CSc 245 (Introduction to Discrete Structures) Syllabus
Spring 2008

[Catalog] == [Personnel] == [Resources] == [Outline] == [Dishonesty] == [Grades] == [Class Policies] == [University Policies] == [Caveat]

General Catalog Information:

Class Personnel:

Each of the SLs has successfully completed this class (or its equivalent) and is paid by the Department of Computer Science to help me help you learn the material. In addition to leading a section (or two) each week, they grade homeworks and quizzes, do the bulk of grading on the exams, let me know what topics seem to be especially baffling to the students, and even hold office hours in their offices or our Commons room (G-S 737). I expect that you'll find your section leader to be a valuable resource.

Please keep in that that it is possible to meet with each us outside of office hours. Contact us to make an appointment.

Information Resources:

Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes:

• Course Goal: Students will learn about the mathematical concepts and practices that are most generally useful in the study of computer science. Specific topics include logical arguments, proof techniques, properties of integers, functions and relations, sequences, counting, and discrete probability.
• Topic Outline and Learning Objectives:
  • Be advised that this is just an outline. It does not list every topic to be covered in the class. Reliance upon it is not a good substitute for attending lectures.

Topics may be added, removed, or reordered as time and circumstances dictate.

Academic Dishonesty (i.e., Cheating):

Most, if not all, assignments in this class will be individual assignments, to be worked on outside of class. All individual work assigned to you in this class is to be completed only by you. It is not acceptable for you to `borrow' (a.k.a. steal, copy, coerce, etc.) solutions or parts of solutions from other people or have other people write part or all of your solutions for you. However, it IS acceptable (and encouraged!) for students to help one another understand the assignment requirements and to help one another track down logic errors in exercises. In short, do your own work, but feel free to discuss difficulties with each other. Of course, you may always ask me or a SL for help, but don't expect that we'll just hand you solutions; we'll make you work for them.

The class policy on cheating is simple: If we determine that your work was turned in by another student, or we determine that you turned in the work of another person or persons, all students involved will receive at minimum a zero on that entire assignment. Additional sanctions are possible should additional information come to light. The CS department exchanges information about academic integrity violations with the office of the Dean of Students. If you have a history of violations, the penalty is likely to be much worse than just a zero on the assignment. Multiple violations in this class will result in a failing course grade at minimum. We take academic dishonesty very seriously, as you should be able to tell; we expect you to take it just as seriously.

If you are not familiar with them, please take the time to read the references linked above. Ignorance of the policies is not an acceptable excuse for their violation. For your convenience, here is the section of the University's Code of Academic Integrity entitled "Prohibited Conduct":

The bottom line: Do your own work. If you have any doubts, please come talk to me -- before you do anything you might regret.

Grades and Grading:

• Assignment Weighting:

  Section Attendance	=	4	%
  Homeworks	=	20	%	total
  Quizzes	=	16	%	total
  3 Midterm Exams	=	45	%	total
  Comprehensive Final Exam	=	15	%
  Total	=	100	%

  I use the common 90-80-70-60 grading scale. It's possible that final grade cutoffs will be lowered a little (from 90% to 88.5% for the bottom of the 'A' range, for example) but they will never be raised. I make such determinations only at the end of the term, after the final exam has been graded.

• Section Attendance:

  You will be expected to regularly attend your weekly section meetings. To help encourage you to do so, your SL will be taking attendance each week. Hopefully, you will find the sections to be useful enough that you won't need the encouragement.

• Homeworks:

  The idea behind the homework assignments is to help you get more hands-on experience with the material as preparation for the exams. Clearly, it is in your best interest to work as many problems as possible, not just the ones assigned as homework.

  • Quantity and Frequency:

    Expect to complete 9-11 homework assignments during this course. Most homeworks will be due a week from the date on which they are assigned. If there is a week without a homework, probably there is an exam lurking.

  • Facilities:

    For the most part, the homework assignments in this class are ``written'' (which includes electronic composition), although you can expect that we'll ask you to program a little bit, too, now and then. When programs are required, you can use the Gould-Simpson 228 or 930 labs, or your own equipment, as the situation permits.

  • Legibility:

    We expect your written work to have your answers clearly marked, to include sufficient detail to enable us to follow your reasoning, and to be legible so that we can easily read your words, understand your explanations, and decipher your diagrams. Difficulties in any of these areas will likely result in a loss of points. This isn't high school; you are preparing yourselves for careers, and you need to get in the habit of preparing your work in a professional manner. Here's another way to look at it: Make it easy for us to see that you know your stuff.

    You are encouraged (but, at least initially, not required) to learn and use the scientific document preparation package LaTeX 2e to typeset your homework submissions. Not only will this help you produce readable answers, you will be ready for future classes and research papers that require the use of this tool. LaTeX 2e tutorials and samples will be provided.

  • Incomplete or Incorrect Homeworks:

    On the due date, turn in what you have accomplished, whether or not it is complete. If you feel that you deserve an extension of the due date based on exceptional circumstances, contact me and I will consider your request.

