Course Syllabus

This page details adjustments to the original syllabus Links to an external site. associated with the mid-semester shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

These adjustments are made to balance the following:

1. Satisfy the original course learning outcomes and credit hour requirements.

2. Accommodate asynchronous activities and interaction for geographically-dispersed students with varying time zones and limited access to resources such as reliable high-speed internet.

3. Accommodate optional synchronous activities and interaction for students that prefer live class engagement.

See below for details. This page will be updated as the university polices related to the COVID-19 outbreak Links to an external site. are refined.

Course Details

This section covers basic information about the course, instructor, and teacher assistants.

CS 212-01 Software Development
Spring 2020 • 4 Credits

This course gives students experience with advanced programming topics, including inheritance and polymorphism, multithreaded programming, networking, database programming, and web development. Students will also learn techniques for designing, debugging, refactoring, and reviewing code.

CS 212 Course Catalog Links to an external site.

Lecture Sections Updated

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak Links to an external site., the university switched from in-person classes to online instruction starting Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

Under normal circumstances, this course had two 1 hour 45 minute lectures per week. With the switch to online instruction, this will be replaced with the following:

• Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes of asynchronous instruction and interaction.

  This will include approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes of pre-recorded lecture videos posted on Canvas and 15 minutes dedicated to Canvas discussions or quizzes related to the videos.

  These videos will be released on Tuesdays before the original 4:35pm lecture time (at the latest). The videos must be watched and discussions/quizzes completed within 48 hours, before the original Thursday 12:45pm lecture time.

• Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes of synchronous instruction and interaction via Zoom livestream with an asynchronous option for students unable to participate live.

  Students that do not participate in the livestream must instead complete an associated Canvas discussion. The Canvas discussion will be monitored for questions up until the deadline.

  These livestreams will generally occur Thursdays during the 12:45pm to 2:30pm lecture time using Zoom.

The exact breakdown will vary week-to-week.

Office Hours Updated

Office hours will now be conducted remotely via Zoom breakout rooms.

The course instructor and office hours are:

Sophie Engle
Zoom: 859-002-047 Links to an external site.
Mondays and Thursdays
2:45pm – 4:15pm

See the Offie Hours page for the teacher assistant office hour schedule.

Prerequisites Unchanged

Students must have completed CS 112 Introduction to Computer Science II Links to an external site. and CS 245 Data Structures and Algorithms Links to an external site. with grades of C or better before taking this class.

Learning Outcomes Unchanged

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Independently design programs
• Produce professional-quality source code
• Implement large programs with 1,000 to 2,000 source lines of code (SLOC)
• Design and execute tests to find and repair software bugs
• Redesign and refactor code to improve quality

Assessment of these outcomes will be done by a combination of quizzes, exams, homework, projects, and code review. See the course requirements below for details.

Required Materials Updated

Update: Due to the move to online instruction, you will need access to additional software and resources. See the Technology Guide Links to an external site. for details.

There are no required materials for this class. If students do not have access to their own laptop or computer, they may utilize one of the CS lab computers for completing assignments.

Important Dates Updated

Below are the important dates starting from week 09 until the end of the semester:

• 03/16 – 03/17: Classes Cancelled. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the university has cancelled all in person classes on this day.

• 03/18: Classes Online. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the university has moved all classes to online instruction starting on this day.

• 04/03: Project Cutoff 1. Last day to satisfy project pass requirement 1 to avoid an automatic F letter grade.

• 04/06: Withdraw Deadline. This is the last day students may withdraw from the class with a neutral "W" on their transcript.

• 04/28: Exam 2. Second exam, followed by a retake opportunity.

• 05/07: Project Cutoff 2. Last day to satisfy project pass requirement 2 to avoid an automatic F letter grade.

• 05/09 – 05/14: Final Code Reviews. Last project code review.

Instead of a final exam, there will final project code reviews during finals week.

Course Requirements

This section covers how the learning outcomes for this course will be assessed. This course will be a hybrid flipped classroom, with an emphasis on mastery learning. The majority of the grade will be derived from projects and exams. See the following subsections for details.

Pass Requirements Updated

To ensure students are meeting the learning outcomes for this course, students must meet the following minimum requirements to receive a non-failing grade (D- or higher) in this course:

• Exam Pass Requirement: Students must receive a C letter grade or higher on at least one exam (including retakes).

• Project Pass Requirement 1: Students must pass project 1 tests, project 1 code review, and project 2 tests by the project cutoff 1 deadline on Friday April 03, 2020.

