CPSC 271 Assessment and 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.

Material may also 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 for updates.

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 time.

Note taking on paper is encouraged as it avoids the distraction of electronic devices and the act of handwriting helps with retention of information. If you 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.

Your code will be graded primarily on correctness, but you should follow common style and readability conventions as illustrated in class. As with a paper that is poorly formatted, code which is difficult to follow due to poor programming style may be marked down even if it otherwise satisfies the requirements of the assignment.

You are expected to be on time for all class sessions, and to be present and engaged in the course for the full period. Any absence, whatever the reason, means that you miss out on discussions and activities that take place in class. This puts a greater burden on you to catch up, and students who regularly miss class often end up not doing as well in the course. In addition, announcements are made at the beginning of class, and late arrivals may miss important information.

However, it is understood that sometimes there may be circumstances when you are unable to attend class. It is especially important that you not attend class and expose others to illness if you are sick.

If you cannot attend class, please let me know as soon as possible and make sure that you check the schedule page for new assignments and materials from class, complete any missed readings, homework, or other tasks 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.

If you miss more than three classes during the semester or if you miss several classes in a row, you are at greater risk for falling behind. In that case, please see me to discuss options for helping you stay on track.

There is a steady workload throughout the course, and foundational topics introduced earlier are used and built on later in the course. Both of these mean that it is important to stay on track; in addition, solutions may be posted and/or discussed in class, and this is delayed if work is handed in late.

Late work is generally not accepted. However, as with attendance, it is understood that there may sometimes be extenuating circumstances which make meeting every deadline difficult.

Extensions allow work to be handed in after the due date without penalty. Extensions are expected to be rare as a pattern of late work tends to snowball, turning into an impossible crunch - stay caught up! - and requests may be denied if they become too frequent. If illness, a personal or family emergency, or another crisis causes you to miss several classes in a row or otherwise presents an ongoing difficulty that adversely affects your work, please see me as soon as possible to discuss options for staying on track.

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, stated below, governs all of the work completed in this course. From the HWS Catalogue: (available online at http://www.hws.edu/catalogue/policies.aspx)

Principle of Academic Integrity

The faculty of Hobart and William Smith Colleges has oversight of the curriculum and the classroom experience, and insists that students undertake all academic exercises with the utmost honesty and integrity. This principle of academic integrity lies at the heart of our learning community and forms the foundation for everyone's academic efforts.

Starting with adherence to the principle of academic integrity, the individual student bears responsibility for his or her own education and must undertake all academic work with complete honesty and integrity. As well, each student must do his or her best to assure that this principle extends to all others in the community. Categories of academic work covered by the principle of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Examinations: Giving or receiving assistance during an in-class or take-home examination, quiz, or any other academic exercise, except as specifically authorized by an individual course instructor, violates this principle.
• Papers: The presentation or reproduction of ideas, words, or statements of another person as one's own, without due acknowledgment, is considered plagiarism and violates this principle.
• Library Use: Failure to sign for materials taken from the library, destruction or theft of any library materials, and similar abuses of library privileges infringe upon the rights of other students to fair and equal access and violate this principle.
• Reports and Laboratory Exercises: Giving or receiving unauthorized assistance and the fabrication of data or research results violate this principle.
• Computer Use: Any deliberate attempt to prevent other users' access to computer services, deprive them of resources, or degrade system performance violates this principle. The use of programs or files of another computer user or the use of another person's account number or password without permission also violates this principle. Failure to attribute the source for any information or writing derived from any computer source (database, website, internet, etc.) and incorporated in any academic work submitted is also a violation.
• Advising and Registration Forms: Forging an adviser's signature or altering any signed document will result in the student's de-registration. The student will not be allowed to re-register until the adviser has approved any changes. Any student suspected of forgery of any faculty or administrator signature may face disciplinary action by the student's dean or the Committee on Standards, a faculty, student, and administrative committee charged with enforcing the academic and behavioral expectations of the Colleges' community (for more information about the Committee on Standards, please review the Disciplinary Process section, Hearing Bodies of the Community Standards).

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.

