CMSC131 (Fall 2023, Pedram's and Nelson's Sections)
Object-Oriented Programming I

Syllabus

This is the first programming course for Computer Science majors with a focus on object-oriented programming. The goal of the course is to develop skills such as program design and testing as well as the implementation of programs using a graphical IDE. All programming will be done in Java.

Corerequisite: Math140

Pedram Sadeghian, Office: IRB 2214

Nelson Padua-Perez, Office: IRB 2210

No required textbook. Some online textbook references can be found at Resources.

• Lectures and lab/discussion sessions be recorded (if this represents a problem for you contact your instructor). Keep in mind that technical problems may prevent us from creating a recording. You are still responsible for any material covered in lecture and lab/discussion session.
• No pop quizzes.
• Lecture and lab/discussion session attendance is NOT required, however, you are responsible for any material covered in lecture and lab/discussion session.
• You do not need to notify your instructor if you will be missing lecture or lab/discussion session, unless graded material (e.g., exam) takes place on that particular lecture.
• We may have a limited number of online office hours in addition to on-campus office hours.
• Pedram and Nelson are co-teaching and they will have the same projects, quizzes, exams, etc.

Email (to both instructors and TAs) should be used for urgent matters and not to address project questions, lecture material questions, etc. Due to the large number of students in the class (close to a 1000 :)) email should be used only when necessary.

It is your responsibility to submit regrade requests by a specified deadline; no regrade requests will be processed afterwards (even if the are grading errors). If you don't address a grading concern by the specified deadline, we will assume you have reviewed the graded work and are satisfied with your current grade. Deadlines to address any grading concerns will be available at Grading Concerns.

• Deadlines - All assignments are due at 11:55 pm and you have until 11:55 pm of the next day to submit your work with a 12% penalty. You will not receive any credit for a submission after the late deadline. The submit server will use 11:56 pm as the deadline, otherwise assignments submitted exactly at 11:55 pm will be considered late. The actual deadline for assignments is 11:55 pm. A submission one minute late is considered a late submission.
  
  
• Submit Server - You need to use the submit server to submit you work. We will not accept work submitted otherwise (e.g., email, etc.). You need to make sure that your assignment solution works in the submit server, otherwise you may lose most of the credit.
  
  
• Which Assignments Gets Graded - For programming assignments the one with public/release/secret tests that scores the highest in the submit server after a late penalty (if any) has been applied. We only use public/release/secret tests scores to select the submission to grade. Other assignment requirements (e.g., style, methods you must implement, allowed classes, etc.) are not considered. We will evaluate those requirements on the selected submission. We cannot select a particular submission to grade. We will grade the highest scoring submission as described above. Keep in mind you may get a total score lower than expected if the highest scoring submission is missing requirements a lower scoring submission satisfies.
  
  
• Closed Assignments - All programming assignments in this course are to be written individually (unless explicitly indicated otherwise).You may discuss assignments only with TAs, instructor or via Piazza.
  
  
• No Pop Quizzes/Pop Lab Work - There are no pop quizzes or pop lab exercises. We will announce in advance (at least one day) if there is any work you need to submit for a grade.
  
  
• Projects and exercises are posted by 6 pm on the day specified on the schedule.
  
  

The use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bing AI) for the completion of graded work (e.g., programming assignments) is not allowed and represents an academic integrity violation (see information below).

• Posting of any assignment solution (even after the course is over) in a publicly available online location (e.g., github, Chegg) is prohibited under the Code of Academic Integrity (facilitation of academic dishonesty). Any student responsible for publicly posting assignments' solutions will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and risks the sanction of an "XF" in the course.
• Posting of your assignments in a private repository where only selected people (e.g., potential employers) have access is OK.

Office hours get extremely busy the day before an assignment deadline. Help during office hours is not guaranteed. TAs/instructors cannot stay holding office hours after the office hours period ends because students are waiting for help (this applies to online/virtual office hours). The sooner you start working on a project, the better your chances of getting help. Please, leave the TA room once you have received help and do not use the TA Room as a working area.

You are responsible for creating backups of your work using any approach (make sure your work is not accessible to others). You are required to submit your work to the submit server often, so you have a backup copy. No extensions will be granted if you lose your work and you had no submit server backups.

