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. Cut-offs
for final letter grades D, C, B, A are, respectively, 35, 55, 70, and 85. Actual grades may be higher;
these cut-offs provide lower bounds.
component
% of grade
class participation & exercises
10
homeworks
20
two quizzes
20
two midterm exams
30
final exam
20
Attendance:
Attending class is required. Each student is granted three penalty-free absences for the semester, no
questions asked. Beyond those three, each absence results in a loss of one overall grade percentage point.
Absences for valid reasons (e.g., medical, family, religious, academic, athletic) may be excused only if a
request is made very soon after the circumstances are known.
Class participation:
Students are expected to contribute to learning by asking questions and making
relevant comments in class and participating in the specified online components of the class.
Quality is more important than quantity. Disruptive activity contributes negatively. See policies
below.
Classroom exercises:
Our work in the classroom may include some short individual and/or 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.
Homeworks:
Homeworks include programming and non-programming ones, often mixed. No 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:
All exams and quizzes are open book, open notes. The use of computers and
similar devices (tablets, phones, etc.) during exams is not allowed, A special exception is made
for devices that are used purely as e-book readers, subject to important restrictions discussed
in class. (Briefly, only those things are permitted that are just as easily done using a physical
copy of a book.) Communications of any sort (electronic or other) are not allowed, except for
communication between a student and the exam proctor. (In particular, Internet access is not
allowed, even to access an e-book; so please ensure that you have locally-saved offline copies of your
books.)