CMSC 652 Complexity Theory, Fall 2017: Policy

Evaluation

• Readings: This course includes a lot of reading assignments (with references provided on the syllabus page). These reading assignments will be crucial to the understanding the course materials. Please treat them seriously.

• Assignments: Assignments are completed by groups. Each group consists of 2 3 students and should be decided in the first 9 days of the semester. Group member receives the same score for each group assignment. There are 3 types of group assignments.

  • Group formation assignment: (assignment 0) with 1%, basically a confirmation of the group and an introduction of yourself. This assignment should be submitted as individuals.

  • Regular bi-weekly assignments: (assignment 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) with 7% each. However, only top 5 scores of these assignments are recorded.

  • Project assignment: (assignment 7) with 7% due on the last lecture, basically a short (3-5 pages) note about one complexity topic that is not covered in the course.

• Exams: Exams are completed independently by individuals. Two written exams: take-home midterm(25%) (expected in Week 8) and final (30%) in the exam week.

• Participation in lectures and office hours is strongly encouraged and rewarded (2%).

• In summary, the approximate weights of student activities are Assignments (43%), Active in-class participation (2%), Midterm (25%), and Final Exam (30%).

Homework and Exams

• Submissions. Homework assignments and take-home exams must be submitted electronically to ELMS. (Anyone having trouble with electronic submissions should contact the instructor as soon as possible.) All the submissions should be in a presentable form, without corrections, ideally typeset. You will lose points for sloppiness. I highly recommend the use of Latex for the typesetting.

• Late submissions. Late homework assignments are NOT accepted. Your final homework grade will be computed by dropping your lowest assignment score. The dropped assignment score may be for an assignment you do not turn in for any reason. If you are wise, you should not miss an assignment frivolously. If you do miss one, you should make sure that you understand the material because it is likely to show up on exams.

• Late take-home exam submissions are NOT accepted. This is more important. Please don't miss any exam. The only exception to the above is the extension approved by the instructor. You should contact the instructor as early as possible for that purpose.

• Grading issues. You have one week to request a regrade (via email or in person) after the assignment is returned to you. You need to clearly explain the specific reason for regrading. (e.g., “I think I deserve more points” is never a valid reason for a regrade.) We will regrade based on your request and your original assignment submission. Note that your grade might go down.

Course Evaluation

Students are strongly encouraged to complete their course evaluations; the site is www.courseevalum.umd.edu, and will be open in the first half of December.

Excused Absence and Academic Accommodations

Any student who needs to be excused for an absence from lectures should make a reasonable attempt to inform the instructor of his/her illness prior to the class. If there is any medical emergency, the instructor should be informed as soon as possible with official written documentation.

It is also the student's responsibility to inform the instructor of any intended absences from exams for religious observances in advance. Normally, such notice should be provided as soon as possible within the first two weeks of the semester.

Any student eligible for and requesting reasonable academic accommodations due to a disability is requested to provide a letter of accommodation from the Office of Disability Support Services within the first two weeks of the semester.

Academic Integrity

Note that academic dishonesty includes not only cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism, but also includes helping other students commit acts of academic dishonesty by allowing them to obtain copies of your work. In short, all submitted work must be your own. Cases of academic dishonesty will be pursued to the fullest extent possible as stipulated by the Office of Student Conduct.

It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http:www.shc.umd.edu.

A Note on University Policy

For a complete treatment of course-related policies, please see: http:www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html