Pennsylvania State University

Course Policies

Engagement and Participation

Attendance Policies

Attending class – Students are expected to attend class and participate in all activities.

Missing class – In the event students need to miss a class due to illness, family emergencies, military service, religious observances, employment interviews, participation in university sports, or other unavoidable circumstances, students are expected to notify the instructional team prior to missing class in order to gain the opportunity to earn possible full points for make-up work. Details of attenance policy can be found here: here.

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Communication Expectations

Questions and Other Communications with Instructor

The students are expected to use Canvas for all course-related email communications with the instructor and the learning assistant.

Instructor and/or the learning assistant will respond in 1-2 day(s) to student emails during normal business hours.

Part of this course may involve groupwork. In such a case, students are expected to collaborate and communicate with your group members in a professional manner. Group grades will only be given to participating group members.

Logging into Canvas

Students are expected to log in to Canvas daily, to check for course updates, announcements, emails, discussions, etc.

Checking Study Guide

Reading assignments, lecture slides, and other course materials will be posted on the study guide. Students should bookmark and check the study guide (on the course web page) daily.

Email Communications with the Course Staff

Students are expected to use Canvas for all course-related email communications with the course staff (professor and the teaching assistant). Students are expected to check their email and notifications daily.

Virtual meetings Students are expected to use specified virtual meeting tool(s) for collaboration, meetings, presentations, etc., as needed.

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Grading Policies

Grades will be based on Assignments (50%), Quizzes (10%), Class Participation (10%), Exams (30%).

Final letter grades will be based on the 47-40 Grading System A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D and F

Students are guaranteed to receive the letter grade based on the scales shown below. However, the instructor reserves the right to modify the grading scale so as to improve the letter grade if warranted by the circumstances (e.g., unusually high level of difficulty of problem sets).

• 95% - 100% A
• 90% - 94.9% A-
• 87% - 89.9% B+
• 83% - 86.9% B
• 80% - 82.9% B-
• 77% - 79/.9% C+
• 70% - 76.9% C
• 60% - 69.9% D
• 0% - 59.9% F

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Policy on Late Submission of Assignments

Assignments must be turned in on or before the specified due date. There is a late penalty of 10% of the grade per day up to a maximum of 3 days from the specified due date. Assignments that are turned in later than 3 days after the due date will be assigned zero credit. Rare exceptions to this policy might be made, at the discretion of the course staff, under demonstrably extenuating circumstances.

The staff reserve the right to assign the grade on an assignment based on a randomly selected subset of the assigned questions/problems.

Makeup Quiz/Exam

Exams/quizzes must be completed on the specified date during the assigned time. No accommodations will be considered for make-up evaluations unless students contact the instructor prior to missing the exam/quiz with a valid and truthful excuse. False claims may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity.

Grade Disputes

If you have a question about your graded assignment or exam/quizzes, you have 1 week from the date on which the grades were assigned to appeal the grade by email to the instructor/learning assistant who will respond within a week of the appeal. The instructor's decision on the appeal are final.

Deferred Grades

A student may request a deferred grade under extenuating circumstances as per the applicable university policies

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Academic Integrity Policies

Penn State, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, and the Data Sciences Program are committed to maintaining Penn State’s policy on Academic Integrity in this and all other courses. We take academic integrity matters seriously and expect you to become a partner to the University/College standards of academic excellence. For more information, please review the college's Academic Integrity policies and procedures.

While utilizing additional sources outside of this class is encouraged for gaining a better understanding of course concepts, seeking answers for graded assignments from outside sources (e.g. Course Hero, Chegg, tutoring services like tutor.com, etc.) is considered CHEATING and will not be tolerated. Sanctions range from a failing grade on the assignment or course to dismissal from the University. Additionally, sharing course content with others (including online platforms like Chegg, Course Hero, or students who are not enrolled in the course) is a violation of copyright and may result in university sanctions and/or legal action.

Students enrolled in courses at Pennsylvania State University are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Cases of cheating that go undetected and hence unpunished skew the grades in the course, thereby impacting the ranking of the students who do not cheat. Students who cheat rob themselves not only of knowledge and skills that they should have acquired in a course, but also of the experience of learning how to learn, arguably the most valuable benefit of a university education. The reputation of the program, the college, the university, and the value of the degree suffer if employers find the graduates of a program lacking in abilities that successful completion specific courses should guarantee. Most professions have codes of ethics or standards to which individuals are expected to abide by. At the University you practice the integrity that you must demonstrate later.

Suspected cases of academic misconduct will be pursued fully in accordance with the university policies. Any student found responsible for academic misconduct will receive a failing grade (F) in the course (even if the student chooses to drop the course). The dean of students may impose additional sanctions (ranging from a disciplinary repremand to expulsion from the university). You are strongly urged to consult the university's policy on academic integrity.

