cs402 - Introduction to Advanced Studies II - Fall 2024

Before you get started

This class requires you to do a *lot* of work between homeworks, labs, reading, two exams. The material is likely to be unfamiliar to most students who are required to take this class.

Hours

Books

Textbooks - required

• Computer Organization and Design, 6th edition, Patterson and Hennessy, Elsevier, ISBN: 9780128201091
• Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 3rd edition, Randal Bryant & David O'Hallaron, Pearson, ISBN: 978-0134092669

Grading

• Homeworks: 20%
• Labs: 20%
• Midterm exam: 25%
• Final exam: 35%

The following grading scale will be used:

• A: [90,100]
• B: [80,90)
• C: [70,80)
• D: [60, 70) - this grade may not be assigned to graduate students; if your weighted average score is in this range, then you'll be assigned a failing grade (E)
• E: [0,70)

All scores posted on the Blackboard will be percentages, between 0 and 100. For example, let's assume that a homework is worth 123 points and you get 97 points: what will be posted on the Blackboard is (97/123)*100 which will be rounded up -- using the round-half-up rule -- to 79. The same applies for exams, labs, etc.

Class participation will help settle borderline grades. While class attendance is not taken, your instructor believes that regular class attendance is important and expects students to actively participate in class. Questions and comments are always welcome.

There is no curving of grades in this class.

Late Work

Exceptional circumstances

Your teacher will try to accommodate you in those cases that are beyond your control, such as medical and personal emergencies. Please note that, based on circumstances, the teacher may decide to assign you an incomplete grade, "I", or otherwise ask you to drop the class.

Incomplete (I) Grades

Academic Honesty

All the work you submit must be individual, including, but not limited to, those cases when your instructor has approved pair-programming for you; in these cases the only thing that may be identical with somebody else's is code.

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. IIT has a strict academic honesty policy; here are the top points:

1. The misrepresentation of any work submitted for credit as the product of a student’s sole independent effort, such as using the ideas of others without attribution and other forms of plagiarism.
2. The use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests or examinations.
3. The acquisition, without permission, of tests, answer sheets, problem solutions or other academic material when such material has been withheld from distribution by the instructor.
4. Deliberate harmful obstruction of the studies, research or academic work of any member of the IIT community.
5. Making material misrepresentation in any submission to or through any office of the university to a potential employer, professional society, meeting or organization.
6. The intentional assistance of others in violation of the standards for academic honesty.

Extra Credit

There are no assignments for extra credit in this class because between the labs and the homeworks you have more than enough to do.

Exams

Exams are open-book(s), open-notes, and comprehensive. They will be administered online using a procedure that will be communicated as we get close to the exams.

Labs

All code you write will need to be checked in into a software repository that you control and share with your instructor and the class TA / Lab Instructor. Your TA will check out the code from your repository for grading and (s)he will establish the tagging rules.

Communications

The first person you should contact for any questions related to assignments is your TA; always CC your instructor on your email communications.

Please be descriptive in the subject line when you email your TA or instructor such that processing doesn't get delayed. At the very minimum you should indicate the class and the term, followed by a brief description of what is it that you want to communicate.

Examples of good subject lines for your email:

• cs402, Fall 2024 - question about Hw1, part (i)
• cs402, Fall 2024 - When will the grades be posted on the Blackboard?
• cs402, Fall 2024 - Do we have lab next week?

Schedule

Your instructor reserves the right to change this schedule.

Important Events

Varia

Unless otherwise stated all papers you turn in must be TYPED. No handwritten work is accepted; there are no exceptions to this rule.

Each page will have a header as follows:

• The left side: your name
• Middle: page number and the total number of pages (ex. 2/5 indicates this is page 2 out of a total of 5)
• Right hand side: name of the assignment (ex. Homework #2)

Each page will also have a footer:

• The left hand side will contain the following text: cs402-section: Fall 204 where section stands for the section you are in.
• The right hand side will contain the following text: Illinois Institute of Technology - Computer Science

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities. In order to receive accommodations, students must obtain a letter of accommodation from the Center for Disability Resources. The Center for Disability Resources (CDR) is located in 3424 S. State St., room 1C3-2 (on the first floor).

IIT’s Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Information

Illinois Tech prohibits all sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and gender discrimination by any member of our community. This includes harassment among students, staff, or faculty. Sexual harassment of a student by a faculty member or sexual harassment of an employee by a supervisor is particularly serious. Such conduct may easily create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Illinois Tech encourages anyone experiencing sexual harassment or sexual misconduct to speak with the Office of Title IX Compliance for information on support options and the resolution process.