CSC403: Syllabus

(Click here for one slide per page)

From Wired Magazine: Code is far from a utilitarian means to an end. Like painting or sculpting, it's a medium with which you can create something. And as such, code can take many forms: beautiful or ugly, elegant or clunky.

• 10% Quizzes
  • Quizzes have a time limit of 2 hours. Once you start a quiz, you have 2 hours to complete it. Make sure you plan enough time to work on each quiz.
  • The purpose of the quizzes is to give you ample time to grapple with the material and find the answers. The quizzes are not intended to stress you out.
• 15% Homework/Programming Assignments
  • To solve the homeworks and quizzes, you may find it useful to consult external resources at first. That is acceptable for this class. It is not an academic integrity violation.
  • However, it is your responsibility to repeat each problem until you can do it yourself, starting from scratch, in a reasonable amount of time (about five minutes).
  • Once you have ensured that you can complete the problem using the IDE, you must then ensure that you can do it on paper. This is a crucial part of the homework!
  • If you cannot produce the solution, on paper, without assistance, then you have not understood it. You will not do well on exams or job interviews.
  • Programming assignments that do not compile will receive zero points. You must type in the homework and ensure that your code runs. If you cannot complete one problem of the homework, comment out your failed solution and restore the stub function that was provided. You can find the original assignments in the Course Code ZIP Archive
  • If it's obvious that you didn't run or test your code, you will receive zero points for that assignment.
  • Always due at 5:45pm -- not a second later -- watch the clock!
  • Make sure you submit to the correct folder -- no credit for other folders!
  • No late homework will be accepted (other than as described in the the Flex/Late policy) unless there are extreme circumstances which you can substantiate.
  • You can submit as many times as you like -- I will always grade the last submission.
• 20% Term Project
  • The intention of the project is to get you to experience building a small application that uses at least one data structure from this course, as well as another data structure of your choosing.
  • There will be some staggered deadlines to help provide structure.
  • Details to follow in the project assignment handout!
• 55% Exams
  • The Midterm Exam is worth 20% of your final grade. You will be able to take the Midterm from October 10 - October 15. Do not schedule vacation during that timeframe. Makeups are not allowed.
  • The Final Exam is worth 35% of your final grade. You will be able to take the Final Exam from November 14 - November 19. Do not schedule vacation during that timeframe. Makeups are not allowed.
  • Exams are cumulative. The Final Exam will emphasize new material we will cover after the Midterm.
  • I will indicate clearly in class and on the course site if any material is not covered on the exam. There should be no surprises.
  • On exams, you must work alone, without any external resources.
  • Exams will be given on paper. You will be asked to write code on paper. You must also be able to draw diagrams just as we will do on the whiteboard during lectures.
  • Students in Section 701 must take the exams in the classroom on Tuesday evenings (Week 6 for the Midterm, Week 11 for the Final Exam).
  • Students in the online/flex section, Section 741 may either take the exam in-person with a proctor through the Center for Online Learning (or an acceptable remote proctor) or in the classroom with me. Any student in Section 741 who does not sign up for a proctor must come to the classroom to take the exam.
  • Students with Disabilities may make arrangements through the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) to take their exams. CSD will manage all disability-related accommodations.
  • No makeup exams will be given. If you miss the Midterm, your final exam grade will be weighted at 20% and the result will be recorded as your Midterm grade.
  • Exams will be given in person. There are no online exams. You must appear physically in front of a proctor (either the instructor or someone else, as described in the policy linked above.)

I will drop one quiz and two homework assignments from your final grade.

DePaul's academic integrity policy

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current exam questions or answers, quiz questions or answers, or homework answers is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Any submission for any assignment or exam in which there is evidence of an academic integrity violation is subject to sanction, up to and including failure of the course. At the very least, the student will receive a 0 for the assignment or exam in question. In the case of homework or quizzes, the student will receive a 0 for the assignment and the highest score for that category will be zeroed out. For any Term Project deliverable, any evidence of cheating will result in zero credit for that deliverable and/or the entire project grade. Additional sanctions may apply.

• Download the native Discord app for your computer and/or mobile device.
• Click here to join the Discord server for the class: Discord Discussion Forum

• Change your Server Nickname to be your first and last name. Use whatever firstname you prefer, but be sure that your last name is the same as it is in DePaul's Campus Connect.

  
• If you have a common last name, be sure to provide some indication of who you are so we can identify you.
• We have all types of students in class. Be sure to use appropriate language.
• Don't troll.

Zoom Class Meetings: Join here.

• Since this course is offered in Flex Mode, you can attend class in person, join the class live on Zoom, or watch the Course Online (COL) recording.

• If you're participating fully asynchronously (not in person or on Zoom during the course meeting time), you will watch COL recordings (available in the widget to the right in D2L). COL allows you to see the video, the slides, and the whiteboard, and to pin any one of them as you watch the recording.

