Course Description - CSCI 271, Fall 2011

Course Description - CSCI 271, Fall 2011

Academic Integrity Policy

Please make sure you read the Academic Integrity Policy of this course.

Textbooks

Required textbook:

K. Rosen. Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, McGraw Hill, 7th edition.

Topics Covered (tentative)

Introduction and motivating examples
Logic and proofs
Number theory
Algorithms and Analysis
Induction and recursion
Counting and Discrete Probability
Graphs and Trees

Workload

Homework: There will be approximately 7 homework assignments.

Exams: There will be two midterms and a final. The exams are closed book and closed notes.

Any schedule conflicts involving exam dates must be reported to the instructor within one week of the announcement of the exam date.

Announcements and E-mail

Most class related announcements will be either posted on the class web page or done through e-mail.

Please do not ask the following types of questions in your e-mail (although they are appropriate for office hours):

Here is my understanding of X. Am I right (or is this correct)?
(You can do this for just about everything and in many different ways. And the instructor and the TAs do not have the bandwidth to be able to reply to too many such questions.)
I don't understand X. Could you explain X to me?
(It is difficult to give detailed explanations of concepts over email. And, it is your responsiblity to come to lectures and ask questions during lectures if there is something you do not understand.)

Grading

Homeworks: 15%
Midterm 1: 20%
Midterm 2: 25%
Final: 40%

Please also note the following:

The above percentages will be used to calculate your total score. Final grades (A,B,C,D,or F) will be determined using a modified curve (i.e., we won't necessarily assign an equal number of failing grades as passing grades) based on this total score. In addition, the scale given below will be used. No other methods will be considered. (So, please do not ask the instructor to take how much you have improved since the beginning of the semester into account. You are expected to try your best from the beginning!)
The instructor will use the following cutoffs. Let G be your final score, as calculated according to the above given percentages. Then, if G is 80% or above, you will get some form of an A (A+, or A, or A-); if G is 65% or above (but below 80%), you will get some form of a B (B+, or B, or B-); if G is 50% or above (but below 65%), you will get some form of a C (C+, or C, or C-). If G is below 50%, you might receive a D or an F. Depending on the class average, the percentages for each grade category might go down, but they will not go up.
We will assign grades of C and below to individuals who do not perform satisfactorily in the above areas (i.e., you should not assume a B- or even C if you perform unsatisfactorily). However, we hope that everyone will perform well.
All submitted work is your own work! Please make sure that you have read the Academic Integrity Policy of this course.
We will not assign incompletes unless it is for a documented medical reason (in accordance with USC policy).

Homework Submission and Late Policy

Unless specified otherwise for a particular assignment, the submission and late policies are as follows. Written homeworks should be submitted at the end of class, on paper. If you cannot submit your homework in class or are submitting late, you have two options: (1) submit it to the instructor in person or (2) submit it to the TAs in person. No other means of submission are acceptable (unless you have explicit permission from the instructor); please do not leave homework in the instructor's mailbox. (In exceptional cases, such as travel, you can contact the instructor to obtain permission to submit electronically.) Every student in the class has a total of 5 late days of homework (business days) that can be arbitrarily spread out among homework assignments without the need to provide a reason. This is intended as an unbureaucratic way of dealing with legitimate reasons for late submissions. You may use them for other reasons if you choose, but this does not mean you are entitled to 5 late days in addition to any legitimate ones. No submissions will ever be accepted more than 5 business days (one week) late. If a submission is late, and the 5 total late days are exceeded, we will not accept that submission. For counting late days, a solution counts as submitted on a certain day if it was submitted in one of the above stated ways by the deadline time specified for that assignment. If a solution is submitted in multiple parts on different days, then the official submission date is that of the last part that was submitted.

Regrading Policy

All requests to change grading of assignments or exams need to be submitted in writing within one week of the time the initial grade was given. (If the request is not submitted within one week, the instructor reserves the right not to re-grade that assignment or exam.) Requests must be specific and explain why you feel your answer deserves additional credit. A request to re-grade something can result in the entire work being re-evaluated and as a result the score of any part of that work can be increased or lowered as appropriate.

Extra Credit

No extra credit assignments or exams will be given for this class. So, there is not need to ask. Try your best from the beginning!

Implicit Student Agreement

All work must be that of the individual student. It is often productive to study with other students. However, if any portion of any submitted work is found to be shared between two (or more) students, zero credit will be given to all students concerned and all students will be disciplined. This policy is in the interest of those students who do their own work, which hopefully applies to all of you in this class.

It is the student's responsibility to submit their work on time.

Student Responsibilities

During the semester you are responsible for completing the assigned readings, assignments, and exams.

You are expected to read the relevant parts of the required text in detail. Not all details will be covered in class.

We expect you to attend every class meeting. If you do happen to miss a session, you are responsible for finding out what material was covered and if any administrative announcements were made. You must do so BEFORE the next session (e.g., if there is an assignment given during the missed session, you are still responsible for completing it by the next week along with the other students).

Fairness

The instructor must treat all students equally and cannot give special treatment to any particular student. Therefore, please do not ask for special treatment from the instructor because of your circumstances. This may seem unfair to you because you believe that you have special circumstances. But the rule the instructor follows is that whatever is offered to you, must be offered to the entire class.