Syllabus Policies

Syllabus/Class Policies

Instructor: Dr. Michael Weeks
Computer Science Department

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

are that

You are here to learn the course material as best as you can
You will give your best effort
You will read the book(s)
You will come to class, be on time, and stay to the end
You will pay attention and communicate
You will use class time for class-related activities only
You will not post material when you do not have the rights to it

REQUIRED READING
There may be additional readings besides the textbook(s), including (but not limited to) articles. Also, you are expected to read along in the textbook whether or not you are told to read specific pages.

PREREQUISITES
If you do not have the prerequisites (or equivalents from another university) shown on your GSU records, you may be dropped from class at any time. It is your responsibility to make sure that this does not happen. Any exceptions to the prerequisites, granted by the computer science department's undergraduate academic advisor or the department chair, must be in writing.

FINAL EXAM
The Final Exam will be given in the classroom for a face-to-face class. For an on-line class, exams might still be conducted in-person, or possibly on-line. See the calendar for day and time. Also see the official GSU webpage for information about the Final Exam. If this information is different from what is given in the class calendar, inform the professor immediately.

HOMEWORK
Regular completion of all assignments, especially outside reading and the accomplishment of assignments, is critical to succeed in this course. The professor recommends spending about 20 minutes the night before each class reviewing the material from your notebook. Make sure to thoroughly explain your answers in writing.

GRADING

If class is not held on an assignment collection or test date, the collecting or testing will take place on the next day class meets.
Because test dates are scheduled in advance, make-up tests will not be given. In the case of illness, written evidence from an MD physician or a hospital must be submitted on original letterhead stationary. A missed test will receive a grade of 0%.
Assignments are due at the START of class (by the professor's watch) at the professor's desk in the classroom on their due dates.
An assignment turned in after the start of class on its due date may be considered by the professor to be late and late penalty may be applied to that assignment.
If the assignment is to be turned in electronically, such as through whatever Learning Management System the professor has set up, if he has set one up, then the due dates and times may deviate from the start of the class. If this is the case, the due dates and times will not be extended in the case of university closures.
If the professor sets up a Learning Management System to be used for the class, then you are responsible for checking it for any updates. You are also responsible for checking the class webpage and class discussion system for any updates.
A missing assignment will receive a grade of 0.
Any specific questions about grading will NOT be discussed in class. (For example, "Why did I lose 4 points for ...") This includes corrections to your grade, i.e., if it is not accurately added. It is your responsibility to discuss these things during office hours.
The grader is responsible for grading all assignments, tests, etc. While the professor will provide the grader with guidelines (for example, that a question is worth 10 points), it is the grader's job to determine how correct or incorrect your answer is compared to the answer provided by the professor. The grader is authorized to adjust grades if there has been a mistake in the grading (for example, if the grades were added incorrectly). Therefore, if you have questions regarding how your test/homework was graded (such as "why were 3 points taken off for this problem?"), it is your responsibility to speak to the grader first.
You are responsible for collecting all of your returned work. If you fail to pick up your graded assignment(s), you will not be able to correct any errors in grading later. For example, if you think you turned in a homework but did not get it back, you need to ask about this right away. At the end of the semester, if you don't have the homework and we have no grade for you, there is nothing that we can do.
If you think your work should have a different grade than the one that is recorded, put the argument in writing. Be sure to include the basis for the requested change (such as, that points were added incorrectly, that you don't understand why points were taken off, that points were removed when your answer is just as correct as the solution we went over in class, etc.). State what you do understand and what you do not understand, such as "I understand why 4 points were deducted for the diagram, but I do not understand why an additional 2 points were deducted for my explanation." Having this in writing allows me to oversee the process and gives me some important communication about the class. Therefore, do not expect any consideration of a grade change until after you have put the argument in writing. Understand that asking the professor or TA to re-evaluate your work may lead to a lower grade.
Any questions regarding graded work must be brought to the grader's attention within 1 week of the date in which the work was first returned to the class.
The nominal grade ranges are:

A is 90 to 100%
B is 80 to 89%
C is 70 to 79%
D is 60 to 69%
F is 0 to 59%
Any scaling is done solely at the discretion of the professor.
Any deviation, such as awarding a +/- grade, is done solely at the discretion of the professor.

