Course Policies

Grading.   Course grades are based on weekly quizzes, regular homework assignments, a midterm exam and a comprehensive final exam. The approximate midterm date is October 21. The exact date will be announced at least a week in advance. Please note that if you miss a quiz or exam, it counts as a zero. There will be no make-ups, except for medical emergencies or other dire circumstances beyond your control.

The following weights are used to compile an overall score at the end of the semester:

Once overall scores are computed, course grades are determined by the following scale:

Attendance.   Regular attendance and active participation in class should be regarded as professional obligations. Missing even a single class puts you at risk of falling behind. Everything that we do in class depends in a crucial way on what we have done before, so if you fall behind it can be very difficult to recover. If you must miss class, let me know and I will summarize what we covered. If you attend each class and participate regularly in class discussions, I may drop your lowest homework or quiz score.

Academic Integrity.   Any attempt to mislead your professor about any aspect of your work in the course, or about your knowledge of course material, is academic dishonesty. This includes submitting work that you did not write entirely on your own, unless you explicitly acknowledge any and all contributors. The University's Academic Integrity Policy applies here — you are responsible for reading and complying with it. Note that allowing another student to copy any part of your work is itself dishonest. This includes emailing your code to another student so that he can "study" it. Academic dishonesty of any kind will be treated according to university policies strictly and without exception. Such behavior typically results in a failing grade for the course.

You may collaborate with other students on homework assignments through an honest exchange of ideas, but under no circumstances are you permitted to copy someone else's code. Whatever you carry in your head after a conversation with someone is something that you have learned and may freely use as your own. There is a difference between learning from someone and merely copying code. I can usually tell when a student does not understand the details of the work he has submitted, a sure sign of dishonest copying.

Homework.   All work must be submitted electronically using the course dropbox. No email submissions. Work is due on the day specified by the assignment — the time of day does not matter. No credit will be given for work received after the due date. Follow submission requirements carefully. Deviations such as misnaming files or folders slows down the grading process and may affect your grade for the work. Consult the style guide on the course website for coding conventions and documentation standards that must be followed for full credit.

The most common reason for a low grade: starting late. It is easy to throw together some lines of code at the last minute, but there is little chance that it will do what it is supposed to do. If you really care about learning and doing well in this course, then give yourself enough time to carefully write and test your work, and time to ask for help if you get stuck. I will always be glad to give you as much help as you want. Just ask.

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