The primary purpose of the assignments, quizzes, etc. is to clarify and enhance the understanding of the concepts covered in the lectures. Past experience of the instructor has shown that increased interaction among students helps improve student learning. Discussion of general concepts and questions concerning the assignments among students is encouraged. However, each student is expected to work on the assignments individually (except in the case of team or a group assignments in which case collaboration among team members is permitted).

Assignments

When discussing problems from assignments with other students, you may:

• discuss the material presented in class or included in the assigned readings needed for completing the assignments.
• assist another student in understanding what the assignment calls for (e.g., you may assist a non-native speaker by translating some English phrases unfamilar to that student)

It is expected that you have independently arrived at solutions that you turn in for problem sets. The following are examples of activities that are PROHIBITED:

• sharing solutions or fragments of assignment answers (via email, discussion groups, social media, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)
• posting solutions or fragments of assignement solutions in a location that is accessible to others
• using solutions or fragments of assignment solutions provided by other students (including students who had taken the course in the past)
• using solutions or solution fragments obtained on the Internet, including resources like Chegg, Course Hero, Reddit, Stack Overflow, etc, and generative AI tools, e.g., ChatGPT.
• use material from text books, reference books, online resources, or research articles (when permitted) without properly acknowledging and citing the source.

• copying someone else's solution
• using notes, online resources, or other reference materials (unless instructed otherwise)
• seeking, obtaining or providing help on an exam via phone, text messaging, email, social media, generative AI tools
• altering a graded exam or quiz for re-grading
• getting an advance copy of the quiz or examination
• enabling another student to cheat (e.g., by allowing him or her to copy your solution)
• having someone else write the quiz or exam

You need to exercise special care with take-home exams.

• sharing solutions or fragments of assignment answers (via email, discussion groups, social media, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)
• posting solutions or fragments of assignement solutions in a location that is accessible to others
• using solutions or fragments of assignment solutions provided by other students (including students who had taken the course in the past)
• using solutions or solution fragments obtained on the Internet, including resources like Chegg, Course Hero, Reddit, Stack Overflow, etc. and generative AI tools e.g., ChatGPT.
• use material from text books, reference books, online resources, or research articles without properly acknowledging and citing the source.

Copyright Policies

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Generative AI tools

The instructor and the LA will evaluate your work to ensure that it has not been generated by an AI tool. Additionally, if there is any reason to suspect that an AI tool was used to produce the work, they may ask you to explain and defend the contents of the work that you had turned in. Inability to adequately explain and defend the work in question may be used as evidence in an Academic Integrity filing.

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Disability Accomodations

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. The Student Disability Resources Office at Penn State works with students who want to explore a range of individualized reasonable accomodations for equal access and full participation in academic pursuit, seek study space or interactions with peers, and connect with on and off campus resources. Student Disability Resources Office at the University Park Campus is located at 116 Boucke Building and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Currently, students can choose either in-person or virtual appointments with our office staff. Students may call 814-863-1807 to schedule an appointment.

To receive consideration for accommodations, students must contact the Student Disability Resources Office, and provide documentation of your disability. Additional information is available here. If the documentation supports requests for reasonable accommodations, the Student Disability Resources Office will provide you with a letter identifying appropriate academic adjustments. The students should share the letter and discuss the academic adjustments with the course instructor as early in the semester as possible. Please note that the letter of academic adjustments must be obtained at the beginning of each semester.

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Pandemic Guidelines

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Tutoring

The IST Peer Tutoring program is a group of student tutors who help students in most 100, 200, and some 300 level College of IST courses. Our tutors help students in IST classes with course concepts and practice problems. Our program serves both University Park and World Campus students.For additional information, visit the tutoring services.

Counseling Services

Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional wellbeing. The university offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation.

• Counseling and Psychological Services, 814-863-0395
• Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400 Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741

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Educational Equity and Non-Discrimination Policy

Penn State is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas.

Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated and can be reported here: here.

Penn State's protocol for responding to bias motivated incidents can be found here.

Penn State’s Code of Conduct can be found here.

For reference, the full policy (AD42: Statement on non-discrimination and harassment) can be found here. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901, Email: aao@psu.edu, Tel (814) 863-0471.

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Emergency Notifications

In the event of a University-wide emergency, course requirements, classes, deadlines, and grading schemes are subject to changes that may include alternative delivery methods, alternative methods of interaction with the instructor, class materials, and/or classmates, and a revised semester calendar and/or grading scheme.

PSUAlert is available at https://psualert.psu.edu/ PSUAlert is Penn State’s emergency notification system for students, faculty and staff. The system will be used to alert members of Penn State’s campus communities of emergencies, campus closings and other urgent information. Using this portal, students, faculty and staff can choose to receive PSUAlert messages by text message, voice message and e‑mail. We recommend that students enroll in this system.

Students will be notified changes to the course necessitated by a university-wide emergency, through course web page and email.

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