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15-415
Syllabus |
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Course Meetings
Course Description
Prerequisites C or better in 15-212, or permission of instructor Textbook Ramakrishnan, R and Gehrke, J, Database Management Systems, 3rd ed, McGraw Hill, 2003. Web Site http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/15-415-f10 Instructor
Please note: Office hours are times that I do my best to reserve exclusively for "drop in - no appointment" meetings with students, but I am often available at times other than office hours. Please don't hesitate to call or drop by at other times, or to request an appointment. Office hours are convenient -- if they are convenient for you. If not, please, please, please email or call for an appointment, or just take your chances and drop by – you can find my schedule on the Web. Please remember -- I'm here to help. I appreciate the opportunity to serve you. Do give me the chance. Please note that my office phone rolls to my cellphone 24x7. Please feel free to call it anytime. I turn it off on those rare occasions when I prefer not to be disturbed. I am generally not available via zephyr. But, I am "gkesden" on many of the popular IM systems (AIM, MSN, GTalk, Skype, Yahoo). Please feel free to ping me. Course Attendance Attendance is expected at all classes. You are responsible for everything conveyed during class, even if you are absent. It is suggested that you make friends with your classmates -- they can be helpful should you miss class. In the event that you miss class, you should contact one of these individuals promptly to ask for help. The course staff is not responsible to help you with material or procedural announcements from which you opted out by electively missing class. Need Help? I can't stress enough that the course staff, the instructor and CAs, are dedicated to providing you the highest possible levels of support: inside of the classroom and outside. Please, if you need help, do ask. Important: It is strongly suggested that you email all of us with questions. This will assure you of the fastest possible answers. You can do this very easily by using the staff-415@cs.cmu.edu mailing list. Assignments and Grading
Grade Corrections We try to be very, very careful about scoring your work and maintaining your grades. But, we are human and will make mistakes. If you have any questions about grading, please see any member of the course staff. If possible, s/he will help you "on the spot". But, if s/he want to discuss the issue with other members of the staff, which does occur in many cases, he or she might make a copy of your work and/or ask you to write down or email your concerns. Please don't be alarmed -- this is just to try to ensure correctness and consistency among staffers, as well as prevent miscommunication. If you are asked to provide a copy of the work or feedback in question, or to provide your concerns in writing or email, you are required to do this before your concern can be addressed. Please keep copies of all of your graded work, electronic submissions, and electronic feedback, until you receive your final course grade and are satisfied that it is correct. Without the original work and the grading information, it is more difficult and time consuming to correct errors. In general, grading concerns should be addressed within two (2) weeks. In the special case of the final exam, they should be addressed with one (1) year. The course staff, at its discretion, may refuse to reconsider grades outside of this time period. Should concerns arise outside of these time periods, but during the semester, please do contact any member of the course staff -- we want to be reasonable and will do our best, within ourt discretion, to help. Should concerns occur after the end of the semester, please contact the instructor. Or, in the unlikely event that he is no longer at the University, on leave, or otherwise inaccessible, contact an administrator in the Computer Science department. You do have the right to appeal final course grades. This can be done informally, beginning with the instructor, and then to the student's academic dean and/or the academic dean in the home department. It can also be done formally using the policy outline in the Academic Regulations. Collaboration
It is suggested that you form study
groups as soon as possible. These groups generally work best if there are
between three and five people involved, but sometimes pairs or slightly
larger groups can work well. Typically the most effective study groups meet
once per week for a few hours, or a couple of times each week for a couple of
hours each meeting. For study groups to be effective, each member must work
indivudally with the material in-between meetings such that s/he has
something to contribute as well as questions to drive the discussion.
Unless otherwise specified, all
assignments should be completed individually. In other words, it is okay to
collaborate in studying the course material, but the "writing on the
page" or the "code in the lab", as examples, should be your
own "thought product".
If portions of your individual
assignments have been significantly influenced by someone else, you should
prominently give them credit for their contribution. Proper attribution is
critically important -- and is an absolute defense against charges of
"Academic Dishonesty" Failure to provide proper recognition
for the contributions of others towards any graded work may be, at the
discretion of course staff, considered Academic Dishonesty under the
applicable University, School, Department, and/or Intro Group policies. The Academic Regulations are the only
authoritative source for information regarding the University police on
Academic Dishonesty, and related procedural matters. But, the following is an
informal summary: ·
An
instructor can charge a student with academic dishonesty and impose a penalty
within the course, including an "R" grade. ·
The
instructor informs the University of the charge, where it is recorded. If it
is a first-offense, the University takes no further action. If it is not, a
University committee is convened. For other than first offenses, the
Committee, not the instructor determines the penalty, which can include
academic actions such as expulsion or suspension, as well as less-severe
actions. The student may appear at this hearing, and the instructor might
also ask to appear or be asked to appear. ·
Even
on a first offense, the instructor can ask the University to convene a
Committee as discussed above. This might be done, for example, in the case of
a particularly flagrant case, or under atypical circumstances. ·
The
student has the right to appeal an instructors finding of academic
dishonesty. Such an appeal is heard by the same Committee as discussed above.
