A290/A590
Important Course Guidelines
for Students and Instructors.

This is a Computer Science course. That means it deals with structure and organization. It will take discipline on the part of every student who wants to do well in the class. This discipline will entail a set of responsibilities and expected behavior for every student. The instructors also have an important role to play and they also have a set of responsibilities and expected behavior. You will be learning "real world" skills and with that comes "real world" responsibilities and we will expect nothing less from each and every student.

Expected Behavior for Instructors.

As Instructors in A290/A590, it is our responsibility to be prepared to insure you get the most out of this course at all times. To that end, we assume these responsibilities:

• Every effort will be made to keep the A290/A590 Web pages up-to-date.
• However, the only absolutely guaranteed accurate statement of the course schedule and the course content will be what is stated by the Lecturer in the lectures. This is your primary, and only guaranteed source of accurate information throughout the term.
• Every effort will be made to insure that all Lab Assignments and/or Homework Assignments are clearly written and that the Instructions for submitting them are organized and easy to follow.
• While we will make every effort to always compose carefully, we are not responsible for errors or inaccuracies in the Web pages or the course resources. If you skip class and miss something, it is all and only your responsibility. DO NOT depend on the Web Pages or other resources as your only source of information.
• We will all hold regularly scheduled office hours and also accept appointments. If we have to cancel our office hours, we will announce this in advance, if possible, and post a note on the course homepage at the earliest possible moment.
• We will be willing to answer questions submitted via email. However, we will not respond to email questions about a particular assignment (of any kind) submitted less than 24 hours before that particular assignment is due. Make sure you understand this policy.
• We will make sure the Lecture Materials and Lab Materials are prepared and organized and that we are also prepared and organized so that you can get the most out of every Lecture and Lab offered during the course of the term.

Expected Behavior for Students.

As a student in A290/A590, you are responsible for the consequences of your actions and your choices. Here are the things you are expected to do as a student in this course:

• This is an information technology course. While IU policy requires all faculty, staff, and students to check and respond to email at least once every 24 hours, in this course we expect you to check and respond to email at least twice every 24 hours. If class or personal circumstances warrant, we would expect you to be checking email hourly. Missing an opportunity because you "didn't check email yesterday" will not get you another chance.
• Be most concerned about your grade BEFORE you have earned it.
• Read, understand, agree to, and abide by the entire contents of this page as well as any additions made to this page during the course of the term and any supplementary statements made during lab or lecture.
• Take the necessary action to catch up on material if you miss a lab meeting or lecture.
• The importance of the lecture and class activities depends on how well you want to be prepared for tests, assignments, and lab. Only YOU can control how much of the class you wish to attend.
• Visit us during office hours or send email to arrange an appointment to get help on course material, or to prepare for absences you know are coming up.
• Notify us in advance or visit us as soon as possible after an emergency so we can advise you about your options for the course.
• Plan to accomplish your assignments so that you can meet the deadlines, barring an extreme emergency. The logical consequence of turning work in late is a 0 (zero) for that assignment.
• Students occasionally ask at the end of the semester if there is any extra work they can do to raise a low grade. There is not. There will be no extra credit work. Do the work assigned well and turn it in on time to earn the best grade you can.
• Please see us in person if you believe your grade was not computed correctly. We will arrange an appointment to discuss it. We do not discuss grades over e-mail or by phone--there is too great a chance that something important may be overlooked.

Logical Consequences of Expected Student Behavior.

Failure to understand and abide by these Guidelines will have dire consequences at the end of the term. "Not knowing about it" will never be an acceptable excuse. If you are unsure or have any questions about anything at any time (within the limits described in this document) , PLEASE ASK. That is why we hold office hours.

If you miss lecture, you are responsible to find out from another student if anything has been changed. If you miss an assignment, homework, or exam because you missed class and something was changed, that is your responsibility and not the responsibility of the Lecturer or the Lab Instructors. REMEMBER: Late assignments are automatically scored a 0 (zero).

Assignment/Homework Due Dates, Quizzes and Consequences of Handing Things in Late.

