In all my classes, I have an additional policy to help me when assigning border-line grades. If you miss two or fewer classes, I will bump you up. If you miss more than that, I won't. This helps a lot of students in the long run. Class time will be spent primarily in lectures, but practical exercises and demonstrations will also be included.
Discussion is encouraged.
Your part of the deal is to be ready to start taking notes and participating in the class on time. Further, you should do me the courtesy of waiting until I have dismissed the class before packing up. If you must leave class early, please let me know before class starts so that I will not be distracted by your leave-taking. All policies regarding academic dishonesty are explained in the Student Handbook. All procedures and student expectations explained there will be adhered to in this course.