Grading Details

Grades will be computed as follows:

40% Programming Assignments
25% Midterm
35% Final Exam

Regardless of total percentage earned in the course, you must get a passing grade on the final exam to pass the course.

Class Participation

One goal of this course is to develop an ability to engage actively with the material and critically evaluate design decisions, their costs and benefits, and so on. As such, students are encouraged to ask questions, point out weaknesses, make observations and suggest alternatives during the lecture. (By no means should you take this to mean that only brilliant ideas are welcome during lecture! Lecture is for in-progress learning, not perfection.) Additionally, alerting the instructor when you are confused, lost, didn't hear something, or otherwise in need of additional explanation is encouraged.

There will also be frequent opportunities for structured active participation during lecture (solving problems), in which everyone is expected to participate.

Exams

There will be two examinations in this course. The exams will be closed book, but you will be provided with a "cheat sheet" as part of the exam booklet. Exactly what is on the cheat sheet will be explained prior to the exam. Because we will provide you with the details, the questions will stress conceptual understanding as opposed to memorization. The final will be comprehensive covering material from the entire course.

Homework

For more details on homework, see the homework page.

Grading Inquiries

Inquiries about your grade should be directed in writing (email) to the TA, no more than 7 days after the grade was posted online. All grades are fixed after 7 days.

Late Policy

Each individual in the class gets one slip day for the entire quarter. This means turning in an assignment up to 24 hours late with no penalty (there are no partial slip days--5 minutes late uses up the whole slip day). If a partnership turns in a late assignment, both partners have used up their slip day. (Exception: if one partner still has a slip day and the other doesn't, the assignment for the partnership may still be turned in one day late.) All other late assignments will receive a zero.

Collaboration

Quizzes and exams are to be completed individually. Programming assignments must be done strictly by the two individuals in the partnership only. Plagiarism of homework is a serious breach of academic integrity, and will affect your entire grade for the course, not just the portion allotted to homework.

Academic Integrity Policy

Do not cheat. If you are suspected of cheating, I will enforce the UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship. This means that your case will be refered to the Dean of your college, who will determine your guilt or innocence, and who will determine your punishment if guilty. Punishment may be up to and including an F in the course, academic probation or suspension from UCSD. Use of any assistance not explicitly authorized by the instructor is considered cheating. Translation: you cannot assume something is ok just because I haven't said not to do it. If you have any questions about this, please ask.