General Class Policies and FAQs
Some common FAQs are provided on the syllabus page in Canvas. These include questions related to required time commitment for the course, submission requirements, regrade requests, etc.
Classroom Environment
To create and preserve a classroom atmosphere that optimizes teaching and learning, all participants share a responsibility in creating a civil and non-disruptive forum for the discussion of ideas. Students are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that does not disrupt teaching or learning. Your comments to others should be constructive and free from harassing statements. You are encouraged to disagree with other students and the Instructor, but such disagreements need to respectful and be based upon facts and documentation (rather than prejudices and personalities). The Instructor reserves the right to interrupt conversations that deviate from these expectations. Repeated unprofessional or disrespectful conduct may result in a lower grade or more severe consequences. Part of the learning process in this course is respectful engagement of ideas with others.
Please don’t be late. You are an essential part of the class. Your participation is an essential part of the class. If you are late, please be courteous to others when entering.
BE PRESENT WHEN YOU ARE IN CLASS. Please do not distract from the class by doing other activities such as phone calls, email, facebook, chat/IM/texting, games, web surfing – unless it has a direct bearing on the course. Then, by all means, surf away!
Attendance is required. Sometimes you cannot avoid missing a class. If you need to be away from class, it is your responsibility to catch up on the materials discussed in the class.
Academic Integrity
Unless otherwise stated, we expect you to personally author all assigned work.
You are always permitted to discuss the requirements and specifications of an assignment with others. You may discuss high-level algorithmic approaches and the concepts being studied. Moreover, you are encouraged to use resources from the internet to improve your understanding of course concepts especially when it relates to documentations for any cpp library or understanding of cpp syntax. However, the write-up and implementation of all programs must be entirely your own individual work unless specifically allowed. You are responsible for protecting your work and don't let any one use your work (with or without your permission).
Just to be clear, here are some things that you should never, ever do when working on an individual task:
- It is never appropriate to cut and paste code from some other source (e.g., Wikipedia, the random blog returned by a Google search) into your file.
- It is never appropriate to ask members of the wider community (e.g., StackOverflow, friends who took this class previously) to solve your homework problems for you.
- It is never appropriate to make electronic or printed versions of your solutions available to another student.
- It is never appropriate to take a photograph of another student’s work (whether it be on paper, a whiteboard, or a computer screen) with or without their permission.
- It is never appropriate to ask another person to send you their solutions to a homework problem.
- It is never appropriate for you to offer your homework answers to another student.
Academic Integrity Policy
The University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a student can commit while in college, and it imposes appropriate punitive sanctions on violators. Here are some examples of academic dishonesty. While this is not an all-inclusive list, we hope this will help you to understand some of the things instructors look for. The following is excerpted from the University’s policy on academic integrity:
| Cheating | Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in an academic exercise |
| Fabrication | Intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any data, or citation in an academic exercise |
| Plagiarism | Intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own in any academic exercise without providing proper citation |
| Unauthorized Collaboration | Instances when students submit individual academic works that are substantially similar to one another; while several students may have the same source material, the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data must be each individual’s independent work |
| Participation in Academically Dishonest Activities |
Any action taken by a student with the intent of gaining an unfair advantage |
| Facilitating Academic Dishonesty |
Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to violate any provision of this policy |
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 (http://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/) and the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy members (http://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/). By law, those employees are not required to report allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the University.
Alleged violations can be reported non-confidentially to the Title IX Coordinator within The Office for Gender Equity and Compliance at: titleix@northeastern.edu and/or through NUPD (Emergency 617.373.3333; Non-Emergency 617.373.2121). Reporting Prohibited Offenses to NUPD does NOT commit the victim/affected party to future legal action.
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.
In case of an emergency, please call 911.
Please visit http://www.northeastern.edu/titleix for a complete list of reporting options and resources both on- and off-campus.
Special Accomodations
Students who have disabilities and 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, please provide your letter from the DRC to the Instructor early in the semester so that they can arrange those accommodations. Students MUST coordinate with me at least a week before exam if they are requesting additional time or special room.