Course Description:

CSCE 791 is a colloquium series, consisting of talks given by invited speakers, both from our department and from outside the department and university. This course's primary goal is to expose students to state-of-the-art research and development in a variety of computing-related disciplines. CSCE 791 is a great opportunity for students to not only learn research areas of some of the brightest minds from academia and industry but also ask questions and interact with them.

Course Logistics:

Lecture Time & Location: Friday; 2:20 pm – 3:10 pm; Virtual, Blackboard Collaborate

Instructor: Sanjib Sur (sur@cse.sc.edu)

Learning Outcomes:

Textbooks:

None.

Prerequisites:

None.

Coursework and Grading:

The grading is based on attendance and submission of a brief summary of the talk attended. Each talk has 2 points assigned (1 for attendance and 1 for summary). There will be tentatively 14 talks. Your final grade will be calculated as the sum of earned points. The summary must be turned on the day of a talk.

Each summary should contain two paragraphs (e.g., 4 - 5 concise sentences each). The first paragraph should summarize the presented content (What was the talk about?). The second paragraph should address how this talk may influence student’s research and/or career (What have I learned from this talk and how can use it towards my professional development?).

Grading scale:
≥ 24 = A; 22 = B+; 20 = B; 18 = C+; 16 = C; 14 = D+; 12 = D; ≤ 10 = F

Bonus Grading: There are opportunities to make up some missing talks by obtaining bonus points. One way to obtain bonus points is to attend additional recommended presentations, which will be clearly marked as a bonus. Additionally, when accompanying papers are available for missing presentations, students can use these materials for reading and submitting the required brief summary. Any bonus opportunity will carry only 1 point.

Assignment Submission Policy: All the summaries must be submitted through Blackboard on the day of a talk. Late submissions are not allowed unless there are technical issues. Please contact the instructor over email if you face issues with submitting the summary on Blackboard.

Grade appeals for any assessment must be requested (via email to me) within three (3) days of my posting the assignment grade to Blackboard. While I will always answer your questions on the grading of an assessment, your score on the assignment will not be changed unless you request a grade review during the 3-day grade appeal time period.

Attendance Policy: Students are obligated to complete all assigned work promptly and attend each class regularly. Absence from more than 10 percent of the scheduled class sessions, whether excused or unexcused, is excessive, and the instructor may choose to deduct the class participation points for such absences. It is important that a student who anticipates absences in excess of 10 percent of the scheduled class sessions receives prior approval from the instructor.

Academic Integrity: University policies and procedures regarding academic integrity are defined in the policy STAF 6.25, Academic Responsibility — The Honor Code. Prohibited behaviors include plagiarism, cheating, falsification, and complicity. All potential Honor Code violations will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity, which has the authority to implement non-academic penalties as described in STAF 6.25. Academic penalties for Honor Code violations include failure of this course.

Student Disability Resource Center: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a documented disability should contact the instructor to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Also, contact Disability Resources and Services at 803-777-6142 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.