CSc 345 (Analysis of Discrete Structures) Syllabus
Summer 2014

General Catalog Information:

Class Personnel:

If you cannot make it to office hours, then you can contact me to make an appointment.

Information Resources:

Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes:

• Course Goal: In this course, students will learn about more advanced data structures and will be introduced into algorithms. Students will be expected to understand when to use a specific data structure or algorithm and how it would compare with alternatives in terms of space and time.
  
  
We will be using the book as a reference.
• Topic Outline and Learning Objectives: Be advised that this topic outline is just that -- 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.

Important Dates (rough schedule):

Academic Dishonesty (i.e., Cheating):

Grades and Grading:

• Assignment Weighting:

  Homeworks	=	40	%	total
  Participation	=	10	%	total
  Midterm 1	=	15	%	total
  Midterm 2	=	15	%	total
  Final	=	20	%	total
  Total	=	100	%

  Letter Grades:

  I will be assigning letter grades based on the standard 90, 80, 70, cutoffs. Specifically,

  A :=	90 <= x <= 100
  B :=	80 <= x < 90
  C :=	70 <= x < 80
  D :=	60 <= x < 70
  E :=	50 <= x < 60

  I may lower the cutoffs but this adjustment will be made only at the end when I have graded all the assignments/quizzes/exams. I will not raise the cutoffs.

• Homeworks and Participation
  • Quantity and Frequency:

    I am expecting to assign 8 homeworks (that's roughly one homework every week). Keep in mind that these are estimates and we may have less depending on the material covered.

    The homeworks will be assigned on Mondays and due in one week (9 AM Arizona time).
    In addition to homeworks, I will be giving additional assignments that will be part of your "participation" grade. These will be given on Tuesdays and due on Thursdays (9 AM, Arizona time). The purpose of these assignments is to help me gauge your understanding of a particular topic. As such, they will be graded mostly on your participation rather than correctness. Nevertheless, I do expect coherent and thought out answers.
    
    The purpose of assignments it to help you solidify your own understanding of the material. They are meant to cover the main ideas, but by no means are they meant to cover every aspect of the course materials. It is your responsibility to make sure you understand all concepts covered.
    
    All homework assignments should be turned in through D2L.
  • Assignment Submissions:

    In this class, you will be expected to turn in an electronic copy of all assignments, including written homeworks.
    
    Make sure that your homework is clean and easy to follow. If it is not legible, then it may be marked as incorrect.
    
    You may use programs such as Word, OpenOffice Writer, or LaTeX to write your solutions, but the file you turn in should be a pdf.

  • Late Assignment Policy:

    Each assignment will have a clearly stated due date and time. Assignments will not be accepted after 9:00 AM (Arizona time).
    
    The reason for this policy is that we have a tight schedule and allowing students to turn in after class would encourage missing the lecture, which I certainly would not wish to happen.

  • Incomplete or Incorrect Assignments:

    Each assignment will be worth a certain number of points. We will award partial credit to incorrect and/or semi-legible submissions when appropriate. If you feel that your assignment was graded improperly, first talk to the TA. If after talking to the TA you still feel that you did not get the appropriate score, e-mail me, see me at office hours, or set up an appointment.

• Exams
  
  There will be NO MAKEUP exams. Time is short and it will be very difficult to administer and create a second exam for someone who missed it. However, even if you do miss an exam, it is not necessarily a disaster.
  
  Your lowest exam score will be replaced by the final exam grade if doing so will get you a higher grade.

Online section

• Testing
  • For taking tests, you will need to have a person proctor your exam. A proctor may be a faculty member or administrator of an accredited university or university (see here for the full list of approved persons).
  • You need to fill out this form and send it to me by the first day of class. Note that it is your responsibility to find a proctor.
  • DO NOT send the form to the outreach college. Scan it and send it to me via e-mail. I am using the Outreach College's form, but they are not associated with this class.
  • Additionally, you should have your proctor send an e-mail to me with regards to who they are. That is, they should provide information that should let me confirm that they are one of the approved persons for proctoring the exam (as specified in the form).
• Lecture videos
  • We will be recording the lectures with Panopto. See the section titled "Lecture Recordings" on how to access them.
  • It is your responsibility to keep up with the lectures. However, if for some reason, the lecture recordings are not available or are of poor quality (i.e. audio is missing), please let me know as soon as possible and I will try to remedy the issue.

Miscellaneous Class Policies:

• Classroom Behavior:
  • Cell Phones and Pagers: Please make your phones inaudible during lecture. It will disrupt the class.

  • Talking with Your Neighbors: Making a few comments to your neighbor is fine. However, be aware that conversations tend to develop and grow louder, which will disrupt the class. So, exercise restraint and keep it to a minimum.

• Response Time:

  The TA and I will attempt to reply to email and Piazza postings from students within 24 hours.

• Extra Credit:

  I will not be offering extra credit for the course.

• Missed Classes:

  See Also:

  • Accommodation of Religious Observance and Practice: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/religiousobservanceandpractice

  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/2013-14/policies/audit.htm

  If you are auditing this class, you may attend lecture. If you are considering changing it to a graded course, contact me and I will grade your assignments and exams. Otherwise, I will not grade assignments or exams (for the sake of time).

Miscellaneous University Policies:

• On Dropping a Class:

  See Also:

  • 2014 Dates and Deadlines: Important Drop Dates.

  The last day to drop without a grade is on June 25, 2014. We will have had 11 classes by then (during the 3rd week of classes). The class is about 9 weeks long.
  I plan on having at least two homeworks graded before the drop date. That should give you some notion of how well you will do in the class.
  

  Nevertheless, 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 or your academic adviser may help. But

• 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/2011-12/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:	• Requesting Services from the UA Disability Resource Center: http://drc.arizona.edu/students/requesting-services
  	• 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 barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me so that we can discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that disability-related accommodations are necessary, please register 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/threatening-behavior-students

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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