CS 473: Exam Policies
Logistics
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This class has two evening midterms and a final exam. Times and locations of the midterms will be announced on the course web page well in advance. The day before each midterm, Jeff will hold an optional review session instead of a regular lecture.
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Cheat sheets:
- For each midterm, you may bring one double-sided 8½"×11" sheet of paper with anything you like written on both sides. (Two single-sided sheets are okay.)
- For the final exam, you may bring two double-sided 8½"×11" sheets of paper with anything you like written on both sides. (Four single-sided sheets are okay.)
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Everyone must submit their cheat sheets with their exam answers. We will return your cheat sheets with your graded exams.
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Cheat sheets must be hand-written, not photocopied or printed. I used to allow printed/photocopied cheat sheets, but too many students were including complete reduced photocopies of homework solutions, lecture notes, and/or old exam solutions. (I believe the record was four 6×6 grids of reduced pages, which is 144 pages overall.) Those students performed significantly worse on the exams than students with hand-written cheat sheets.
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Except for cheat sheets, all exams are closed-everything. In particular, no medically unnecessarily electronic devices are allowed in exams.
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Students requiring extra time or other exam accommodations should first discuss their needs with DRES, and then bring the DRES accommodation letter to Jeff, at least one week before the first midterm.
Conflict/Makeup Exams
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Conflict midterms: For each midterm, we will schedule a conflict exam to accomodate students who cannot attend the regular exam for any of the reasons listed in the student code:
- Another exam scheduled earlier
- A regularly scheduled class
- A regularly scheduled performance or rehearsal
- Sickness, regular employment, or other extenuating circumstances
“Extenuating circumstances” do not include out-of-state job interviews. Students who have registered with DRES for exam accommodations are also welcome to take the conflict midterms.
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We may forgive midterms under extreme circumstances, such as documented illness or injury, that prevent taking both the regular exam and the conflict exam. We will compute your exam average as though the forgiven exam does not exist. Please ask Jeff for details.
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Conflict final: We will schedule a conflict final exam to accomodate students who cannot attend the regular exam for any of the reasons outlined in the student code:
- Another final exam at the same time
- Three consecutive final exams in 24 hours
- National or state professional examinations
- Sickness, regular employment, or other extenuating circumstances
“Extenuating circumstances” do not include already-purchased plane tickets; the date of the final exam was announced before the start of the semester. Students who have registered with DRES for exam accommodations are also welcome to take the conflict exam.
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Makeup final:
Students who cannot take either the regular final exam or the conflict final exam because of serious extenuating circumstances, such as illness or injury, should request an Incomplete from your college (Engineering and LAS. Without an Incomplete (which instructors are not empowered to give), any student who does not take the final exam will be given a grade of ABS (“absent from final”), which is equivalent to an F. We will offer a makeup exam early next semester for students who miss the final exam, either with or without an Incomplete. Please ask Jeff for details.
Other Policies
- Answering any exam problem or sub-problem with “I don't know” is worth 25% partial credit, just as it is for the homework. Readable, correct, but suboptimal solutions are always worth more than 25%; reasonable progress toward a correct solution will receive partial credit, which could easily exceed 25%. However, missing answers are not the same as “I don’t know”; synonyms like "IDK" or "WTF" are fine, but you must write something. If you find yourself answering “I don’t know” frequently, espeically on exams, something is wrong—Ask for help!
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Deadly Sins are automatic zeros, just as they are for homework. Write general solutions, not just examples. Algorithms require English specifications. Greedy algorithms require formal proofs of correctness. Never use weak induction. Don't cheat.
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Except for greedy algorithms, proofs are required on exams if and only if we explicitly ask for them.