Course Policies

Grade

Your grade is composed of the following components:

See below for details on each of those grade components.

Grading Scale

All your grade components will be added up with the percentage weights indicated and result in a single number. This number will determine your letter grade, according to the following scales:

If you are signed up for the four-credit-hour section, a larger, likely multi-part project assignment will be posted about halfway through the class and will count for three homework sets and factor into your homework grade correspondingly, diminishing the weight of the other homework.

Online Quizzes

There will be a short quiz due before each class. All these quizzes contribute a small amount to your grade. These quizzes contain references to material I would like you to take a look at before the next class meeting.

The quiz will contain some elementary questions aimed at helping you check your understanding of the new material, along with some open-ended questions that will help me shape the discussion in the next class period. I expect that reading plus the quiz should take perhaps 30-45 minutes of your time, so make sure to budget for this.

These rules apply to the quizzes, unless otherwise stated:

• Quizzes will be posted at least 24 hours before the next lecture. You will find links to this material on the class calendar page in the section for the upcoming lecture and on the main course page.

• You recieve 50% of the credit for the quiz merely for attempting it, the rest depends on your answers to the questions. (The questions marked as open-ended just require an answer, the correctness of your answer won't be checked.)

• Quizzes will usually allow three graded attempts.

  Of these, the one with the highest grade will count.

• Each quiz has a deadline. Generally, that deadline will be the beginning of the next class. After that deadline has passed, you can still take the quiz for half-credit for three days. Once that period has passed, you will be able to review your answers and the correct answer, but you will not be allowed to take the quiz again for credit. (You may repeat the quiz to practice, however.)

• There is no time limit on these quizzes other than the deadline, as long as you click "End Session" and "Confirm" before the deadline.

  If you do not submit your quiz before the deadline, it will automatically roll over to half-credit.

  After the half-credit deadline expires, you will lose the ability to make changes to your quiz. The current state of the quiz at that point will count as your submitted answer (for half credit).

• IMPORTANT: You must fully submit your entire quiz in order to receive credit. To do so, you must press the "Submit Assignment" button in the upper right corner. This is separate from submitting a final answer to a single question.

Homework

There will be generally weekly longer-form homework sets over the course of the semester. One of these sets will be due every week, as shown in the class calendar, other than exam weeks.

Late homework

Homework submitted after the deadline will count for half of its original worth. This offer is good for up to one week after the original deadline. After that, no late work will be accepted.

Homework will typically come out during the day on Wednesdays and be due the following Wednesday, as indicated in the class calendar. Each homework set will typically consist of a combination of coding and written responses.

• Solutions to the homework sets will be posted after the due date. If you are submitting homework for the half-credit due date, feel free to use the posted solutions in writing up your own solution. You may however not directly copy the sample solution. What you submit must still be written by you, not just copied.

Grading

You get exactly one submission per homework set. In particular, this means that:

• After you click "Submit Assignment" in the top right corner, you will not be able to make changes to your work.

• No resubmissions of work already graded. If, between the posted solution and your graded work, you still have questions, feel free to raise those on the discussion forum or during the TAs' office hours.

• Homework sets submit themselves automatically at (or soon after) the deadline. If you would like to make use of the half-credit opportunity, you must select "At deadline: Do not submit session for grading". Otherwise, the homework set will automatically be submitted at the deadline. This is particularly true if you have not worked on the homework set at all but wish to work on it during the half-credit period.

• We do not accept partial submissions on the homework. (e.g. we will not let you submit problem 1 and 2 before and 3, 4, 5 after the deadline.) There will also be no resubmissions of work already graded. If, between the posted solution and your graded work, you still have questions, feel free to raise those on the discussion forum or during the TAs' office hours.

Collaboration on Homework

• You may discuss your approach (but not your code or your writeups) with your peers. All parts of each homework set must be your own work. You must have derived/developed/typed/written every part of your homework yourself. In some cases, code/pieces of work from elsewhere may be allowed--if so, this will be stated in the instructions. In that case, you must acknowledge the source. See also below on the policy regarding generative AI.

• Code from demos as well as submissions/answers from previous semesters may not be used in coding problem submissions. Unless otherwise stated, you must submit code you have written from scratch.

• If we notice that your work has considerable overlap with someone else's or with old submissions or solutions (and we do check), you will receive an allegation via the university's FAIR process and will be given the opportunity to state your case in front of a panel of faculty and students. It is important that you understand your rights (and obligations) in this regard as given in the UIUC student code.

Exams

There will be a number of exams during the semester (see the class calendar), along with a longer final exam. The exams are computer-based and will be offered over a period of a few days.

All exams and the final are cumulative.

All mid-term exams except for the final offer a 'second chance'. (Though this does not 'stack': second chance-exams do not have 'recursive' second chances.) The overall assigned grade for each exam will be a weighted average of the two exams, computed according to the following rules:

• A weighted average, computed as follows:

  • The score on the first exam, with weight $1/3$.
  • The score on the best of the two exams, with weight $2/3$.

• In no case will the resulting score be lower than the score on the first exam.

This policy is called "partial replacement with insurance" in this article.

Where do I take exams?

• For on-campus students, exams will take place in the computer-based testing facility ("CBTF").

• For students in the Chicago-based Master's program, exams will be proctored via the Chicago branch of the CBTF.

You must schedule a time block within that time span in which to take the exam. You must schedule your exam using a self-service web site provided by the facility. Instructions will be given in the class calendar.

Taking exams in person at the CBTF

• You will take your exams as scheduled with the CBTF, and only on the scheduled day and time. If you do not take the exam (e.g. by not scheduling an appointment, by not reporting to the facility at the scheduled time, or by not performing the required work), the exam will be counted for a grade of zero.