Grade Calculation Examples

Suppose a student receives the following grades, with weights of 1/3 for tests, 1/3 for homeworks, and 1/3 for project:

Suppose a student receives the following grades, with weights of 40% for tests, 20% for homeworks, and 40% for project:

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is using someone else's work as your own. For example, if you copy someone else's words (or figures) from a website, and paste them into your document, this is plagiarism. Students caught doing this may be expelled from the University, and/or given a failing grade. No copying and pasting from the Internet or any other source is allowed. Plagiarism is determined solely by the professor, and cases of plagiarism will be handled at the professor's discretion. That is, the professor will decide, on a case-by-case basis, the penalty(ies) of plagiarized work. Penalties include giving the student(s) an F for the semester, lowering the student(s) overall grade by a letter grade, and giving a 0 on the assignment.

Like quoting what someone says in an essay, you should attribute the source of any code in your programs, too. That is, if you include a line (or more) of someone else's code in your work, you should document where it came from in the comments before and after the code.

Students must work individually on quizzes and exams without any assistance from persons or things. Any student found to be cheating on an examination will receive a score of 0 for that exam, and possibly be given an F in the class. It is the student's responsibility to protect work from copying. No outside help is permitted. If a book or paper is used, it must be referenced and not copied. Plagiarized work is determined solely by the professor and is graded solely at the professor's discretion.

COLLABORATION
Most assignments are intended to be completed individually. When an assignment is for a group, the assignment will clearly state this.

If you choose to do an individual assignment with one or more fellow students, turn in only one copy, with all student's names on it. There will be a 10% deduction in points per person, with additional points deducted for mistakes. For example, if 2 students in this section worked on an assignment together, where 7 points (out of 100) are deducted for errors, there would be an additional 20% penalty, and each student would receive a grade of 100-7-20 = 73%.
Students who turn in similar individual assignments without indicating that they collaborated, either within this section or outside of this section, will be assigned a grade of 0 for that assignment. Determination of collaboration will be made by the instructor.
If there is a project component to the class, you must complete the project to pass.
People may be assigned to work on a project as a team. This is at the instructor's discretion. Note that it is possible to get a different score than your teammates on a project, since you will be graded on the presentation as an individual.

OFFICE HOURS
Office hours and the office location are given above. These may be held on-line through a service like Google Hangouts or WebEx. To schedule an appointment outside of these hours, contact the instructor with 3 suggested dates and times when you can meet, and be prepared to meet at one of those times. Office hours may be canceled occasionally because of meetings, seminars, talks, conferences, etc. Office hours for the Teaching Assistant will be given in class.

What are office hours?
Office hours are times that an instructor (or TA) sets aside to be available, so that you can come by and discuss things. The times change every semester. Office hours are held only during the regular semester (i.e. not during the week of final exams, and not between semesters). You do not need to make an appointment (the exceptions are noted below). I typically only cancel office hours when I'm out of town, and I'll let you know this in advance, in class. You do not need to ask me "will you be in your office for the next office hours?" since the answer is "yes" unless already noted otherwise. If you ask me that question, I will think that you do not understand office hours, that you don't pay attention in class, or that you've been let down by other instructors.

Sometimes during office hours, no one comes to see me, so I'll spend the time working on something. I leave the door open, or at least partially open, to indicate that I'm there. If the door is closed, you can knock on it; this usually means that I'm talking with someone about a private matter. Other times during office hours, there are students waiting for me when I arrive, and keep me busy until the end. I never know what to expect. If I am talking to a student about subject material, and I see other students outside the door who are in the same class, I may invite them in.

Some professors may list their office hours as "by appointment only", which is an exception. Some may list hours and include "or by appointment". I may answer questions immediately after class, assuming that I am available, and that the classroom is available, though you should not expect this. Also, this works for some things and not others. I may refuse to answer a question asked right after class if it is something the entire class needs to hear, and have you ask me at the start of the next class. Questions about material should be asked during class (or on a class discussion webpage), since you are likely not the only one with that question. If you have a personal issue that will take time to address, you need to see me during office hours.

LATE WORK
Unless otherwise specified in class, work will be due on the date given on the class web-page, on the assignment itself, or in the attached calendar. Late work will be accepted by the instructor at the instructor's discretion. A late penalty of 10% will be applied for work turned in late, within 7 calendar days of the original due date, with the exception of "checked grading", explained below. After this, late work will not be accepted. Additional points may be deducted for errors. Late copies of any work due during the last 3 classes will not be accepted so that the grades can be turned in on time. Any exceptions to this will be solely at the instructor's discretion.

