Grading Scheme

Grade components:

Students are expected to complete and submit all assigned coursework in good faith; those who fail to do so will earn a failing grade, regardless of overall numerical score.

component	% of grade
class participation	5
classroom exercises	5
homework assignments	10
two quizzes (short exams)	10
two midterm exams	20
project reports (versions 1, 2, & 3)	20	(3 + 5 + 12)
source code and demo (versions 1, 2, & 3)	20	(3 + 5 + 12)
final oral presentation	10

Class participation:

Students are expected to contribute to learning by asking questions and making relevant comments in class and on the class newsgroup. Quality is more important than quantity. Disruptive activity contributes negatively. See policies below.

Classroom exercises:

Our work in the classroom will include a number of short group exercises, meant to solidify understanding of the concepts being discussed. The exercises will be graded primarily for effort, group work, and other contributions, and less so for simple correctness. Since attendance, while strongly recommended, is not mandatory (cf. policies), some low-scoring exercises will be dropped for each student. Please ask for clarifications if there are concerns about the interaction of this component and the attendance policy.

Homeworks:

Homeworks will typically include written work that is designed to further develop material discussed in class (e.g., designing effective graphics to convey some information, or improving a written description of an algorithm). No direct collaboration is permitted. Everyone is encouraged to discuss the problems and solution strategies at a high level, but the final solution and details must be individual work. If the boundary between permissible and non-permissible interactions is unclear, please ask for clarifications.

Exams and Quizzes:

Exams and quizzes will test material discussed in class, assigned as reading, or covered by assignments. All exams and quizzes are open book, open notes. You are free to bring with you any resources that you find useful. However, no communications are permitted other than between students and me. The use of computers during exams is strongly discouraged, but brief use may be permitted provided it does not cause a disturbance, at the discretion of the proctor. You may use the Internet, but only as a library to look up material you may find useful. Ask for clarifications in case of any doubt. The exams are designed to require no equipment other than a pen and paper, along with the textbook and assigned readings.

Midterm exams will be held during regular class meetings, and will be roughly an hour long. Each quiz is a short exam, roughly half an hour long, held during part of a class meeting. The dates will be announced at least a week in advance. (Ask for clarifications if you have concerns in this regard.) The final oral presentation and final submissions of reports, code, and demo materials constitute the final exam.

Project Reports:

The sequence of three project reports serves to systematically document the project. Further details will follow in class. Students are strongly encouraged to continually seek feedback on their working drafts from their project advisors, Capstone instructor, academic advisors, and others.

Source code and demo:

Well packaged and documented source code and demo material is an important component of the Capstone project. The code and demo will be evaluated on not only how well it functions but also on aspects such as clarity and elegance. The source code does not have to be released under any specific license (although a free software license¹ is strongly recommended); however, no legal encumbrances (such as nondiscolsure agreements) will be entertained. All code must be submitted electronically (only) as outlined in the Submission Instructions section below.

Final Oral Presentation:

All students must make public oral presentations of their work on the presentations day, which is typically the Friday of the last week of classes (outside of usual class meeting times). If you have concerns in this regard, you must voice them very early in the semester.

© 2015 Sudarshan S. Chawathe