CS 5633 Analysis of Algorithms
Spring 12
http://www.cs.utsa.edu/~carola/teaching/cs5633/spring12

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Policies

Attendance:

Attendance in class will not be taken but students are fully responsible for all material presented or assigned in class. For this reason, attendance is strongly recommended.

Homework Assignments:

There will be eleven homework assignments of equal weight which are usually due within one week. For each homework assignment, any score of 60% or higher will be rounded up to 100%. The lowest homework will be dropped from the overall homework score. Homeworks will mostly consist of written problems but may occasionally contain programming assignments. Homeworks will be posted on the homework page. Only a subset of the homework questions will be graded for credit.

You are allowed, and in fact encouraged, to turn in homeworks in groups of two. You only need to submit one solution with both names on it; however you need to alternate the person who writes up the solution and you need to clearly indicate the name of the scribe. 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 (with your group partner) . You are not allowed to read, copy, or rewrite the solutions written by others (in this or previous terms or from the web). See the section on Academic Integrity. Homeworks are to be submitted on paper in class. If you cannot attend class you are welcome to submit your homework by email to the instructor, by sliding it under the instructor's office door, or by any other means you can think of to get the homework on time to the instructor. 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 or from the web). See the section on Academic Integrity.

Homework grades will be available on Blackboard.

10% of the homework score 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. 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.

Exams:

There will be two tests and a final exam. All tests as well as the final exam will be closed-book and closed-notes (no electronic devices allowed). For each exam you are allowed to bring one "cheat sheet": Half a single-sided letter paper page. The tests will be non-comprehensive, but the final exam will be comprehensive.

Review of the grading of a homework or an exam must be requested within 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.

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.

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.

Grading:

Grading will be based on the following weighted scale:

The weighted average will determine your letter grade roughly as follows:
A+  >= 93%; A  >= 90%; A-  >= 87%
B+  >= 83%; B  >= 80%; B-  >= 77%
C+  >= 73%; C  >= 70%; C-  >= 67%
D+  >= 63%; D  >= 60%; D-  >= 57%
F  < 57%

Handouts, Slides, and Pictures:

The class web page will have links to all class handouts as they become available.

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 if you happen to have missed a class. There is however no guarantee that the pictures will be complete. The classroom is equipped with video recording capabilities. The lectures will be recorded and will be made available on blackboard.

Blackboard:

Assignment grades will be available on Blackboard. You are also encouraged to use the discussion tool on Blackboard.

Academic Integrity:

You are allowed to turn in homeworks in groups of two. 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 (with your group partner). You are not allowed to read, copy, or rewrite the solutions written by others (in this or previous terms or from the web). If you are stuck on a problem and unable to get to the instructor or the TA for help, then we suggest you try and use hints from a publicly available source such as a textbook or journal article. The source has to be cited and you have to write the solution in your own words. It should be apparent to us that you understand the solution in order to receive 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.

Please read the Student Code of Conduct, the Roadrunner Creed and the UTSA Academic Honor Code.


Last modified by Carola Wenk,   carola @ cs.utsa.edu ,