CS 240: Data Structures and Data Management Spring 2009 Course info

• Course Description
• Course Newsgroup
• Marks
• Mark Appeals
• Cheating

Optional textbook: Robert Sedgewick, Algorithms in Java, 3rd edition, Addison-Wesley.

The lectures will be based on sections of the textbook, though we will not cover them in order. Bear in mind that the lectures frequently provide a different (presumably more accessible and tailored) treatment of the same topic, or cover a topic or example not found in the book. A textbook is good additional material, but for study purposes, the primary source should be the lectures.

Course Newsgroup

All announcements will be published in the course newsgroup uw.cs.cs240. You are responsible for watching the newsgroup regularly (especially before assignment due dates and exams).

If you have any questions regarding assignments or the course material, you are welcome to post them in the newsgroup - course personnel will be watching the newsgroup and answering your questions regularly. However, please be careful not to post any parts of your solutions of assignments or any information which might be considered private. If your question concerns details of your work, please come to meet a TA or an instructor during his/her office hours (such questions are hard to handle by e-mail, therefore a face-to-face meeting is much more preferable than e-mails).

Marks

• The Instructor reserves right to adjust marks (normally by awarding bonus marks).
• The solutions you hand in must be your own work. In particular, you are not supposed to look up the solutions in the literature or on the internet.
• Students must pass the weighted exam average to pass the course.

We take great care to ensure that all marks are recorded properly in our database. Nevertheless, please ensure that your mark was recorded properly by regularly checking your record in the grade lookup system. Any discrepancies should be reported immediately to the instructinoal assistants (IAs).

All mark appeals (for assignments and midterm) must be made within 2 weeks of the date of the return or before the final exam, whichever is earlier (if you pick up your assignment/exam late, your appeal period does not lengthen). Note that as a result of closer scrutiny of your work, marks may go up or down.

• For assignments:
  1. Review all available material before appealing your mark. This includes model solutions, and the comments and marking schemes posted in the course newsgroup.
  2. Appeal your mark in writing to the IA responsible for that assignment. The IA may handle them in person, or forward them to the appropriate grader.
  3. Only if the appeal was not satisfactorily explained and resolved by the IA, bring your case to the instructor (this should happen rarely).
• For midterm: The midterm mark appeals can be submitted in writing only. Submit your appeal to the IA, who will forward them to the appropriate grader. The IA will not handle any midterm mark appeals, except for simple totalling errors.

Cheating includes not only copying the work of another person (or letting another student copy your work), but also excessive collaboration. Such cases will be dealt with severely. We will follow the cheating policy of the Math Faculty, which means a grade of 0 on the assignment you cheated on, and a deduction of 5% from your course grade. You will also be reported to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies.