Course Handbook

Lectures

  • You should plan to attend every lecture
  • You are responsible for what is said in every lecture If you miss a lecture, then you should talk to other students about what was said during it. You cannot necessarily expect instructors to repeat lectures for you, or to provide notes.
  • Lecture notes are your responsibility The instructor may, or may not, provide notes/slides/recordings of lectures.

Labs

  • Not all courses have required labs
  • If you’re course has a lab, go to your assigned time
  • Labs may, or may not, be optional
  • Some labs might be just to provide help, some might have more “teaching” This depends upon the course, and the person running the lab.

Textbooks

  • You are responsible for getting a copy of the textbook The course may refer to specific pages, charts, questions, etc. from the textbook.
  • Reference books and recommended books are NOT required The library typically has copies of all reference and recommended books that you check out. They might be useful for providing more examples, or giving alternative explanations of concepts.
  • Digital or hard-copy — it’s (usually) up to you In most cases, it doesn’t matter if you use the digital version of a textbook, or the hard-copy version. It’s mainly your personal preference. Possibly, digital books may come with features not available in the hard-copy version.

Assignments

  • Submit assignments on, or before, their due date. Plan ahead! It’s wise to try to finish assignments ahead of time.
  • You can get help on assignment, but you have to cite it. Anything that you submit that is not your own original work should be cited. See the section on Cheating for examples of how you can do this.

Late Assignments

  • Different assignments/activities may have different late-handling rules Some common rules are:

    • No late submissions accepted.

    • Late submissions accepted, but with a penalty For example, every 24-hours after that due date that the assignment is late, 10% of the mark is subtracted; assignments more than 3 days late are not accepted.

    • Late time You are given a bank of “late hours”, and if you submit an assignment \(h\) hours late, then it is accepted and marked without penalty as long as \(h\) is greater than, or equal to, your later hours. After the assignment is marked, your late hours are reduced by \(h\).

      If, instead, \(h\) is greater than your late hours, then your assignment is not accepted, and your late hours remains the same.

    These are only examples of rules! Any particular course may use these or other rules.

Exams

  • Know the rules for a closed-book exam. In a closed book exam, you cannot:
    • use computers, calculators, or other such aids
    • have notes, books, paper (even blank!), etc. with you
  • Particular exams might have different rules, e.g. in some exams you might be allowed to bring a “cheat sheet”. The exam will tell you the conditions for writing it, so be aware!
  • You can arrive up to 30 minutes late to exam. After that, if any students have already left the exam, you may be denied entry. You do not get extra time to write an exam if you’re late.
  • You cannot leave the exam until at least 30 minutes have passed. This is to give people who are late a chance to write the exam.
  • Be prepared to put backpacks, jackets, etc. at the side of the room. Don’t bring valuables you are unwilling to have out of your possession!
  • Cell-phones are not permitted. You will be asked to put your cell phone in your bag, or at the front of the room. If we discover you have a cell phone with you during the exam you will receive 0 for the exam and the incident will be reported to the university.
  • Food and drink is permitted, if the room permits it. Some rooms, such as computer labs, might not allow anyone to have food or drink.
  • Don’t talk to other students during the exam. Even just asking someone for an eraser, or to for another student to pass you a dropped pencil — don’t do it! Get proctor to help.
  • Follow the instructions of proctors. You need to listen to, and follow, all instructions. In some cases, failure to do so could be considered cheating.
  • Do not look at anyone else’s work during the exam.
  • Short exams might not have bathroom breaks! For example, a 50-minute midterm does not usually allow enough time for people to go to the washroom. So be prepared!
  • Proctors will manage bathroom breaks For exams that allow bathroom breaks, please ask a proctor if you can use the washroom. Usually, only one person can use the washroom at a time, and so you might have to wait. The proctor may also direct you to use a particular washroom.
  • Don’t leave the room. If you leave the room without telling anyone, your exam is over.
  • You may be asked to wait during the last few minutes of the exam. For example, when there are 10 minutes or less left in the exam, you may be asked to wait until the exam is over before handing in your exam. This is to minimize disruptions for people who are still working.

Cheating

  • Don’t do it If you get caught, you typically get 0 (or worse) as a penalty, plus the incident is recorded in SFU’s academic integrity database.

  • You must follow SFU’s rules As a member of the Simon Fraser University community, you are bound by its Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct. Read it!

  • Don’t lend your assignments (or parts of them) to anyone else.

  • Don’t borrow an assignment (or parts of it) from anyone else.

  • Don’t copy an assignment (or parts of it) from anyone else.

  • Always cite the source of where you got an idea or fragment of code. Not citing others work is considered academic dishonesty.

