Pennsylvania State University

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.

Communication Expectations

Questions and Other Communications with Instructor

Instructor and/or the teaching assistant will respond in 1-2 day(s) to student emails during normal business hours. Please use Canvas for all course-related communication with the TA and instructor.

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

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.

Grading Policies

• Problem Sets: 20%
• Lab Assignments: 20%
• Projects: 30%
• Exams 25%
• Class Participation: 5%

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).

• 93% - 100% A
• 90% - 93% A-
• 87% - 90% B+
• 87% - 83% B
• 83% - 80% B-
• 80% - 77% C+
• 77% - 70% C
• 70% - 60% D
• 0% - 60% F

Policy on Late Submission of Assignments

Problem Sets

Problem sets must be turned in on or before the specified due date. There is a late penalty of 5% of the grade per day up to a maximum of 5 days from the specified due date. Problem sets that are turned in later than 5 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 a problem set based on a randomly selected subset of the assigned problems.

Laboratory Assignments

Laboratory assignments are to be turned in on or before the specified due date(s). There is a late penalty of 5% of the grade per day up to a maximum of 5 days from the specified due date. Laboratory assignments that are turned in later than 5 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.

Projects

Projects are to be turned in on or before the specified due date(s). There is a late penalty of 5% of the grade per day up to a maximum of 5 days from the specified due date. Projects that are turned in later than 5 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.

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 explicit 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 failure of the assignment or course to dismissal from the University. Additionally, sharing course content without permission is a violation of copyright and may result in university sanctions and/or legal ramifications. Please see below for details of the policies applicable to this course. 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 grading curve in a class, thereby lowering the grades for 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 department, 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 sactions (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 assigned problem sets, laboratory assignments, projects, etc. is to clarify and enhance the understanding of the concepts covered in the lectures. Past experience with this course has shown that this is helped by increased interaction among students. Discussion of general concepts and questions concerning the homework assignments among students is encouraged. However, each student is expected to work on the solutions individually (except in the case of team or a group assignments in which case collaboration among team members is permitted).

Problem Sets

When discussing problems from assigned problem sets with other students, you may:

• discuss the material presented in class or included in the assigned readings needed for solving the problem(s)
• assist another student in understanding the statement of the problem (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 solutions (via email, discussion groups, social media, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)
• posting solutions or fragments of solutions in a location that is accessible to others
• using solutions or fragments of solutions provided by other students (including students who had taken the course in the past)
• using solutions or solution fragments obtained on the Internet or from solution manuals for text books

Laboratory Assignments and Projects

• discuss the material presented in class or included in assigned readings, documentation, user manual, etc.
• assist another student in understanding the statement of the problem (e.g., you may assist a non-native speaker by translating some English phrases unfamilar to that student)
• discuss high level ideas about how to complete the lab assignment, including problem sepecification, general strategies for solution, strategies for debugging and testing code, etc. without examining code written by other students, or sharing code written by you with other students.

• examining, copying of code or code fragments from someone else (including online sources), other than the code that is provided to you by the instructor or included in in the reference books.
• sharing code or code fragments (via email, discussion groups, social media, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)

If you entertain a request from a "friend" for a copy of your solutions, code, etc., you are opening the door wide for a charge of academic misconduct by both of you. I have seen friendships destroyed when student A innocently supplies a copy of his code to student B, student B plagiarises it, getting both of them into trouble. Do not become an accessory to plagiarism. The best source of help on assignments and projects is the instructor or the teaching assistant. Exams

• 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
• altering a graded exam for re-grading
• getting an advance copy of the examination
• facilitating another student to cheat (e.g., by allowing him or her to copy your solution)
• having someone else write the exam amount to cheating on an exam.

You need to exercise special care with take-home exams. You should NEVER

• share solutions or fragments of solutions (via email, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)
• post solutions or fragments of solutions in a location that is accessible to others
• use solutions or fragments of solutions provided by other students (including students who had taken the course in the past)
• use solutions or solution fragments obtained on the Internet or from solution manuals for text books
• 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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Disability Access

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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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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