Work is NOT accepted via e-mail, unless the instructions specifically say otherwise. All assignments must be turned in to the professor; that is, you cannot turn your work in to the teaching assistant. Doing so may result in your work receiving a 0 score. Remember that you can leave papers in the professor's mail box in the department, at least for face-to-face classes. If it is time-sensitive, such as late work, kindly ask one of the staff members to time-stamp it for you.

ATTENDANCE
Attendance is vital to success in this class. Roll will be taken during face-to-face classes, and a late student will be counted as absent. For on-line classes, there will be other ways to mark attendance and/or participation, such as a quiz, or a post to a discussion. If a student is marked absent 2 or more classes in a row then he (or she) may be dropped from this class. Anyone missing approximately 10% of the classes without notifying the professor in advance and obtaining the professor's concurrence may be withdrawn from the course or receive a lower (possibly failing, e.g. WF or F) course grade at the discretion of the professor; anyone receiving V.A. benefits will be reported to the Dean's Office in these circumstances. This applies to both face-to-face and on-line classes. Students are responsible for all material covered or assigned in class whether or not it is in the text. See the current GSU Catalog for university guidelines.

Attendance may count toward a small amount of your grade. In this case, one unexecused absence will not count against you. You will also have one late mark not count against you, though remember that late marks may be entered if you are not physically in the classroom when your name is called, even if you are only moments late. To get excused absences due to Covid-19, see the additional pages that detail how to to contact the Dean's office for this.

Quizzes for the purpose of attendance typically do not carry a grade, so simply completing the quiz counts. For an asynchronous on-line class, attendance activities are still expected to be timely. That is, an attendance activity may have a start and end time. For example, you might not be able to complete the first week's attendance activity in the second week. Also, you might not be able to complete the third week's attendance activity in the second week. Likewise, for a participation activity like a discussion, posting a response after everyone else has moved on might not be counted. Both face-to-face and on-line classes may include participation activities.

Participation points may be awarded according to the grader's discretion. In some cases, adding a comment to a discussion might be sufficient. In other cases, a student who posts a thoughtful paragraph about the subject matter might receive full points, while another student who replies with an uninsightful comment (e.g. "I agree") might receive less credit (e.g. half or none).

If a student is not present when an assignment is given back, or when a handout is given to the class, then he/she is responsible for obtaining this item by visiting during office hours. Students are responsible for all material covered in class or in assigned reading. If you miss a class, be sure to get a copy of the notes from a fellow classmate.

For classes with team projects: Be aware that if you miss class, you will be hurting your team partner(s) as well as yourself. You may be removed from your team for excessive absences, including meetings held by your team outside of the classroom.

If you are disruptive during class, you may be counted as absent that day, or you may be asked to leave, or both. Do not come to class unless you plan to take it seriously. You may also be marked as absent if you are not paying attention.

Supplemental Information for Attendance Policies

"Students who want to do well in this course will attend class following the class attendance policy. You will need an excused absence due to illness. GSU has a new process for students seeking excused absences through the Dean of Students Office. Please submit documentation to https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/student-assistance/professor-absence-notification/. I will then be notified by the Dean of Students of any excused absences."

"Should a student test COVID positive, any accommodations to the class attendance policy will be informed by evolving guidance from the CDC on quarantine. In most cases there will be no major change to mode of course delivery, so students will be responsible for collecting notes for missed in-person classes and making up any work they miss during quarantine. Anyone who has a positive COVID test is encouraged to alert the university so that appropriate contact tracing can be conducted."

Wearing Masks in Class
(This is from when we first transitioned from on-line only to in-person learning. If new outbreak happens, we may go back to this. )

"Short version: You probably have an opinion on the effectiveness and use of masks to limit the spread of COVID-19 but wearing a face mask is not required in Georgia State classrooms. I will be wearing my face mask, and you are encouraged to wear yours. If you choose not to wear a face mask there is no penalty, and students should not engage an any type of disruptive behavior towards those who have made a different choice about wearing a mask."

