Grading Policies

Your class grade will be divided as follows:

Final Exam: 30%
Mid-term Exam: 20%

Homework (2-3 in number): 15%

Machine Problems (around 7 in number): 30%

Participation (Class involvement and pop quizzes): 5%

Here is more information:

• Final (30%): There will be one final exam during finals week.
• Midterm (20%): There will be a midterm on Monday, March 8^th, 2008. Please mark your calendar.
• Homework (15%): There will be 2-3 homeworks during the semester. The two homeworks are intended to prepare you for the midterm and final respectively. They will be posted on the class web site. Homework must be done by individual students, NOT in groups. Each student submits typed solutions to the TAs (we may use Subversion) by the deadline indicated in the homework.
• Machine problems (30%): There will be about 7 Machine Problems (MPs). MPs will typically be one week long, and in some cases may be two weeks long. Machine problem solutions must be handed by the respective deadlines (via Subversion). MPs must be done by individual students, NOT in groups.
• Participation and Pop Quizzes (5%): The instructor will offer several opportunities for interaction in class, such as in-class discussions, questions, and opinions to seek your input on various class-related topics. You are expected to be an active participant in class. Participation in class is worth 5%. This grade also includes pop quizzes.
• Note: Practice quizzes may be offered for you to test your knowledge. These are a study resource and will not be graded. Solutions will be posted.

Grading Exceptions, Re-grading, and Special Circumstances:

• Deadlines: Please be mindful of deadlines. See below:

  • For homeworks, deadlines are strict and late submissions will not be considered. The reason is, solutions will be posted soon after the deadline! While we shall try to accommodate special extenuating circumstances (such as death in the family, hospitalization, etc), the rule is that no credit is given for late submissions. An example of an unacceptable excuse is “Server went down the night before the deadline and we could not submit the homework”. Please submit early to leave enough leeway for unexpected circumstances. 

  • For MPs, posted deadlines are meant to be respected. However, if you submit your MP after the posted deadline time, you will be penalized 2% for each late hour (rounded off to the higher hour). For example, if you submitted an MP 9.5 hours after the deadline, your MP will be evaluated out of a maximum of 100%-10X2% = 80%, rather than out of 100%. If you do the math right, you will realize that this means there is no point submitting the MP more than 2 days (50 hours) later than the posted deadline. As a general practice, aim to submit your MP by the posted deadline time and date. (Hey, when Microsoft or Firefox comes out late with its next version of software, think how much customers hate it...)

• Re-grading window: After the grades for a quiz, homework, MP or exam are available, you have 1 week to request re-grading of the homework/MP/exam/Quiz. If you believe you were not graded correctly, please help up by asking for regarding during that window. After 1 week, no more regrade requests will be honored.

• Religious holidays: If you observe a religious holiday that interferes with getting a machine problem or homework completed, please let the TA know well ahead of time, i.e., at least one week in advance.  Given the circumstances, we will try to accommodate such requests by issuing extensions as appropriate, as long as we have been given at least one week's notice.

• Honor code: You are a respected individual in a community of collegiality and trust. We honor and believe your word. We trust what you say and will generally not ask for proof. However, with trust comes responsibility. Violation of trust will not be tolerated. In particular, acts not befitting this community such as cheating (e.g., collaboration on homeworks or exams that are not meant to be collaborative) fall in the category of violation of trust. Individuals who commit such acts will lose the privileges of trust and receive a zero on the assignment in question. Repeat offenders will receive an F in class.

• Tips about your work:

  • Your homework, exams, and quizzes in this class must be your own. If you have any questions about this policy, please talk to the staff.

  • Your machine problems will be a result of individual work. You are responsible for protecting your work. In the past, we had cases of copying solutions from other students without their knowledge. To avoid having your work copied without your knowledge, refrain from leaving source code prints lying around the lab, protect your files, don't give your passwords to anyone, and enter your passwords in a way that cannot be seen by others. Do not leave a login session active on an unattended workstation. Use xlock on the CSIL workstations if you must leave briefly, or use some similar measure (or log out!) in other labs; remember that it's a violation of the CSIL policy (and probably the other lab policies) to leave your workstation unattended for any extended period of time. Report suspicious behavior to the lab sitters or the TAs.