    A good place to do this is in a comment at the top of your source code, e.g.:

    // a1.cpp

// - read https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7682287/how-does-stooge-sort-works
//   for help with Stooge Sort
//
// - partition1 function is from the textbook
//
// - got some help during lab from other students and TA
//
// - read a blog post I can no longer find that recommended using median-of-3 for
//   finding pivots
//

// ...

    If you don’t cite the source of something, we will assume it is your original work.

    Forgetting to cite a source, or being unaware that you are required to cite sources, are not good excuses.

  • If you use an outside tutor, you must provide more information If you get the help of a tutor or assistant, or an academic assistance service of any kind, you must provide the following information:

    • Contact information.
    • A brief description of the nature of the assistance.
    • Copies of all materials given to the assistant.
    • Copies of all materials returned by the assistant.

  • Software may be used to flag suspicious-looking assignments For example, similarity-checking software might be used to compare your files to other students files, or to files from previous semesters. Such software only flags suspicious work: the instructor/TA will talk to you if they have serious concerns.

  • If we suspect you are cheating, you will always be asked to present your side of the story.

  • If the instructor decides you have cheated … You will typically get a penalty such as 0 for the work in question. In severe cases (e.g. cheating on multiple assignments, or on exams), you may be referred to the Chair of the Computing Science department for consideration of a more severe penalty.

Grading Rules

  • You have to do all required activities Typically, each activity is some % of the overall course mark, e.g. a midterm exam might be 25% of your mark.

  • You need a doctor’s note to miss an activity Generally, the only valid reason for not doing a graded activity (e.g. an assignment or exam) on time is illness, and for that you must have a valid doctor’s note. Please have your doctor fill out the SFU Certificate of illness.

  • Weights might change for you if you can’t submit an activity If you don’t submit an activity for a valid reason, then one possible way this could be handled is to move the %-weight of that activity to one of your exams that covers the same topic.

    For example, suppose assignment 3 is worth 6% of your final grade, and the final exam is worth 40%. If you don’t submit assignment 3 for a valid reason, then the instructor might decide to add that 6% to your final exam, meaning your final exam is now worth 46% of your grade (and your assignment 3 is worth 0%).

    In unusual or extreme cases, the instructor may consider other options for assigning your grade in the fairest way possible.

  • Any assessed course activity could be replaced by a face-to-face meeting For instance, an assignment mark (or part of an assignment mark) might be replaced by your mark from a face-to-face meeting where the instructor/TA asks you questions about your assignment. Or an exam mark (or part of an exam mark) might be replaced by your mark from a face-to-face meeting where the instructor/TA asks you to answer questions similar to those on the exam.

Final Grades

When will the final grades be announced?

About a week after the final exam, give or take a few days. The grades for a course are usually calculated and submitted for review no later than three days after the course’s final exam. After the grades are reviewed, they are submitted to the registrar, who will then inform you of your grade for the course.

We will email you as soon as your marks are ready and available to be seen. Email asking when the marks will be ready is usually ignored.

Can I see my final exam?

Yes. Extra office hours sometime after the final exam will be announced. You are strongly encouraged to review your final exam to check that there were no marking mistakes.

You are not allowed to take your final exam. We are required to hold onto it for at least a year.

How is my final numeric score calculated?

For every assessed activity in the course (see your course marking scheme), you are given a numeric mark. When all your marks are entered into the gradebook, a final numeric grade is calculated using the weights given in the course marking scheme.

For example, suppose your course has this marking scheme:

10% Labs

30% Assignments

15% Midterm

45% Final

And suppose that you earn these marks for each activity:

\(\frac{15}{20}\%\) for Labs

\(\frac{55}{65}\%\) for Assignments

\(\frac{24}{30}\%\) for Midterm

\(\frac{54}{60}\%\) for Final

To calculate your final grade, your numeric marks are first converted to percentages (rounded in the usual way):

\(\frac{15}{20}=15\%\) for Labs

\(\frac{55}{65}=85\%\) for Assignments

\(\frac{24}{30}=80\%\) for Midterm

\(\frac{54}{60}=90\%\) for Final

Then your final percentage score is calculated as a weighted average of your activity scores where the weights are the percentages from the marking scheme:

\[\begin{split}\begin{array}{lcl} \text{final grade} & = & 0.10 \cdot 75 + 0.30 \cdot 85 + 0.15 \cdot 80 + 0.45 \cdot 90 \\ & = & 85.5 \end{array}\end{split}\]

So the final score is 85.5%.

How is my final letter grade calculated?

Generally, teachers set ranges that correspond to letter grades. However, there are no standard letter grade ranges at SFU: ranges differ from teacher to teacher and course to course.

