Grading

Missing the Final Exam: In rare cases, where there is clear justification, a deferred examination may be allowed if the missed work is a final examination. Deferral requests should go directly to the Office of the Dean of Science, not to me. See the Exam Issues FAQ for the UBC Faculty of Science for the examination deferral request policy. See also the list of legitimate vs. inadequate reasons for missing a final, and the form of the expected documentation for the small set of legitimate reasons.

Religious Holidays: Students who are scheduled to attend classes or write examinations on the holy days of their religion must notify the instructor in writing two weeks in advance of the religious holiday they wish to observe. The instructor will provide opportunity for students to make up the missed work or examination without penalty (UBC Policy 65).

Disability Resource Center: The UBC DRC supports students who need exam accomodations. You must give me the DRC paperwork within the first four weeks of class.

• Definitely read UBC Computer Science Guidelines and Practives Regarding Collaboration
• See also UBC policies and procedures regarding academic misconduct for more on the penalties for plagiarism.

Academic Misconduct

Don't cheat! It's a very, very bad idea. You won't learn the material so you'll do badly on the exams in this course, and be lost in later courses. And there's a good chance you'll get caught. The penalties are can be very serious: failing the class, being suspended, having a permanent notation on your transcript. I do regularly prosecute students for cheating, even though it's traumatic for everybody involved (including me), because I think it's very important to have a level playing field for everybody in the course.

If you're feeling stressed, come talk to the instructor or the TAs to get help - at the labs, or the posted office hours, or make an appointment. Don't be afraid to come in and say you're confused, we're here to help you get unconfused. Of course, it's good to come talk to us before you're completely overwhelmed.

What's allowed

• discussing general approaches to solving assigned problems with other students
• discussing the merits of a proposed solution with instructor or TAs
• using code provided by the instructor
• if you do have any significant discussion with other students about a specific assignment:
  • one-hour context switch rule: do not take any written notes, and then do something else for an hour before you go back to work on your own. Some folks call this the "Gilligan's Island" rule - but you can do whatever you want during that hour break, it doesn't have to be watching mindless TV!
  • attribution: acknowledge your discussion by including a list of their names in what you hand in: either as comments at the top of the code, or in a README file.

• doing assignments together with other people and handing in the joint work as your own
• getting or giving code to anybody else electronically (email, IM/chat)
• getting or giving code to anybody else on paper
• typing in code you see on another student's screen in the lab
• using code somebody wrote in a previous term
• paying somebody money to do the assignments
• looking at somebody else's paper during an exam
• looking at unauthorized materials during an exam

If you share code with another person, that counts as cheating by both people. Remember that you cannot control what happens after code leaves your possession. Maybe they'll turn it in as their own work on purpose. Maybe they'll turn it in as their own work by mistake. Maybe they'll send it along to somebody else, who will then turn it in.

If you have any questions at all about a grey area, don't hestitate to ask the instructor.

Penalties The possible penalties for plagiarism include

• failing the specific assignment with a mark of 0
• failing the entire course with a mark of 0
• a reprimand in your university record
• a notation on your permanent transcript
• being suspended from the university
• being expelled from the university