Syllabus: CS 490

The focus of CS 490 is the Planning and Design of your Senior Capstone project.  The major product for this semester will be your requirements document, schedule, and project prototype.  You will not begin coding on your project around week 10 of the semester.

Prerequisite: CS major with Senior standing and at least one 400 level CS class with a grade of "C" or better taken at Pacific University
Meeting Times: TTh:  02:45 - 4:00 PM
Office Hours:
M 2-4,
T 11-noon,
Th 1-2pm
Location: Strain 101

Course Assessment:
Grade Distribution:

Percent Breakdown:

Important Dates:

A & S Calendar: http://www.pacificu.edu/calendar/academic/ascalendar0910.cfm
Course Policies:

1. Attendance at every class is critical to your success in this course. I expect you to be on time and ready to go once it is 2:45 PM and that you stay until the end of class. Any missed lecture is your responsibility to make up. Much of this class involves students leading lectures, peer-review of documents and code, and group exercises.  It is vital that each student be prepared and ontime for each class meeting.

2. Assignments are to be turned in by 11:59pm on the day they are due unless otherwise specified.  Absolutely no late assignments will be accepted. Some of the due dates for assignments will be set by your professor, others will be determined by your schedule. In either case, you are responsible for making your deadlines. More details and policies for setting your schedule will be discussed in class.  Most assignments will need to turned in electronically (via GoogleDocs) and as hard copy (via being slide under the instructor's door).

3. Your project completeness grade will reflect how well you implemented your project as planned. Unnecessary modifications to your project (e.g. eliminations of elements due to time) will severely penalize your grade.

• First Change Request: Free
• Second Change Request: -2 percentage points off your final grade
  
• Third Change Request: -4 pts percentage points off your final grade
• Fourth Change Request: -8 pts percentage points off your final grade
• The pattern should be evident.
  

4. If you are scheduled to lead a discussion or make a presentation, you must be in class. No exceptions.

5. The format of this class will not be a traditional lecture. I will expect you to participate and come to class prepared to talk about your project. Also, you will be expected to work independently. I will provide you with access to information, but many times you will be required to learn it on your own.

6. Pacific University has no tolerance for academic dishonesty.  It is university policy that all acts of academic dishonesty be reported to the Assistant/Associate Dean.  Sanctions that may be imposed for academic dishonesty range from an "F" for the assignment, an "F" for the course, and suspension or dismissal from the university.  Forms of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, fabrication, cheating, tampering with grades, forging signatures, and using electronic information resources in violation of acceptable use policies.  Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words, ideas, or data without proper documentation or acknowledgment; it may entail self-plagiarism, i.e. reusing/resubmitting your own work without approval.  Any use of third party libraries or code must be properly cited and receive prior approval from the instructor.  Quotations must be clearly marked, and sources of information must be clearly indicated in all student work.  Please consult the Academic Conduct Policies in the A&S Catalog.

7. All code in any form generated from this course becomes the intellectual property of Pacific University. You may not share this code with anyone without obtaining written permission from Pacific University. 

8. Neither computer failure, software failure, nor lack of computer access are accepted as excuses for late assignments; therefore, start work on the assignments as soon as they are assigned, and don't put them off until the last minute. Further, corruption of programs due to bad disk media is also not accepted as an excuse for late programs; therefore, always keep a current backup of all programs on a separate disk. Please note that the Computer Science lab machines are not backed up.

9. I reserve the right to raise or lower your grade based on class participation and attendance. Specifically, I may lower your grade or may officially withdraw you from the course through the tenth week of the semester for poor attendance or participation. Further, your final grade may be lowered by 1/3 of your final course grade for each day (or portion thereof) of class missed. Please notify me PRIOR to class if you must miss class for any reason. Just sending an email prior to missing class does not guarantee you will be cleared to miss. Only legitimate reasons will be accepted as excuses for missing class.

10. No project may be work for which you receive any restitution, whether it be money or credit for another class.

11. The project will become the intellectual property of Pacific University at the end of the course sequence. Therefore, the project cannot be tied to any particular company.

12. No exams will be given in this class.

13. If you are unhappy with something related to the class, then schedule an appointment to see me so that we can discuss it in my office. Complaining in class or out of class to other students gets us nowhere. If you have a complaint regarding a grade on an assignment or exam, write a one paragraph description of why you feel the grade is incorrect and deliver it to the instructor. The paragraph must be delivered to the instructor within one calendar week of when the graded material is returned to the student. I will not consider any grade changes later than one week after the graded material is returned.

14. You may be asked to leave the classroom if you are causing a distraction e.g. cell phone ringing, talking, etc

16. If you have a documented disability covered under the ADA then services and accommodations are available from LSS (Learning Support Services). If you need reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements, you must contact Edna K. Gehring, Director of LSS , at X2107. She will meet with you, review the documentation of their disabilities, and discuss the services Pacific offers.

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