ECE 264 Grading, Spring 2010

[ course outcomes | letter grade | important dates | submission procedure | late submission ]

Grade Calculation

• 4 programming assignments (IPA), 6 points each.
  • IPA1: count words in a file
  • IPA2: student database
  • IPA3: maze traversal
  • IPA4: rectangle packing

All programming assignments are graded in Linux. Please ensure that your programs can run on the computers in EE 306. You can use scp (secure copy) to transfer files and ssh (secure shell) to execute programs remotely. You may develop the programs on your personal computer.You can install Virtualbox to run Linux on Windows. Please follow this tutorial. Do not use Microsoft Visual Studio.

• 3 in-class midterm exams, 20 points each. Open book and open notes. You can bring any book (or books).
• 1 final exam, 21 points. Open book and open notes. You can bring any book (or books).
• survey and evaluation, 5 points.

The total score is 110. Regrading is requested by sending email to the instructor. Please explain clearly why you deserve more points. If you request regrading a programming assignment, please check your submission first. Submitting wrong files is a common mistake. Your grade is determined by what you actually submit, not what you intend to submit.  Neither the instructor nor the teaching assistant can modify anything you submit.

Course Outcomes

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:

1. an ability to read and write C programs that use files. [1,4;a,b,c,e,k]
2. an ability to read and write C programs that use structures. [1,4;a,b,c,e,k]
3. an ability to read and write C programs that use dynamic data structures. [1,4;a,b,c,e,k]

Outcomes may be passed by exams 1-4. No outcome will be tested in the final exam. Passing all outcomes is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to receive a passing grade (A - D).

Letter Grades:

Your total score will be round up to the smallest integer (for example, 72.1 becomes 73). 

Your grade is determined by the submitted assignments and exams. Your grade does not depend on any of the following factors. These factors are subjective and cannot be used for grading.

• How much time you spend studying or doing assignments.
• How much you enjoy the course.
• How much you know other than the exam questions.
• How much you have learned. There is no good way checking how much you have learned during a semester.
• Whether your programs work in your computer.

Important Dates

* exam 4: If a student fails one or more outcomes in exams 1 - 3, exam 4 provides a second chance to pass the outcome (or outcomes). Exam 4 is used for passing outcome (or outcomes) only and does not add to the total score.

Submission Procedure

All programming assignments are graded by computer programs. You must meet the specifications precisely without any deviation. If your program has a different output format, you may lose most points.

Submit your program to this site. The site will be available on January 18 Monday. After submission, your program will be graded automatically. You can submit as many times as you want before the deadline, but after the deadline at most one submission is accepted.  You are strongly encouraged to submit early.

It is your responsibility to check whether you submitted correct files. Please double check your submission. Submitting wrong files is a common mistake.  Your programs are tested using Linux.

• The instructor and the teaching assistant will never enter your account for grading. Do not send your password to the instructor. If you send your password, the instructor will inform ECN to disable your account.
• The instructor and the teaching assistant will never grade on your personal computer. Do not say "I can show you on my computer."
• The instructor and the teaching assistant will never change anything you submit.  Do not say "If you delete that line or add this file, everything works."

Late Submissions

Each assignment is due at 10:59AM on the corresponding deadline.

• Before the deadline, you can submit and resubmit as many times as you wish. You will receive the grading result soon after submission. If you submit multiple times, your score is the highest among all submissions.
• The time is determined by the server's clock, not your watch.
• You must submit early. Sometimes the Internet can be slow. If you wait until a few minutes before the deadline, it is very likely that you will miss the deadline. Another common mistake is submitting wrong files when the deadline is too close.
• Do not send your assignment by email because it is late. Email submission is ignored.
• Every assignment has a no-penalty extension of 5 hours. The extension is not a new deadline. The extension is provided to accommodate unexpected problems, such as slow network. The extension should be sufficient for you to come to school and submit an assignment, if your home computer breaks.
• If Purdue cancels classes on a submission deadline, the deadline is extended to one day after classes resume.
• If the server is down within 12 hours of the deadline, the deadline will be extended by 24 hours.

Q: Why is the submission deadline set to 10:59AM?  Some students are in lectures at that time.

A: If the grading server breaks, ECN may provide timely assistance to solve the problems. If you have a lecture, please submit earlier.

Q: I submit before the deadline and obtain 3 points.  I submit again the next day and obtain 5 points. What is my score?

A: Your second submission becomes 4 points due to the late penalty. Since it is higher than 3, your score is 4.

Q: If I am sick for a whole week, can I receive an extension?

A: If you provide appropriate documents showing that it is impossible to do the assignment, an extension may be granted.

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 an emergency.  Obviously, "I have not studied" is not an acceptable reason to take an exam later.

Suggestions to improve your grades.