Grading. Course grades are based on homework, quizzes, a midterm exam and a final exam. There are no make-ups or extensions to due dates except in cases of serious circumstances beyond your control (e.g., a medical emergency). The following weights are used to compile an overall score at the end of the semester:
| Quiz Average | Homework Average | Midterm Exam | Final Exam |
| 15% | 40% | 20% | 25% |
Once overall scores are computed, course grades are determined by the following scale:
| A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C- | D+ | D | E |
| 93-100 | 90-92 | 87-89 | 83-86 | 80-82 | 77-79 | 73-76 | 70-72 | 67-69 | 60-66 | 0-59 |
If class is cancelled for any reason on the day of a quiz or exam, that quiz or exam will take place during the next meeting.
Attendance. Regular attendance and active participation in class should be regarded as professional obligations. They are certainly key ingredients for success. I may drop the lowest quiz or homework score for students with perfect (or nearly perfect) attendance.
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 under your own name that you did not write entirely on your own. 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 likely result in a failing grade for the course and may be reported to the University's Director of Student Standards for further action.
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 is 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. Give yourself enough time to carefully write and test your work, and time to ask for help if you get stuck.
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