In order to pass the course with a grade of C or better, a minimum raw score of 60% on the midterm and final exam is needed. Homework must be turned in typed; exceptions will be made for assignments requiring figures or unusual formatting. Homework will normally be assigned on Fridays. It will normally be due at the beginning of class on the following Wednesday and will normally be returned on the following Monday. Homework turned in late is subject to a 10% per day penalty, subject to the provision that no credit is given to homework turned in after the beginning of class (normally Friday) following the one when the homework is due. Graduate students will be required to present the result of research on an assigned topic.
Each student is expected to attend all classes for this course and is responsible for all material covered in class or assigned. In particular, absence from more than nine scheduled classes, whether excused or unexcused, is excessive and may result in a grade penalty. Quizzes (which are often in class exercise) are designed to emphasize a salient issue in the lecture of the day or in a previous lecture. Another purpose of quizzes is to take attendance. Students who take all quizzes and who, in the judgement of the instructor, make an honest attempt to answer the quiz will receive full credit for them. Missed quizze may be replaced by correctly answered quizzes, up to a number (usually three), which is determined by the instructor, and depends on how many quizzes are given. Graduate students are required to answer the quizzes, but they do not obtain credit for their work on quizzes.
Each student must follow the University Honor Code and turn in his or her work. It is very good to study in groups. In fact, there is evidence that group studying is a predictor of success, at least in early college mathematics courses. Some of you may enjoy studying in groups! You are therefore encouraged to discuss the material you study, but you must do your homework individually, unless an assignment is explicitly designated as a team assignment. The minimum grade penalty for a violation will be a zero on the work involved. In addition, an honor code violation will be subject to the sanctions described in the USC Community Handbook and Policy Guide. The following paragraph, written by Professor Duncan Buell, clarifies the distinction between "learning from a discussion" and "turning in someone else's work": If, after having participated in a group activity, you can walk away, put the books down, have lunch, and then come back afterwards to re-create from your own head the material and techniques you discussed as a group, then you can legitimately say that you have learned from the group but the work you turn in is your own.
Please comment your code, when appropriate. They must be submitted using the dropbox program on the or Linux computers in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. This program is accessible at https://www.cse.sc.edu. Further details on how to submit programs will be announced later.