Course Policies and FAQ

Got a question about the course? Try looking through this page to find the answer before posting on Piazza. For the homework lateness policy please see the general information page. For style policies please see the style guide.

Academic Integrity

Any and all submitted work must be your own. If an assignment/lab is to be completed individually, only you and the course staff are allowed to look at your code. If an assignment/lab is to be completed with a partner, only you, your partner and the course staff are allowed to look at your code.

You are allowed to discuss the problem sets with others, so long as you acknowledge (in comments, in your submitted files) whoever you discussed the problem with. Discussing the "what to solve" is OK, discussing "how to solve" is a slippery slope. Once you start discussing possible solutions, you may not realize when you have crossed the line. Ultimately we will judge you by the work you submit. If you think you are smart enough to use somebody’s code and hide it well enough to deceive us, please channel that intelligence towards completing the assignment yourself!

NOTE: Be aware that while submitting someone else’s code is clearly a violation, so is sharing your code with others, even if you truly just mean to help. You will be doing your friend or peer a disservice by helping them this way. Please direct them to the course staff instead.

Outside an academic environment, sharing code with unauthorized parties can be a criminal offense and have severe and unanticipated consequences.

Submitting code that is not your own or sharing your code to unfairly help another student will be considered a violation of the University’s Academic Integrity Policy). Violations of academic integrity will be reported to OSCCR, and will have strong consequences on your grade, from an automatic zero on the assignment to failing the course.

If you are ever unsure of whether sharing is unacceptable or not, or you are struggling in the course, please contact one of the course staff. We are here to help.

Lecture Etiquette

We want the lectures to be worth their time for everyone. For you this means that we expect you to stick to standard etiquette rules: be on time; be considerate of others if you must leave during lecture; do not deprive others of their opportunity to learn, by creating distractions.

One common distraction is for people to use laptops in class for anything other than taking notes on lecture material, and perhaps running small pieces of code in DrRacket. Surfing the web or indulging in other time wasters not only hurts you—it also annoys people around you, who want to follow the lecture.

Our laptop policy is that we discourage their use during lecture, but we will permit them for the purposes listed above under “other than” only, or as suggested by the instructors. (See also “Attend the lecture” on the Advice tab, for using laptops and code examples, and “Taking Notes in Class: Laptop or Not” on the Interesting Articles tab.)

This policy may be revisited during the semester if necessary.

Regrading

Sometimes mistakes happen. If you are confused or concerned about your feedback, please don’t be afraid to reach out to your grader for further explanation. You must submit any requests for regrading within 7 days after the homework or exam feedback was released. This policy encourages you to look at your feedback earlier rather than later.

If you have a regrade request you should first reach out to the person who graded your work. Their name will be attached to their comments on the handin server, and their email address is available here (in the "Staff" section of the page). If the grader is unable to address your concerns you can approach a TA from your lab to ask for further help. If you ask your TA first, they will only direct you to the grader, so please see the grader first.

Students With Disabilities

Students who wish to receive academic services and/or accommodations should visit the Disability Resource Center at 20 Dodge Hall or call (617) 373-2675. If you have already done so and have been approved for accommodations, please provide your letter from the DRC to your professor early in the semester so that we can arrange those accommodations.

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects individuals from sex or gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on gender-identity, in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Northeastern’s Title IX Policy prohibits Prohibited Offenses, which are defined as sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship or domestic violence, and stalking. The Title IX Policy applies to the entire community, including male, female, transgender students, faculty and staff.

If you or someone you know has been a survivor of a Prohibited Offense, confidential support and guidance can be found through University Health and Counseling Services staff and the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy members. By law, those employees are not required to report allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the University.

Faculty members are considered "responsible employees" at Northeastern University, meaning they are required to report all allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator.

Please visit this page for a complete list of reporting options and resources both on- and off-campus.

FAQ

I got a zero on the automated style grader. What should I do?

Please take a look at the feedback from the style grader. To do this, click the "Grader Output" text next to the style score on the submission page. Fix the errors that you see on that page and then resubmit. You can submit as many times as you like before the deadline. Please remember to submit early and often so you have time to fix any errors.

I submitted the wrong file to the handin server. What should I do?

You are responsible for the work that you submit, so be careful to double check that your submission went through and is the correct file. Again, remember to submit early and often so you have time to fix any errors.

If it is before the deadline or grace period, please go into the handin server and re-submit. You can submit as many times as you like and only the most recent submission will be graded.

I submitted 0.000001 seconds after the deadline. Can you remove the late penalty?

The late penalty is an automatic process that is handled by the handin server. If you submit even just the tiniest bit after the deadline we can no longer consider your submission on time. We have to make a cutoff somewhere.

How do I check my grades for the course?

There is an estimated grade available for you at all times on the handin server. For detailed instructions on how to check that please see the handin server guide here. However, this grade is only an estimate and should not be used as an absolute determination of your grade.

Will the grades in this course be curved? What are the grade cutoffs? Do you round up?

The grades will computed on an absolute basis: there will be no overall curving. The instructor may choose to curve an individual homework or exam, but this is rare.

The mapping of raw point totals to letter grades is given below. Please note that these grade boundaries may move slightly at the discretion of the instructor, but the grade boundary for A is unlikely to change. Grades are not rounded: for instance, earning a 92.5% does not imply we will round up to a 93% and hence to an A.

When will X be graded?

The course staff work as fast as we can to get you your feedback. You should receive feedback on your homeworks within about a week of submitting them. Note: asking us when something will be graded does not speed up the process.

I’m having trouble with my partner. What should I do?

Working with another person isn’t always easy. It can be frustrating to try to explain your ideas to your partner, and it can sometimes feel like they are slowing you down. However, the ability to collaborate with others, and the skill to explain your ideas to someone else, is an essential skill both during your time at Northeasternm as well as while working in industry.

If you are facing any of these problems please try to work them out with your partner first. If your partner is unresponsive or does not change their behavior, please contact one of your lab TAs as soon as possible so we can help resolve the matter.

Occasionally we face more serious problems. If you feel that your partner is harassing you in any way, or is creating a toxic environment when you are together, please contact your professor. We hope this does not happen to you but if it does we hope you will talk to us about the problem so that we can find a solution as soon as possible. We will do our best to respect your privacy if you come forward with such an issue. Please see the Title IX section for more information about what that means. We will not ask you to reveal anything you are not comfortable sharing.