CMSC 27200 Theory of Algorithms: Winter 2015

Course Mechanics

Homework

Homework will be assigned weekly, posted on Wednesday or Thursday on the course homepage. It will be due the following Wednesday before the beginning of class.
Change of policy: Late homework will not be accepted. The problems will be discussed in Wednesday's problem session.

There will be weekly discussion sessions where past homework and test problems will be discussed. Attending these sessions will help you prepare for future homework and tests.

To make it easier on the graders, we ask you to typeset your solutions in LaTeX, print and submit the printed page. (Attach hand-drawn figures.) Contact us by email if you are not familiar with LaTeX. In this case we expect you will learn LaTeX by January 25 and submit your typeset solutions after that date. In any case, please write legibly. Staple pages together, and put your name on each page of the homework. Do not send solutions by email.

Homework will come in three categories:

• "DO" exercises. These are intended for you to check that you understand the concepts and techniques. Solve them, but do not hand in your solutions, they will not earn you points. We encourage you to discuss your solutions with your peers. You do not need to report any help you may have received in solving the DO exercises; however, if you need much help with them, this is a sign that you may be struggling with the concepts and techniques. If this is the case, this course may not be appropriate for you.
  If you feel you need feedback on your solutions to "DO" exercises, you may hand them in on separate sheets, separately stapled, and clearly marked as "DO exercises"; they may be graded at our discretion, depending on our grading capacity. You may also bring your solutions to the office hours or ask related questions during the discussion sessions.
• "HW problems" -- these are the normal homework problems you need to hand in.
• "XC" -- Extra credit problems. Please put your solutions to XC problems on separate sheets, separately stapled, and clearly marked as "XC problems." Collecting at least 25% of the extra credit points is a necessary condition for getting an A in the course. Your solutions to XC problems will also be considered in deciding borderline grades, and will be critical if you wish to ask the instructors for letters of recommendation in the future. If you think you might ask us for recommendation letters, please save your graded XC solutions.

Policy on collaboration, internet use, and academic integrity

What you hand in should be your work. It is OK to brainstorm with other students in the course, but you must write up the solution on your own.

We strongly discourage, but do not prohibit the use the internet to find solutions to homework problems. However, if you did use the internet, you are required to acknowledge this and provide the link. In general, academic integrity requires that you acknowledge all your sources. Other than the lectures, textbook (and assigned extra reading), and interactions with the TAs and with the instructor, you should explicitly list any help you had. For example:
  - I discussed this problem with X and s/he gave me the idea to use Dynamic Programming
  - I got the idea to use Dynamic Programming from the book (give author, title, chapter/section number) or from the web page (state name/affiliation of the author of the web page, the search words you used to find the page, and the link).
Include this information in the solution you submit, and also send it to the instructors in a plain-text email to help reduce the graders' administrative load and to allow the instructors to monitor the amount of help needed for each problem in real time so they can react (e.g., by adding an explanation of the problem in class if this seems necessary) and to allow the instructors to contact you if they have questions or concerns. Clarifying such questions or concerns as they arise may help you avoid more serious problems later on. And once again, even if you used help, you must write up the solution on your own, without any aids such as notes on a whiteboard or notes you took while discussing the problem. Of course you are free to use the textbooks listed and your class notes.

Violations of the academic integrity policy will be treated in accordance with University policies, and may lead to a failing grade and possibly other consequences.

Communication

1. Do not post answers to homework problems, or give strong hints to solutions.
2. It is good to ask questions. It may save hours of confusion or useless work.
3. Feel free to answer questions on Piazza (but remember 1.)
4. One of us will try to answer (or confirm a student's answer) as soon as we can.
5. Before asking a question, check whether it has been asked/answered.

Grading

1. In order to get an A you will have to get at least 25% of the Extra Credit points
2. Your final grade cannot be higher than your homework grade PLUS 2/3 of a grade. So for instance if your HW grade is B- then your course grade will be B+ or lower. To get an A, you need to have HW grade at least B+. (The previous stricter policy was relaxed 2-16-2015.)