CSE370 Workload and Grading

last revised 1/3/99

Workload

The course consists of the following elements:

1. Lectures: There will be about 30 lectures.  Attendence and participation at all of them is expected.
2. Quiz Sections: There will be a total of 10 section meetings during the quarter.   Attendence and participation at all of them is expected.  We will use quz section time to review the lecture material, do sample problems, demonstrate the design tools, and answer questions.  You should attend the section you are registered for.   With permission of the TA, you can attend the other section in case of unsual circumstances.
3. Reading: We will cover most of the Katz text. We will assign the reading with the homework handouts.
4. Assignments: Approximately eight problem sets involving digital-logic analysis and design, to be solved without and with the use of computer-aided design tools. These assignments may include design projects that span two or more weeks.
5. Class Exams: Four in-class quizzes, scheduled biweekly throughout the quarter.
6. Final exam: During finals week.

We will try to ensure that the workload is typical for a four-credit course: Namely, eight to ten hours per week outside of the lectures. If we do not succeed, please let us know.

We have structured the course so that spending an hour or two per day will maximize your efficiency. You will work this way in the real world—you cannot cram a three-month design assignment into the last night—so you may as well work this way now. Plus, you will understand the material better. If you leave the homework for Thursday night, then you will not have time to study for the quizzes, and you will not have time to ask questions when (not if) the software misbehaves.

Software tools frequently consume more time then they should. We have designed the assignments to get you up to speed gradually (over the period of a few weeks), but undoubtedly there will be some start-up cost (as with any new tool). Essentially, you are learning a new language, a compiler, and getting familiar with a process. Every tool imposes a certain model: Your frustration can be high until you assimilate that model and learn to use it. Be sure to use the tutorials, and do not spend countless hours making no progress. Ask for help.

Your assignments must be neat and legible. We will not spend time trying to decipher messy work. We urge you to use the graphical and word processing tools you have available to you. These includes a schematic editor, state diagram editor, waveform display, word processor, etc.

We will post solutions for the assignments and quizzes in a timely fashion. 

Grading

We will compute your course grade as follows:

• 35%: weekly assignments
• 35%: biweekly quizzes
• 25%: final exam
• 5%: course participation

Assignments

The weekly assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. Assignments handed in during or immediately after class will incur a 10% penalty. We will not accept assignments after we have left the classroom.

Assignment problems will sometimes be graded on a random basis.  To get full credit for an assigment, you must have made a good-faith effort on all problems, and must have a correct solution to the problems which are graded in detail.  You will not know in advance which problem are going to be graded in detail!

Please review the assignment solutions carefully before questioning a grade with either the instructor or the teaching assistants.

Quizzes

There will be no makeup for missed quizzes. If you miss a quiz, you will receive a score of zero. However, we will drop your lowest quiz score in our end-of-quarter points tabulation, so a missed quiz need not affect your final grade. Please review the quiz solutions carefully before questioning a grade with either the instructor or the teaching assistants.