Assignments
In this class, you are expected to work on four assignment, each of equal value in terms of contribution to the score in the assignments category. The individual assignments are described in separate documents; links are given in the sidebar and in the course schedule. This document contains some information on aspects that are common to all assignments.
Assignment Submission
Assignments typically consist of documents or code, and should be submitted electronically. We will probably use the Blackboard “Assignment Submission” feature, or possibly the TRAC Wikis used for the team projects.
Early and Late Submission Policy
This is briefly discussed in the syllabus as well. In general, the quality of the work performed in a class like this is more important for me than submission on a specific date. However, it is also necessary to impose some structure in the form of due dates and deadlines. These are indicated in the specific assignment descriptions, and in the course schedule. If you have a strong reason that makes it difficult for you to meed a deadline, talk to me as soon as possible.
My general policy is a 10% penalty per business day for late submission, and a 10% reward per business day for early submission, both capped to a maximum of 50%.
Intellectual Property, Plagiarism, and Dishonesty
In general, the Cal Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism applies; see also the FAQ on plagiarism provided by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. For writing and programming assignments, you should follow a simple principle: If you didn’t create (write, program, draw) it, identify the source. This can be in the form of a bibliography entry (with the corresponding anchor in the text), a link to a Web page (e.g. for diagrams or photos), or a note in the program documentation about the use of libraries, code snippets, algorithmic methods, or other sources. While my basic assumption is that most students will be honest, I may use computer-based tools to determine the proper use of material.
In assignments where collaboration is an option, I usually assign the same score to all students participating in the collaborative effort. If there is evidence that there is a clear disparity in the contributions of individual students, I may assign different scores, and may also request additional documentation about the respective contributions.