ECE 462 Fall 2009 Grading

Grade Distribution

• 6 points from attendance, 0.5 point for each class.
• 30 points from 3 midterm exams, 10 points each. 810-920AM (ENAD 240)
  • 2009/10/02
  • 2009/10/30
  • 2009/11/20

Make-up exam: If you are unable or unwilling to take an exam at the specified time, you must make an arrangement with the instructor and take the exam earlier. You cannot take an exam late. Exceptions are given to emergencies only.  To request an exception, you must present the document showing an emergency. Visiting PUSH is not considered as an emergency. An interview is not an acceptable excuse to take an exam later.

Please bring a photo ID.

• 20 points from 1 final exam.
• 10 points from 10 exercises, 1 point each.
• 10 points from 2 individual programming assignments (IPA), 5 points each. Three assignments are available.  Choose two; one must use C++ and the other must use Java. You cannot choose the same assignment twice, one for C++ and the other for Java.
• 24 points from 4 group programming assignments (GPA), 6 points each.

All exercises and programming assignments must be submitted through Blackboard. Submission by email will not be accepted.

Letter Grades

IPA = individual programming assignments. GPA = group programming assignments.

You will receive the lowest grade among the four requirements. For example, if you receive 78 points (B+), including 4 points in the final exam (D+) and 10 points in GPA (C+), you will receive D+.

*You must pass outcomes 1 and 2 in IPAs.  The 0 minimum requirement for D is for the students that fail to submit before the deadline.

You have many ways to receive bonus points; please do not request the instructor to "bump you up"  to a higher grade.

Bonus Points

In addition, you can obtain up to 10 bonus points through class participation, 0.5 point for each item:

• each posting in Rhea.
• each survey.
• course evaluation.
• each posting in Blackboard - Discussion.
• each suggested exam question in Blackboard - Discussion.
• speaking (ask or answer one or more questions) in each lecture.
• You can suggest other ways to obtain bonus points. Please discuss with the instructor.

You must report bonus points through Blackboard before 11:59PM on December 12. Neither the instructor nor the teaching assistant will track your bonus points. If you fail to report, you will not receive any bonus point. 

Additional bonus points are available in the programming assignments and exercises. These bonus points are not counted in the 10 points limit. Because of bonus points, the highest possible score is more than 110.

Deadlines and Late Policy

Late submissions are not accepted.

Group Programming Assignments (11:59PM)

• stage 1: 2009/09/27
• stage 2: 2009/10/18
• stage 3: 2009/11/13
• stage 4: 2009/12/05

The deadlines are electronically enforced by Blackboard. Missing the deadline by one second is late. A late submission is accepted only if you have a proof of an emergency, such as a police report or a document showing your visit to an emergency room. Visiting PUSH (Purdue University Student Health Center) is not an acceptable emergency.

Everyone has to submit the assignment. If one fails to submit, that person will receive 20% penalty of the score receives by the other group members. The other group members will receive 10% penalty.

Individual Programming Assignments

You can submit IPAs before 11:59PM November 20. No submission is accepted after this deadline, unless you have a proof of an emergency.

• You can receive 1 bonus point if you submit an IPA before 11:59PM September 30. If you submit both, you can receive 2 bonus points.
• You can receive 0.5 bonus point if you submit an IPA before 11:59PM October 31. If you submit both, you can receive 1 bonus points.

These bonus points are added to your IPA scores and not counted in the 10 point limit.

Exercises

• at least three exercises before 11:59PM September 30.
• at least seven exercises before 11:59PM October 31.
• all ten exercises before 11:59PM November 20.

You can receive 1 bonus point if you submit all 10 exercises before 11:59PM October 23. This bonus point is added to your last exercise score and not counted in the 10 point limit.

The flexibility of the deadlines for IPAs and exercises allows you to plan ahead.  

Do not procrastinate.

Regrading Procedure

Regrading must be requested by email sent to the instructor within one week after the grade is posted in Blackboard. Please explain clearly why you deserve more points. You are not allowed to discuss regrading.  You are not allowed to ask the teaching assistant nor the instructor, "If I ask for regrading, can I get any point?"  If you think you deserve more points, ask for regrading. This is to avoid confrontation between a student and the teaching assistant.

If you discuss regrading with the teaching assistant or the grader, your regrading request is automatically rejected.

Policy about Dishonesty

This class has zero tolerance for cheating.

If you obtain any useful information outside this class, you must cite the source and how it is used.

It is cheating if you copy code from the Internet or any book other than the textbook without citing the source.

You must not collaborate with anybody for the exercises or the individual programming assignments.

You can work with your group mates for the the group assignments. If you obtain useful information from anyone other than your group mates, you must explain whom you talk to, what information is obtained, and how it is used.

Dishonest behavior will be reported to the associate head of ECE and you will receive F. All cheating cases will be reported. There is no exception.

You must protect your own code, including the printout of your code. Keep all printouts until the semester ends. Do not throw away the printout of your code in a computer room. If you give someone your code, you also violate the honesty rules and will received F.

You may be expelled from Purdue if you cheat. If you are an international student, you may lose your student visa and must leave USA.

Advanced software tools are available finding similar code.

Copying code can lead to jail time, as in the Cadence-Avanti case. 

If you need help, please talk to the instructor or the teaching assistant before the deadline.  Do not ask your classmate to give you code. Do not give your code to anyone.

Do not intend to find any excuse for cheating. Students have used many excuses. The following are some examples. None was accepted and all students involved received approriate penalties.

• "I was sick and could not do the assignment."
• "My parents were sick and I had to take care of them. I did not have time doing the assignment."
• "My parents' business failed. I had to earn tuition and had no time doing the assignment."
• "The student sitting next to me showed me the answer during the exam. I wanted to show my appreciation  and copied the answer. This is not my fault. You should punish the person that gave me the answer."
• "I accidentally found this program on line. I accidentally discovered that it was similar to the requirements of the assignment. I accidentally took it as mine and accidentally submitted."
• "XXX gave me this code to study. I really wanted to learn. I submitted the code by mistake."
• "Look, this doesn't even work. Why would I submit anything that is not mine and is not working?" You may still be prosecuted for cheating even if you receive zero in an assignment. Cheating means you submit something that is not your work, regardless of the score of the submission.

If you need any help, please contact Counselors in the Office of the Dean of Students. No excuse can be accepted for cheating.

Suggestions to improve your grades.