Policies
Academic Integrity
Academic honesty is required in all your work. Under no circumstances may you hand in work done with (or by) someone else under your own name. Your code should never be shared with anyone; you may not examine or use code belonging to someone else, nor may you let anyone else look at or make a copy of your code. This includes, but is not limited to, obtaining solutions from students who previously took the course or code that can be found online. You may not share solutions after the due date of the assignment.
Discussing ideas and approaches to problems with others on a general level is fine (in fact, we encourage you to discuss general strategies with each other), but you should never read anyone else’s code or let anyone else read your code. All code you submit must be your own with the following permissible exceptions: code distributed in class, code found in the course text book, and code worked on with an assigned partner. In these cases, you should always include detailed comments that indicates on which parts of the assignment you received help, and what your sources were.
Failure to abide by these rules constitutes academic dishonesty and will lead to a hearing of the College Judiciary Committee. According to the Faculty Handbook: “Because plagiarism is considered to be so serious a transgression, it is the opinion of the faculty that for the first offense, failure in the course and, as appropriate, suspension for a semester or deprivation of the degree in that year is suitable; for a second offense, the penalty should normally be expulsion.” Be aware that we will be routinely running plagiarism detection software on your submissions!
Please contact me if you have any questions about what is permissible in this course.
Coursework and Grades
The work in this course is divided into the following categories with the following weight on the final grade:
- Assignments (72%)
- Final Exam (25%)
- Attendance/Participation (3%)
Assignments
Assignment work in this course comes in two varieties: written theoretical exercises (similar to a computer science theory or mathematics course) and programming assignments (to concretely demonstrate the theory). Students may work on most assignments in pairs or individually at their option; this choice does not affect the grading process. Assignments are due on Wednesday nights unless explicitly marked otherwise; see the course schedule for more information.
Teams for assignments will be formed on Teammaker.
Late Days
To assist with cases of minor illnesses, athletic conflicts, or other short-term time limitations, all students start the course with two “late assignment days” to be used at the student’s discretion, with no questions asked. To use extra time, students must email the professor after completing the assignment. Students are not required to inform anyone ahead of time, although notification is encouraged when possible. Late days will be counted at the granularity of full days; that is, to receive credit for an assignment submitted an hour after the deadline, a full late day must be used. If students are working in a pair, both students must use a late day to turn in the assignment late.
Final Exam
This course includes a written final exam, the content of which will be most similar to the theoretical portions of the written assignments. The final exam will occur at a date and time set by Swarthmore College. Please see the Swarthmore Academic Calendar for information about when this exam time will be set.
Attendance and Participation
Participation is necessary in this course. This is especially true in lab sessions, which provide an opportunity to practice with the course material in an open setting where students can learn from their peers. This portion of the grade is effectively guaranteed as long as a student:
- attends lecture and lab sessions,
- submits all assignments and tests, and
- makes an effort to learn the material.
Students who are routinely absent from lecture or otherwise do not interact meaningfully with the course will not receive full credit here. This is an easy way to improve your grade; don’t miss out!
Exceptions to Late Policy
If you feel that you need an extension on an assignment or that you are unable to attend class for two or more meetings due to a medical condition (e.g., extended illness, concussion, hospitalization) or other emergency, you must contact the dean’s office and your instructors. Faculty will coordinate with the deans to determine and provide the appropriate accommodations. Note that for illnesses, the College’s medical excuse policy, states that you must be seen and diagnosed by the Worth Health Center if you would like them to contact your class dean with corroborating medical information.
Academic Accommodations
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services (Parrish 113W) or email studentdisabilityservices at swarthmore.edu to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, the Office will issue students with documented disabilities a formal Accommodations Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services as soon as possible. For details about the accommodations process, visit the Student Disability Service Website. You are also welcome to contact your professor privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through the Office of Student Disability Services.