Course Policy Statement

Instructor: Dr. Daniel S. Roche, Michelson 322, x36814, .

Required Text: Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein. Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd ed. MIT Press, 2009.

Course Website: http://www.usna.edu/Users/cs/roche/courses/s12si335

Grading

Your final grade will be computed as follows:

10%: Daily quizzes
40%: Projects (7 total)
15%: Midterm exam (only 1)
35%: Final exam

Daily Quizzes

Questions will be emailed to every student after each class and are to be answered in the time frame specified, usually by 4pm the next day. These will be short questions mostly designed to encourage class attentiveness and participation. The grading scheme for each question is:

0 (0%): Not submitted, or negligible effort demonstrated.
1 (60%): Some effort demonstrated, but not sufficient.
2 (90%): Good effort; response may or may not be correct.
3 (100%): Excellent; response is perfectly correct.

Students will receive their grade, along with a sample "3"-level response, by email.

The lowest two daily quiz grades will be dropped, which should account for most routine absences. Otherwise, the general policy on absence and late work applies.

Projects

There will be 7 projects in the course, due every two to three weeks throughout the semester. This is the main work of the course, and should be treated seriously. Projects will have multiple parts, and some will focus more on written work or more on programming. Students should expect to devote a considerable amount of time to each project, and are encouraged to start early.

Exams

There will be one midterm exam in class on Wednesday, February 29. Any requested absence must be submitted as soon as possible, and at least one week in advance. For the midterm, students will be allowed to bring a single, individually-prepared "study sheet" of letter-size paper with anything written on it. The final exam is cumulative, and will also allow a second sheet of paper (two total).

Absences and Late Work

Students are responsible for all class material. Notes will be posted online following each lecture, but this material might not be exhaustive; students missing class should arrange to copy notes from someone present.

Because solutions will generally be posted immediately, no late work will be accepted for a grade. Even in cases of excused absences, all work must be submitted by the posted deadline. Exceptions of course may be made in the case of a bona fide, unexpected emergency.

Honor

Daily Quizzes: Students may discuss the questions freely, but must submit their own work, in their own words.
Projects: Informal discussion on the problems between students is allowed, but all students must do their own work, and may not share any specific (even partial) solutions. A good guideline is: any collaboration should be done away from a computer, you should throw away anything you write down while working with another student, and wait at least an hour before sitting down on your own to write or code your solutions. In addition, any sources or collaboration should be indicated clearly.
Exams: No collaboration on the exams is allowed. "Study sheets" must be individually prepared, meaning they cannot be identical between students (no photocopies!).

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of classic standard algorithms. (supports outcome CS-j)
Employ a variety of standard techniques to devise efficient algorithms. (supports outcome CS-j)
Compare and analyze the performance of algorithms. (supports outcome CS-j)
Understand the local and global impact of of algortihm design and performance, especially as it relates to cryptography, and the implied ethical issues and responsibilities. (supports outcomes e, g)
Develop effective written arguments regarding algorithmic performance. (supports outcome f)

Supported Student Outcomes

(e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security, and social issues and responsibilities.
(f) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
(g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations and society.
(CS-j) An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices.

Section Leader

The section leader is responible for:

Calling the class to attention and reporting any absences to the instructor at the beginning of class
Contacting the department main office (x36800, MI 346) if the instructor is 10 minutes late, and making sure students do productive work in the instructor's absence.

Classroom Decorum

No food or beverages (except in closeable containers) are permitted in the classroom.