Course D2L Page: D2L

• Use D2L for homework submission, registering for exam proctoring, and for other information.

Course Homepage: https://reed.cs.depaul.edu/efredericks/ds2

• Course content, homework files, and most of the information you need will be available on this site.
• Lecture slides may not be available before class.
• Each week's content may change substantially before the in-person section meets. There may be old information that I have not yet updated, so do not rely on the course site for anything too far in the future.
• Homework assignments may not be accurate until they are presented and assigned in class.
• Lecture slides may change after class.
• Do a hard refresh of the course site in your browser frequently - especially when reviewing the previous week's material and starting to work on the homework.

• NOTE: There is another person at DePaul with my name. Be sure you are emailing the correct person if you email me!
• Office hours are on Zoom on Mondays, from 7:30pm - 8:15pm, and in person on Tuesdays from 4:50pm - 5:35pm in the classroom before class meets.
• If you would like to visit me for office hours, try to join me in-person before class if you can. It's easier for me to draw diagrams and help you visualize concepts in person. However, Zoom on Monday is an option if you need it.
• If you would like to talk outside of office hours, please send me a message on Discord or email me. Do not try to contact me by phone -- I do not have a DePaul phone that has voice mail!
• You can expect that I will respond to email and Discord messages within 24 hours on business days.
• Note that I work a full-time job in addition to teaching at DePaul CDM, so I may not be able to answer questions during the workday. Note also that I have commitments on weekends that may keep me away from my computer. You should plan to have all of your homework questions to me on Friday if you want to work on your homework over the weekend.
• You can expect grades to be posted within a week of the due date.
• This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

• Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates' "Head First Java" (Online version)
• Bruce Eckel's Thinking in Java, 4th Edition
• David Flanagan's "Java in a Nutshell" (Online version)
• Cay Horstman's "Big Java" (Online version)

• Late Work and Flex Days

  Due dates for every homework and quiz are provided on D2L. Unless otherwise stated, assignments are due on those days. Homeworks must be submitted on D2L and emailed homework or project deliverables will not be accepted.

  Every student is allotted up to three Flex Days that can be used to submit late homeworks and get extended time to take quizzes. I recognize that sometimes life happens. In these instances, you may use one of your allotted Flex Days. Flex Days allow you to submit any homework and/or quiz due on a previous day up to one day late without penalty. You can use these days for any deadline (except for exams) and for any reason.

  Flex Days apply to a deadline day. For example: if you use one Flex Day, both your homework and your quiz deadline will be extended to 5:45pm one day after the deadline, and you still have two more Flex Days you can use in the future. Note that you may not use more than one flex day for any given deadline day.

  You do not need to provide me with the reason for using a Flex Day: simply send me a message on Discord or email me and tell me you are using a Flex Day. Flex Days are not automatic. You must send me a message before the Late Submission folder in D2L closes so I know you are using a Flex Day. When submitting late homework when using a Flex Day, please make sure to submit it to the correct folder on D2L. Do not simply note in your late folder submission that you are using a Flex Day. I do not always read the comments.

  Once you've exhausted your three flex days, any homework assignment or project deliverable submitted after the deadline will only receive partial credit. A homework assignment submitted by 5:45pm the day after the due date will only be eligible for 80% of the maximum number of points for that assignment. Late homework submitted after 24 hours is not accepted.

  Late quizzes outside of the use of a flex day are not accepted. Flex days cannot be used for quizzes you have alrady completed.

  Flex days cannot be used for exams.

  Except as outlined above, deadlines are generally not individually negotiable! First of all, this course covers a lot of ground, so you will want to keep up with the material. Secondly, I want to get you feedback on your assignments quickly, so you can use that feedback as you study. And finally, I cannot keep up with grading multiple students' late assignments - it becomes very time consuming to context switch back to previous assignments.

  If you experience extenuating circumstances (e.g., family emergency, you are hospitalized) that prohibit you from completing your quizzes and homework, please contact me. You may be required to provide documentation substantiating your request. If your request pertains to a disability situation, you must work with the Center for Students with Disabilities, and I will consult with them when considering your request.

• Incomplete Grades

  An incomplete grade is defined in the Student Handbook as follows (note that the policy in the undergraduate student handbook applies to both undergraduate and graduate students): A temporary grade indicating that the student has a satisfactory record in work completed, but for unusual or unforeseeable circumstances not encountered by other students in the class and acceptable to the instructor is prevented from completing the course requirements by the end of the term. Please see https://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/Grading-Policies.aspx for additional information.

• Retro-Active Withdrawal

  CDM understands certain extenuating circumstances can hinder one's ability for academic success and completion of course work. Please see https://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/Enrollment-Policies.aspx for additional information.

Synchronous lectures are recorded for access after class.

You will find the lectures on D2L