Course Requirements and Procedures

1. The course-work will be graded with the following distribution:

   Three Projects	50% (12%, 19%, 19%)
   Paper	10%
   One Midterm Exam	15%
   Comprehensive Final Exam	25%

2. Grading procedure: Course grades will be determined on the basis of the class curve. Each evaluation component will be letter-graded using the 14-point scale:
   
   A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F+, F
   
   The grade of A+ is reserved for exceptional work.

   The overall course grade will be the weighted average of the component letter grades. A rounding factor equivalent to 0.5 will be used. The overall letter grade will be mapped to UB's letter grade system as follows: A+ -> A; D- -> F; F+ -> F; the remaining grades map onto themselves.

   No special arrangements will be made for extra credit or other means of improving grades.

3. Exam make-ups: No make-ups will be granted unless sufficient prior notice is given to the instructor, and satisfactory documentation is produced to show an extenuating circumstance.
4. Late projects: Since I realize that the programming assignments in this class tend to require a lot of time, sometimes more than students anticipate, I am allowing late project submissions, with the penalties described in the Project Submission Policies handout.
5. The Paper: In this assignment you are required to learn about a topic that is of current interest. You will be given a choice of topics, for which you will be required to find references (both online and published). You will be required read that reference material and write a paper to answer some questions that will be given to you.
6. Grading Gripes: You must settle grading complaints within two weeks from the day the graded work is returned to you. You lose the right to re-grading after that. Grading gripes must first be discussed with the TA. Only when you and the TA fail to resolve the problem, will the instructor then mediate to settle the matter.
7. Homework: There is no homework assigned in this class. However, to aid your study of the material, as we complete each chapter of the textbook, I will provide a list of those Exercises from the book that I feel are most appropriate/useful/relevant to the course material.
8. Incompletes: ``I'' grades will be granted in very rare cases only. ``I'' grades are not to be used as a shelter from potentially low grades. I will be following University and Department policy on ``I'' grades.
9. Making up missed classes is entirely the student's responsibility. Under no circumstances should the instructor's assistance be assumed, (but if you ask nicely, I'll usually help).
10. Information dissemination: A lot of lecture- and project-specific information will be disseminated in the instructor's computer account on armstrong in the directory ~milun/cs421, and also on the web at http://www.cs.buffalo.edu/~milun/cs421/. In addition, a newsgroup sunyab.cs.421 is available for course related discussions among students and the instructor. Check news every time you log in. In addition, recitations will offer a lot of help on the projects.
11. Academic dishonesty: The minimum penalty will be an ``F'' grade in the course component in question for all parties involved. There is no group work assigned in this course. You are required to work on your own.
12. Disabilities: Students with disabilities (who are registered with the Office of Disability Services) and require special assistance, should contact the instructor to make such arrangements.