Communications for this class will take place through Piazza. This includes important course announcements, as well being a place for posting questions and discussing course material. Direct communication to the TAs or the instructor should be done by using ``private'' messages inside Piazza.
Late assignments will be accepted with a penalty of 10% per day after it is due. Thus, if the assignment is turned in between 0 and 24 hours after it is due, there will be a 10% penalty. Between 24 and 48 hours, there will be a 20% penalty, etc. (ie. on a 100 point assignment, you would loose 20 points off the ``earned'' grade score). Assignments which are more than 5 days late will not be accepted for grading unless a written late-grading request explaining why the assignment was not completed on time is submitted to the TA. Any corroborating evidence, such as a note from the Dean's office, should be attached.
If a student is aware of extenuating circumstances that warrant an extension, a request for an extension can be made to the TA. An extension request must be made well in advance and have a good reason to be considered. Extensions requested after the time the assignment is due will be considered only in extreme circumstances. If an extension is granted, the normal penalties will not be applied until the granted extension period has lapsed.
See the department page and a copy of the JHU ethics handbook from the Academic Advising page (http://www.advising.jhu.edu/#procedures). Students violating the ethics code (eg. plagiarism, cheating, etc.) will be dealt with as specified in the ethics code. The policy for graduate students is slightly different, and can by found at http://engineering.jhu.edu/include/content/pdf-word/misconduct-policy.pdfand http://www.grad.jhu.edu/downloads/MisconductPolicy06.pdf
The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical violations include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments, improper use of the Internet and electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and unfair competition.
In addition, the specific ethics guidelines for this course are:
Students may discuss high level concepts such as algorithms and techniques with one another to promote learning and understanding of course material. This is true even if there is a homework assignment based on the algorithm or technique in question. Students may not discuss details of solutions to assignments, nor is there to be any sharing or viewing of data, code, documentation, or other material created by someone else Students may discuss anything related to the course with the course instructor or the course TA. Both the instructor and the TA will have regularly scheduled office hours, and will be available at other times by appointment. Students are expressly forbidden from any form of collaboration on work that is to be submitted for a grade unless explicitly given permission. Any assignment in which collaboration is allowed will be clearly marked with the scope of allowed collaboration (eg. no more than two students per group).
Report any violations you witness to the instructor. You may consult the associate dean of student affairs and/or the chairman of the Ethics Board beforehand. See the guide on ``Academic Ethics for Undergraduates'' and the Ethics Board Web site (http://ethics.jhu.edu) for more information.
Implementation frameworks will be provided in Java for several assignments, and students are encouraged to program in that language. If you want to use a different language, please discuss your planned use with the instructor before doing so. All programs must compile and run on the Linux machines on the CS department undergrad network. Development may be done anywhere, but these machines will be used to determine functionality for the purposes of grading. More detailed requirements will be included in the assignments. All code should be clearly written and well documented. Programs will be graded on code style as well as functional characteristics such as correctness and efficiency. The internet may be used for doing background research, but not to solve homework problems. All sources used for homework assignments must be properly cited. This does not include class discussions or the assigned readings, but it does include any other outside sources such as non-assigned text books or internet sources. Failure to cite sources is plagiarism, and will be treated as such.
There will be 5 homework assignments, plus 2 paper assignments. The first 3 homework assignment will each count for 10% of the total course grade. Homework 4 and paper 1 will each count for 15%. Homework 5 will count for 12% and paper 2 will count for 18% The final 10% will be based on class participation, of which the most important part is attendance.
There will be no exams in this course, though I may decide to give small quizzes if attendance or attention become poor. Exact percentage values for individual assignments are subject to minor changes.
Questions or appeals about assignment grades should be directed to the TA, and must be made within one week of the graded assignment being returned. If you are not satisfied with the TA's resolution, you must submit a written appeal to the instructor via e-mail within two days of your discussion with the TA.
Baring illness or injury, students are expected to attend lecture regularly and promptly. Other events, such as job or graduate school interviews, are expected to occasionally prevent students from attending class. However, students who regularly fail to attend lectures will be penalized (see the Grading policy).
Students who miss class are encouraged to read the relevant portions of the textbook, and come to Office Hours to discuss material they may have missed.