers.

Students will prepare three types of analysis reports. In all cases, analysis
reports will be grounded in theory. First, investigate some question concerning

Course Syllabus Page 1

 crime frequency or prevalence using published tabulations or readily available
aggregations of crime data, including spreadsheets available from BJS and other
sources. Second, students will prepare descriptive and explanatory analyses of
secondary data from specified core data series.

Third, students will prepare three fact sheets – one-page documents modeled
after “Fact Sheets” developed by Dean Adam Graycar when he was director of
the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC). The URL for the AIC is
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/type_factsheets.html. Our fact sheets will
draw on data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Based on the
Australian model, students will prepare a concise, informative graph or table of
prevalence or trends. Each graph will be accompanied by a one-paragraph
explanation of patterns evident in the data and likely explanations. For example,
the fact sheet might examine trends in U.S. homicide rates from 1980 to 2007.
Many variations are possible.

Core data series:

Police reports
• Summary-based Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
• Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)
• Incident-based police reports (NIBRS)

Victim Surveys
• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• Various supplements to NCVS

Self-report surveys
• National Youth Survey (NYS)
• Monitoring the Future (MTF)
• National Survey of Drug Use in Households (NSDUH)

Other data series:

Police reports
• UCR-based arrest reports

Victim Surveys
• Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 United
States Cities, 1998
• British Crime Survey
• International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS)

Self-report surveys
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Surveillance data
• Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)
• National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)

Course Syllabus Page 2

Student Responsibilities
• Read all assigned materials before each scheduled class session; actively
participate in class discussion (10%).

• Prepare analysis reports, present in class. In all cases, analyze and interpret
data. Do not submit a bunch of tables and assume they speak for
themselves. Use the data to tell me a theory-based story. Make the story
concise.

1. Summarize two theories (one theory should focus on criminal behavior at

the individual-level while the second should focus on differences in crime
across ecological units (i.e. macro-level) of crime you find especially
appealing. Theories can center on offenders, victims, offenses, or places.
Describe why these theories appeal to you. Cite at least three empirical
studies that refer to each theory; one of these should be published in
2004 or later. Two pages. (10%). 3 Sep.

2. Draw on published summary tabulations or spreadsheets to draft a fact

sheet patterned after those produced by the AIC. Present a draft fact
sheet in class, 10 Sep. Describe the fact sheet, who should be interested
in it, and how the data presented could be improved. Based on
discussion, revise and submit final fact sheet. (10%) 17 Sep.

3. Using UCR summary and Census data for 2000, present original
descriptive and bivariate analysis (e.g., correlation analysis, bivariate
regression), drawn from one theory. Use dependent variables to
represent at least one offense. Use at least three independent variables.
Be sure to link these independent variables to your theory. Explain the
rationale for your analysis and your findings. (20%) 8 Oct.

4. Second fact sheet. Draft 15 Oct., final 22 Oct. (10%)

5. Using NCVS data, present original descriptive and bivariate analysis

drawn from one theory. Use dependent variables to represent at least one
offense. Use at least three independent variables. Be sure to link these
independent variables to your theory. Explain the rationale for your
analysis and your findings. Three pages of text, plus whatever tables and
figures. (20%) 19 Nov.

6. Using NYS data, present original descriptive and bivariate analysis drawn
from one theory of delinquency. Use dependent variables to represent at
least one offense. Use at least three independent variables. Be sure to
link these independent variables to your theory. Explain the rationale for
your analysis and your findings. Three pages of text, plus whatever tables
and figures. (20%) 10 Dec.

Course Syllabus Page 3

Required Textbooks
Most readings can be obtained using the various electronic databases available
on-line through the McDermott library website. The following books should be
purchased:

Lynch, J. P., & Addington, L. A. (eds.). (2007). Understanding crime statistics:

Revisiting the divergence of the NCVS and the UCR. NY: Cambridge
University Press.

Miller, J. E. (2004). The Chicago guide to writing about numbers. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press. Excellent guide to thinking about and
interpreting results of data analysis. Use this to guide preparation of
tables and reports.

