Your grade is composed of the following components:
| Component | Quantity | Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 1 | 15% | |
| Quiz | 6 | 35% | drop lowest score |
| Homework | 20 | 25% | drop 2 lowest score |
| MP | 5 | 10% | no drops |
| Lecture Activity | 24 | 4% | drop 4 lowest scores |
| Group Activity | 12 | 9% | drop 2 lowest scores |
| Group Participation | 13 | 2% | no drops |
All your grade components will be added up with the percentage weights indicated and result in a single number. This number will determine your letter grade, according to the following scales:
| Grade | Point Range |
|---|---|
| A+ | [97, 100) |
| A | [93, 97) |
| A- | [90, 93) |
| B+ | [87, 90) |
| B | [83, 87) |
| B- | [80, 83) |
| C+ | [77, 80) |
| C | [73, 77) |
| C- | [70, 73) |
| D+ | [67, 70) |
| D | [63, 67) |
| D- | [60, 63) |
| F | < 60 |
The top 5% students will receive an A+ (assuming that they all have a score of A, which has always been the case in previous semesters).
Any questions, concerns, or misgivings regarding a specific grade must be raised within one week of the release of the grade. After one week has passed, the assigned grade is considered accepted and no further complaints will be considered.
We will be using Python with the libraries numpy, scipy and matplotlib for in-class work and assignments. No other languages are permitted. Python has a very gentle learning curve, so you should feel at home even if you’ve never done any work in Python.
For the homework assignments and quizzes, the coding can be done directly on PrairieLearn. Class demos will use Python 3 in a Jupyter notebook.
If you wish to install Python and the Numpy+Scipy+Matplotlib stack, you are free to do so in any way that works. We recommend using Anaconda, which is a (free) Python distribution that includes Numpy+Scipy+Matplotlib. In addition, you should use Python 3.
The course staff has created a short Python tutorial that is available as a PrairieLearn assessment, for students that have not worked with Python before, or need some brushing up.
You will complete two weekly lecture assignments, corresponding to the Tuesdays and Thursdays lectures, which will appear in PrairieLearn with the label L#. You can find all the topics listed on the schedule page.
Each assignment will consist of short to medium size videos, and short questions corresponding to the video content. These are short activities that should be completed on the day they are open (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Tuesday lectures will be due on the following Sunday at 9am, and Thursday lectures will be due on the following Tuesday at 9am (5 days to complete). This schedule will ensure students complete watching the relevant material for the group activity on Tuesdays. You can find all the due dates directly in PrairieLearn.
These assignments combined count towards 4% of your final grade. There will be a total of 24 lecture activities, and the lowest 4 scores will be dropped.
Students will be placed in groups of 3-4, and they will work together to complete an assignment delivered via PrairieLearn with the label GA#. Groups will be only formed starting from week 3, hence for the first two weeks, the group activities will not count towards your final grade. These assignments combined count towards 11% of your final grade (but a great opportunity to meet your peers and get familiar with the group logistics). You can find more
information about the group activities in the collaborate page
The homework sets will be assigned via PrairieLearn with the label HW#.
The due dates are indicated both in PrairieLearn and also in the lecture schedule
(the schedule may be subjected to changes during the semester). Each homework is due at 8pm on the due date.
If you don’t complete the homework by the recommended deadline, you can still complete it by the last day of classes for 96% credit.
In the PrairieLearn assessment page, if you click on the “?” just to the right of the line about available credit, you’ll see all the dates associated with this assessment, and how I am setting the credit:
* You can receive 100% until Main End Date
* You can receive 96% until Late End Date
The “Late End Date” corresponds to the last day of classes, May 5th 2021.
There will be a total of 20 individual HWs, combined they will count towards 25% of your final grade. The 2 lowest scores will be dropped.
There will be a total of 5 MPs assigned via PrairieLearn with the label MP#. These are longer programming assignments.
The due dates are indicated in the lecture schedule (the schedule may be subjected to changes during the semester).
Each MP is due at 8pm on the due date. If you don’t complete the MP by the recommended deadline, you can still complete it by the last day of classes for 96% credit.
If you click on the “?” just to the right of the line about available credit, you’ll see all the dates associated with this assessment, and how I am setting the credit:
* You can receive 100% until Main End Date
* You can receive 96% until Late End Date
The “Late End Date” corresponds to the last day of classes, May 5th 2021.
There will be a total of 5 individual HWs, combined they will count towards 10% of your final grade. There is no drop of MP scores.
Throughout the semester, you will take 6 quizzes (50-minute) that will have a mixture of short questions and short coding questions (similar to the questions that appear in your HW, L, GA and practice assessments).
You will have a Practice Quiz open 9 days prior to each quiz. Your actual quiz will be generated using the same question pool used to generate the practice quizzes, with the exception of the coding questions. Quizzes will count towards 35% of your final grade and the lowest score will be dropped.
All quizzes will be taken remotely via PrairieLearn using the Grainger College of Engineering Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF) online service. Make sure to read the CBTF-online rules, exam instructions and what you need to do to schedule your quiz.