    Each problem will be worth a certain number of points. A complete, correct, and legible answer will receive full credit. We will award partial credit to incomplete and/or semi-legible answers when appropriate. If you feel that your homework was graded improperly, please contact your SL to discuss your concerns.

  • Interactive Grading:

    To help you do better on future homeworks, your SL will be offering "interactive grading." Here's how it works. Most homeworks will be constructed to be worth 45 points initially. If your score is below 35, you may set up a meeting with your section leader so that the two of you can discuss your difficulties with the exercises and (hopefully) correct them. At the end of the meeting, your section leader will give you an additional 5 points on the assignment.

    If your score is 35 or better, your section leader will automatically add the 5 points onto your score. This prevents you from being penalized for doing well. The true maximum that can be earned on most homework assignments is 50 points.

  • Late Assignment Policy:

    In this class, the late policy is simple. Homework assignments are due no later than five (5) minutes into class on the due date. (That is, if the class starts at 1:00, the assignment is due at 1:05.) No late assignments will be accepted (although exceptions may be granted in exceptional circumstances). If you know you are going to be absent on the due date, be sure to get your solutions turned in early; in such cases, you may submit your solutions electronically, by FAX, by carrier pigeon, etc., just so long as they arrive in time and are complete and legible.

• Quizzes:

  I am planning to give 11 or 12 unannounced quizzes, of which only your best 8 scores will be counted. Why about 12? I like to average one quiz per non-exam week of the semester. This means that there will be weeks with no quiz, but there may be weeks with multiple quizzes. The quizzes will not be on predictable days of the week but are usually given at the end of the class period.

  I will not be giving any make-up quizzes. Why not? Of the 11 or 12 quizzes I anticipate giving, only your best 8 quiz scores will count. This gives you multiple opportunities to have an off-day or to miss a quiz for whatever reason without it hurting your quiz total.

  The use of calculators is NOT permitted on quizzes unless warranted by special circumstances.

• Exams:

  Exam formats will be fairly consistent throughout the semester. Exams will consist primarily of short answer and problem-solving questions, but code-writing questions are also possible. The use of calculators or any other electronic devices is NOT permitted on exams unless warranted by special circumstances.

  I expect all students to take the exams at the announced exam times. I give make-up exams only in extreme circumstances. I decide if a circumstance is "extreme." For example, being in a documented car accident on the way to the exam is likely to count as an extreme circumstance. Circumstances that are not considered to be extreme include losing a cell phone, breaking up with a significant other, forgetting to set/heed an alarm clock, having a runny nose, etc. Please be aware that missing a midterm exam isn't necessarily a disaster; see below.

  • Midterm Exams:

    I will schedule a midterm when I feel that we've reached a suitable point in the lecture material. Midterms will focus on the material covered in class, on the homeworks, and by the programs since the time of the previous midterm (or the start of the term in the case of the first midterm). As new material in this class usually builds upon the old, you should expect that your knowledge of material covered by previous exams will be necessary for success on subsequent exams.

    Regrade Requests: After midterm exams are graded, they will be returned to you and you may keep them. We will also review the exam, either in class or in section. If you feel that your exam was graded improperly, prepare a brief memo that explains which problems concern you and why. Within one week of the date on which the exam was returned to the class/section, submit your exam (not a copy) and the memo to me. I will regrade the entire exam, paying particular attention to the problems you highlighted in the memo. Because errors in grading can cause scores to be too high as well as too low, it is possible that your grade will go down as a result of the regrade. Be sure to review your entire exam before you ask for a regrade.

  • Comprehensive Final Exam:

    The final exam will be given at the time stated in the class schedule. (I have also placed it near the beginning of this syllabus. If you see that I have listed the exam time incorrectly, please let me know.) The final will be comprehensive and will have a format similar to that of the midterms. If you miss the final under less than extreme circumstances, you will receive a score of zero for the final.

    At the end of the semester, I will replace your lowest midterm exam score with a percentage-equivalent copy of your final exam score, but only if the final score is higher than at least one of your midterm scores. (Thus, this is a potential bonus but never a penalty.) I do this to reward you for demonstrating an improved mastery of the material over the course of the semester. However, it can also help you if you should miss a midterm because your car broke down, your alarm clock didn't go off, you had a disfiguring zit, or any other non-extreme quirk of fate. Please note that should you miss multiple midterms under sub-extreme circumstances, you will definitely get a zero for those additional missed midterms.

  • Exam Seating:

    If room capacity permits, leave a seat vacant between you and your neighbor. If need be, we will reseat students before or even during an exam to maintain an honest evaluation environment for all students.

Miscellaneous Class Policies:

• Classroom Behavior:
  • Cell Phones and Pagers: While class is in session, please disable all audible alerts on your communication devices in favor of an inaudible alert mode, or just turn the device off. If you receive a call or message that requires an immediate verbal response, kindly leave the room before replying. Should you be expecting an urgent call and wish to leave your phone's ringtone enabled, all I ask is that you tell me in advance so that I know not to glare at you when your phone rings.