Acock, Alan C. (2008). A Gentle Introduction to Stata. College Station, TX: Stata
Press.

Course Schedule
The schedule can be changed or altered at the instructors’ discretion – it is the
student’s responsibility to keep track of any modifications to the schedule.
Students should do the assigned reading before coming to the class in which the
topic is scheduled to be discussed, since I will assume you have read the material
and will discuss the topic accordingly. Readings for each week are listed in two
groups. The first group includes items that describe, summarize, present
something of the history of the data source, or otherwise address key features of
the data. The first group also includes assignments from Miller (2004). The
second group includes mostly examples of empirical studies that use the data
type. Some of these are purely descriptive, presenting simple frequencies. Other
examples present more complex explanatory research. Still others focus on
methodological questions associated with particular data sources. Some use
advanced statistical techniques. All examples serve two purposes: (1) to further
your understanding about how crime is measured, and what sorts of explanatory
variables are brought to bear on these measures; (2) to give you ideas about
how to organize and conduct your research. Read selectively, but thoughtfully.

The data section indicates where data files can be found. In addition to assigned
readings, students are expected to review data documentation. Students will be
required to download and conduct analysis on data files. We will spend some
time in class reviewing data documentation, file structure, together with
idiosyncrasies of working with particular data series.

Week 1 20 Aug Introductory Comments

Read: N/A
Data: BJS & AIC websites
Week 2 27 Aug Defining Crime: What counts?
Review principles of measurement
Bring one AIC Fact Sheet to class.
Read: • Miller (2004); Chapters 1-2
• James & Council, 2008. An excellent overview

Course Syllabus Page 4

 of how crime is measured.
• Rand & Rennison, 2002. Good brief example of
differences between the two principal
measures, and how most of these can be
controlled.
Read this for its content, but also see it as an example
of what's gained by using multiple measures.
Data: BJS: Browse BJS summary tabulations and
spreadsheets. In most cases, this will be best source of
data for the first analysis report.
Week 3 3 Sep Police-based measures.
Report 1 due.
Read: • Barnett-Ryan, 2007. UCR overview.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2007 See
especially material under the heading, "About
CIUS 2006" that describes UCR. Very explicit
caveats here. Be prepared to discuss these.
Details on reporting from police agencies to the
FBI.
• Maltz, M., 2007. Also see his more detailed
report on missing UCR data (Maltz, M. D.,
1999).
• Maxfield, 1999. Still the best overview of what
the shift to incident-based police data means for
researchers.
Data: NACJD: “Official statistics.” On this site also see the
UCR and NIBRS resource guides, together with
additional information on other sources of police data
Examples: • Rosenfeld, 2007. A good example of unpacking
assaults and making inferences about change
with two measures.
• Snyder, 2005. Nobody knows more about
juvenile crime than Howard Snyder. This is a
creative use of published tabulations from
summary data. As such it's a great example for
your first assignment. Note his excellent
discussion of arrests as measures.
• Vazquez, Stohr & Purkiss, 2005. Incident-based
data at the state level. Note how NIBRS makes
it possible to examine intimate partner violence.
That's not possible with summary-based data.
• Stolzenberg & D’Alessio, 2004. Incident-based
data are necessary for this analysis. Why?
• Stolzenberg, D’Alessio & Eitle, 2004. Same
thing. What are the key features of NIBRS that
facilitate this?
• Messner, McHugh & Felson, 2004. Bias crimes
are virtually impossible to measure with any
degree of reliability and validity. What do you
think about this analysis of the correlates of bias

Course Syllabus Page 5

 crimes?
• Weaver et al. 2004. What are the correlates of
lethality? Which assaults are unsuccessful
murder attempts?
Week 4 10 Sep Police-based measures, continued.
Bring draft fact sheet to class.
Read: Miller (2004) Chapters 4-5
Week 5 17 Sep How to download summary-based UCR data from
ICPSR and save as a Stata dataset
How to download socioeconomic data from Census
Bureau and save as a Stata dataset
How to merging two datasets together in Stata
First fact sheet due.

