CS 222: Computer Programming for Engineers

Each lecture will be divided in half: 1 hour and 15 minutes of lecture and discussion followed by a 15 break and then another 1 hour and 15 minutes of lecture. We will discuss programming concepts and I will provide demos of programming relevant to assignments. In addition to attending the regular meeting times, you are strongly encouraged to visit the professor and teaching assistant(s) during office hours to further your understanding of the material: we are here to help you learn.

Attendance of lectures is expected but not mandatory. Lectures are meant to assist students in learning the material and meet expectations on homework and exams. However, no formal attendance will be kept. When attending lecture and discussion, students are expected to arrive on time, avoid disruptions to presentations and discussion, and be respectful to the instructor and fellow learners. During lecture, new material will be introduced and discussed. Also, example problems will be solved which have the same character as those on homework. Participating in lectures are also the source of bonus credit. If you experience difficulty in lecture either understanding or with the conduct of other students, see the instructor during office hours or make an appointment.

Readings from the textbook relevant to each lecture are listed in the schedule. You will increase your understanding of lectures by reading associated textbook sections ahead of time, though this is not assumed. I may provide additional reading material to supplement the textbook which will be posted on the course web page.

Students will receive a number of programming assignments during the semester. Each assignment will involve writing programs and answering questions about them to illustrate an understanding of course material. The programming assignments will be electronically submitted to Blackboard on dates specified in the assignment by 11:59 p.m. Students may submit assignments as many times as needed up to the deadline.

There will be a series of hour-exams during the semester and a mandatory final exam.

On exam days, lecture will begin with a new topic, proceed to a brief review. After a short break, the exam will be administered.

All exams will be open book, open notes, open computing devices but no network access will be allowed. Exam questions will be designed such that learning a concept on the fly will take too long. Do not let the availability of resources fool you into preparing for exams inadequately.

Grading disputes on assignments should first be addressed to the teaching assistant either in person or via e-mail. Only if you are unable to resolve the issue, then bring it to the instructor. Grading disputes on exams may be taken up with the instructor.

If you have not raised a dispute within 1 week of receiving a grade, the chance to contest it has closed.

Computation of the final grade will be done according the following weights on graded materials.

Grades for each assignment and exam will be input into Blackboard and may be viewed by students as the course progresses.

Final grades will be assigned without rounding according to the following criteria.

Bonus credit will be awarded based on participation in class discussions in lecture. Each course meeting will be divided into two halves. Before each half, I will announce a range of the alphabet. Students with last names in that range may elect to sit in the first 2 rows of the class and answer questions. Reasonable effort on answering questions in class will garner class participation credit. Participation points may also earned for involvement in the class discussion board such as giving suggestions to students with questions (but not revealing answers wholesale). The highest point winner at the end of the semester will receive a 3% bonus to their overall score in the course. All other students will receive a bonus proportional to the highest point winner. For example, someone tied with the highest point scorer will also receive a 3% bonus while someone with half the participation points will receive a 1.5% bonus.

Homework is due via electronic submission by 11:59 p.m. on the dates specified. It is at the sole discretion of the instructor whether to accept late homeworks. Health or family emergencies are usually legitimate reasons for lateness but forgetfulness and procrastination are not. Notify the instructor via e-mail (preferred) or phone if you know you will miss a HW. In the case of an emergency, notify the instructor as soon as possible.

Reductions in credit may be given in any case for late homework at the discretion of the instructor. Typically this will be on the order of 10% reduction in credit per day late.

Missing an exam results in a zero score and make-up exams will be considered only in situations involving death and near death.

Students are required to take the final exam though performance on it impacts the overall grade only according to the below table. The final exam is scheduled for 7/25/2013 during the usual lecture meeting. The same criteria for missing exams will be applied for a making up a missed final. The final exam will consist of a comprehensive set of questions covering all material covered in the course. Problems will be similar to those encountered on homework and exams.

For the purposes of this course, the following actions constitute scholastic misconduct (cheating):

• Directly copying someone else's solution to a homework problem, including student solutions from a previous semester
• Directly copying an answer from some outside source such as the Internet or friend for a homework problem
• Making use of an Instructor Solution manual to complete homework problems
• Paying someone for a homework solution
• Posting solutions to our discussion board or any other web site
• Collaborating or copying someone else's answer during an exam
• Aiding or abetting any of the above
• Witnessing any of the above and failing to report it the instructor immediately

Refer to the following links for additional information.

• Computer science specific policies on scholastic dishonesty: http://cs.gmu.edu/wiki/pmwiki.php/HonorCode/CSHonorCodePolicies
• University Honor Code: http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/honorcode/

Any instance of misconduct that is detected will be referred to the honor board and will likely result in failing the course. Be advised that the teaching team will be employing electronic means to detect plagiarism. This is extremely easy with computer code so keep your nose clean.

The purpose of this course is to learn about programming and learning from one another is a great help. To that end, the following actions will NOT be considered cheating in this course.

• Talking to other students in the course about HW problems and informally describing how a problem may be solved.
  • Be very careful as you do this that you do not share any sort of code as this will be detected.
• Getting or giving help fixing a small bug or two: a second set of eyes is a great boon to finding that misplaced semicolon that is preventing your code from compiling.
• Searching the Internet for alternative presentations of a programming concept.
• When unsure whether collaboration is fair or not, stop the activity until it can be cleared with instructor.

At all times keep the PRIME DIRECTIVE in mind when studying with another student. The above collaborations should be limited to getting someone over a hurdle, not carrying them across the finish line.

About half your grade will depend on programming projects. Doing them individually prepares you for the exams in which no collaboration of any kind is allowed.