Principles of Computing for Science Fall 2024
CS 114

Notes:

• The weighted exam average is (20 × midterm + 40 × final) / 60.
• You must pass both the assignment portion and the weighted exam average portion of the course in order to pass the course.  If you do not pass both the assignment portion and the weighted exam average, then your final grade is either the assignment portion or the weighted exam average, whichever is lower.
• All assignments are weighted equally, except for Assignment 0 which does not contribute to the final grade in the course.
• If in-person exams cannot be held then they will be held online (if possible).  An online exam will have half of its weight moved to the assignment component.
• If an online exam is not possible (e.g. due to not having enough time to switch format) then that exam will be cancelled.  Half of the weight will be moved to the assignment component, and the other half will be moved to the other exam.
• Students have the option of self-declaring a short-term absence, as described here: https://uwaterloo.ca/registrar/current-students/undergraduate-student-short-term-absences
  To accommodate self-declared short-term absences, your lowest quiz, assignment, and participation mark will be automatically dropped (even if the date of each lowest assessment does not correspond to the date of your self-declared short-term absence, or if you do not have a self-declared short-term absence). If your self-declared short-term absence coincides with the date of the midterm, the grading weight of the midterm exam will be added to the final exam.

Assignments: Assignments will be submitted to MarkUs. Once you submit an assignment to MarkUs, you will receive an email consisting of basic tests that you passed or failed. Students should check their basic tests email to ensure that the code meets the specification exactly. We will not accept submissions that do not match our test output exactly. There will be no extensions on assignments. If ill, please complete a complete a Verification of Illness Form and contact the course coordinator to discuss alternate arrangements. Reweighting of assignments is not automatic even with a valid doctor's note and is up to the sole discretion of the instructor and coordinator to allow for reweighting. Remark requests for assignments can be made up to one week after the assignment has been returned by filling out the remark request form and submitting it to the appropriate drop box in our LEARN course shell.

Generative AI: This course includes the independent development and practice of specific skills, such as writing and reading code, tracing, and algorithm design. Therefore, the use of Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) trained using large language models (LLM) or other methods to produce text, images, music, or code, like Chat GPT, DALL-E, or GitHub CoPilot, is not permitted in this class. Unauthorized use in this course, such as running course materials through GenAI or using GenAI to complete a course assessment is considered a violation of Policy 71 (plagiarism or unauthorized aids or assistance). Work produced with the assistance of AI tools does not represent the author’s original work and is therefore in violation of the fundamental values of academic integrity including honesty, trust, respect, fairness, responsibility and courage (ICAI, n.d.). 

You should be prepared to show your work. To demonstrate your learning, you should keep your rough notes, including research notes, brainstorming, and drafting notes. You may be asked to submit these notes along with earlier drafts of your work, either through saved drafts or saved versions of a document. If the use of GenAI is suspected where not permitted, you may be asked to meet with your instructor or TA to provide explanations to support the submitted material as being your original work. Through this process, if you have not sufficiently supported your work, academic misconduct allegations may be brought to the Associate Dean. 

In addition, you should be aware that the legal/copyright status of generative AI inputs and outputs is unclear. More information is available from the Copyright Advisory Committee: https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-at-waterloo/teaching/generative-artificial-intelligence 

Students are encouraged to reach out to campus supports if they need help with their coursework including: 

• Office hours with your instructor or ISAs (see the schedule in Learn)
• Student Success Office for help with skills like notetaking and time management
• Writing and Communication Centre for assignments with writing or presentations
• AccessAbility Services for documented accommodations
• Library for research-based assignments

Academic integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.]

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for their actions. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.] A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.

Note for students with disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students' submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin in this course.

It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit alternate assignment.