  Update: The project 1 code review requirement has been relaxed. Students need to have had at least 2 project 1 code reviews and/or have reached the quick-review stage for project 1.

• Project Pass Requirement 2: Students must pass project 2 code review and project 3 tests by the project cutoff 2 deadline on Thursday May 07, 2020.

Failure to meet 1 or more of the following requirements will result in an automatic F letter grade for this course, regardless of what your current letter grade is in Canvas.

If students are concerned about not meeting one or more of these requirements by the withdraw deadline, they are encouraged to withdraw from the class to avoid the F letter grade on their transcripts. Note, however, that a W (withdraw) counts as an attempt and CS majors and minors have restrictions on how many times they may attempt CS courses.

Meeting the pass requirements does not guarantee a passing grade. See the Grade Breakdown section below for how the final grade will be calculated.

Grade Breakdown Unchanged

If the pass requirements are met, then the final letter grade for this class will be calculated as follows:

Percent	Category
5%	Participation
5%	Quizzes
10%	Homework
20%	Exams
60%	Projects

The assignments within each category are not necessarily equally weighted. For example, some participation assignments are worth more points than others.

Each of these categories are described more below.

Participation Updated

Participation includes pass/fail assignments such as participating in surveys, discussions on Piazza, in-class exercises, attending labs, lab exercises, and participating in other on-campus or off-campus CS events watching videos (often pre-recorded conference presentations) on CS or data-vis topics.

Late submissions are not accepted for participation assignments. However, the lowest participation grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

Quizzes Unchanged

Quizzes are sometimes given unannounced at the start of class, but students will often be given an opportunity to retake those quizzes. Quizzes will be conducted on Canvas, and the answers will automatically be released after the quiz deadline.

Late submissions are not accepted for quizzes. However, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

Homework Unchanged

Homework programming assignments are assigned on a semi-weekly basis, and usually due the following week. Students may work on these assignments during their lab session, allowing them to get immediate help from the teacher assistants.

Partial grades are not given for homework assignments; students must pass 100% of the provided tests to earn credit. If all of those tests pass before the deadline, the student will earn a 100% on that homework assignment.

Otherwise, there will be a –5% deduction per day (24 hours) the homework is late based on the commit timestamp of the repository. Homework will not be accepted if it is more than one week late.

The lowest homework assignment grade will be dropped at the end of the semester.

Exams Updated

There will be two exams. The exams are not comprehensive. Each exam will have a retake opportunity where students may earn back a small fraction of the points missed on the original attempt. See the important dates section for the exact exam and exam retake dates.

Update: Students that already passed exam 1 may opt to use that same average exam score for exam 2, skipping exam 2 entirely. Logistics for students that wish to take exam 2 will be posted a week before the exam date, but multiple time zones will be accommodated.

Instead of a final exam, students will have a final project graded during finals week. A signup sheet will be posted towards the end of the semester. If you have travel plans during finals week, please confirm your travel dates first with the instructor.

Students must receive a C letter grade or higher on at least one exam (including retakes). See the Pass Requirements for more.

Projects Unchanged

Programming projects place an emphasis on code quality—it is not enough to achieve correct results. Each project must pass several functionality tests and then undergo multiple rigorous code reviews checking for specific criteria, such as proper encapsulation and generalization, efficiency, and maintainability.

We use a mastery learning approach with projects: students must perfect the current project before moving on to the next project. The final project grade will depend on when and how many projects are completed.

Each project grade is split into two components: functionality (evaluated with automated software tests) and design (evaluated with one-on-one code reviews). The project functionality must be passed before the code review may be passed, students must pass code review for each project sequentially, and may only have one review appointment per week.

The functionality grade depends on when the project passes the tests. Projects that pass the functionality tests by the checkpoint will receive a 100%. Otherwise, there will be a –10% deduction for each week the project is late past the checkpoint up to a maximum –30% deduction. The code review grade will be 100% once passed, minus any deductions due to submission issues. For example, failing to fix all of the issues from a previous code review may result in a –5% to –10% deduction.

There are only 2 hard deadlines for projects: the project cutoff 1 deadline on Friday April 03, 2020 before the withdraw deadline, and the project cutoff 2 deadline on Thursday May 07, 2020 at the end of the semester. If a cutoff deadline is missed, all incomplete project grades default to 0%. See the pass requirements for details.

