Professor	Email	Office
K. Raven Russell	krusselc	ENGR 5328

• Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein, Introduction to Algorithms, 2009, third edition. ISBN: 9780262033848
  
• It is assumed that students read the scheduled sections prior to each lecture.

For All Classes:

• You will most likely need a computer for this class with some modern operating system.
• Be prepared to move online if the semester requires it for any reason (see online class requirements below).

For Online and Hybrid Classes:

• You will regularly use either Blackboard Collaborate (https://mymason.gmu.edu) or Zoom (https://zoom.us/) for your class meetings.
• You are required to have regular, reliable access to a computer with an updated operating system (recommended: Windows 10 or Mac OSX 10.13 or higher) and a stable broadband Internet connection (cable modem, DSL, satellite broadband, etc., with a consistent 1.5 Mbps [megabits per second] download speed or higher.
• You are required to have a device with a functional camera and microphone.

• Most course information and material will be available on Blackboard, including GTA/UTA contacts and office hours.
• Most questions should be answerable in and before/after class, however instructors and GTAs for this course will have some additional office hours for questions and course help.
• Announcements will often be made at the beginning of class. If you miss the start of class, make sure to get the information from a friend or colleague in the class.
• No sharing answers or course material unless you've been authorized to do so by your instructor. See section on the Honor Code below.
• Please email course staff only for personal issues such as grading disputes, medical situations, etc. Please do not e-mail course staff about homework problems, use office hours and the before/after class time.

Topics include analyzing sequential and parallel algorithmic strategies such as greedy methods, divide and conquer strategies, dynamic programming, search and traversal techniques, and approximation algorithms; and analyzing specific algorithms falling into these classes, NP-Hard and NP-Complete problems.

Tentative topics to be covered include:

• Introductory Material (portions of ch 1-5)
• Analysis Sorting and Order Statistics (ch 5-9)
• Analysis of Advanced Data Structures (ch 11-14, 19, 21)
• Design and Advanced Analysis Techniques (ch 15-17)
• Graph Algorithms (ch 22-25)
• NP-completeness and Approximation Algorithms (ch 34-35)

See the schedule (on Blackboard) for a more detailed topics list.

Formal Methods and Models (such as CS 330 or a similar course) and by entension Discrete Mathematics (in Math 125 or a similar course). Data Structures (such as CS310 or a similar course) and by extension multiple programming courses (such as CS 211 or a similar course). An undergraduate algorithms course is also helpful, but not required.

Below is a more detailed (but not exhaustive) list of topics which may "come back to haunt you":

• Programming - Programming Logic, Recursion, Searching, Sorting, Big-O Analysis
• Discrete Math - Proof Techniques, Mathematical Induction, Sets, Graphs, Trees, Recursion, Enumeration
• Formal Methods and Models - Logic, Proofs, Mathematical Induction, Program Verification, Computability
• Data Structures - Big-O Analysis, Lists, Stacks, Queues, Sets and Maps, Hash Tables, Trees, Search Trees, Priority Queues, Heaps, Graphs

Category	Percent
Homework	30%
Midterm Exam	30%
Final Exam	40%

The following will be applied without rounding:

• A+ (>= 98.0%) A (>= 92.0%) A– (>= 90.0%)
• B+ (>= 88.0%) B (>= 82.0%) B– (>= 80.0%)
• C (>= 70.0%)
• F (< 60.0%)

Small amounts of extra credit may be offered during the semester, but there will be no make-up or extra-credit assignments at the end of the semester; your grade should be a measure of your semester-long progress.

• Homework must be submitted in person unless you have a university excused absence and/or instructor approval. GTAs cannot approve late submissions.
• Homework will be submitted and returned in class. Grades will be also be posted to Blackboard for tracking. Please report any issues with grades on Blackboard within one week.
• Homework is considered individual unless otherwise authorized by your instructor. Therefore no sharing of code or solutons, and no discussion of problem solutions is allowed with anyone except the TAs or the instructor. You may not use the internet to find, develop, or solicit help for code, assignments, or any other individual work.
• Catastrophic computer failure will not be cause for an extension. Use a backup service to back up your work!
• It is your responsibility to lock your computers with a password, to not post your work to websites like Pastebin that are publicly accessible, to guard your USB drives and computers, to not upload your files to someone else's computer, etc. You will be liable for any access gained to your work.

• Exams are closed book/notes unless otherwise specified by the instructor.
• All tests and exams are considered individual efforts. Resources available during exams will be specified by the instructor on a exam-by-exam basis. Student exams will be manually and automatically assessed for cheating.
• All students must have their GMU identification available on testing days (and will be required to show a photo ID as part of the exam process).
• Early or Late/Makeup Exams require exceptional circumstances (as judged by the instructors) and must be arranged in advance. Vacation plans are not exceptional circumstances.
• If you miss an exam due to a university-accepted excused absence (such as an illness or car accident the day and time of the exam), notify your instructor within 24 hours of your absence to make arrangements for a makeup, and bring approved documentation with you when you take the make-up exam. Failure to follow these policies will result in a zero. I may elect to replace a missed midterm with some (or all) of the final exam grade rather than offering a makeup exam under these circumstances.
• Missing an exam due for any non-university-accepted reason (such as not paying attention to when the exam is), will result in a zero.

• If you feel points have been incorrectly deducted, contact the grader. For homework, that is your GTA. For exams, that is your instructor.
• Contesting of grades on any/all submissions must be requested within one week of receiving the grade (on BlackBoard). No grade changes will be considered subsequent to that deadline or subsequent to the final exam (whichever comes first).

• All students are expected to abide by the GMU Honor Code. This policy is rigorously enforced. Cheating will be prosecuted and result in a notification of the Honor Committee as outlined in the GMU Honor Code. Sharing, collaboration, or looking at any code or algorithm for the programming projects that is not your own, including resources from Internet, is considered cheating.
• The computer science department has an CS Honor Code Policies that you are subject to particularly for our course. The document helps you to understand how GMU honor code applies to programming and CS, what constitutes cheating in the CS setting. It clarifies some scenarios that are unique to our sorts of assignments. Make sure you read and familiarize yourself with these rules.
• The CS Department take the honor code quite seriously. Any attempts at copying or sharing code, algorithms, or other violations of the honor code simply will not be tolerated. We use automated software to flag suspicious cases, and then review them to find the cases that must be submitted to the Office of Academic Integrity. The penalty for cheating will always be far worse than a zero grade, to ensure it's not worth taking the chance. Confirmed cases of cheating almost always translate into course failure.

• All course materials posted to Blackboard or other course sites are private; by federal law, any materials that identify specific students (via their name, voice, or image) must not be shared with anyone not enrolled in this class.
• Video recordings of class meetings that include audio or visual information from other students are private and must not be shared.
• Live Video Conference Meetings (e.g. Collaborate or Zoom) that include audio or visual information from other students must be viewed privately and not shared with others.

• We are committed to providing an educational environment free from any discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, or genetic information. If you feel there has been a violation of the University's policies on this, please contact GMU's Office of Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics (703-993-8730; cde@gmu.edu).
• Gender identity and pronoun use: If you wish, please share your name and gender pronouns with us and we will attempt use them to address you in class and via email. You can address any instructor as "Prof. [LAST NAME]" in email and verbally if you aren't sure of their personal preferences.

• All faculty members are designated "Responsible Employees", and are required to report all disclosures of sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and stalking to Mason’s Title IX Coordinator per university policy 1412. If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact the Student Support and Advocacy Center (703-380-1434) or Counseling and Psychological Services (703-993-2380). You may also seek assistance from Mason’s Title IX Coordinator (703-993-8730; titleix@gmu.edu).

• Due to the size of the class, individual instructors and graders cannot support students with injuries or disabilities on an ad-hoc basis. We ask that all accommodations for such conditions be arranged through GMU's Office of Disability Services.
• Students with a physical or learning disability which is already documented with the Office of Disability Services) should speak with the instructor ASAP to discuss their approved accommodations. Even if you don't know whether you plan on utilizing the accommodations for any assignment/test, you need to make sure you and your instructor are working together from the beginning of the semester to ensure your success in the class.
• Students with a physical or learning disability who have not yet registered with the Office of Disability Services should register with that office as soon as possible. Even if you don't know whether you'll need to utilize the accommodations, it's in your best interest to prepare ahead of time and get your condition documented as accommodations are not retroactive. They have a quick and easy registration process. All you need is documentation for your condition.
• The Office of Disability Services also handles services for many temporary disabilities (for example, if you break your arm, they can arrange note taking services). Please contact them if you discover any sudden impairment that affects your ability to function in class and/or on your projects. They have a quick and easy registration process. All you need is documentation for your condition.

• Computer Labs and Collaborative Learning Areas - there are several freely available computer labs on campus as well as serveral open learning spaces for students
• GMU Learning Services - offers support and assistance for everything from semester planning to test anxiety.
• Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC) - offers one-on-one consultations and resources in the areas of interpersonal violence, personal wellness, and alcohol/drug abuse
• Counseling and Support Services (CAPS) - offers individual and/or group counseling, workshops and community education programs
• English s a Second Language (ESL) Writing Support