• Quizzes measure your individual level of mastery of the course material, and thus are to be completed solely by the student whose name is on the paper. The only person you may discuss them with is the instructor.

• Journal and visualization blog entries/posts should reflect your own thoughts. You may not discuss them with others or collaborate on them prior to posting. For blog posts, you may not copy, paraphrase, or use visualization examples from visualization blogs or other sources that critique that visualization.

• Homework (including implementation exercises) is for practice and learning. While it can be very productive to work on problems with your peers, it is also easy to underestimate how much you yourself understand and can do in such situations - so often something looks easy when someone else does it! With this in mind, you may give and receive technical and debugging help with D3, but you may not collaborate with others on homework or implementation exercises.

• There is a little more latitude in terms of discussing ideas related to the project, but again, you may not collaborate with others.

• The portfolio should be an assemblage of your own work, and any new content should be your work and not copied, paraphrased, or the result of collaboration with others.

As used above, "collaborate" means working together to generate part or all of a solution to a particular assigned problem. If you want to discuss homework problems (or anything else) or need more help with implementation tasks, come to office hours!

In all cases, copying part or all of someone else's solution is expressly prohibited and it is never acceptable to be in possession of someone else's program or solution before you have handed in your own. This includes both computer files and paper copies. Decompiling or reverse-engineering someone else's code (including provided code) is also prohibited. All of this should be evident: using someone else's program or solution "as a guide" to completing your own is plagiarism.

Unless otherwise prohibited, you can use other materials (such as reference books or websites) as technical references to learn about a particular topic (algorithm, data structure, technique, etc). However, looking for and/or copying a solution is not acceptable (even if you make some modifications) - the idea here is that someone else's solution is not helping you practice applying the material for yourself, and doesn't show your own level of mastery. AI systems such as ChatGPT or Codex, "homework help" or "study aid" sites such as Chegg or Course Hero, and sites where you post a homework problem or question and solicit answers from others may not be used for any purpose.

If any case you are unsure about what is acceptable and what crosses the line when it comes to collaboration and use of outside resources, please ask!

Coming soon!

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 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.

There is a steady workload throughout the course, and foundational topics introduced earlier are used and built on later in the course. Review each day's material soon after class and start on homeworks early, take advantage of the lab sessions, and seek additional 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.

Your first resource if you need help with any aspect of the course material should be the instructor - ask questions during class, stop by office hours, send email, or drop by or schedule a meeting.

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 will enable you to succeed. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is one of those resources: 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 13 departments, Study Mentors help you manage your time and responsibilities, Writing Fellows help you think well on paper, and professional staff help you assess academic needs.

I encourage you to explore these and other CTL resources designed to encourage your very best work. You can talk with me about these resources, visit the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library to discuss options with the staff, or visit the CTL website.

Study Mentors: The CTL resource especially valuable to students either just starting college OR adjusting to the demands of their choice of major is the Study Mentor program. Study Mentors engage directly with each student in the process of adjusting to new academic demands: they help you find the time you need for both your academic and co-curricular activities, and can help you find strategies to accomplish the tasks in front of you and enhance your reading and study time. Study Mentors may be especially important for those of you who are involved in many activities, work on or off campus, are studying for Teaching Certification, graduate school exams, or prepping for fellowships, or who have one or more unusually demanding courses on your schedule. To meet with a Study Mentor, make an appointment via StudyHub on the CTL website. You can also contact Ingrid Keenan, x3832, keenan@hws.edu, or drop in at the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library.

If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations and are new to our office, you should self-identify for services by logging into the Accommodate Portal, and completing the Accommodation Intake Form. Disability related accommodations and services will be provided when the registration and documentation process is complete. The guidelines for documenting disabilities can be found at the following website: https://www.hws.edu/centers/ctl/disability-services.aspx

Returning students may request an accommodation letter by logging into the Accommodate Portal and requesting "semester accommodation letter". Should you need to meet to add or discuss acommodations, please schedule an appointment in the Accommodate Portal. (directions are on the Disability Services website)

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

last updated: --Sat Jan 21 23:30:46 EST 2023--
page owned by: bridgeman@hws.edu