In the event that both the student and faculty member request a Committee,
the same Committee will hear both. ·
University
procedure provides for the appeal of decisions by the Committee. ·
In
the event that the instructor charges a student with Academic Dishonesty, it is
suggested that the student consider the totality of the circumstances calmly
and rationally and seek advice from the instructor -- as well as third
parties, such as the student's advisor, academic dean, or a dean of student
affairs. It is may not be in the student's best interest to take a rash
action, such as attempting to drop the course. ·
Students
who are charge with Academic Dishonesty should be aware that there will be no
prejudice against them in the course, beyond the penalty directly imposed, as
a result of the charge, or of any appeal. Late Work You have five (5) "Late
Days" for use on assignments this semester. You can use one day on each
of five assignments, five days on one assignment, &c. There are no half
days -- an assignment 1 second late requires the use of a full late day. These late days are not
"procrastination days". They are instead designed much like
"personal days" at work to handle the little things that come up
during the semester: short illnesses, injuries, visiting family or friends, a
burst of work in other classes, doctors vists, &c. The use of these days is completely at
your discretion -- but, once they are gone, they are gone. That's it. The course
staff cannot give you more. Late work is not accepted, other than through the
use of "Late Days". There is, of course, the possibility
that exceptions to this policy will arise. We certainly hope that nothing
incapacitating will happen to any of you. But, in the event that there is
some major life event including major medical issues, emotional problems,
family problems, &c, the course staff stands ready to work with you, as
appropriate. But, because these events are major
events that likely will affect more than one class, we refer these
circumstances to other University officials, typically academic deans, deans
of student affairs, and/or assigned academic advisors. In the event that you need help of
this kind, please see a member of the course staff, and advisor, dean, or
other appropriate University official. If you contact us, we'll likely begin
by contacting your advisor or dean. But, regardless who you contact first,
we'll work together with your academic unit and/or student affairs, and (most
importantly) you, to do the Right Thing. We are, in fact, here to help. Electronically
Mediated Communication – “A.M. Memorial Policy” You are not permitted to engage in any
electronically mediated communication during class – the penalty, even for a
first offense, is an “R” in the course. No TXTing. No IMing. No email. No
surfing the Web. No net games. No talking on your cell phone. You get the
idea: If something is being communicated and anything even vaguely electronic
is involved, you flunk. If you are not comfortable with this -- find a
different section. This might seem extreme to you, but it
necessary. The ubiquity and pervasiveness of these technologies is
threatening the classroom dynamic. Unless it is controlled, it will become
cultural – and the loss to education permanent and tremendous. Since it is somewhat difficult to
prove allegations of this kind from the front of the classroom, the penalty
is severe to act as a deterrent. Other instructors, student assistants, staff
members, and/or other trusted individuals may be asked to monitor the
classroom from various points of observation to aid in the enforcement of
this policy and still photographic evidence may be acquired and used to
document violations. Recording High-fidelity recordings of class,
including any audio and/or video recordings, regardless of the media or
format, and regardless of the intended or actual use, are not permitted
without prior written permission of the instructor. The class will be
notified in advance should any such recording be approved. The penalty for
violating this policy is an “R” in the course. If you are not comfortable
with this, drop the course now. Studnets have no right to record classes
under any University policy. This policy is intended to protect the
privacy of the students. No student should run the risk of potential
employers finding a naïve question or incorrect answer on the Web. The
classroom is a learning environment, not an exhibition. Rather than attempt
to control the uncontrollable or distinguish between neutral and detrimental
uses, all recording is prohibited. Experience has shown that, excluding
special cases such as use by students with disabilities or distance learners,
undergraduate students do not improve their performance through the use of
high fidelity recordings. MIME
Attachments Unless specifically requested, please
send only plain-text email to course staff – never send MIME attachments.
These bog down the staff’s ability to respond to email via cell phones and
other light clients. |