• There will be no exceptions to the exam scheduling policy except in cases of severe emergency (e.g., loss of life or limb). Examples of events that do not qualify as emergencies include (but are not limited to): transportation problems, conflict with work schedule, important family vacation, or computer problems. The policies of the facility apply during each exam for aspects such as late arrival and emergency closures.

• For any type of foreseeable absence, documentation must be received by the instructor at least one week before the exam to be acceptable, at which point the instructor will determine whether a make-up exam will be allowed.

  Make-up exams are not allowed without proper documentation as described above or for university-approved activities. Make-up exams are not allowed for any type of unexcused absences, including missing class to study for a test, oversleeping, not being ready to take the exam, or having to work at an outside job. Since we allow you to take the exam over a period of a few days, conflict exams will generally not be allowed.

  For health-related or other absence because of an emergency, the instructor must be notified at least two hours prior to the exam to receive consideration for a make-up exam, but preferably as early as possible. An hour before the exam at the latest, the instructor will provide guidance on whether a make-up exam will be allowed.

• No aids other than a writing utensil and paper provided by the facility are allowed in exams. In particular: If you are seen near a phone, MP3 player or other digital device (turned on or not---it does not matter) or another unallowed aid during an exam, you will receive a grade of zero for the exam or final.

• Only exams taken in accordance with these rules will receive credit. Any deviation from these rules will lead to the exam in question being assigned a grade of zero.

CBTF/Exam Policies

• The policies of the CBTF are the policies of this course, and academic integrity infractions related to the CBTF are infractions in this course.

• If you have accommodations identified by the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES) for exams, please consult this page for the types of accommodations that the CBTF can directly provide. The linked page also lets you upload your Letter of Accommodation (LOA), so that your accommodations are automatically taken into account when scheduling your exam. Note that you must do this a number of days prior to your first exam reservation (see the page for details); do not wait until the first exam to upload your letter. If there are accommodations specified in your LOA that the CBTF cannot directly provide, please contact the instructor, at least a week before the first exam.

• Any problem with testing in the CBTF must be reported to CBTF staff at the time the problem occurs. If you do not inform a proctor of a problem during the test, then you forfeit all rights to redress.

• In addition, each exam offers an "Evidence Box" at the end. If you have doubts and/or questions about some aspect of the exam, you may use that box to record your thoughts. This may later help you demonstrate (e.g.) that you had certain knowledge during the exam or that you observed certain things during the exam. Please also make any information you put into the evidence box available to your CBTF proctor.

Extra credit opportunities

• Ask and answer good questions on the discussion forum. Every numerics-related question that a TA, instructor, or one of your peers 'likes' on the forum is worth 0.1 points on your final course grade, up to a maximum of 1 point.

Student responsibilities

Please read and understand the UIUC student code.

In particular, make sure to read and understand Paragraph §1‑402. The rules there along with the rules in these policies form the foundation for making sure you and everyone else in the class receive a fair, transparent grade. Please see also the Collaboration on Homework Section above.

The penalty for academic dishonesty of any form will be a grade of zero on the affected assignment and a reduction of one letter grade in the course.

Use of Online Learning Support Platforms

Chegg®, Course Hero® and similar platforms, as well as more informal student-led collections of assignments and/or solutions are examples of online learning support platforms. In this coursse, such platforms may not be used except as explicitly authorized by the instructor. The following actions are prohibited in this course:

• Submitting all or any part of an assignment statement to an online learning support platform;
• Incorporating any part of a response not authored by you in an assignment, attributed or not;
• Submitting your own work for this class to an online learning support platform for iteration or improvement.

If you are in doubt as to whether you are using an online learning support platform appropriately in this course, I encourage you to discuss your situation with me.

Any assignment or exam content composed by any resource other than you, regardless of whether that resource is human or digital, must be attributed to the source through proper citation.

Unattributed use of online learning support platforms and unauthorized sharing of instructional property are forms of academic dishonesty and will be treated as such.

(based on wording from UMN)

Use of Generative AI

Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini, can answer questions and generate text, images, and other media. The appropriate use of generative AI varies from course to course. In CS450, there are times when generative AI may be useful in the course. If you choose to use generative AI as permitted below, you must document and attribute all AI contributions to your coursework and take full responsibility for the contributions including the accuracy of the information and reliability of sources. When using generative AI, keep a journal documenting prompts, AI responses, and your usage. Your instructor may ask you to provide this documentation.

You may use generative AI in CS450 for the following:

• Pre-lecture quizzes.
• Ungraded in-class activities.
• General discussion and questions on course content not directly related to an assignment.

You MAY NOT use generative AI in CS450 for the following:

• Any situation not listed above, particularly homework and exams.

In particular, this prohibition includes using AI to brainstorm, formulate arguments, or template ideas for assignments.

If you have a question about the use of Generative AI, please reach out to me. Failure to abide by these guidelines is a violation of academic integrity. We will investigate suspected uses of generative AI that do not follow these guidelines and apply sanctions as outlined in the University of Illinois Student Code.

Special Requests

We are usually willing to provide quiz and homework extensions or make other exceptions provided a well-justified request is made in a timely manner. By far the best way to get a prompt response to such questions or other personal issues related to the class is to send a message to the CS450 help desk.

Grade Acceptance and Complaint Period

After grades are released for any homework set, quiz, or exam, you have three weeks in order to clarify any misgivings you may have about the grade you received. Once three weeks have passed, the assigned grade is considered accepted and no further complaints will be considered.