People:
Instructor:
Viera Proulx
Teaching Assistant / Grader:
Aaron Turon
Class:
Course lecture times and location:
You must attend lectures on a regular basis, as lectures will extend the concepts covered in the textbook.
Computing Environment:
Even though this is a theory course, some of the assignments may include a programming
component designed to illustrate the applicability of the theory. Details will be provided
as necessary.
Assignments:
Homework is due in hardcopy form at the beginning of class on the announced due date.
Programming assignments submission details will be provided as necessary.
You will be granted one homework extension, to be used at your discretion, no questions asked.
After the first late assignment, unexcused late assignments will be penalized as follows:
-
Any assignment turned in to me (or to the grader) personally after the assignments are collected
at the start of class, but on the same day, will incur a 10% penalty.
-
Any assignment due on Monday will incur a 30% late penalty if it appears in my mailbox
by 3:30 the following Tuesday; if handed in after that but by the start of Wednesday class it will
incur a late penalty of 50%.
- Any assignment due on Wednesday will incur a 30% late penalty if it appears in my mailbox
by 3:30 the following Thursday; if handed in after that but by the start of Monday class it will
incur a late penalty of 50%.
- Solutions will routinely be provided at the class following the day the assignment is due,
so no assignments will be accepted beyond the 50% late penalty period.
- Also, there will be one or two assignments that will not be accepted late at all because solutions
will be provided at that class period to help you prepare for an upcoming exam.
When this is the case it will be clearly indicated on the assignment.
- If you will have a valid reason for turning in an assignment late,
please see me in advance to obtain full credit.
Grading of the Assignments:
- We will employ a somewhat unusual grading scheme.
Each homework assignment will have n problems, and each problem will be worth
k points. You will be required to attempt any m problems.
(The parameters n, m and k will vary from assignment
to assignment.) These m problems will be graded in the usual manner:
you will receive full or partial credit out of k points. You may also choose to attempt the remaining
n-m problems. These problems will be graded as follows.
Say that you would have received a score of j points if this problem had been graded
normally. If j is less than k/2, then you will receive zero out of zero points,
as if you had not attempted the problem. Otherwise, you will receive 2j out of
2j points. Note that attempting extra problems can only help you.
Your grade on an assignment will be reported as two numbers: the points you obtain and the points you
effectively attempt. Your homework grade at the end of the term will be calculated as the sum of the points
you obtained divided by the sum of the points you effectively attempted.
- The purpose of this policy is threefold:
- It is designed to not penalize you for skipping some problems.
- It is designed to encourage you to attempt all of the problems.
- It is designed specifically to discourage you from writing up long answers which you
suspect are incorrect, in the hopes of picking up a point or two.
- Note: Your free late assignment and any unexcused late assignments will only
be graded for regular problems. Excused late assignments (e.g., due to illness) will be graded
for both regular and extra credit.
Exams:
There will be three exams each given equal weight. Exams 1 and 2 will each be held during a regularly
scheduled class period, and Exam 3 will be held during the time slot allotted for our final exam
during finals week.
The exam dates are as follows:
- Exam 1: Wednesday, October 10 -- in class
- Exam 1: Monday, November 5 -- in class
- Exam 1: Friday, December 7, 2007 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Grades:
- Homeworks: 25%
- Exam1: 25%
- Exam2: 25%
- Exam3: 25%