"Longer version: You are encouraged to wear a face covering in all class meetings. I know that face masks may make some aspects of class more difficult. It will be harder for us all to project our voices and read each other's facial expressions. However, I am willing to sacrifice these elements since wearing a mask is one thing I can control to support the health and safety of our community. Be aware that wearing face mask is not required by GSU, so there is no penalty if you choose to not wear a mask. Our university community has a strong tradition of upholding the value of mutual respect, we therefore ask students to not engage in behavior that would be disruptive if your fellow students make a different choice about wearing masks. If you have concerns, please discuss them with me and I will work to the best of my ability to provide a comfortable environment conducive to student learning." source

From an e-mail from the Provost 1/5/22
"It is critical that everyone understands the importance of teaching in your assigned modality. Students who register for in-person instruction are expecting it and will be in our classrooms. Please keep in mind that no modality changes for the spring semester will be granted absent extraordinary circumstances and the permission of the Office of the Provost. Our data are clear that in-person learning is critical to the academic success of many students."

"Students should be expected to attend class if they do not have an excused absence. The Office of the Dean of Students will provide verification for all professors at the request of students when seeking excused absences for documented medical/health related and emergency circumstances. This process helps protect confidential documents, while providing additional support to professors and students. Final decisions regarding absences and coursework/exam management are still determined by each individual professor following established institutional/college/departmental guidelines. Students should submit documentation to https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/student-assistance/professor-absence-notification/."

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT
The following text is from Dr. Robert Maxwell (Biology Department): "In academics, Intellectual Property is highly important. This is one reason we hold students to the tenets of academic honesty. But intellectual property goes beyond that when it comes to the materials created by your instructor and the publisher of your textbook. Your instructor has spent a great deal of time and energy developing materials for this course, and the publisher holds a copyright to all materials associated with the textbook. Please be aware that the GSU community takes this very seriously.

Therefore, the selling, sharing, publishing, presenting, or distributing of instructor-prepared course lecture notes, videos, audio recordings, or any other instructor-produced materials from any course for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission is granted in advance by the course instructor. This includes posting any materials on websites such as Chegg, Course Hero, OneClass, Stuvia, StuDocu and other similar sites. Unauthorized sale or commercial distribution of such material is a violation of the instructor's intellectual property and the privacy rights of students attending the class, and is prohibited.

Sharing of any materials from the textbook, such as questions from publisher provided quizzes, is likewise prohibited."

USE NON-PROPRIETARY FILE FORMATS
Unless explicitly instructed otherwise, do not turn in files that are in a proprietary format. A proprietary format is one where you must have one company's software to properly view the file. The file's format is often considered secret, and the IP of the company that developed it. It may be undocumented, and attempts to reverse-engineer it may be illegal. Open formats are based on an open standard, where a determined computer scientist can write his/her own software to read and write such files, according to the published format documentation. Better yet, use a plain-text format when possible. A plain-text file can be viewed and edited with any text editor, and will be readable years from now, even if the software that we use for it today no longer exists.

Use open formats such as .c, .sh, .txt, .csv, .md, .html, .xml, .ods, .odt, .ogg, .pdf, .png, and .mp3. Plain-text formats include .c, .sh, .txt, .csv, .md, .html, and .xml. The format should be appropriate to the assignment. Files in a proprietary format may not be graded, or may be graded at a penalty.

DOING YOUR OWN WORK
Assignments are expected to be completed by you, the student. This document cannot possibly anticipate and cover all forms of future technology. An example of this is using AI programs like ChatGPT: before November 2022, it did not exist, and there were no specific prohibitions on using it in courses. However, if you prompt it with text from your assignment, and use what it creates as an answer, this is an unauthorized collaboration. Simply put, your answers must be your own work. If you include someone else's work in your answer, even if that someone else is not human, it is collaboration and/or plagiarism.

If you choose to use a tool like ChatGPT, you have an obligation to document it, and explain it. The grader will need to know exactly what you created and what was not created by you. Consider these two cases: student 1 prompts an AI tool with keywords from the assignment, copies the output, changes a couple of words, and turns this in for credit. Student 2 drafts a solution to the assignment, and prompts an AI tool with a term that he/she does not fully understand, and the AI's response makes him/her think about it in a new way. Student 2 then revises the solution with the insight in mind. Which student deserves more credit for their solution?

