Pennsylvania State University

The grade in this course will be based on assignments (to be completed, but not necessarily graded), exams, and participation in class. These components will be weighted as follows in assigning an overall numeric score:

• Assignments 10%
• Exams: 20-30%
• Term Project: 60-70%
• Class Participation: 10%

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

Academic Integrity

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.

Assignments

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)
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.

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)
sharing code or code fragments (via email, discussion groups, social media, whiteboard, handwritten or printed copies, etc.)
• using solutions or solution fragments obtained on the Internet or from solution manuals for text books

If a “friend” asks you to show him/her your solution, you are opening the door wide for a possible charge of academic misconduct for both of you. I have seen friendships crumble when student A innocently supplies a copy of his/her solution to student B, who then plagiarizes it, getting both in trouble. Do not be an accessory; truly help a friend by saying no.

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

Policy on Accomodation for Disabilities

If you have a disability that may require accommodation, please consult with the Office of Disability Services.

¹Acknowledgements

The academic honesty policy has been compiled using material adapted from the courses offered by the instructor at Penn State University and at Iowa State University, as well as several other sources, including similar policies in place at the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.