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ECE 264 Grading

If you already know C very well, attending the lectures is unnecessary; attendance is not part of your grade.

  • background evaluation, 1 point. Please submit twice: (1) before 2009/01/23 and (2) between 2009/04/24 and 2009/05/01. The purpose is to evaluate whether this course helps you understand programming better. You receive 0.5 point if you submit only once.
  • 4 midterm exams, 10 points each. All exams are open-book and open-note. You can bring any book (or books).
  • 1 final exam, 20 points.

The exams covers everything in this class, including the textbook, the lectures, the exercises, and the programming assignments.

  • 7 programming exercises, 1 point each.
  • 4 programming assignments (PAs), 8 points each.

Please double check your submission. Submitting wrong files is a common mistake. If you submit wrong files, you will receive zero. The instructor and the teaching assistant will never enter your account for grading. Do not send your password to the instructor.  Each programming assignment or exercise has a 7-day no-penalty extension. No additional extension will be given (unless you encounter an emergency with a proof). Please do not ask for an extension. It is your responsibility to submit early.  Please remember that being late by one second is late.

  • up to 15 bonus points by class participation, 0.5 point for each item
    • each survey or the course evaluation.
    • each posting in Blackboard - Discussion.
    • each potential exam question in Blackboard - Discussion.
    • each posting in Rhea.
    • speaking (ask or answer one or more questions) in each lecture.
    • answering an in-class quiz correctly, 0.3 point for incorrect answer of an in-class quiz.
    • talking to the instructor during each office hour.
    • joining "ECE 264 Students" group in facebook.com.

Additional bonus points may be available. You are welcome to suggest other types of bonus points.

Due to the large number of submissions, the exercises and assignments are graded by using a set of programs. Any deviation from the specification will likely cause lost points. Please follow the specification precisely.  If your program cannot run on msee190pcxx, it will not be graded (i.e. you will receive zero). These are Linux computers. Do not use Microsoft Visual Studio. Please double check your submissions.

The names of your files must not have space or special symbols. A valid file name must start with a letter (a-z or A-Z), followed by letters, numbers (0-9), or underscores (_). Extensions are needed for programs. Use .c or .h. Please read the international standard on file names.

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 with the teaching assistant. This is to avoid confrontation between a student and the teaching assistant.

Letter Grades:

Because of bonus points, the highest score in the whole class may exceed 100. If the highest score is below 100, the highest score is adjusted to 100 and everyone else's score is adjusted proportionally. 

Grade Score minimum PAs (out of 32)
A+ 90 or higher 20
A 85 - 89.9 20
A- 80 - 84.9 20
B+ 77 - 79.9 16
B 74 - 75.9 16
B- 70 - 73.9 16
C+ 65 - 69.9 12
C 60 - 64.9 12
D+ 55 - 59.9 8
D 50 - 54.9 8
F below 50, or fail any outcome, or below 8 in PAs

Both conditions (score and PAs) are required.  Your grade does not depend on the grades of the other students (except the highest one for normalization, when necessary). You will receive an F if you do not have 50 points, even if you have passed all outcomes.

Late policy:

Each exercise or programming assignment is due at 5:59PM on a Wednesday.  You have a 7-day no-penalty extension. The deadline is enforced by Blackboard. Before the deadline, you can submit, withdraw, and resubmit. During the extension, you can submit but you cannot withdraw nor resubmit. The extension is not a new deadline. After the extension, you will receive

  • 10% off during the first 24 hours (round up, missing the deadline by 1 second is the same as by 23 hours). If your submission is  correct, you will recive only 90% of the points.
  • 30% off, 24 - 48 hours (round up). If your submission is correct, you will receive only 70% of the points.
  • 60% off, 48 - 72 hours (round up). If your submission is correct, you will receive only 40% of the points.
  • After 72 hours, your submission is no longer accepted.

If Purdue cancels classes on the due day (Wednesday), the deadline is extended until classes are resumed. Otherwise, the deadlines will not be extended. The one-week extension already considers situations such as network problems or power failures. Hence, they are not excuses to request any additional extension.

The deadline is determined by the clock of the Blackboard server. Missing the deadline by 1 second is late.  Do not ask the instructor to accept your submission because it is "only 1 second late."  Do not send your assignment by email because it is late. To request an exception, you must present a proof of an emergency (such as a police report or a proof of visiting a hospotial's emergency room). Visiting PUSH (Purdue University Student Health Center) is not considered as an emergency.

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. If you miss an exam, you will receive zero, not the average of the other exams. To request an exception, you must present the document showing an emergency. Visiting PUSH is not considered as an emergency.

You are encouraged to discuss with your classmates but copying code is not allowed. Violators will receive F's in the class (not zero in that particular assignment).

Suggestions to improve your grades.