Your grade will be computed based on assignments, exams, and quizzes. There are a total of 1,000 points available, broken down as follows:
There will be 7 assignments during the semester. Most will involve programming, and some will also include short-answer questions. The programming assignments are based on a working operating system kernel called ‘GeekOS’, developed at the University of Maryland. Although it runs on real hardware, for convenience we will run GeekOS on a virtual machine called VirtualBox. The first assignment will have further details about how to set it all up. Assignments are worth 100 points each, but I will drop your lowest score so only 6 assignments will count, for a total of 600 points.
There are 6 quizzes scheduled throughout the semester, to make sure you are following along and reviewing your notes after each meeting. Quizzes are worth 50 points each, but I will drop the lowest two scores so only 4 will count, for a total of 200 points.
There will be a final exam, worth 200 points. Although there is no midterm, the quizzes will be representative of the kinds of problems on the final.
On the 1,000-point scale, you can expect the following letter grades:
| ≥ 870: | B+ | ≥ 770: | C+ | ≥ 670: | D+ | ||
| ≥ 930: | A | ≥ 830: | B | ≥ 730: | C | ≥ 600: | D |
| ≥ 900: | A– | ≥ 800: | B– | ≥ 700: | C– | else: | F |
In the end, I may choose to adjust the scale slightly to compensate for assignments or questions that turned out to be trickier than I intended. Such adjustments would never lower your grade from what is designated in the above table; if you get 930 points, you are guaranteed an A.
No late assignments will be accepted, because we will discuss and evaluate your work promptly after the deadline. This helps to ensure that everyone receives timely feedback, and that you can learn from mistakes while they are still fresh in your mind.
There will be no extra credit. Students usually ask for extra credit late in the semester after they have already messed up their original opportunities. Be sure to start your work early, so that we can detect and solve any problems before they can affect your grade.
Plagiarism is the use or presentation of ideas, words, or work that is not one’s own and that is not common knowledge, without granting credit to the originator. Plagiarism is a practice that is not only unacceptable, but which is to be condemned in the strongest terms possible on the basis of moral, educational and legal grounds. Under University policy, plagiarism may be punishable by a range of penalties from a failing grade in the assignment or course to dismissal from the School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences. All students are required to read the handbook on avoiding plagiarism by visiting http://bit.ly/lVShWN
Cheating includes, but is not limited to the following: falsification of statements or data; listing sources that have not been used; having another individual write your paper or do your assignments; writing a paper or creating work for another student to use without proper attribution; purchase of paper or research work for one’s submission as his/her own work; using written, verbal, or electronic or other sources of aid during an examination (except when expressly permitted by the instructor, depending on the nature of the examination) or knowingly providing such assistance to aid other students.
Showing up on time to class every week is extremely important. If you must be absent or more than 5 minutes late, please try to notify me in advance. I will be keeping track of whether you are in class, and when you arrive. A few missed classes will not count against you, but habitual absence will significantly hurt your grade. Additionally, there will be no make-up quizzes. I do not distinguish between ‘excused’ and ‘unexcused’ absence. Unless you miss an exam due to a severe medical emergency, I don’t want to see a doctor’s note. If you do miss an exam, the make-up exam will be different – and probably not easier.
Long Island University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to register with Special Education Services (SES) as early as possible and to provide faculty members with the formal communication from SES for suitable accommodations. All accommodations must be approved through SES. Contact Information: 718 488 1221 or 718 488 1044.
New York State defines one credit as a total of 15 hours instructional time, plus 30 hours of student preparation. Thus, a typical three-credit course will amount to 45 hours instruction plus 90 hours preparation. (For these computations, an ‘hour’ actually consists of 50 minutes.)
In the blended format of this course, we interpret the New York State guidelines as follows. Face-to-face sessions last for three (50-minute) hours; eight such sessions yield 24 hours direct (face-to-face) instruction. Online resources and activities make up the rest.
Our estimates of time commitments for each unit are given in the table below.
| Module | Face-to-face instruction | Online instruction | Assignment preparation | Total hours |
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 24 |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 35 |
| 3 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 37 |
| 4 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 25 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 35 |
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 24 |
| total | 24 | 36 | 120 | 180 |
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