Assessment & Grading
Course grades are based on several short homework ($30\%$), a semester long team project ($60\%$), and a written quiz ($10\%$).
There are 6 homework, each to be done individually. Each homework assignment will be assigned a point value; the overall homework assignment grade will be computed as total points earned divided by the total achievable points
A semester long term project with bi-weekly deliverables (iterations). Each iteration of the project will be evaluated out of $100$; there will be a final presentation (deliverable) worth $200$ points. The overall project grade will be computed as total points earned divided by the total achievable points. The deliverables for each iteration will generally be based on "students plan" for that iteration; i.e., their progress is measured against their plan/goals.
There will be a quiz on week $4$ with a focus on object-oriented design patterns and principles. Students will not be asked to write code. They must, however, be able to e.g. critique a design provided in a UML format. They must also be able to e.g. define (and elaborate on) each design principles/patterns covered in this course.
In the Spring 2021 academic term, assessment will necessarily occur remotely.
You will be provided with the necessary information about remote assessment at least one week before the event, on the course homepage and through announcements on the course discussion forum.
Letter grades for the course will be subject to the instructor’s evaluation of your overall class performance, generally based on this standard scale:
| Cutoff | Letter Grade | S/U Grading |
|---|---|---|
| $> 90$ | $A-$, $A$, $A+$ | Satisfactory |
| $> 80$ | $B-$, $B$, $B+$ | Satisfactory |
| $> 70$ | $C-$, $C$, $C+$ | Satisfactory |
| $> 60$ | $D$ | Unsatisfactory |
| $\leq 60$ | $F$ | Unsatisfactory |
The cutoff for assigning $-$/$+$ to each grade letter is further subject to the instructor's evaluation of your overall class performance. Do not expect a curve in this course.
You must get a passing grade (at least $70\%$) on quiz, on homework (all combined), and on the project, to pass the course. If you fail to meet this bar for any component, you will fail the course.
Note: The Homewood Academic Council has voted to make S/U grading the default grading for undergraduate courses at Homewood during Fall 2020, but to allow students to opt for letter grades for any number of courses they choose (providing that the course is not set at entirely S/U grading). This policy applies to the Spring 2021 semester as well.