Week 6 24 Sep Victim surveys.

Read: • Rennison & Rand, 2007. A recent summary of
NCS/NCVS history and development.
• Rand & Catalano, 2007. Most recent published
version of NCVS results.
• Skogan, 1981, pp. 1–27. One of several
overview contributions by Skogan, summing up
the early years of national victim surveys in the
US.
• Cantor & Lynch, 2000. Excellent overview of
NCVS development and features. Less
complete on limits, but still an important article.
• Lauritsen & Schaum, 2005. Report based on
area-identified NCVS, no longer available to
researchers.
Data: NACJD: "Victimization." Note resource guide for the
NCVS. You can also find copies of the 1998 surveys
from 12 large cities. Some supplements to NCVS are
also available. Carefully browse the series here.
Examples: • Tourangeau & McNeeley, 2003. The NCVS is
quite a complicated endeavor. This paper offers
a good overview of how various features of
interviewing should be considered. Think also
about sampling.
• Kindermann, Lynch & Cantor, 1997 BJS report
illustrating changes following a moderate
redesign of screening questions and a couple of
other decision rules.
• Hindelang, Gottfredson & Garofalo, 1978, pp.
241–274. A victimization classic. Compare to
routine activity theory as presented by Cohen
and Felson (1979). See also Maxfield’s
introduction to a special issue of JQC (Maxfield,
1987) and contributions therein.
• Baumer, Horney, Felson & Lauritsen, 2003.
Neighborhood disadvantage. One of a growing

Course Syllabus Page 6

 number of multi-level analyses of NCVS and
other victim surveys
• Pease & Laycock, 1996. A good introduction to
repeat victimization that gently highlights the
miserable state of the NCVS as an instrument
for policy-oriented research.
• Planty, 2007. Some estimates of undercounting
attributable to how series incidents are handled
in the NCVS.
• Durose, Schmitt & Langan, 2005. The NCVS
evolved to include information on contacts with
police. Skim unless you're really interested in
this topic.
• Durose, Harlow, et al., 2005. Draws on several
sources of data to examine family violence. This
is a terrific example of why multiple data
sources are needed. See Rand (1997) for
another example.
Week 7 1 Oct UCR presentations.
Read: Miller (2004), Chapters 6-7
Week 8 8 Oct Victim surveys, continued.
UCR report due.
Week 9 15 Oct How to download NCVS data from ICPSR and save as
a Stata dataset.
Nuances of working with NCVS data.
Bring draft fact sheet to class.
Week 22 Oct Self-report surveys.
10 Second fact sheet due.
Read: • Lauritsen & Laub, 2007. The authors argue that
we know a lot about the victim-offender nexus,
and are unlikely to learn more through large-
scale surveys. So what do we do?
• Weis, 1986. One of the best comparisons of
self-reports and other ways of measuring crime.
• Farrington, 2003. A good summary of the
history of self-reports. Prepared as part of a
study group to launch the recent UK series on
offending.
• Decker, 2005. Most people think of self-reports
as alternative ways to count crime for some
specific population or class of offenses. Self-
reports are also use in applied studies that are
more interested in situational factors of
offending, rather than in offender.
Data: Go to ICPSR and review NYS codebook for 1978
(study # 8506). Also peruse NYS website.
Examples: • Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman & Schulenberg.
John E., 2005. Report on the latest data
available. Read chapters 1 through 3, and skim
methods appendixes. Lots of other material to

Course Syllabus Page 7

 read if MTF strikes your interest.
• Fendrich, Johnson, Sudman, Wislar & Spiehler,
1999. Many things, mostly situational, affect the
validity of self-report surveys. This is a good
example.
• Royal, 2003. Unsafe driving is an example of
offending that is widespread. Self-report
surveys are best at measuring such things.
Week 29 Oct NCVS presentations.
11
Week 5 Nov Class cancelled.
12 Work on NCVS report.