Here’s one sample set of ranges (which is not necessarily the range used in your course!!):

95% ≤ A+

90% ≤ A < 95%

85% ≤ A- < 90%

80% ≤ B+ < 85%

75% ≤ B < 80%

70% ≤ B- < 75%

65% ≤ C+ < 70%

60% ≤ C < 65%

55% ≤ C- < 60%

50% ≤ D < 55%

F < 50%

So if your final numeric score is 85.5%, then your final letter grade would be an A- using these ranges. Again, this is only example of letter grade ranges, and may not be the ones actually used by your course.

A letter grade of N is assigned in cases where your work is somehow incomplete, e.g. you don’t write the final exam.

How might my final mark be adjusted?

The exact details will vary from teacher to teacher. Some common adjustments, which may or may not be used in your course, are as follows:

  • Round fractional marks upwards.
  • Lower the “out of” mark for an exam. For example, if a midterm exam is out of 45 and the highest mark on it was 40, then a teacher might make the midterm out of 40.
  • Add a small bonus to everyone’s mark in cases where a course was deemed difficult.

Again, these are just examples of possible adjustments that a teacher may do.

Are grades curved?

First, lets make sure we agree on what “curved” means. Grading on a curve traditionally means that a pre-set number of letter grades are chosen before the course. For instance, before the start of a course graded on a curve the teacher might decide that there will be 3 A+s, 5 As, 10 A-s, 15 B+s, 10 B-s, etc. The good thing about this approach is that the three people with the highest grade in the course — no matter their exact percentage score — will get an A+. However, the 4th person will only get an A, even if they are within 0.0001 of the third person.

This course is not graded on such a curve — there is no pre-set number of letter grades that will be given out. It is possible (although extremely unlikely!) that everyone in the course gets an A+, or everyone gets an F.

In large courses, it is often the case that the marks naturally form a bell curve shape, with a few people getting very high marks, a few very low marks, and most getting average marks in the middle.

What does “a passing grade on the weighted average of the exams” mean?

Some CMPT courses contain the following rule in their marking scheme:

Students must attain an overall passing grade on the weighted average of exams in the course in order to obtain a clear pass (C- or better).

Essentially, this means that if you don’t do well enough on the exams, then your mark might be adjusted downwards to a D.

For example, suppose you earn the following marks in a course:

5% Assignment 1: \(\frac{8}{10}\)

5% Assignment 2: \(\frac{33}{42}\)

5% Assignment 3: \(\frac{20}{20}\)

20% Midterm: \(\frac{28}{31}\)

15% Project: \(\frac{45}{100}\)

50% Final: \(\frac{60}{70}\)

The midterm and final are considered exams, and so the weighted average of exams (wae) is calculated as follows:

\[\begin{split}\begin{array}{lcl} \text{wae} & = & \frac{15}{15 + 25} \cdot \frac{28}{31} + \frac{25}{15 + 25} \cdot \frac{60}{70} \\ & = & 0.375 \cdot \frac{28}{31} + 0.625 \cdot \frac{60}{70} \\ & = & 0.87 \end{array}\end{split}\]

So in this example the weighted average of the exams is 87%.

It is up to the instructor to decide what exactly counts as a “passing grade”; they might decide that a wae greater than 0.5 is a passing grade, or they might choose some other criterion.

If your wae value is not passing, then the highest mark you can get in the course is a D. This is still a passing grade, but it is not considered to be a clear pass. A D might not be good enough to let you automatically enroll into some future courses; talk to an advisor for more details.

Can you please give me a higher mark?

Alas, willingness to beg won’t get you a higher mark. Your mark is based on the work you do in the course and calculated according to the marking scheme.

Generally, the only reason we’ll change a mark is to fix an error, such as an incorrectly recorded assignment mark. If you are worried that an error was made in how your mark was calculated, then contact your instructor immediately.

We will not change your mark for the following sorts of reasons (all of which are real reasons from past students):

  • “I believe I am near the next higher-up letter grade, so please raise my grade to that.”
  • “If you don’t give me a higher grade I will lose my scholarship!”
  • “I worked hard!”
  • “Okay, I didn’t work that hard, but if I had I would have gotten a much higher grade. Therefore I deserve a higher grade.”
  • “I always get higher marks than this!”
  • “The course was too hard compared to course X where I got a high grade, and so you should give me a high mark like I got in course X.”
  • “I know I should have worked harder and come to get help from you or the TA earlier in the course. But I didn’t, and now that the course is over, and I’ve admitted to this mistake, you should give a higher mark.”
  • “The marking scheme was unfair to me personally, and so you should change it so it gives me a higher mark.”
  • “I did well in a different course using a different marking scheme. Please use that marking scheme here.”
  • “I was ill for a lot of the course, so please give me a higher grade to adjust for that.”