Homework Assignments and Exams:
There will be three tests during the class time (each 1:15 long), and no final exam.
All tests will be open-book and open-notes (no electronic devices allowed).
There will be about seven homework assignments of equal weight which are usually due
within one or one and a half weeks. Homeworks will be posted on the homework page.
Review of the grading of a homework or an exam must be
requested 2 weeks after the graded exam/homework is returned to you.
Be aware that such a review will consider the exam/homework as a whole, and
as a result your grade is just as likely to go down as it is to go up.
You may turn in homeworks as groups of two people.
You may discuss rough ideas and thoughts about a homework assignment with
your other classmates, but you have to write up your solution on your
own. You are not allowed to read, copy, or rewrite the solutions
written by others (in this or previous terms).
See
the section on Academic Integrity.
Homeworks will consist of written parts and programming parts. The programming will be done in C++ using the LEDA library. It is installed at /usr/local/LEDA-4.5 on our linux machines (for example on gateway02, gateway03, gateway04, etc), and on the windows machines; but I encourage and support the use of the linux version only. See the resources page for links to LEDA manuals, etc.
10% of the grade will be based on clarity of exposition of the
solutions.
In other words, a problem solution that is technically
perfect, but which is presented in a difficult-to-understand manner,
will lose 10% of the score for that problem.
(For the programming parts this refers to the documentation of the code.)
Some guidelines for the
written presentation of solutions are given in the writing guidelines. Neat and concise solutions
are required in order to receive full credit for your solutions. If
you cannot solve a particular problem, state this clearly in your
write-up, and write down only what you know to be correct; rambling at
length about ideas that don't quite work may cause additional points
to be deducted.
There are no late days of any type for homework assignments. Late
homework will not be graded for credit. In extra-ordinary cases (a
two-day cold does not count since you have one week to complete the
assignment), contact Carola prior to the due date to get a
homework extension.
The weighted average will determine your letter grade roughly as follows:
During the lectures we will use slides as well as the
board.
Carola will take pictures of the board during the lectures. Those pictures
as well as the slides will be available on the webpage, such that you can
see what has been covered in class if you happen to have missed a class.
There is however no guarantee that the pictures will be complete.
You may turn in homeworks as groups of two people.
You may discuss rough ideas and thoughts about a homework assignment with
your other classmates, but you have to write up your solution on your
own. You are not allowed to read, copy, or rewrite the solutions
written by others (in this or previous terms).
If you're stuck on a problem and unable to get to the instructor for help,
then we suggest you try and use hints from a
publicly available source such as a textbook or journal article. The
source should be cited and you have to write the solution in your own words. It should
be apparent to us that you understand the solution for full credit. Every cheating will be reported to the office of academic integrity.
If two people are caught sharing solutions then both the copier
and copiee will be held equally responsible. Cheating on an exam will
result in failing the course.
Late Policy:
Without prior arrangements, missed exams and homework assignments result in
a grade of zero. In order to take a make-up exam, contact Carola
prior to the exam if you have to miss it
for some valid reason; documentation may be required. Notification after
the exam will result in a score of zero.
Grading:
Grading will be based on the following
weighted scale:
A >= 90%
B >= 80%
C >= 70%
D >= 60%
E < 60%Handouts, Slides, and
Pictures:
The class web page will have links to
all class handouts as they become available. Academic Integrity:
Last modified by Carola Wenk,
carola @ cs.utsa.edu ,