CPSC 343 Course Policies

Assignments, handouts, and materials from class will be posted on the course web page, specifically the schedule page. You will need to check this page regularly to make sure you stay up-to-date.

Daily lessons, homework problems, and potentially some other material will be posted on Canvas. There will always be a reference to the existence of this material on the schedule page so that you don't need to also check Canvas to see if something new has appeared.

Email will be used for individual communications and for time-sensitive announcements, so you should also regularly check your HWS email account.

Learning is much more effective if you are engaged in the material. You should come to class prepared for the day's activities, and should be on task during class — please do not surf the web, text, play games, do assignments for other courses, etc during class.

You are encouraged to bring a laptop to class for use during group activities. Outside of these activities, note taking on paper is encouraged as it avoids the distraction of electronic devices; if you do use a laptop or other device to take notes, you are encouraged to turn off notifications and close other applications to reduce the temptation of those distractions.

Arriving late, leaving early, and coming and going during class is distracting to me and your fellow classmates. Please endeavor to arrive on time, and to take care of any necessary business before or after class so you can be present for the whole class period. If you know in advance that you will need to miss part or all of a class, please let me know.

Disruptive classroom behavior will negatively impact your participation grade.

You are expected to be on time for all class meetings and to be present and engaged in the class for the full period. ("Engaged" means paying attention and participating when appropriate, not just being physically present but doing something else.)

While attending and participating in class should be a high priority, it is understood that there are sometimes circumstances when you may be unable to attend class. It is especially important that you not expose others to illness if you are sick.

If you have an unavoidable conflict with the date of an exam, you must notify me as soon as possible and make arrangements beforehand. Note that only your dean can reschedule the final exam. A missed exam can only be made up after the fact in the case of a last-minute emergency that prevents you from attending class. You must notify me of the situation as soon as possible, and may not discuss any aspect of the exam with anyone else.

If you miss class, you are responsible for making up missed content — make sure that you check the schedule page for new assignments and materials from class, and come to office hours if you have any questions or need help with any aspect of the material. This should be done promptly to avoid falling behind.

Any absence, no matter the reason, puts a greater burden on you to catch up on missed content and means that you miss out on the discussions, activities, and opportunities for participation and practice that take place in class. Students who regularly miss class often struggle to catch up and consequently end up doing poorly in the course.

As a result, missing more than six classes for any reason will lower your engagement grade. Missing four, five, or six classes will also lower your engagement grade unless you are proactive about communication regarding your absences (including notifying me of an upcoming absence as soon as you know about it), diligent about making up missed content (including completing some of the missed in-class activities on your own), and more engaged in other aspects of the course (participating in class, asking questions, coming to office hours, etc).

Repeated late arrivals or early departures may be counted as an absence.

There is a steady workload throughout the course and the material is cumulative in that the project depends on all of the units covered. Every effort should be made to hand in assignments on time, however, as with attendance, it is understood that there may sometimes be extenuating circumstances which make meeting every deadline difficult.

Late handins refer to assignments being accepted for grading after the due date. In the case of a last-minute emergency that prevents an on-time handin of already-completed work, notify me as soon as possible and make arrangements to complete the handin promptly. This is not an extension of time to complete the assignment.

• Daily lessons will generally not be accepted late as the primary purpose of these exercises is to be prepared for class and to determine what needs more attention in class. However, an occasional late handin (after the due date but still before class) will not directly impact your grade.

• Homework problems will only be accepted late up to the end of the designated "homework problems cutoff" as new material is best practiced promptly and the value of these exercises is diminished if they are not completed prior to needing to use those skills. Even though there is no direct penalty for late handins (prior to each cutoff), note that a pattern of late handins is a sign that you are falling behind — come discuss a plan for getting back on track.

• Project deadlines are structured so that there is steady progress throughout the semester and there is time to get feedback on earlier steps before proceeding with things that depend on those earlier steps. Late handins will be accepted but cut into the time you have for the next phase and may not be handed back as promptly.

Extensions allow handins beyond the window for late handins. Extensions are expected to be rare, as missing homework problem cutoffs means that there likely won't be time for practice and feedback before the next exam.

• Extensions will not be granted for daily lessons. However, an occasional missed (or after class) submission will not directly impact your grade.

If there are circumstances outside your control which are significantly impacting your ability to focus on academics for several days or more, it is essential that you reach out as soon as possible to discuss a plan for getting back on track.

In addition, more than the occasional missed deadline for homework problems (even if you make the cutoff for each unit) is cause for concern as things can quickly pile up and last-minute cramming is not the most effective way to learn. Reach out for help!

No work will be accepted after the end of the Registrar-scheduled final exam time slot except in the case of an incomplete.

The HWS Principle of Academic Integrity governs all of the work completed in this course. Students should read the full policy in the HWS Catalogue: https://www.hws.edu/catalogue/academic-policies.aspx

For this course:

Daily lessons are for self-assessment and identifying questions you have — you should complete the quizzes yourself without help from others. (The quizzes are graded on completion rather than correctness, so there is no grade benefit to copying from or working with others and you lose the benefits of the self-assessment.) Discussing the quizzes with others after you have completed them is fine.

