Contents
Find Grades
This course has its own gradebook page where feedback on labs and homeworks can be found. Quiz grades can be seen on the quiz page.
Grading Policy
Grading is one of the aspects of a course that instructors enjoy even less than students. Still, we are stuck with them, so here goes.
| Portion of course | Percentage of Final Grade |
|---|---|
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Exam 1 | 15% |
| Exam 2 | 15% |
| Final Exam | 20% |
| Homework + Labs | 40% |
Your final grade is computed based on the percentage of points you have earned and is designed to match the GPA value of each letter.
For some reason, that is not a linear scale: for example, A- − B+ = 0.4 grade points while B+ − B = 0.3 grade points.
For some even more obscure reason, the most common grading scale I have seen is also not linear but differently spaced than the grade points.
Following is a scale spaced like the grade point scale:
| You get | if you score | Which is worth |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | near the top | 4.0 |
| A | ≥ 93% | 4.0 |
| A− | ≥ 90% | 3.7 |
| B+ | ≥ 86% | 3.3 |
| B | ≥ 83% | 3.0 |
| B− | ≥ 80% | 2.7 |
| C+ | ≥ 76% | 2.3 |
| C | ≥ 73% | 2.0 |
| C− | ≥ 70% | 1.7 |
| D+ | ≥ 66% | 1.3 |
| D | ≥ 63% | 1.0 |
| D− | ≥ 60% | 0.7 |
| F | otherwise |
We do not round grades. 92.99% is not ≥ 93% and is thus an A−, not an A.
We do not curve grades: if you all fail, you all fail; if you all ace, you all ace. However, rubrics for assignments are not linear: instead, we determine how well we expect a passing student to perform and assign a per-assignment rubric to match. This is common practice for homework in CS; it is less common for exams. Our exams might feel unusually difficult as a consequence.
Credit for late assignments
Late homework submissions will receive a 10% penalty up to 48 hours late, and a 15% penalty up to 72 hours late, and will not be accepted past that time. Late quizzes will not be accepted, but approximately 10% of quiz scores (probably two quizzes) will be dropped. Late labs will usually not be accepted. Exams makeups will be handled case-by-case as needed.
Academic Honesty
We expect all homeworks and quizzes to be completed individually except for some homeworks which we explicitly allow to be done with partners. You may not share code or consult assignment solutions from previous semesters. You may not share quiz questions before the quiz deadline. You are encouraged, however, to discuss the assignments in general and provide advice to other students that does not amount to sharing code, pseudocode, or instructions that otherwise essentially solve the assignment. We may use automated tools to look for similarities between homework submissions that suggest excessive collaboration.
Labs may be done collaboratively, including sharing code. Your lab submissions should indicate who you worked with.
Quizzes are open-book and open-notes. Exams are closed-book, closed-notes, and administered in class time.
Your submissions for labs and homeworks should not make extensive use of code found online. Incidental use (utility code that does not solve a significant part of any of the objectives of the assignment) is okay, but must be clearly cited. If you are unsure whether something would qualify as “incidental”, please consult the course staff first.
If we believe you have cheated, we may apply an arbitrarily harsh grade penalty up to and including an F in the course. This penalty is independent of (and potentially in addition to) any findings of the University Honor System.
Special Circumstances
If you may require an accommodation to fully access this course, please contact the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC) at (434) 243-5180 or sdac@virginia.edu.
If you have other sorts of special circumstances, please also do not hestitate to contact the course staff about your circumstances.