CS312 - Administrivia

Handouts, announcements, etc.

All handouts will be distributed on the course web page. This will include lecture notes/slides, assignments and other handouts. You are responsible for all material and announcements posted on the class web page, so please check it regularly. If this is a problem for anyone, feel free to come talk to me. For time critical announcements, I will use e-mail.

Coursework

Grade calculation
- 30% Assignments
- 10% Quiz
- 50% Final project
- 10% Participation
Assignments - There will be approximately 6 assignments throughout the first half of the course. The assignments will be mostly programming oriented, but may also have a written component. Assignments will be made available on the course web page and will generally be due at midnight on Monday, though each assignment will specify the exact due date.
Quiz - There will be a take-home quiz after the first half of the course. The quiz will be time-limited and will be made available at the beginning of the week before spring break and will be due by the end of the week.
Final project - For the last half of the course, you will work in a group 8-10 people on a final project. You will be subdivided into teams within that group, but each team will be contributing to the overall project. You will be expected to contribute code to the project regularly. We will have regular in-class team meetings, but you will be also expected to meet at least once over the weekend as a team to discuss progress.
Your grade for the final project will be partially determined by the overall success of the project, but will mostly be determined by your participation and contribution to the project both in coding and in non-coding activities. You will submit regular status reports summarizing your contributions and may also be evaluated by your peers.
Exact schedule and details for the final project will be made available. If you have questions or concerns about this before then, please come see me.
Participation - Participation consists of attending class regularly, participating in in-class exercises (particularly during the final project) and of giving evidence that you are actively engaged with the material (asking/answering questions in lecture, coming to office hours, etc).

Late policy

You have one late day that you may use on any of the assignments for the first half of the course. Using the late day gives you a 24 hour due date extension to the assignment (you don't need to ask me to use a late day). Beyond this, except under very extenuating circumstantces, I will not accept late assignments.

Honor code and collaboration

I take the honor code and academic honesty very seriously.

For the initial assignments, you are encouraged to get together in small groups to discuss material from the lectures and text. However, the work that you turn in must be done independently, unless an assignment is explicitly designated as one in which collaboration is allowed.

In particular, your work must not be based on information obtained from sources other than those approved for the course (i.e., the text, web pages linked from the course web page, and materials provided in lecture). You should never copy another students code or solutions, exchange computer files, or share your code or solutions with anyone else in the class until after an assignment is due. You may, however, use any code that we provide to you or that comes from the textbook, as long as you acknowledge the source. Additionally, the tutors are allowed to help you with your code.

If you are working with others on an assignment, I suggest the following procedure: spend as much time as you need working with others to understand the problems. When you're ready to start on your own take a break and then go back and write your programs without the notes you used while working with the others. This will help ensure that you follow both the letter and the spirit of the honor code.

For the final project, collaboration is encouraged (and in fact, required)!

If you are ever unsure about what constitutes acceptable collaboration, please ask!

Disabilities accomodations

Students with documented disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact me as early in the semester as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Assistance is available to eligible students through the ADA Office. Please contact Jodi Litchfield, the ADA Coordinator, at litchfie@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5936 for more information. All discussions will remain confidential.