Computer Science 161 A Fall 2008

Computer Science 161 A

Instructor: Bob Matthews

Bob Matthews (email matthews@ups.edu)
Thompson 390E
Extension 3561
Office hours (tentative)
- 10:00 - 10:50 MTThF
- Or by appointment.
Email messages are welcome, and can be used to ask a question or to set up an appointment. My schedule is posted here. Hours marked 'O. H.' are office hours, and hours marked 'open' on my schedule may be available for appointments (to be made in advance), but are not office hours and I may not be in my office during 'open' hours unless I have set up an appointment with you. If none of the office hours work out for you, please send me an email to arrange a meeting time.

Barnes, David J., and Kölling, Michael: Objects First with Java (third edition). Pearson Education, Limited, 2006.We will cover at least through chapter 12 and as much of the rest of the book as time permits.

Three hour exams + a comprehensive final: 60 - 70% (The final exam will have the weight of two hour exams)
Written and programming exercises: 30 - 40%
Programming exercises will be graded on style and documentation as well as correctness. Programs must include header documentation as well as adequate internal documentation unless otherwise specified. Late assignments will be accepted (with an increasing penalty) until the graded exercise is returned to the class. All assignments turned in must represent individual effort: work done by a committee cannot be accepted except where a group effort is a clearly stated part of the assignment. All students in Computer Science classes at the University of Puget Sound are responsible for the material contained in the document on academic honesty included in the Academic Handbook (the Logger).
A minimum grade of 50% on exams and 50% on homework assignments is a necessary (but not necessarily sufficient) condition for a passing grade.
Finally, the last date for withdrawing from this class with an automatic W is Monday, October 13. Please read the withdrawal/repeat policy in the Logger. Should you find yourself in difficulty at any point in the semester, please make arrangements to meet with me as quickly as possible.

I will make every effort to return homework and exam papers no later than a week from the time they are turned in. That is, papers turned in on a Wednesday should be returned no later than the following Wednesday.
There are generally very few excused absences from exams. A (documentable) illness is one (though I may not always require documentation, you should be prepared to supply it). Lack of preparation, unless caused by a recent (again documentable) illness can not be used for an excused absence. Except for emergencies (accident, medical emergency, etc.) no requests for an excused absence the day of an exam or later can be accepted. Any make-ups should be completed a few days after an exam is taken by the class and in any case should be taken within a week of the class exam.
Exam arrangements can be made with Ivey West at the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching (Howarth 105) for students with documented learning disabilities. Formal written arrangements must be made in advance of the day of the exam.
We will use Blackboard for PDF files of lectures. Blackboard will only be used to store these PDF files. Assignments and other communications will be through these web pages and email. To enroll, use the password Knuth.

CSci 161 A (meets MTThF 11:00 AM) has its final exam on Friday, December 19, 12:00 noon - 2:00 PM. It will be a mandatory, two-hour, in class, comprehensive exam. University regulations require that all students take the final exam at this date and time.