PROHIBITED CONDUCT
Disruptive classroom behavior will not be tolerated. Examples include (but are not limited to): sleeping, playing games, reading materials not-related to the class, viewing web-sites that are not related to the class, working on homework for another class, texting (or other use of your cell phone), walking in late, talking to each other, and noise generated by an electronic device such as a pager/cell phone. Basically, any rude, obnoxious, or distracting behavior falls under this category. See the student catalogs for more information. You may be withdrawn from the class or receive a lower (possibly failing, e.g. WF or F) course grade at the discretion of the professor due to disruptive behavior.

Electronic devices (such as cell phones) should be turned off before class begins. "Vibrate mode" does not count. If you cannot turn off your phone, you should leave it at home. If your phone rings (or vibrates or does anything disruptive), YOU will be held responsible.

RESPECT FOR OTHERS
Disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. This includes talking amongst yourselves during class, texting during class, interrupting when someone else is speaking, inappropriate language. It also extends to forms of address, including use of the correct title, honorific, and/or salutation. On the first day your instructor will inform you how he/she should be addressed. Make sure to get it right, and if you are not sure, ask.

POP QUIZZES
Pop quizzes may be given to the class, at the instructor's discretion, therefore it is important to attend all classes. These pop quizzes (if any are given) will factor into the quiz/test grade, as worth 10% of a test. If you get below an 80% score on a pop quiz, it indicates that you need to dedicate more time to studying the material.

CLASSROOM/LAB USAGE
Food and Drinks are not allowed at any time in the classroom and/or computer lab. Before leaving the classroom and/or lab students should make sure to log off from the computers and leave the area neat. Students found misusing or abusing the computer systems may lose access to the computer systems and/or be subjected to any other any other necessary action to preserve, conserve, and maintain the room and the equipment.

Your time in the classroom should be spent only on class-related activities. For example, you should not check your e-mail during class, nor read books unrelated to the topic, nor work on homework from another class. You may be asked to leave otherwise.

E-MAIL
There are some things that are best discussed in person. Even a simple "yes/no" question may really need a "yes, but" or "no, and" explanation in the answer. If you do send me an e-mail, please make sure your name appears somewhere in the e-mail, say which class you are in, and keep the content as direct and to-the-point as possible. I cannot answer every e-mail that I get, so don't expect a response. If you must ask me question, come see me during office hours.

I have established "class discussion pages", and I check these regularly. The advantage of the class discussion page is that only students can post to it, and that ALL students can see the response. I encourage you to use this system. Do not e-mail me a question that should be posted on the class discussion page. Due to the huge volume of e-mail that I receive, I give the class discussion page a higher priority. Also, I encourage you to answer the questions that your fellow students post.

When I have GTAs, graders, or GLAs working for me, I do not expect them to answer work-related e-mails outside of business hours or during the weekend. If you send one of them a question on Friday afternoon, you should not expect a response before Monday morning.

I have my spam filter set up to give precedence to e-mails with the class number in the subject, or when the sender's e-mail address is a GSU student account.

If I send you an e-mail, do send a response indicating that you received it. It can be a simple response like "OK", "thanks", or "I got it". I may send an e-mail with "FYI" in the subject or in the first lines, which stands for "for your information", it means (at least to me) that I do not expect you to send me a response. If you are unsure, like if you get an "FYI" e-mail from an employer, sending a response is a good idea.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
If you have a religious holiday, recognized by the GSU administration, that prevents you from working on a certain day, notify the professor during the first week of class.

EXCEPTIONS / SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Any exceptions to these policies will be solely at the professor's discretion. For consideration of an exception (e.g. missing a test due to hospitalization), be prepared to provide documentation (e.g. a note from a MD physician). Remember that just because you provide documentation does not mean that you will be granted an exception. If you know about a problem in advance, notify the professor as soon as possible.

If you want an exception due to special circumstances, such as you (have missed/will miss) (class/an assignment/quiz/test/whatever), you should deliver a letter describing your situation and what you need, and attach supporting documentation. It should be a "stand-alone" letter, with enough details that we do not have to make any guesses. Details include your name, your e-mail address, the date you wrote the letter, the days you are writing about, what class you are in, the meeting time of the class, what it is that you missed, why you missed it, what you plan to do about it or are asking me to do, etc. After we receive the hard-copy of the letter and supporting documents, we will make a decision about the way to proceed. Remember that you are asking for an exception. You are essentially asking me to treat you differently than other students in the class, so your reason should be clear and compelling.

