Syllabus for Spring 2011

CS105 includes:
General principles about microcomputers. Understanding and use of Excel, a spreadsheet program. Understanding and use of tables and queries in a database program. Computer programming using Visual Basic for Applications.

This course builds a deep understanding of what goes on inside and outside computers, and develops skills that will have immediate benefit while at the same time expose you to computer science theory. You will further develop your critical thinking through solving problems, and you will find that working with flowcharts and programming helps to build an awareness that stays with you far beyond the classroom. Lectures: in 66 Library, in the basement of the Main (above ground) Library building, on Armory Avenue This room that is hard to find(!). Look on your campus map now. The main library is: http://www.fs.uiuc.edu/ada/0041.html To find the room: http://www.fs.uiuc.edu/ada/0041PLANB.html (the blue room is 66 Library, in the basement, off the parking lot and down some stairs)

Staff
Steven Lauterburg office: 2103 Siebel Center email: slauter2@illinois.edu Viraj Kumar office: 2211 Siebel Center email: kumar@illinois.edu

Web Site
All relevant class information is presented on the CS 105 web site: https://agora.cs.illinois.edu/display/cs105/ Check the web site frequently for updates

Required Texts
(You can buy used or new texts, if available, but always get the newest Course Guide)

Spring 2011 CS105 Course Guide, by Steven Lauterburg, published by Stipes Publishing Company. ISBN is 978-1-60904-039-0 SAMS Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, by Ben Forta. ISBN number for the 3rd Edition is 0-672-32567-5 VBA for Excel, by Ryan Morlok, et al. published by Stipes Publishing Company. ISBN is 978-1-60904-040-6 Computer Concepts Illustrated Brief (Special 6th Edition), by Parsons et al. (no DVD needed), Cengage Learning. ISBN is 978-1-111-47605-2

TA Office Hours
TA's will hold weekly office hours. See the Office Hours page on the course website for times and places. You may go to any TA's office hours, not just those of your TA. You should not ask Cites consultants questions about class assignments. You may, however, ask them general questions about things such as e-mail, how to change passwords, and how to use printers. Note: when you need help, email your TA first, and if you get no response in 24 hours, you may email any of the CS105 staff. Any student who emails multiple staff with the same question will incur a penalty of 15 points.

Exams
There are two, one-hour evening exams plus one final exam. The final exam will not be scheduled by the University until near the end of the semester. Go ahead and buy your tickets to go home or wherever, but make sure that your ticket has you leaving campus AFTER May 13, 2011. You cannot take the final earlier than the scheduled date. The Spring 2011 hourly exams (midterms) are scheduled for Tuesday, February 22nd at 7:00 pm 8:00 pm for Midterm 1 and Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 pm 8:00 pm for Midterm 2 As for the final exam, over and above the campus rules we will allow you to take the final conflict if you have three finals within 27 hours, provided you really are taking those finals at their scheduled times. Should you lie to us, the penalty is to lose one whole grade in the course. We have had so many abuses of our policy that we now will take 15 points off your test score should you notify us of your need for a conflict within 3 days of the midterm or final.

Machine Problems (MPs)

There will be four (4) machine problems (MP's), i.e., assignments to be done on a computer and handed in for grade. You can expect to have to work several hours per week outside of the scheduled discussion section meeting time in order to complete the MP's. We recommend that each individual do his or her own work

on the MP's. However, you may work in groups of up to three (3) persons. Each person in the group must be identified as part of that group. In cases of cheating, all three members receive the same penalty, regardless of who actually caused the problem. Thus, group members need to trust each other. Exams in this course will include questions based on the MP's. Anyone who does not actively contribute to the MP solutions will be at a serious disadvantage in the exams! MPs must be turned in on time. The only exception is the case of illness or other substantial impediment beyond your control, as confirmed by the Emergency Dean.

Absence
All absences that involve students missing an exam or MP due date should be reported to Steve Lauterburg or Viraj Kumar immediately. Should you miss an exam or an MP for a legitimate reason such as severe illness you will need to provide a verification letter from the Emergency Dean (located in the Turner Student Services Building on John Street). The letter must state that you have shown proof of your absence--do not go to the Emergency Dean without valid documentation of your absence. For example, an appointment slip from McKinley is not proper documentation because it shows only that you made an appointment. 300 Turner Student Services Building 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820 (217) 333-0050 http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/emergency/ An unexcused absence from an exam or an MP will result in a grade of zero. If you miss the final exam for any reason other than the usual excused absences( such as a verified health problem or death of immediate family member) you will receive a course grade of ABS (absent from the final exam) and your course grade will later be changed to an F.

Cheating
Cheating is defined on separate pages in the Course Guide. Your penalty is outlined in the Code. http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/ Do not let us find more than three people turning in identical answers to questions or identical segments of code for MPs. Never lend a finished MP to someone else. You will lose all the points for that assignment. A second offender of the cheating rules will receive a course grade of F. We have also seen students steal MPs from other students, so be sure to password-protect your laptop and your files on Netfiles. It's hard to prove that you are an "innocent victim, and we can only go by the evidence we find; thus, you will lose points if you have not protected your laptop or your Netfiles account.

Honors
You can take CS105 for Honors. Please see Honors page for detailed information.

If you are found to have broken the rules on cheating in CS105, then you cannot earn honors, so do not lend your homework to others.

Grading
Your course total will be computed from your grades on the three MP's, the two midterm exams, and the final exam, as follows: Assignment Point Value

Machine Problems 200 Lab Exercises Midterm 1 Midterm 2 Final Exam Total 100 160 160 280 900

Your grade will be NO LOWER than A- if you have accumulated at least 90% of the possible points. We give + and - grades. We decide + and - cutoffs after the semester ends. If the class performance is average, the final distribution of grades is expected to be: A+, A, A90% or more of the possible points

B +, B, B- 80% or more of the possible points C+, C, C- 70% or more of the possible points D+, D, D- 60% or more of the possible points F, Ab We may decide to set more lenient cutoffs, but we will not set harder ones.

Re-grades / Appeals
Students have two weeks (from the date handed back) to request a re-grade or appeal any grade recorded in the Compass GradeBook, for an Exam or MP. A re-grade will be performed on the entire MP/Exam and can lower the score! Labels parameters
Edit Add Labels https://agora.cs.il 29657597 cs105