We will be using (Piazza) for class communication. You will not be able to register to Piazza yourself. Your instructor will register you using the email address you have in the school system. Posting of any kind of code in Piazza is not allowed.

You are responsible for checking announcements (at least twice a day) we post in the announcements Piazza folder. An oldannouncements Piazza folder will have old announcements.

See the section titled "Attendance and Missed Assignments" available at Course Related Policies.

Even if you have a valid reason for missing a quiz or an exam, you still have to let Pedram or Nelson (not a TA) know BEFORE the time of the exam/quiz. We have no obligation to provide a makeup even with a valid excuse if you send us an email AFTER the exam/quiz. Simply put, if there is an issue, say something as soon as the issue comes up.

As for a note from a physician, please provide one from the UHC or a local office, where you can get an actual signature. Notes provided by an online service that never see you in person will not be acceptable.

See the section titled "Accessibility" available at Course Related Policies.

If you are an ADS (https://counseling.umd.edu/ads) student (others ignore this information):

ADS students: you are responsible for reserving a space at ADS to take exams (we cannot provide that support). Keep in mind ADS has deadlines regarding by when to schedule a day/time to take exams. If your main accommodation is extra time in exams and quizzes, you don't need to meet your instructor (just bring any form that needs a signature to lecture).

Please read this information carefully. We take academic integrity matters seriously.

1. 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. 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.
   
   
2. Situations that often lead to academic integrity violations:
   • A student's friend/roommate shares an assignment's code. Once you provide your code to another student, you are a facilitator, even if you indicate to the student "not to copy-paste" any of it. Actually we had a case in which a student CS degree was revoked for this reason.
   • Students use online resources (github, Chegg, etc.) to find assignments' solutions. The solutions are found by several students and all will be involved in an academic case.
   • Students assume we don't have tools that check for similarities among all students' submissions.
   • Students get desperate and don't want a 0 in the assignment.
   • Students are not aware of the expectations regarding academic integrity.
   • Students assume we don't take academic integrity matters seriously.
   • You should only receive assistance from instructors/TAs. We have seen cases in which the use of tutors have led to academic integrity violations (e.g., tutors looked for assignment's solutions online).
   
   
3. The Office of Student Conduct is responsible for handling academic integrity matters. After a report is submitted by an instructor, the case is evaluated by the office and it could result in an XF grade, degree revocation, or dismissal from the university.
   
   
4. One of the most negative consequences of academic integrity violations is the emotional burden an academic integrity case has on a student. We have seen students extremely distraught as a result of an academic integrity violation. In many cases students chances for recommendations, TA positions, and other opportunities are negatively affected.
   
   
5. Please read the section titled "Academic Integrity" available at Course Related Policies and the information available at Academic Integrity
   
   

If you or your parents have any class concerns, feel free to contact the instructor. If an issue arises with the instructor, report it using the form available at https://www.cs.umd.edu/classconcern.

Notice of mandatory reporting of sexual assault, sexual harassment, interpersonal violence, and stalking: As faculty members, the course instructors are designated as a “Responsible University Employee,” and we must report all disclosures of sexual assault, sexual harassment, interpersonal violence, and stalking to UMD’s Title IX Coordinator per University Policy on Sexual Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct.

If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact one of UMD’s confidential resources, such as CARE to Stop Violence (located on the Ground Floor of the Health Center) at 301-741-3442 or the Counseling Center (located at the Shoemaker Building) at 301-314-7651.

You may also seek assistance or supportive measures from UMD’s Title IX Coordinator, Angela Nastase, by calling 301-405-1142, or emailing titleIXcoordinator@umd.edu.

To view further information on the above, please visit the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct's website at ocrsm.umd.edu.

• We only use ELMS for videos.
• At the end of the semester visit (www.courseevalum.umd.edu) to complete your course evaluations.
• Contact your instructor, the Counseling Center , or both, if you are experiencing difficulties that affect your performance in your courses. Do not wait until the end of the semester to look for help.
• UMD Course related policies are available at http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html.

All course materials are copyright UMCP, Department of Computer Science © 2023. All rights reserved. Students are permitted to use course materials for their own personal use only. Course materials may not be distributed publicly or provided to others (excepting other students in the course), in any way or format.

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