The purpose of homework is an opportunity for you to master the material for yourself. Your first attempt(s) at any problem should be yours alone, using only the materials provided as part of the course (readings, slides, examples from class, the textbook on reserve, links to official MySQL documentation). After that, you are strongly encouraged to come to office hours and study sessions. You may work with others and use other resources (online or otherwise) but be careful about relying too much on that — looking up (or asking someone else for) an answer is quick but it only gets you the answer for that specific problem, and reviewing solutions can feel like you are learning a lot but such learning is incomplete if you aren't also producing (and often also struggling with producing) your own solutions. A good practice is to only discuss approaches with others and to write up the specifics of your own solution independently and in your own words.

The project provides a significant application of many aspects of the course material. The project is an individual assignment and what you hand in must be your work — you may not work collaboratively with others or copy someone else's work, either in part or in full and with or without modifications of your own. Using examples to understand technical points is fine — the difference is that an example illustrates a specific concept which you then must apply to your own particular instance, whereas a solution largely solves your exact problem and doesn't necessarily require understanding the underlying concept in order to use. (In the case of libraries or other packages that you might want to use, ask first!)

Exams are to demonstrate your mastery of the material, and are to be your work and your work alone. No help from or collaboration with others is allowed, and only specifically permitted resources may be used.

Violations can result in anything from a warning to point deductions or a 0 on the assignment for the first offense. A second such offense is grounds for failure in the course. Cases may also be referred to the Committee on Standards. Note that the HWS Principle of Academic Integrity states:

Academic dishonesty is determined in every case by the evidence presented and not by intent. Questions of intent and circumstances under which an infraction occurred may be considered in determining a sanction.

There are no exceptions to this policy; ignorance of the policy and desperation ("It was the night before it was due and there wasn't anyone else to ask!") are specifically not excuses for violating the policy. If you are having trouble with the course material, come to the instructor! — it is never advantageous to "borrow" someone else's solution, and the time spent trying to disguise this "borrowing" is far better spent getting help.

There is a lot of new material in this course, and at any point you will likely have several active assignments: daily lessons, homework problems, the project, and possibly an exam. Don't fall behind! It is important that you budget your time so that you can fit all of these things in and get them in on time. Dates for major assignments and exams are on the schedule page.

Topics introduced earlier are used and built on later in the course. Review each day's material soon after class and start on homework problems early, and seek help promptly if you are stuck on something or want to discuss ideas. Letting a point of confusion slide often snowballs, and it is easy to find yourself falling behind if that happens.

It is also important that you take responsibility for your own learning and do enough problems to master the material, seeking out help as needed. Do the homework problems provided (even more than the minimum requirement) and pay attention to the feedback!

Note taking on paper is encouraged as it avoids the distraction of electronic devices and the act of handwriting helps with retention of information. (Anything that appears on the projector screen — slides, examples, or code — will be posted on the schedule page soon after class, so you don't need to copy down all of that material in your notes.) If you do use a laptop or other device to take notes, you are encouraged to turn off notifications and close other applications to reduce the temptation of those distractions.

A useful strategy for note-taking is to (only) make note of key ideas and examples during class and then rewrite your notes, filling in other details and relevant information, soon after class. This allows you to pay more attention during class, increases your engagement with the material, and helps you identify what you need to ask questions about.

Getting help:

• The primary resources for this course are the textbook, course website, materials provided in class, and office hours. Start with these! (If you can't make the scheduled study sessions or drop-in office hours, email me to arrange another time.)

• For more general help, such as with writing, study skills, or time management, you are encouraged to check out the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL):

  At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, we encourage you to learn collaboratively and to seek the resources that help you succeed. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is one: CTL programs and staff help you engage with your learning, accomplish the tasks before you, enhance your thinking and skills, and empower you to do your best. Resources at CTL are many: Teaching Fellows provide content support in 15 departments, Study Mentors help you juggle your responsibilities, Writing Fellows help you think well on paper, and professional staff help assess academic needs.

  I encourage you to explore these and other resources that encourage your very best work. To learn more, talk with me, visit the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library, or visit the CTL website: Center for Teaching and Learning | Hobart and William Smith (hws.edu).

  Study Mentors: The CTL resource especially valuable to students either a) just starting college OR b) adjusting to the demands of their Major is the Study Mentor (SMs) program. SMs engage directly with you as you adjust to new academic demands: they help you find the time for both academic and co-curricular activities, expand strategies to accomplish the tasks in front of you, and enhance reading and study time. If you have many activities, work on or off campus, are studying for Teacher Certification or graduate school exams, or have several unusually demanding courses, SMs can help! To meet with a Study Mentor, make an appointment via StudyHub on the CTL website: Log in Appointments (hws.edu). You can also contact Ingrid Keenan, x3832, keenan@hws.edu, or drop in at the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library.

• There are a number of resources on campus for help or support with mental health or other issues. Contact the Counseling Center, or reach out to me, your dean, or anyone else you feel comfortable talking to.

Finally, if there is something related to the course format or materials that would help you be more successful in the course, please come discuss it with me.

If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations and are new to our office, you should self-identify by logging into the Accommodate Portal, Initial Accommodation Request Form (symplicity.com), and completing the Accommodation Request Form. Disability-related accommodations and services will be provided when the registration and documentation process is complete.

Returning students may request accommodations by logging into the Accommodate Portal and submitting a Semester Request. Should you need to meet to add or discuss accommodations, please schedule an appointment with the Associate Director of CTL for Disability Services.

Please direct questions about this process or Disability Services at HWS to ctl@hws.edu or x3351. Shanelle France, Associate Director of CTL for Disability Services and Thom Mascia, Disability Services Accommodations Manager, are the main contacts staff for Disability Services.

last updated: --Mon Sep 9 14:06:41 EDT 2024--
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