CSE Courses
Course Policies
Grading
Grade Components
| Midterm exam | 20% |
| Homework | 30% |
| Term project | 15% |
| Final exam | 35% |
Exams
There will be at least one in-class exam during the term, plus a comprehensive final exam given 1:30-4:30 PM, Wednesday, December 18.
The final exam must be taken at the officially prescribed time. No exceptions will be granted other than possibly for a documented conflict with a final exam in another course. Do not buy plane tickets for a flight home prior to the final exam, as this is not an acceptable reason for taking the final exam earlier than the appointed time, and such a request will not be honored.
Homework
There will be three or four written homework assignments during the term, each with a due date approximately two weeks after the assignment is made. Homework problems will include questions requiring written answers, mathematical analyses and derivations, and programming problems.
Homework Submission
Homework can be turned in at class or to one of the instructor's secretaries. Homework should be submitted in hardcopy (paper) form. Materials handed in for computer problems should include source code listing, a text file and/or graphical output, and a written explanation or interpretation of results. Any graphical output should be machine generated if at all possible. If hand drawn graphs are used, they must be drawn carefully on graph paper and accompanied by separate tables of the values plotted.
Any complaints about homework grades, including any claims of lost homework papers, must be made within one week after the graded homework papers for the assignment in question are returned to the students.
Late Homework
You will generally be given two weeks to complete each homework assignment, but it is a good idea not to wait until an assignment is almost due before beginning to work on it. For late homework, 20% will be deducted per day up to a three-day maximum, counting only week days (not weekends). Homework is considered on time if it is received by 5:00 pm on the assigned due date. Homework received after 5:00 pm on the due date is considered one day late if it is received by 5:00 pm on the day after the assigned due date, and two days late if received by 5:00 pm two days after the assigned due date, and so on. Homework more than three week days late will not be accepted. The time of receipt of homework is determined by when it is first seen by either the instructor or the instructor's secretary. Homework left overnight or on a weekend is considered to be turned in the morning of the following week day.
Collaboration
General discussion of homework is permissible, but detailed collaboration on homework is not allowed unless a specific exception is announced in advance by the instructor. The homework problems assigned are not of sufficient magnitude to warrant pooling efforts — they are not term projects suitable for teaming. General discussion among students is encouraged, but detailed sharing of student-generated solutions or code is prohibited. Any significant help you may find on the Internet should be acknowledged. Finding a definition online is fine, for example, but handing in an entire problem solution you may find on the Internet would be plagiarism unless the source is properly cited. The homework problems are intended to help you learn the material in this course, not as a test of your web surfing ability.
Term Project
A term project will be required of each student. The project, chosen by the student with consent of the instructor, is typically a programming project related to the material in the course. Team projects are permissible provided the magnitude of the project is proportionately larger than an individual project. The project write-up must be submitted by the last class of the term, Tuesday, December 10. Term projects may include in-class presentations if time permits.