Week 19 Nov Self-reports, continued.

13 How to download NYS data from ICPSR and save as a
Stata dataset.
NCVS report due.
Week 26 Nov Thanksgiving Holiday.
14
Week 3 Dec NYS presentations.
15
Week 10 Dec NYS report due.
16

Course Syllabus Page 8

 References

Barnett-Ryan, C. (2007). Introduction to the uniform crime reporting program. In J. P.

Lynch & L. A. Addington (eds), Understanding crime statistics: Revisiting the
divergence of the NCVS and UCR (pp. 55–89). NY: Cambridge University Press.

Baumer, E., Horney, J., Felson, R., & Lauritsen, J. L. (2003). Neighborhood
disadvantage and the nature of violence. Criminology, 41, 39–72.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2006). Criminal victimization in the United States, 2004
statistical tables. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(Www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvusst.htm)

Cantor, D., & Lynch, J. P. (2000). Self-report surveys as measures of crime and criminal
victimization. In D. Duffee (Ed), Measurement and Analysis of Crime and Justice
(Volume 4). Criminal Justice 2000 Vol. 4. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Decker, S. H. (2005). Using offender interviews to inform police problem solving.

Problem solving tools series. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Durose, M. R., Harlow, C. W., Langan, P. A., Motivans, M., Rantala, R. R., & Smith, E. L.
(2005). Family violence statistics: Including statistics on strangers and
acquaintances. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Durose, M. R., Schmitt, E. L., & Langan, P. A. (2005, April). Contacts between police
and the public: Findings from the 2002 national survey. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Farrington, D. P., Jolliffe, D., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Kosterman, R.
(2003). Comparing delinquency careers in court records and self-reports.
Criminology, 41, 933–958.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2007). Crime in the United States 2006. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(Http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/index.html)

Fendrich, M., Johnson, T. P., Sudman, S., Wislar, J. S., & Spiehler, V. (1999, May).
Validity of drug use reporting in a high-risk community sample: A comparison of
cocaine and heroin survey reports with hair tests. American Journal of
Epidemiology, 149(10), 955–962.

Hindelang, M. J., Gottfredson, M. R., & Garofalo, J. (1978). Victims of personal crime:
An empirical foundation for a theory of personal victimization. Cambridge, MA:
Ballinger.

James, N., & Council, L. R. (2008). How crime in the United States is measured (Report

Course Syllabus Page 9

 for Congress, January 3. Order code RL34309). Washington, DC: Congressional
Research Service, Library of Congress.
(Http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34309.pdf)

Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg. John E. (2005).
Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2004: Volume I,
secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 05–5727). Bethesda, MD:
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (Http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs.html)

Kindermann, C., Lynch, J., & Cantor, D. (1997). Effects of the redesign on victimization
estimates [Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey Rep.].
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Lauritsen, J. L., & Laub, J. H. (2007). Understanding the link between victimization and
offending: New reflections on an old idea. In M. Hough & M. Maxfield (eds),
Surveying crime in the 21st century. Crime prevention studies, vol. 22. Monsey,
NY: Criminal Justice Press.

Lauritsen, J. L., & Schaum, R. J. (2005). Crime and victimization in the three largest
metropolitan areas, 1980–98 [Bureau of Justice Statistics Technical Rep.].
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Maltz, M. D. (1999, September). Bridging gaps: Estimating crime rates from police data
[A discussion paper from the BJS Fellows Program]. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Maltz, M. (2007). Missing UCR data and divergence of the NCVS and UCR trends. In J.
P. Lynch & L. A. Addington (eds), Understanding crime statistics: Revisiting the
divergence of the NCVS and UCR (pp. 269–294). NY: Cambridge University
Press.

Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. (2005). Research methods for criminal justice and
criminology (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Maxfield, M. G. (1999, June). The national incident-based reporting system: Research

and policy applications. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 15(2), 119–149.

Messner, S. F., McHugh, S., & Felson, R. B. (2004). Distinctive characteristics of

assaults motivated by bias. Criminology, 42, 585–618.

