Course Specifics

Overview

This course is designed to be the first computer course for computer science and other science majors. The lecture portion of the course covers all aspects of computer science as a discipline. There is a significant computer lab component, which involves programming in the Delphi language. No prior programming experience is required. The course will meet 3 days (MWF) for formal lecture and 2 days (TuTh) for lab.

Some may find the laboratory component to be difficult and time consuming, but it can also be the most fun and rewarding. We will cover a different lab each week, with later labs building on knowledge you gain from earlier labs. Each lab will challenge you and you will feel great personal satifaction upno their completion. It is imperative that you keep up progress in each lab, as failure to do a lab will make it extremely difficult for you to successfully complete the next. You should read each lab carefully prior to the meeting time and ask any questions you might have as soon as possible. Feel free to begin the weekly lab prior to Tuesday, as it will likely require more than the allotted 2 hours of scheduled lab time. A lab assistant will be available to help you Wednesday evening should you choose to work on your lab then. Do not hesitate to ask questions related to the projects in the laboratory. Each lab will be due at 5:00 PM on Friday.

The lecture portion will cover the entire text in a sequential order, beginning with the Introduction. You will get more out of the lectures if you read material in advance, but you should attend class even if you have not. Another way to augment the classroom experience is to visit the online text companion. Please feel free to ask any relevant questions as they arise during the lecture.

There will be roughly weekly homework assignments from topics covered in the book. There will be 3 mid-term exams, and a comprehensive final exam. The exams will cover material from both lecture material and laboratory material. The successful student will likely spend between 5 and 10 hours outside of class per week on this course.

Much of the course material is available online and will remain accessible all semester. There is no need to print hardcopies of all available course material.

Again, if you don't ask questions either in class, lab, or in my office during office hours, I will assume you understand the material. My purpose here is to help you understand computer science. In asking questions, you will hopefully gain the missing link which connects the information you have acquired and transforms it into a coherent conceptual model.

Performance Evaluation

Some extra credit is possible. The daily response form gives you an opportunity for extra credit nearly every day. I might include an occasional extra credit exam question. I have also scheduled several weeks (2, 4, 8, and 13) where I will have special office hours where you will receive 5 points (up to 20 points total) for coming to talk with me in my office about course issues (above and beyond normal office hours). See this link for more details. I will not give much special extra credit beyond this. You should plan on doing the work assigned to succeed in the course.

No credit will be give for a missed test or other scheduled in-class assignment. No credit will be given for daily responses which are not received by the due date. All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date unless otherwise specified. Your promptness will allow my timely grading of your assignments. Work turned in late might not be graded and returned as quickly. Late assignments will be accepted, but marked down as follows: up to 24 hours late - 25% off. from 24 hours up to 48 hours late - 50% off. Assignments will not be accepted after 48 hours. Penalties are assessed from the earned score, rather than the possible points earned. Some credit on a partially complete assignment is better than no credit and the burden of an unfinished task. If you miss class on the date an assignment is due because of participation in an official College event you must make prior arrangements with me. In situations of a documented serious circumstance beyond your control, please contact me as soon as possible.

You have an opportunity to review your final and other term projects for four weeks after the start of the subsequent semester. After that time, I will discard all unclaimed materials.

Academic Policies

If feel you have a disability which might interfere with your success in this class, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs immediately so that we can coordinate any required accommodations.

The goal of this course is for you to learn computer science, not penmanship, typing, or other forms of plagiarism. Chapter III of the Student Handbook details instances and penalties for academic dishonesty. It also describes acceptable usage of the campus computing/networking facilities. In this class you are expected to do your own work unless explicitly stated. This includes programming assignments, homework problems, and exams.

Here are some things which will be considered cheating:

• Using or turning in another's work as you own - with or without their permission.
• Allowing someone else to use or turn in your work as theirs - in whole or in part.
• Joint effort on an assignment with individual submissions represented as individual work.
• Getting help by another with logical or design errors without acknowledgment.
• If I receive two programs from different individuals which are too similar in structure and design to be from chance.
• If a student cannot explain why the solution works or how the solution was obtained.

• A submission using help from the instructor, student assistants, or the texts.
• Obtaining help for a minor programming error, For example, proper syntax and compiler options.
• Discussion of the concepts related to the course material.
• Discussion of assignments to understand what is required.

Class absences are only excusable in documented extreme cases of unforeseen hardship or official College event, as described in the Student Handbook. Please notify me in writing (email is preferred) prior to official college events (sporting, class trips, etc.) that make it impossible for you to attend class. In extreme cases of unforeseen hardship, please contact me as soon as possible. In either case, you are still responsible for all material and assignments.

Typically, I grade papers one problem at a time. If you turn in someone else's work as you own, it really stands out. Please do your own work! I often run sentences from papers through web search engines. This is often very interesting. Don't download a paper and pretend like its yours! For computer programs, I have written software to compare your program with all other students' programs (even in previous semesters if a project is similar). Please write your own code! If you are having trouble on an assignment come see me as soon as possible - I'm here to help!

We, as students and faculty, have the privilege and challenge of promoting higher standards of ourselves, the College, and society in general. Here are several expectations we should have this semester.

Communication is essential in any relationship. Our student-teacher relationship is no exception. If you have any concerns with the class material or logistics, please talk to me as soon as possible.

You can certainly survive this course without visiting me, however, as the above Frank and Ernest cartoon indicates, we can all do better with a little help from others. This is why I, and all other faculty, have office hours.