Conduct codes

Please follow the university's Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Codes. Please also carefully read and abide by the Office of Information Technology's policy regarding acceptable use of IT resources.

As per the university's honor pledge policy, on all work submitted for assessment in this course, students are encouraged to write and sign the following pledge:

"I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assessment."

Honesty

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all work submitted for assessment must be completed individually. Therefore, any cooperation with others or use of unauthorized materials or tools, including any kind of Artificial Intelligence (AI)–based tools, will be considered a violation of academic integrity. Any evidence of such violations—including unacceptable use of computing resources, use of unauthorized materials or tools, or cooperation on coursework (i.e., any work submitted for assessment, including exams, homework, assignments, and projects)—or other possible violations of the Honor Code will be submitted to the Student Honor Council, which could result in an XF for the course, suspension, or expulsion.

Collaboration

For learning the course concepts, students are welcome to study together or to receive help from anyone else. You may discuss with others the assignment/project requirements, what was discussed in class and on the class web forum, and general syntax errors. When it comes to actually writing an exam or a programming assignment/project, other than help from the instructional staff, it must be solely and entirely your own work. Working with another student or individual, or using anyone else's work in any way except as noted in this paragraph, is a violation of the code of academic integrity and will be reported to the Honor Council. You may not discuss the design of any part of a project with anyone except the instructor or teaching assistants.

Grades will be maintained on Gradescope and ELMS. You are responsible for all material discussed in lecture and discussion section and posted on the class web page, including announcements, deadlines, policies, etc. During the semester, we may provide ungraded practice homework exercises and solutions. While we will not collect these exercises, completing them is essential preparation for exams. You may work together on these ungraded homework, and you may of course come to office hours for additional help.

Regrading

Any request for reconsideration of any grading on coursework must be submitted within one week of when it is returned. Exam regrading requests must be made in writing. Any coursework submitted for reconsideration may be regraded in its entirety, which could result in a lower score if warranted.

Final grade calculation

Your final course grade will be determined by the following tentative percentages:
(1) Final exam (20%) - One closed book/computer exam at the end of the semester covering the entire syllabus.
(2) Midterm exams (30%) - Two closed book/computer in-class exams covering selected topics from the syllabus.
(3) Programming assignments(25%) - Five programming assignments.
(4) Project (20%) - One semester-long project in a group of four students.
(5) Engagement (5%) - Learning broader topics in networking (4%) and participation in class discussions and Q&A (1%).
[Note: Bonus points will be capped per section (final exam, midterm exams, assignments, and final project).]

Late submission

Late submissions are strongly discouraged. Unless otherwise mentioned explicitly, coursework submitted after the deadline will incur a 20% deduction on the earned score for every 24-hour period they are late. No submissions will be accepted beyond five days (120 hours) past the deadline.

The adjusted grade for a late submission is calculated as follows:

G_late = G_earned × (1 - 0.2 × ⌈ h / 24 ⌉)

where: G_earned and G_late are the grades before and after the penalty, respectively, and h is the number of hours late.

Plan accordingly to avoid late penalties.

Identity

All written examinations must be completed individually. Each student is expected to complete the exam on their own, without help from others. Exam proctors or the instructor may ask to verify your identity during the exam, so please bring your university-issued photo ID card with you and be prepared to show it upon request.

Exam room etiquette

Please help maintain a quiet and respectful exam environment so that everyone can focus. Once the exam begins, communication with other students is not permitted. One restroom break is allowed during the exam, subject to approval by a proctor. During this break, students may not consult with anyone or access books, notes, computing devices, the internet, or any other external resources. If you require special accommodations, including additional restroom breaks or other exam-related needs, please communicate with the instructor in advance so appropriate arrangements can be made.

Allowed "Handwritten Cheat Sheet"

You may use one letter-sized (8.5 × 11 inches) handwritten cheat sheet, with writing allowed on both sides of the paper. The cheat sheet must be handwritten by you; printed materials or content written on tablets or other electronic devices are not allowed. Each student must prepare their own cheat sheet and may not copy, borrow, share, or use someone else’s. Please include your name and UID on the cheat sheet. If you use a cheat sheet during the exam, you must sign it at the end of the exam and submit it to the proctor along with your exam materials.

Class Attendance

You are encouraged to attend class and regularly follow the discussed topics. There will be a lot of material taught in class and often written during discussions (outside published slides). So it is in everyone's best interest to attend and engage during lectures.

Exam schedule and coursework deadline

You are required to attend scheduled exams and submit coursework on time. There are several reasons for excused absences from an exam and for coursework deadline extensions: (a) illness, (b) religious observation, (c) participation in required university activities and academic duties, or (d) a family or personal emergency. We will work with you to make sure that you have a fair amount of time to make up for excused absences and deadline extensions.

Application for excused absences

The best way we can help is if we know about absences as far in advance as possible.

• Provide a request for absence or deadline extension in writing (email is fine).
• Provide appropriate documentation that shows the absence qualifies as excused.
• Provide as much advance notice as is possible, safe, and appropriate.

Academic accommodations (Accessibility and Disability Service, ADS)

Any student eligible for and requesting reasonable academic accommodations due to a disability is asked to provide, during office hours, a letter of accommodation from the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) within the first two weeks of the semester. All arrangements for exam accommodations as a result of disability must be made and arranged with the instructor at least three business days prior to the exam date; later requests (including retroactive ones) will be refused.

Course evaluations

If you have a suggestion for improving this class, do not hesitate to tell us or the TAs during the semester. At the end of the semester, please don't forget to provide your feedback using the campus-wide CourseEvalUM system. Your comments will help make this class better. CourseEvalUM is generally open during the first couple of weeks of December, but this is subject to change by the campus.

Right to change information

Although every effort has been made to be complete and accurate, unforeseen circumstances arising during the semester could require the adjustment of any material given here. Consequently, given due notice to students, the instructor reserves the right to change any information on this syllabus or in other course materials.