  • Game Devices: My preference is that you resist the urge to play games during class meetings. After all, you're paying a lot of money to take this class. You should pay attention and get your money's worth. If you can't resist the urge, at least turn off the sound (or use earplugs) and sit in the back of the room. Should your playing become a distraction to me or to your classmates, I'll ask you to either stop playing or to continue the game outside of the room until the urge passes.

  • Asking Questions: During class, feel free to interrupt with questions whenever they occur to you. I may ask you to hold off on your question for a few moments if I'm in the middle of an explanation, but I'll come back to you. If I forget, interrupt again.

  • Answering Questions: I frequently ask questions of the class during lectures to judge the level of understanding (and to break up the monotony). Some students really like answering questions, sometimes to the point of discouraging anyone else from answering. If you are an eager answerer, pace yourself; let someone else answer an easy one once in a while, and save the hard ones for yourself.

  • Talking with Your Neighbors: Sometimes you can't resist making a comment to your friend. I don't want you to injure yourself by trying to hold it in. Go ahead and whisper that comment. Just don't let it grow into a conversation. If what you have to say is that irresistibly juicy, write a note or hold the thought until after class. I'm confident that the passage of time will not diminish its wit and hilarity. The point, of course, is to avoid distracting other students.

• Response Time:

  The instructor and the SLs will attempt to reply to email from students within 24 hours. This means that if you wait until the evening before an assignment is due to send a question to your SL, you may not get a reply before the due date and time. There's a classic sentence that covers this: A failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on our part. We want to help, but like you, we have tasks other than email that require our attention.

• Extra Credit:

  There will be no opportunities for extra credit points. Use your time to concentrate on doing well on the assigned work. If your grade in this class is important to you, start taking this class seriously now, not just after you do poorly on the first exam. Additional late days for assignments may be offered as incentives under special circumstances.

• Missed Classes:

  See Also:

  • Accommodation of Religious Observance and Practice: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/ouap4.html#religion

  All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with such religions. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students office will be honored. No matter the reason for missing class, the student is always responsible for the missed material.

• Auditing:

  See Also:

  • Audit Policy: http://catalog.arizona.edu/2007-08/policies/audit.htm

  If you are auditing this class, you may attend lecture and you may attend your assigned weekly section. You can turn in programs and homeworks only if your SL agrees to accept them. You may not take exams.

Miscellaneous University Policies:

• On Dropping a Class:

  See Also:

  • Spring 2008 Dates and Deadlines: http://www.em.arizona.edu/datesDeadlines/datesDeadlines.aspx?t=081

  If you find yourself thinking about dropping this (or any other) class, first make sure that that's what you really want to do. Chatting with me, your SL, or your academic adviser may help. If you drop within the first four weeks of the semester, there will be no notation on your transcript; it will be as though you'd never enrolled. During the fifth through the eighth weeks, a drop will be recorded on your transcript. You will receive a "WP" (withdrawn passing) only if you were passing the class at the time of your drop. After the eighth week, dropping becomes a challenge, because you need to explain to me and to your dean why you were unable to drop the class during the first half of the semester.

• Grades of `Incomplete':

  See Also:	• Office of Curriculum and Registration Grading Policy Manual: http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/gradepolicy/incomplete.htm
  	• UA General Catalog's Grades and the Grading System: http://catalog.arizona.edu/2007-08/policies/grade.htm

  The university's course catalog contains all of the details about incompletes, but here's the key sentence:

  The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a term, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed.

  To qualify for an incomplete, a student must have maintained a passing grade for the class until the term is nearly complete, and then, due to an unusual and substantiated cause beyond the student's control, the student is unable to complete the class work. In short, you can't get an "I" just because you aren't happy with your grade.

• Students with Disabilities:

  See Also:	• UA Disability Resource Center Information for Students: http://drc.arizona.edu/learn/index.html
  	• UA SALT Center: http://www.salt.arizona.edu

  The university and the Disability Resource Center (DRC) have asked all instructors to include the following text in class syllabi:

  If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then plan how best to coordinate your accommodations.

  Additional help is available from the UA Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center. SALT provides fee-based services for students with various learning disabilities.

  Under the guidelines of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, students are obligated to notify the school that they need accommodation.

• Threatening Behavior by Students:

  See Also:

  • UA Policy on Threatening Behavior by Students: http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threatening.pdf

  If you're upset with me or any of the SLs, please talk directly with us about your concerns. The university takes a very dim view of antisocial behaviors on campus.

Caveat:

The above schedules, policies, and procedures are subject to change. Whenever possible, changes will be announced to the class before the on-line version of this document is altered.

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This syllabus follows the Undergraduate Course Syllabus Policy passed by the University of Arizona Faculty Senate on May 2, 2005 and effective starting with Summer 2005 classes. The policy is available from http://policy.web.arizona.edu/Undergraduate%20Course%20Syllabus%20Policy.pdf

If you have any comments about this page, drop me a note at mccannl@acm.org