Course Guidelines

General Assignment, Lab and Project Guidelines:

  1. Please read carefully and understand what is required. If you answer a wrong question correctly, you've got a wrong answer.
  2. If you have difficulties with an assignment, by all means do come during the office hours and we will work on it together.
  3. The university's Academic Honesty policy is in effect for this course. Please read Drexel University Student Handbook found at  http://www.drexel.edu/Studentlife/. I expect you to turn in individual and original work. This means that what you turn in must be your own work. I expect you to say no if another student asks you for a copy of your work. The penalty for permitting another student to copy your work is the same as if you yourself had turned in work that was not individual and original: Both the giver and the receiver will receive no credit or failing grade (F) for the entire course.
  4. No Makeup Exams: No makeup exams are offered. If you miss an exam due to medical or family emergency, you must present some official documentation such as doctor's note and then you will be given a closed-book, closed-notes (= very hard) exam. You must inform me of your valid reason for missing the test no later than one day following the test in question.

Programming and Experimental Assignment Guidelines:

  1. Please include a description of your programming or experimental project. A description is a separate text file that should meet the following guidelines.
  2. Document your program well!
  3. Provide instructions on how to compile and run your code. In addition, include a script to compile and run your code if appropriate.
  4. Submit your code with all necessary and/or supporting files. Graders will test each submitted program. If we have not received the source code, we will assume that your program does not work.
  5. If there are several files in your submission, it is helpful if you compress the files in .zip or .tar format and submit only one compressed file. Please do not use uncommon archive/compression formats.
  6. If your program doesn't work properly, clearly state that in your description file. Don't turn in output that could not have come from your program and pretend that it came from your program. We will take points for such behavior.
  7. Do not expect to solve programming problems in the half-hour before programs are due. This never works.

Instructions on Submitting your Homework

  1. All homework for this course is to be turned in electronically. Do not bring any of your work to class ever -- even if it says so on a page of this website.
  2. Please type the work up in a text editor such as gedit, MS Word or notepad, or LaTeX is even better -- we can read any common file format.
  3. See the course syllabus for instructions on submitting your assignments.
  4. Try to keep your submissions small -- under a few MB. Otherwise, they might not get through.
  5. Feel free to resubmit your work or add files as many times as you like before the deadline.
  6. Deadlines are as posted on this website -- 11:59 of the day mentioned.

Some general facts of life

Generally good times to reach me: Email is the best way to reach me. Asking your questions by email also helps you focus yourself better. And I am usually available during my scheduled office hours. However, I may be pre-empted for meetings at other locations occasionally. It is a good idea that you email/talk to me ahead if you wish to meet with me. I will generally be available in our classroom few minutes before class and will stay after class to answer questions.

What you can expect from me and graders:

  1. I will share my computer science knowledge with you as effectively as I know how. Don't expect perfection -- there is no such thing.
  2. I will show up for class. I will start and end class on time.
  3. I will return your emails as quickly as possible -- usually within a couple of hours. However, I may take more than one business day to do so. Feel free to email me on weekends but be aware that I do not always check my email messages on the weekends.
  4. We will grade your work and return it back to you within a week. Occasionally it may take longer but we do our best to avoid delays.
  5. We will provide you with written feedback on the quality of your work. If you do not understand why you were assigned a particular grade or if our comments are not clear, we will explain more thoroughly if you ask us to.
  6. I will provide you with a summary of the total points earned to date anytime that you ask for it.

What I expect from you:

  1. I expect you to read the syllabus and to know the class policies outlined there as well as on the course (this) web site.
  2. I expect you to seek help if you are having difficulty with your course work. I expect you to talk to me if you are having problems.
  3. If you do not understand why you received a particular grade, I expect you to approach me and ask questions.
  4. I expect you to show up for class on time and stay for the entire session except when you have an unavoidable conflict. If you must miss a class, assignments and lecture notes can usually be obtained from the class web site.
  5. I expect you to turn in your assignments. I expect them to be submitted in a timely fashion. Do not expect me to accept assignments or labs submitted late -- I may do so but do not count on it.
  6. I recommend that you complete the reading assignments before you come to class, particularly if you are having difficulty understanding the material.
  7. I expect you to be professional at all times, both towards me, the grader, and your classmates. Students shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with a professional student.