These quizzes will follow the CS honors code and UIUC Academic Integrity policies. You will be expected to comply with the Student Code, and the rules of CBTF-online. The list below summarizes some of the guidelines provided on these other resources:
You must not communicate with anyone about quiz content during the quiz period, which starts at 2pm Central Time on the exam day (Thursdays, as listed on the schedule) and finishes on 9:30am on the following day (Fridays). All office hours will be also canceled during this period. No questions should be posted on CampusWire, or any other media, discussing quiz content.
Quizzes will have a time limit of 50 minutes. Students that have DRES accommodations at the CBTF will have their adjusted extended time. Note that quizzes will automatically close at 10:30am or 1:30pm (even if you didn’t reach your time limit yet).
The schedule page shows all quiz dates, which will happen on Thursdays during lecture time (2-2:50pm) Students that have conflict with their quiz time will be able to request to take the conflict quizzes, which are offered at 8pm Central Time (same day) or 8am Central Time (day after the quiz). These requests will be processed in the beginning of the semester, and remain the same throughout.
When you finish your quiz, you will see the correct answers and your score on the quiz. You will not have access to the quiz once your assigned quiz period is finished. If you want to talk about the quiz with the instructor or TA, you must wait until the quiz period is over, and then you can ask questions on CampusWire, or office hours. You are not allowed to post screen shots of quiz questions on CampusWire.
The final exam will be taken remotely via PrairieLearn using the Grainger College of Engineering Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF) online service. The exam will follow the CS honors code and UIUC Academic Integrity policies.
The final exam will be scheduled during final exam week. We will release the dates and other information towards the middle of the semester.
I often get this question from students: “How can I study for this course?” I will give here my recommendation, based on observations, my own experience as student, and feedback received over the years. Of course, every student is different, and the recommendations below may not apply to you.
1) Watch the pre-recorded videos and complete the short questions (PrairieLearn lecture activities). Some students prefer to read instead of watching videos. If that is your case, you can take a look at the lecture slides and/or notes from the Resources page.
2) Start the homework AFTER you go over the course content and have a good understanding of the material. Use the homework to test your knowledge. Go back and review the concepts when you get a questions marked as incorrect. I know it can be tempting to just keep trying until you get the question marked as correct (the so desirable PrairieLearn green badge!), but you will be missing the opportunity to actually learn from your mistakes.
3) Watch the pre-recorded videos before the corresponding group activities. You will have more productive and interesting conversations with your team mates if you know the content.
4) When preparing for the quizzes, take a look at the review questions from the Resources page.. They may help you figuring out what you know and what you still need to learn. Go back to the videos, slides and/or notes from concepts that you have not mastered yet.
5) This semester I am making Practice Quizzes available. Don’t start creating your Practice Quizzes until you completed the steps above. This is a great opportunity to really see how well you have learned the material before you take your actual quiz.
You must not discuss any aspect of the quizzes and final exam until all students complete the assessment. That means you must not have any conversation about the quiz content until 9:30am on Fridays after the Thursdays with scheduled quizzes.
You can discuss your approach with your peers. All parts of each homework set or machine problem must be your own work. You must have typed/written every part of your homework yourself. It is okay to copy code/pieces of work provided by the instructor and available on the course website (however, to keep good practice, you must acknowledge the source).
Here is your opportunity to learn, teach and interact with your peers! Exchange ideas, get creative, and make sure you carry your share of the work load.
Students that violate any of the course policies will face penalties as provided by campus rules regarding academic honesty.
Academic integrity infractions, harassment, and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. See the University’s Student Code, Article 1, Part 4. Please see the Students’ Quick Reference Guide to Academic Integrity for more details.
Please see the departmental Honor Code for details on integrity and procedures.
Excuses from assessments will only be given in the following circumstances:
A. Illness
B. Personal crisis (e.g. car accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative).
C. Required attendance at an official UIUC activity (e.g. varsity athletics, band concert).
In all cases you must fill out the excused absence request form and upload the appropriate documentation.
In cases (A) or (B) an official excuse letter from the (Dean on Duty) must be uploaded with the form within 2 weeks of the due date of the missed assessment, no later than reading day. In cases of extended or unusual illness, late submission of excuse documentation will be considered.
In case (C) an official letter from the designated university official must be uploaded at least one week prior to the due date of the missed assessment.
Notwithstanding the above, at your professor’s discretion you may be required to make up any excused work or attend substitute instruction or assessment.
If you do not have proper technology equipment to continue your studies remotely, please email helpdean@illinois.edu and they will work with you to provide what is needed (you can find more information https://it.engineering.illinois.edu/services-support-students/essential-technology-students).
If you have accommodations identified by the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES), please post a private note on CampusWire with your DRES LOA.
If you have accommodations for quizzes, please provide your Letter of Accommodation (LOA) to the CBTF proctors before making the first quiz reservation. The proctors will advise you as to whether the CBTF provides your accommodations or whether you will need to make other arrangements with your instructor.
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional wellbeing. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University’s resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do – for yourself and for those who care about you.
Counseling Center: 217-333-3704, 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820
McKinley Health Center:217-333-2700, 1109 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801