Homework sets that are nearly identical will result in grades of zeros for all involved. If you are puzzled by a question, do not copy out a friend's answer, but come to the help sessions and to our offices, and discuss the problem. Copying during exams is a heinous crime for which the punishment will be a zero for that exam at minimum to an F for the course at maximum. We shall not hesitate to report such cases to the Dean of Students. To encourage your understanding of the course material, we de-emphasize standard office hours in favor of regularly scheduled help sessions.
Office hours are by appointment for special needs, but to work on homeworks, tests, etc.
Here are two points to ponder. First, considering that there are three possible sessions per week for you to attend, if your schedule does not permit coming any of them, please think about switching to another section of Astronomy 301. I won't want to set up special help sessions for one or two people when all others in the class find time to get to the regularly scheduled ones. In order to gather observations for our research, we must visit the University's McDonald Observatory in West Texas and other astronomical institutions around the world. However, this travel should not occur at the expense of your education.