Fall 2016 Lecture Notes Tutorials Exam Info Course Policies Announcements

Makeup Exams

No make-ups will be given for midterm and final exams unless prior approval is granted by the instructor, or you are in unfavorable medical condition with physician's documentation for the day of the examination. In addition, being absent at the final examination results in automatic failure of the course according to university regulations, unless prior approval is obtained from the department head.

Mark Appeals

Appeals for change of assignment marks must be made within one week of the date of the return (if you pick up your assignments late, your appeal period does not lengthen). You should first consult the TA who marked the question. Only if the problem is still unresolved should you then bring the case to the instructor’s attention.

For the midterm and final exam, appeals must be made during the exam paper checking sessions. If you cannot attend the checking session, please inform the instructor for special arrangements.

Written Assignments

Important notes on how to answer questions that involve designing an algorithm: Your solution should consist of the following 4 components: (i) the main ideas of your algorithm (this part is not compulsory, but it will help you gain partial credits if your algorithm is not completely correct), (ii) pseudocode or plain language description of the algorithm, (iii) an analysis (usually, of the running time) of your algorithm, and (iv) a proof of correctness for your algorithm (especially for greedy and graph algorithms) unless it is obvious.

The assignments are to be turned in by 9 pm on the due date. There will be a collection rack outside room 4210, for both the written and programming assignments. No late assignments will be accepted. In exceptional circumstances (illness, university business, or religious observances) extensions may be granted. However, all extensions must be approved by your instructor before the due date.

The primary benefit of working on the assignments is to prepare for the exams, because exam questions are often variants of assignment problems. For this reason we encourage you to spend time alone thinking about each problem and your approach in solving it. You are allowed to and encouraged to discuss assignment problems with your classmates. However, you must write up the solutions on your own. In particular:

Assignment solutions must be written in your own words (not copied or modified from someone else's write-up).
You must understand your solution and its derivation. (I may ask you to explain your solution to me.)
You must explicitly acknowledge in writing in the assignment your collaborators (whether or not they are classmates) or any other outside sources on each assignment.

Failing to do any of these will be considered plagiarism, and may result in a failing grade in the course and notification for appropriate disciplinary action.