Course Policy

Grading

Grades will be calculated based on the following distribution:

• 45% - Homework/Projects
• 20% - Reading Quizzes (on Blackboard)
• 10% - Class/Slack participation
• 25% - Final project (not optional)

The distribution might be adjusted based on the progression of the course.

Students who abandon their groups and do not do work on the final project will automatically fail the class, regardless of the rest of their grade.

Attendance

Regular class attendance and participation is expected. Please talk to me if regular class attendance is going to be a problem. Since we only have a short amount of time, class will start promptly at the scheduled start time. If you are going to be habitually tardy due to circumstances beyond your control, please let me know.

Participation is 10 percent of your grade.

Homework Assignments

There will be a number of assignments made in this class. I expect every student to attempt each assignment and turn in the results. You are encouraged to complete every assignment as this is one of the most effective ways to learn the material.

Assignments will be graded on a scale of:

• S+ — Exceeded expectations
• S — Satisfactory. All main components of the assignment completed
• S- — Program needs improvement, or not fully implemented
• U — Unsatisfactory. Program does not compile, or major elements missing

To get a grade of S+, you’ll need to do some of the extra credit sections on the assignments. Doing the regular sections of the assignments correctly will get you a grade of S, which will translate to around a median grade for the semester. If you want to get an A, you’ll need to get some S+ grades.

Submitting assignments that do not compile, or are otherwise heavily broken, will result in an automatic grade of U.

You have 4 automatic extensions given to you during the semester which you can use for the homework assignments. Please note, this is 4 extensions for the entire semester, not for each assignment. After these, the late penalty will apply. You are responsible for keeping track of the number of extensions that you have used, I will not be keeping track for you. If you exceed these days, no further extensions will be provided, so please plan ahead. Nothing may be submitted past the last day of the semester at the end of reading period, without an Incomplete signed through the Dean’s office.

Late submissions of homework assignments will be penalized up to 10% per day. Extra credit will not be accepted after the initial deadline.

Reading Quizzes

Reading quizzes will be posted and due before each class. Each quiz will be due at the beginning of class time on the day listed on the calendar. No late quizzes will be accepted.

You have unlimited attempts to do the quizzes.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you have a disability that might impact your performance in this course, or requires special accommodation, please contact me as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. You will need to contact the Office of Disability Access to get your disability documented before accommodations can be made.

There is also support available through the Quantitative Skills Center, CLEAR. They have drop-in hours where you can ask for assistance on programming assignments from other students who have experience.

The Computer Science Department is committed to access in its broadest sense of the word. If you identify as a low-income student, and you are experiencing challenges with securing funds to purchase required materials for this course (books/clickers/a working laptop) you can apply for funding support through ObieCares

If you are a student who is not diagnosed with a disability but suspect you may have one, please reach out to (Accessibility Services)[https://www.oberlin.edu/accessibility-services] and choose the red button about half way down the page to schedule a 15 minute informational meeting with OSAS.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

I have very low tolerance for academic dishonesty, and will vigorously pursue available remedies for any incidents. All work in this class is to be performed according to the Oberlin Honor Code. Specifically I expect that:

• Discussion of assignments is expected and encouraged, however all work and code on assignments should be your own without outside assistance. Any assignments that allow you to collaborate in a group will be explicitly labeled as such.
• You may not use another student’s clicker to attempt to get them attendance points.
• Sources should be cited including the textbook and other web sites when you use them in your work.
• You are not permitted to share your source code with other students, including future ones.
• You are not permitted to use other students solutions as your own (even those from a prior semester), nor answer keys, nor instructor versions.

Illustrative examples:

• Confirming that we had an exam/quiz is OK, telling another student in the class who has not taken it that it was easy/hard, what topics, etc. is NOT OK.

• On a project or homework, discussing what needs to be done and how it can be done is OK, having a student (other than a TA) go over your code is NOT OK, discussing what might be wrong and how to tell is OK (and encouraged).

• Unless otherwise specified in the assignment, you decide to use an insertion sort and copy the version from your Java textbook is OK as long as you give appropriate credit. E.g.,

/* based on insertion sort from Weiss 3rd Ed, p. 306 */

All assignments must include the following signed statement:

"I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment."

Electronic submissions should include the honor statement in either the README file or header comments and must include your name.

Please note that claiming credit for others' work is a violation of the honor principle. This means that if you do not participate in your project, and let your partners do all the work, not only will you fail, you will also be reported for infringing on the honor code.

Grader and Tutors

Contact me if you are interested in a Student Academic Services approved tutor.

The CSMC might hold walk-in tutoring sessions as well.