As of Fall 2024, you should provide this documentation to the TA. The TA will meet with the professor, and get back to you about the result.

HOMEWORK GRADES
It is my policy that grades for all 1xxx - 3xxx courses be computed such that the student's performance on any/all work done outside of class and submitted for a grade cannot raise the student's final course score, but can lower it.

These are the steps that will be followed:

Compute the average of the exams [= EX_AVG]
Compute the average of all grades [= TOT_AVG]
Determine minimum of EX_AVG and TOT_AVG = FIN_AVG
Convert FIN_AVG to a letter grade (see grade ranges above)

CHECKED GRADING
Some assignments may be graded on a simple "check" system: we verify that you did the work; that it contains proper explanations, assumptions, and comments; that it appears to be correct; that it is legible, neat, stapled, and otherwise presentable; that it includes proper identifying information (like your name, the assignment, the due date, etc.); and that it is on time. Assignments called programming challenges will be typically graded on this scale. Note that "appears to be correct" is up to the grader to determine.

"Checked grading" will be typically a check (full credit), a check-minus (7/10th credit), an X (half credit), or a zero (no credit). In rare cases, there might be a check-plus (full credit plus bonus points). The grader may assign other grades as he/she sees fit, such as a percentage, but this is up to the grader and may be overruled by the instructor.

To be clear, these "programming challenges" and other assignments scored with "checked grading" deviate from the normal policy on late work. A late programming challenge will result in a lower grade, e.g. from a check to a check minus, from a check minus to an X, or from an X to a 0.

OTHER

Class participation is encouraged. Don't be afraid to speak up if you have a question.
If you have any special needs to be met in order to succeed in this class, get a note from Disabled Student Services, then inform the professor.
The instructor's professional opinion will be used to determine any instances of collaboration, cheating, etc.
Grades will not be given via e-mail, phone, fax, etc. Please do not ask. You may find your grade by seeing the Teaching Assistant in person.
You are expected to bring to class educational/office material. These items include: a stapler, a calculator, pencils, pens, extra paper, etc. Do not expect the instructor to provide these items.
If the class includes a project, then there will be a poster session/project presentation, where you will explain (possibly to outside observers) what your project does.
All dates are subject to change. It is important that students pay attention to the due dates given on the assignments. The schedule is tentative and the actual due dates may vary from the ones given on the calendar.
Students are responsible for all material covered or assigned in class whether or not it is in the text.
Students are responsible for promptly processing any class related e-mails, phone calls, text messages, web-page updates, etc. This means checking for updates regularly, and acknowledging e-mails (with a short message back saying something like "I got it. Thanks."). This also means that you are responsible for any spam filters, account size limits, and forwarding services that you use.
Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought.
Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing this course, please take time to fill out the on-line course evaluation.
All class materials, including but not limited to handouts, programs, assignments, quizzes, and exams are Copyright by Michael Weeks, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Sharing any of these materials without written permission, including posting them on the Internet, may be considered a student ethics violation, and may result in an academic and/or judicial penalty.
No audio/video recording of lectures is allowed without the professor's written permission.
Laptops, phones, music players, and other devices may be banned from the classroom, at the professor's discretion. Do not allow devices like these to distract you from the class.
Class time is for class-related things. Personal issues should be discussed in office hours.
There are no restroom breaks allowed during exams. If you must go, be sure to do so before the exam starts. Once you leave the testing room, you are not allowed to continue your exam.
Do not turn assignments in to the TA directly.
Read ahead. Class may be run like a discussion meeting. If you are unprepared, you will not get as much out of it.
TAs are not expected to check e-mails over weekends or holidays. If you e-mail the TA and do not get a response, go see him/her in person.
If turning in multiple items on the same day, make sure to separate them into different stacks.
You can turn homeworks in to my mail box in the department's main office. Make sure to get a time stamp from someone in the office.
E-mailed homework is NOT accepted unless specifically requested by the professor. If you e-mail homework, expect it to be deleted immediately. Do not expect a response.
Put your name, due date, class, what the assignment is on every homework. Staple it if it is more than 1 page. Do not staple it if it is a single page.
You are responsible for reading the policy on Academic Honesty (Section 409).
This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
You are also expected to refer to the class webpage, and the webpage of class-specific information. If there is a discrepancy between this page and one of those, they should be given a higher priority. Ask the professor if you are not sure.