CS 410 -- Unix programming -- Spring 01

Course policy

Grading

• Six assignments, about 45% of final grade.
• Midterm exam (one hour), 15%. There will be no makeup midterm exam. If you had serious excuse (e.g. documented illness) not to do the midterm exam then the final exam's weight will be increased from 30% to 45%.
• Final exam (two hours), 30%.
• Class participation 10%. This will be evaluated using random quizzes, random attendance checks, and my subjective perception.

Incomplete grade (I grade) will be given only in truly exceptional circumstances (did not happen in the last few years).

Lateness policy

With each hour of lateness you lose a 168th of the credit. Thus, you lose all credit if you are a week late. Everybody's worst homework grade will be deleted. However, no personal exceptions will be given for illness, etc.

Exams

Only a single double-sided sheet of handwritten notes ("crib-sheet") is allowed: no books or notes. The final exam covers the whole material.

Collaboration

Cooperation is recommended in understanding various concepts and system features. But the actual solution of assignments, the programming and debugging must be your individual work, except for what you specifically credit to other sources. (Your grade will be based on your own contribution.) For example, copying without attribution any part of someone else's program is plagiarism, even if you modify it and even if the source is a textbook. If you show your program to any classmate or you read any classmate's program before your submission, you are guilty of inadmissible collaboration. Pleas, like "it is unfair to punish me for helping others" will have no effect, since you were warned. There is nothing to be added to this statement except to emphasize that I MEAN IT and have always enforced it.

The University takes acts of cheating and plagiarism very seriously: first time violators are routinely suspended for a semester. For the procedures involved, please look at

BU CAS Academic Conduct Code.

Contesting grades

If you are dissatisfied with a grade to any assignment or exam, do not take it to the grader: bring it to me. I will regrade it and your grade will be the one I give, even if it is lower than the original one given by the grader. On the other hand, if you contact the grader directly, you will lose credit for trying to influence the grader improperly.

Work expected

Past experience shows that students performing best are those attending classes regularly, therefore I encourage you to attend. The amount of work required by this course depends very much on the student's preparation but it is not unusual for a student to spend 8 hours a week just on the programming assignment.

For your emails to be answered

• Be polite.
• Attend class regularly.
• Do not overload your instructor with messages.