4 Assignments

Assignments and their due dates are posted on Möbius. All assignments are available at the start of term. Work is to be done individually. Please avoid excessive collaboration (see below), and do not look for the answers to assignment questions on the Web or in books.

There are no late submissions for credit, and no solutions will be posted. This is a longstanding policy of mine. I am happy to help you complete assignments (not for credit but for learning) long after the due dates.

4.1 Plagiarism Policy

If you have previously taken courses at the University of Waterloo, you’ve seen this before, but it is no less important than before, so please take the time to read it again. (Also please read the section on Intellectual Property on the Handouts page.)

All work for credit in CS 600 is to be done individually, with the exception of certain assignment questions which may allow a restricted form of collaboration (and will say so explicitly). The penalty for plagiarism is an assigned mark of zero on the assignment or test and a deduction of 5% from the final course grade, consistent with School of Computer Science and Faculty of Mathematics policy. In addition, a letter detailing the offense is sent to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, meaning that subsequent offenses will carry more severe penalties, up to suspension or expulsion. To avoid inadvertently incurring this penalty, you should discuss assignment issues with other students only in a very broad and high-level fashion, and preferably not at all. Do not take notes during such discussions, and avoid looking at anyone else’s code, on screen or on paper, or showing your code to others. If you find yourself stuck, contact the instructor or teaching assistants for help, instead of getting the solution from someone else. When trying to deal with difficulties, do not consult books or Web sources, unless explicitly authorized to do so.

Senate Undergraduate Council has asked us to post the following paragraphs:

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.

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about "rules" for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline.

Avoiding Academic Offenses: Most students are unaware of the line between acceptable and unacceptable academic behaviour, especially when discussing assignments with classmates and using the work of other students. For information on commonly misunderstood academic offenses and how to avoid them, students should refer to the Faculty of Mathematics Cheating and Student Academic Discipline Policy.

Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals.