CSC 2053 - Algorithms and Data
Structures III
CSC 2053 is the third course in the introductory sequence in computer
science. Topics include nonlinear data structures and scientific
applications of computing. This course has a strong programming
emphasis.
Office Hours: MSC 162C Mondays 11am-1pm; Thursdays 3-5pm; or by appointment.
Helpdesk: MSC G85 - Grad TAs available to help with technical issues and debugging. See schedule for hours.
Textbook: Algorithms, 4th Edition by Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne.
http://algs4.cs.princeton.edu/home/
Course Structure
The class meetings
will combine lectures, exercises, labs (short
programming projects), and
weekly quizzes to help you stay on track with the material. You will
have weekly reading and homework exercises to review material from
lectures and programming projects. The course
schedule
contains links to all course materials and assignments. The course is
hands-on and interactive, both in and out of the classroom (we will be
using Piazza
for online collaboration and discussion).
Projects 30%
Several programming
projects will be assigned throughout the
semester designed to exercise various problem solving techniques and
the use of certain programming language constructs. Projects will be
similar to lab exercises, but are intended to be done outside class. It
is acceptable to collaborate with other students on
projects, but such collaboration
must be documented and you must be
able to explain the workings of any program(s) handed in for a project.
Projects must be handed in on the due date to receive full credit or up
to a maximum of one week late, with penalty 5% per day that the project
is late. The only exceptions to the late penalties are as follows: (1)
Every student is allowed 4 late days for the whole semester (these
should be saved to be used in case of an emergency, think of them as
your sick days); (2) Extensions
will be granted in
cases of extreme hardship documented by a note from the Dean's
office.
Quizzes 30% --- Midterm 15% --- Final 25%
There will be a weekly 10-15 min
quiz at the beginning of each class. The quiz is a
way to help you stay on top of the material and to alert you to areas
where you need to focus more attention. To do well in the
quiz it is important to actively participate in class, and to keep
up with the reading, review questions, and homework exercises assigned
with each lecture. Missed
quizzes cannot be made up, but the two lowest
quiz grades will be dropped from the quiz average. In addition to the quizzes, there will be a midterm and a final exam. While the
quizzes will focus on the recent material, the midterm and final
exams will be cumulative. If you must miss the midterm or final, please
provide
appropriate
documentation and make arrangements for a make-up, if possible, before
or as soon afterward as feasible. A missed midterm or final without
adequate documentation will count as zero points toward the final grade.
Grades
Points will be
mapped to letter grades as shown below.
When you have a
question about an assigned grade, please resolve the issue within one
week of the return
of the assignment or test.
94 - 100 % |
A |
90 - 93 % |
A- |
85 - 89 % |
B+ |
80 - 84 % |
B |
78-79 % |
B- |
76 - 77 % |
C+ |
70 - 75 % |
C |
68 - 69 % |
C- |
66 - 67 % |
D+ |
60 - 65 % |
D |
55 - 59 % |
D- |
<55 % |
Academic Integrity
Students in this
class are expected to conduct themselves in an
ethical, professional manner and to adhere to Villanova University's code for Academic
Integrity
- Working together with other students can be a great way to learn,
so it
is much encouraged in this class: you are allowed to discuss your
reading, practice exercises, and lab
assignments, and projects with your peers and to collaborate on coming
up with
solutions. Even so, you should never simply copy or allow someone
to
copy your work. You must be able to explain in
detail any work that you
hand in for projects. Please document any significant help you received
in
completing the projects.
- Quizzes and exams are, of course, to be done
individually.
- It is your responsibility to be familiar with the Academic
Integrity policies of the department and the university.
- If you have any questions regarding what constitutes plagiarism
in the
context of this course, do not hesitate to discuss them with your
professor.