Pease, K., & Laycock, G. (1996, November). Revictimization: Reducing the heat on hot
victims. Research in Action. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Planty, M. (2007). Series victimization and divergence. In J. P. Lynch & L. A. Addington

(eds), Understanding crime statistics: Revisiting the divergence of the NCVS and
UCR (pp. 156–182). NY: Cambridge University Press.

Rand, M. R., & Rennison, C. M. (2002). True crime stories? Accounting for differences in

Course Syllabus Page 10

 our national crime indicators. Chance, 15(1), 49–51.
(Http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/tcsadnci.pdf)

Rand, M. R. (1997). Violence-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments

[Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Rep.]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Rennison, C. M., & Rand, M. (2007). Introduction to the National Crime Victimization
Survey. In J. P. Lynch & L. A. Addington (eds), Understanding crime statistics:
Revisiting the divergence of the NCVS and UCR (pp. 17–54). NY: Cambridge
University Press.

Rosenfeld, R. (2007). Explaining the divergence between UCR and NCVS aggravated
assault trends. In J. P. Lynch & L. A. Addington (eds), Understanding crime
statistics: Revisiting the divergence of the NCVS and UCR (pp. 251–268). NY:
Cambridge University Press.

Royal, D. (2003, October). National survey of speeding and unsafe driving attitudes and
behavior: 2002 [Volume II: Findings]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of
Research and Technology.

Skogan, W. G. (1981). Issues in the measurement of victimization (NCJ-74682).

Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Snyder, H. N. (2005). Juvenile arrests 2003. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justive
and Delinquency Prevention.

Stolzenberg, L., D’Alessio, S. J., & Eitle, D. (2004). Multilevel test of racial threat theory.
Criminology, 4232, 673–698.

Stolzenberg, L., & D’Alessio, S. J. (2004). Sex differences in the likelihood of arrest.
Journal of Criminal Justice, 32, 443–454.

Tourangeau, R., & McNeeley, M. E. (2003). Measuring crime and criminal victimization:
Methodological issues (Chapter 2). In National Research Council., Measurement
Problems in Criminal Justice Research: Workshop Summary [Committee on Law
and Justice and Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education.] (pp. 10–42). Washington, D.C.: National
Academy Press.

Vazquez, S. P., Stohr, M. K., & Purkiss, M. (2005). Intimate partner violence incidence
and characteristics: Idaho NIBRS 1995 to 2001 data. Criminal Justice Policy
Review, 16, 99– 114.

Weaver, G. S., Wittekind, J. E. C., Corzine, L.-H., Corzine, J., Petee, T. A., & Jarvis, J.
P. (2004). Violent encounters: A criminal event analysis of lethal and nonlethal
outcomes. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 20, 348–368.

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Weis, J. G. (1986). Issues in the measurement of criminal careers (Chapter 1). In A.
Blumstein, J. Cohen, J. A. Roth & C. A. Visher (editors), Criminal careers and
“career criminals” volume 2 (pp. 1–51). Washington, D.C.: National Academy
Press.

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Course Syllabus Page 12

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The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of
communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the
same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each
individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student
email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and
that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from
a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of
confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the
transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account
that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department
of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have
their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I
cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to
ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not
to attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student
Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or

other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first
to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor,
administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called
“the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for
assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level,
the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response
provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the
School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the
student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate
Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel.
The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the
academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of
the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work
has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8)
weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to

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 complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of
F.

Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational
opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is
located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and
Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30
p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)
disabilityservice@utdallas.edu

If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course,

please meet with the Coordinator of Disability Services. The Coordinator is
available to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you
determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very
important that you be registered with Disability Services to notify them of your
eligibility for reasonable accommodations. Disability Services can then plan how
best to coordinate your accommodations.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such
an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present
to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs
accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact
the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a
religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section
11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as

possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The
student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the
assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the
length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized
for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within
the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for
the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement
about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any

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 missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may
request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her
designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the
legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by
the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.

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