Student support

The CS Ninjas will assist me in our in-class lab sessions and run study sessions in the main CS lab (Science Center 240) on Wednesdays from 8-10PM and Saturdays from 2-4PM.

You are encouraged to participate in these study sessions to prepare for quizzes, to discuss programming concepts, and to get friendly assistance in working on homework assignments.

If you are in need of additional assistance, a tutor can be arranged with approval from the instructor. Contact the Student Support Coordinator, Frances Ruiz in Science Center 257.

Ninjas are instructed to help guide you through any topics, but will not provide solutions/direct answers to programming problems. If you are having troubles with your programming assignment, please be prepared to describe what steps you have already taken to solve the problem. (The same goes for seeking help during office hours and/or on piazza). While our ninjas are dedicated, please do not seek them out outside of lab and ninja sessions - they are students just like you who need some off time to finish their own course work!

To provide additional help have we established a class newsgroup through Piazza. If you have questions outside of ninja sessions and office hours, you can post the question to the class and/or privately to the instructors through Piazza. This allows students to see common problems and to also engage in discussions about course topics. Students are expected to regularly check the discussion page and use this in place of emailing the instructors directly about course content and labs. In addition, students are expected to follow the posting policy outlined on Piazza. For example, you should not post solutions to homework/lab questions and your post will be deleted if it is attempting to fish debugging solutions without specific inquiries. Small snippets of 2-3 lines of code are permissible unless they give away a key point of the lab. Students are encouraged to respond to other student's questions as this will form part of your participation grade.


Academic accommodations

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Leslie Hempling in the Office of Student Disability Services (Parrish 113) or e-mail lhempli1 to set up an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, she will issue students with documented disabilities a formal Accommodation Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact her as soon as possible. For details about the Student Disabilities Service and the accommodations process, visit http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-life/academic-advising-and-support/student-disability-services.xml. You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through Leslie Hempling in the Office Of Student Disability Services. To receive an accommodation for a course activity, you must have an Accommodation Authorization letter from Leslie Hempling and you need to meet with me to work out the details of your accommodation at least two weeks prior to any activity requiring accommodations.