All course handouts will be available through the course page, and some supplementary materials such as code to use as a starting point in assignments may be available there as well. The URL for this course is http://www.gustavus.edu/~wolfe/287/.
Attendance is mandatory for all lab days, unless you have already turned in all homework and lab assignments that have been distributed. I will excuse up to three absences per student, for any reason. Use yours wisely. If you exceed this allowance, I may reduce your course grade by one letter grade.
Any substantive contribution to your solution by another person or taken from a publication should be properly acknowledged in writing. Failure to do so is plagiarism and will necessitate disciplinary action.
The same standards regarding plagiarism apply to team projects as to the work of individuals, except that the author is now the entire team rather than an individual. Anything taken from a source outside the team should be be properly cited.
One additional issue that arises from the team authorship of project reports is that all team members must stand behind all reports bearing their names. All team members have quality assurance responsibility for the entire project. If there is irreconcilable disagreement within the team it is necessary to indicate as much in the reports; this can be in the form of a ``minority opinion'' or ``dissenting opinion'' section where appropriate.
You may turn in any homework problem whenever you think you have it solved. I will return it to you as quickly as I can, but normally with only an indication of whether it is acceptable or needs more work. (Sometimes I may give a brief indication of what area it needs more work in.) If a problem needs more work, and you aren't sure what sort of work it still needs, you should treat that as an invitation to come talk with me about it. Once you've done the additional work, you may turn the problem in again. In fact, you may turn in each problem in as many times as you like, until it is marked as acceptable. Your grade for the homework portion of the course will be based on the fraction of homework problems that you eventually did acceptably.
Normally homework problems may be turned in at any time. However, if the class is not being responsible, and it looks like I may be faced with a flood of problems at the end of the semester, I may set due dates (always at least a week in the future). Also, if we would benefit from discussing a homework problem in class, I may issue a ``last call'' for solutions to that problem (again, at least a week in advance).
Unless I indicate that a particular problem must be done individually, you may work on any problem in a group of two or three students. Any solution produced by such a team should be turned in only once, with all team members names on it. Write ``we all contributed fairly to this solution'' and have all team members sign under that statement.
All lab assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day indicated. Late assignments will be penalized by one ``grade notch'' (such as A to A- or A- to B+) for each weekday late or fraction thereof. However, no late assignments will be accepted after graded assignments are handed back.
If you are too sick to complete an assignment on time, you will not be penalized. Simply write ``late due to illness'' at the top of the assignment, sign your name and hand it in. Other circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
However, I reserve the right to subjectively adjust your final grade. Please see me if you have any question how you stand. Class participation is not graded; however, it allows you to find and repair the gaps in your understanding before doing the assignments, and thus can dramatically improve your grade. You are responsible for all course material, whether or not you are present when it was covered or distributed.
All assignments should be readily readable, and should not presuppose that I already know what you are trying to say. Use full English sentences where appropriate (namely almost everywhere) and clear diagrams, programs, etc. Remember that your goal is to communicate clearly, and that the appearance of these technical items plays a role in this communication process. Be sure your assignments are always stapled together and that your name is always on them.