• Due dates and times for Lab Assignments/Homework will be clearly announced in class and posted on the Web Pages and in the newsgroup.
• All Lab Assignments will be due on the day/date indicated, BEFORE MIDNIGHT unless otherwise indicated. (REMEMBER: We will be willing to answer questions submitted via email. However, we will not respond to email questions about any particular assignment submitted less than 24 hours before that particular assignment is due. You can consult the Homework Assignment page to check the exact dates of each Lab Assignment.
• There will be at least one Quiz given at the beginning of one of the two lab sessions each week. The quizzes will be unlocked and available for no more than the first 10 minutes of the relevant lab session. This is the only time you will be able to complete the Quiz assignment. Attempting to do Quizzes at another time or from another location will result in a score of 0 (zero). Quizzes will cover material presented in the Lectures AND the Labs AND the weekly Reading Assignments.
• Everything during the term will be handed in electronically except the Midterm and Final exam. Thus, everything will have a Date/Time Stamp, so we will know when it is handed in.
• If you hand in an assignment late, it will be immediately scored a 0 (zero). Make sure you are clear about this. If you hand in an assignment even .01 (one-hundredth) of a second late, it will be reported as late and automatically scored a 0 (zero). ALL TIMES are the system time of the computer you are HANDING INTO, namely, OnCourse. The OnCourse time is controlled by or the same as the time on STEEL. The time as indicated on your MAC or PC is not relevant. Don't make the mistake of assuming your computer time is the same as the time on STEEL. This late policy applies to all Assignments and the Final Project.
• To check the time on Steel, type "date" at the command prompt. Date and Time will be displayed.
• SPECIAL OnCourse NOTE: There is a new feature with the OnCourse "drop-box" system we now use for A290/A590. When you submit, the date/time stamp will be clearly visible to you. If that date/time is after the official deadline, you will be able to see this immediately and be aware of the consequences.

NOTE: System failures, unless they are of disastrous proportions, will not be an acceptable excuse for missing a due date. It is up to you to make sure the work gets done in a timely fashion. Your can help yourself by making sure you are aware of SCHEDULED UITS SYSTEM DOWNTIMES. These are also not excuses for missing a due date.

SUGGESTED STRATEGY: This applies specifically to the Lab Assignments only. You can submit your Lab Assignments as many times as you wish until the deadline. Only the last submission will be graded. HOWEVER, if your last submission occurs AFTER THE DEADLINE, the dropbox will be locked and that submission will not be received, as noted in the "SPECIAL OnCourse NOTE" above. I would recommend that you get as much of each assignment done as you can as early as you can, and submit it early. You can then go back and polish off that last 10% that may mean a perfect score. When you've done that, you can resubmit. In the meantime, you are prepared for a system failure, because you already have something handed in. 90% still beats 0.

Using the Handin Programs: Each Assignment and the Final Project will include instructions on how to handin things electronically. Failure to accurately follow the instructions will result in a penalty of 25-50% of the total score, depending on how much work the Lab Instructor has to do to find and grade your work.

HOWEVER, if your failure to follow the Handin instructions or any other instructions related to any project or assignment has an impact on the ability of other students to do their work or interferes with the instructors ability to discharge their responsibilities, the penalty will be more severe, including a possible score of 0 (zero).

If You Have Questions about Point Totals on Assignments, Exams or Projects.

For the entire term, once the scores for Assignments, Quizzes, Exams, or other work are posted to the PostEm system, you have exactly one week to meet with your Lab Instructor during office hours or by appointment if you have questions about your score. It is your responsibility to make the contact if you have questions. After the one week has passed, all scores are final.

NOTE: We will not resolve these issues via email. It must be done in person. Email can be used to set up a meeting to discuss your questions.

Medical or Other Emergencies and Special Arrangements.

We recognize that medical and family emergencies can arise. It is your responsibility to notify the Lecturer of any such problems as early as possible.

In addition, you can expect the Lecturer to ask for some form of written documentation for any such emergency, if you expect to be given extra time to complete some work, or any other special consideration. NOTE: A note indicating you went to the Student Health Center or some other physician will in no way guarantee you will get any sort of extension or other consideration.

If you miss any assignment or homework for any reason without contacting the Lecturer in advance, no special consideration will be given, meaning the work will be automatically scored a 0 (zero). Every incident will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

NOTE: Your Lab Instructor cannot make any special arrangements for you or on your behalf. Only the Lecturer can do so. Don't put your Lab Instructor in an uncomfortable position by asking about it. Please come directly to me.

I am usually in my office by 7:30am M-F and am logged on virtually all the time. I also have voicemail available on my office phone. If there is a problem on the day of some course work being due, then you MUST contact me at the earliest possible moment. However, doing so will not guarantee any special arrangements.

Incompletes.

The Computer Science Department takes a very dim view of Incompletes, as do I. The Department follows the guidelines set out in the College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin.

A student is only eligible for an Incomplete if:

1. The work for the course is substantially completed, and
2. The work is of passing quality.

Any student who requests an Incomplete, even if the student meets the above conditions, can not assume an Incomplete will be granted. Also note that an Incomplete cannot be requested as a way to complete work for which the deadlines have already passed.

Academic Honesty

Make sure you are aware of the Department's Statement of Academic Integrity. The Department takes a very dim view of any form of Academic Misconduct and any such incidents in A116 will be pursued vigorously.

Other Considerations.

As with the rest of this site, this page may change in content based on announcements made in class. It is your responsibility to keep yourself up-to-date.