CS101- Introduction to Programming

Course Syllabus

Spring 2007 

Instructor:                  James Fishbaugh           

Office:                         SS 344

Office Phone:             243 - 4985

E-Mail:                       james.fishbaugh@umontana.edu                      

Office hours:              Monday, Wednesday, And Friday: 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM 

If my door is open, come in. Other times available by appointment

 

Class hours:              Tuesday: 1:10-2:00 PM or 2:10-3:00 PM in LA 242.
                                   Tuesday: 3:10-4:00 PM in SS 344.
                                   Thursday: 1:10-2:00PM or 2:10-3:00 PM in LA 242.

Course Description:   This course is an introduction to programming using the Visual Basic programming language. It is not a computer literacy course and it is not an in-depth course in Visual Basic. It will involve studying elementary programming techniques using Visual Basic. By the end of the course you will have an understanding of programming and how to write some basic computer programs using Visual Basic. You will also have the tools to continue learning more advanced programming concepts and other programming languages.

Required Texts: An Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic 2005, Sixth Edition, Schneider

Homework:   Homework should be submitted using Blackboard by midnight on the due date.  The link to Blackboard is http://umonline.umt.edu.  An overview of how this is done will be performed in class.

Quizzes: Over the semester there will be six in-class quizzes.

 Late Homework Policy:  Late homework will not be accepted.  Students will be able to drop one homework and one quiz grade.

Collaboration Policy:  Students are encouraged to collaborate to enhance their learning experience.  Ideas for homework assignments may be shared, but the assignments must be completed individually.  Anyone caught violating the collaboration policy will be handled according to University policy.  A discussion board will be setup within Blackboard to facilitate discussion outside of class.  This will be the first place you should go with questions and comments about the class.

Academic Honesty:  All students must practice academic honesty.  Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary sanction by the University.  All students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code.  The Code is available for review online at http://www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.

Policy on Incompletes: It is assumed that students have the responsibility for completing the requirements of the courses in which they are enrolled within the time framework of the semester. Incompletes may be given when, in the opinion of the instructor, there is a reasonable probability that students can complete the course without retaking it. The incomplete is not an option to be exercised at the discretion of students. In all cases it is given at the discretion of the instructor within the following guidelines:

1. A mark of incomplete may be assigned students when:

a.      They have been in attendance and doing passing work up to three weeks before the end of the semester, and

b.   For reasons beyond their control and which are acceptable to the instructor, they have been unable to complete the requirements of the course on time. Negligence and indifference are not acceptable reasons.

2. The instructor sets the conditions for the completion of the course work and notes these conditions on the final grade report.

3. When a student has met the conditions for making up the incomplete, the instructor will assign a grade based upon an evaluation of the total work done by the student in the course.

4. An incomplete which is not made up within one calendar year automatically will revert to the alternate grade which was assigned by the instructor at the time the incomplete was submitted.

5. An incomplete remains on the permanent record and is accompanied by the final grade, for example, IA, IB, IC, etc.

Exams: We will have two exams and a final project.  The final project will be due Monday, May 7th from 1:10 to 3:10 in SS 344.  This final time cannot be changed.

Missing Exams: If you must miss an exam, arrangements must be made with me before the exam.  Excuses after missing the exam will not be sufficient.

Grading:  Grades will be given based on the following scale:

            Homework:                  50%

            Quizzes:                       10%

            Exams:                         25%

                    Final Project:                15%

            We will use a traditional grading system:

                        90-100%         A

                        80-89%           B

                        70-79%           C

                        60-69%           D

                        0-59%             F

Credit/No Credit option: A student must earn at least a letter grade of D for Credit.  A No Credit grade will be equivalent to an F. 

Important Dates:

Last day to drop the class:

     with refund:         February 9, 2007

           without refund:    March 5, 2007

      Dropping after March 5, 2006 requires documented justification of a very unusual circumstance before even being considered by the department

Other:  Profanity and obscenity will not be tolerated, either in class or on assignments. 

Disabilities: Please notify me at the beginning of the course of any disabilities I need to be aware of.  Disabilities must be certified through DSS.