Grading Scale Unchanged

The following is the grading scale mapping percentage to letter grade and GPA for this course:

Letter			GPA
97% ≤	A+	< 100%	4.0
94% ≤	A	< 97%	4.0
90% ≤	A–	< 94%	3.7
87% ≤	B+	< 90%	3.3
84% ≤	B	< 87%	3.0
80% ≤	B–	< 84%	2.7
77% ≤	C+	< 70%	2.3
74% ≤	C	< 77%	2.0
70% ≤	C–	< 74%	1.7
67% ≤	D+	< 70%	1.3
64% ≤	D	< 67%	1.0
60% ≤	D–	< 64%	0.7
0% ≤	F	< 60%	0.0

Non-passing grades for undergraduate students are highlighted in red. See the Undergraduate Student Regulations Links to an external site. for more about letter grades and GPA for undergraduate students.

Student Awards Unchanged

At the end of the semester, various awards will be given to students. While these awards are informal and do not impact your final grade, they do provide a way for students to differentiate themselves on resumes. Example awards include: top student askers and answerers on Piazza, best peer reviewer, best presentation, and more.

Course Policies

This section includes miscellaneous policies specific to this course, including communication, attendance, credit hours, cheating, and more. These policies are in addition to the standard USF policies included later.

Communication Policy Unchanged

Most course-related communication will be handled using Piazza Links to an external site.—a FERPA-compliant Q&A platform that supports public, anonymous, and private posts. When making posts on Piazza, please keep the following in mind:

• Make a public post when appropriate. This lets us answer questions once for all students. You can post anonymously if you are uncomfortable with attaching your name to a post or a response. When posting anonymously, your classmates will not be able to see your identity but instructors will still be able to see your name. This is necessary to give you credit for participation and ensure everyone is following the code of conduct.

  If you send an email to the instructor or teacher assistant, or make a private post that should be public, you will be asked to create a new public anonymous post on Piazza before receiving an answer.

• Do not post code on Piazza. If you have a question regarding your specific code, please commit and push your code to your GitHub repository and post a link Links to an external site. directly to the relevant code. That ensures only those with access to your repository (instructor and teacher assistants) will see your code.

• Make posts regarding grades or specific solutions private to the instructor and teacher assistants. When making private posts, they should always be marked as visible by both the instructor and teacher assistants so there is no confusion.

In addition to Piazza Links to an external site., the instructor will also use Canvas to notify students of missing assignments or warn about low grades. Both the instructor and teacher assistants will use Github Links to an external site. for project-related communication. You may also ask for help in-person during office hours or lectures. These are the only officially approved channels of communication for contacting the instructor or teacher assistants.

Under no circumstances should you reach out to the teacher assistants via any unapproved communication channel. Instructors and teacher assistants must provide all students equal opportunity for course-related help. Using unapproved communication channels creates an unfair advantage over other students and will be treated as a violation of the Student Conduct Code Links to an external site..

For example, it is appropriate to use text messages to invite a teacher assistant to lunch as friends. It is NOT appropriate to start asking that teacher assistant questions about the course during that lunch! It is also NOT appropriate to directly text message course-related questions to that teacher assistant, even if you are friends and were able to get help from them before. You can, however, ask that teacher assistant for help during official office hours.

Getting Help Unchanged

Stuck? A good rule of thumb is to struggle with solving a problem for at least 30 minutes before asking for help. However, if you are still stuck after 1 hour, seek help. There are many ways to get help with this class:

• Ask questions on Piazza Links to an external site.. Most questions receive a response in under 24 hours (sometimes within 30 minutes). You may figure out your problem before you get a response, but then you can delete your question or mark it as solved.

• Ask questions during the instructor office hours. Office hours are first-come first-serve and there is lots of seating (including power outlets for charging).

• Ask the teacher assistants for help during lab sessions or their office hours. All of the teacher assistants for this course took CS 212 previously with Professor Engle.

• Ask a tutor for help at the CS Tutoring Center Links to an external site.. Many of the tutors took CS 212 previously (and many of them also took it with Professor Engle). However, even tutors that did not take CS 212 may be able to help. Sometimes, it just helps to talk about your code with someone (see rubber duck debugging Links to an external site.).

• Ask your classmates for high-level help or hints, but be careful! To avoid violating the cheating policy and honor code, make sure you never share code with your classmates or look at the code of your classmates.

If you are feeling generally overwhelmed (including emotionally) and need advice, do not hesitate to reach out to the instructor. Since office hours can be crowded at times, you are welcome to schedule an appointment with the instructor via Piazza to chat in private.

Awards are given out at the end of the semester to students with the top questions and answers on Piazza. This is one way to distinguish yourself from others on your resume!

Attendance Policy Updated

Students are expected to be on-time to all classes to minimize disruption. Attendance is mandatory for all exams, guest speakers, and in-class exercises. These dates will be posted on the course schedule. Attendance must be in person; joining the livestream does not count.

