CSC 2053 - Algorithms and Data Structures III

Spring 2014                  Thursdays 6-8:45pm                MSC G87             Villanova University           Dr Mary-Angela Papalaskari
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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