To receive credit for livestream participation for synchronous activities, students must join the livestream using their USF accounts, stay for the entire duration of the livestream, and respond to the engagement checks. Students that do not earn credit for livestream participation will be required to asynchronously complete a Canvas discussion related to the livestream within 24 hours.

Attendance is mandatory for all one-on-one code review appointments. Students must be on-time to these appointments. If a student arrives more than 5 minutes late, the appointment will be canceled. Students risk a grade penalty for repeated canceled or missed appointments.

Credit Hour Policy Updated

Update: See the "Lecture Sections" section above for how in-class lectures and labs will be replaced with the move to online instruction.

All courses must comply with the Credit Hour Policy Links to an external site., which states:

“One unit of credit in lecture, seminar, and discussion work should approximate one hour of direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work per week through one 15-week semester.”

As this is a 4 credit course, students must spend a minimum of 8 hours of out-of-class work per week to earn a passing C letter grade. To earn a C+ or higher letter grade, students should expect to spend between 10 to 20 hours per week on projects, homework, and participation assignments.

Think of this class like a part-time job. If you do not put in the time, you will not make it to the final project. Many students do not pass due to poor time management!

Cheating Policy Unchanged

All students are expected to know and adhere to the University’s Honor Code Links to an external site.. In short, students must never represent another person’s work as their own. Examples of honor code violations include (but are not limited to):

• Copying and pasting code (especially without attribution) from the web

• Having anyone other than yourself complete your work (including teacher assistants, tutors, and former students)

• Working too closely with others such that your code no longer represents an individual contribution

• Sharing your solutions with others (either directly or indirectly)

Keep in mind that unauthorized collaboration or discussion that results in the same or very similar work indicates that you have not placed enough independent thought into your submission and is a violation of the honor code, regardless of whether you directly copied!

Flagrant or repeat violations of the honor code will result in an F in the course, a report to the Academic Integrity Committee (AIC), and a report to the Dean. At the discretion of the instructor, a less severe penalty may be imposed for minor or first offenses. This is at the sole discretion of the instructor and any violation may result in an F in the course.

Keep in mind that there is a history of your code development on Github. Commit and push changes often to record your incremental code development.

Extra Credit Policy

Student may request one extra credit/makeup opportunity for assignments in the participation, homework, or project categories. Students may earn up to 50% of the amount of points missed on that assignment. For example, suppose if a student earned 70 out of 100 points on an assignment, that student can request an extra credit opportunity to make up 15 points. Requests must be made on Piazza. Students may make only one request; choose wisely to maximize the impact on the final grade.

Extra credit requests may not be made for quizzes or exams.

Policy Exceptions Updated

Update: If you need additional accommodations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, reach out to the instructor in a private Piazza post. Accommodations will be made without requiring documentation.

Exceptions to most course policies are made only in the case of verifiable exceptional circumstances. This includes medical emergencies, mental health and well-being crises, or family-related emergencies. Extensions must be arranged prior to the original deadline unless in case of extreme emergency (such as an emergency room visit).

If you need to miss class for a family event (such as a wedding or graduation) or academic/professional conference (such as Grace Hopper or an internship interview), contact the instructor ahead of time to make arrangements. Keep in mind you will likely be asked to submit assignments early versus getting an extension. Please note exceptions will not be made for other events (such as concerts, comic cons, and so on).

University Policies

This section includes standard statements on University policies and resources, including: disclaimers on confidentiality, mandatory reporting, sexual assault; statements regarding USF's Honor Code and Academic Integrity and behavioral expectations; important campus resources for student health, safety, and wellbeing.

Students with Disabilities Unchanged

If you are a student with a disability or disabling condition, or if you think you may have a disability, please contact USF Student Disability Services (SDS) Links to an external site. for information about accommodations.

Behavioral Expectations Unchanged

All students are expected to behave in accordance with the Student Conduct Code Links to an external site. and other University policies.

Academic Integrity Unchanged

USF upholds the standards of honesty and integrity from all members of the academic community. All students are expected to know and adhere to the University's Honor Code Links to an external site..

Communication Unchanged

All course communications, like all other USF communications, will be sent to your USF official email address. You are therefore strongly encouraged to monitor that email account.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Unchanged

CAPS provides confidential, free counseling Links to an external site. to student members of our community.

Confidentiality, Mandatory Reporting, and Sexual Assault Unchanged

For information and resources regarding sexual misconduct or assault visit the Title IX Links to an external site. coordinator or USF's Callisto website Links to an external site..