The Computer Science (CS) Department hopes every student can succeed in our programs. Knowing about local policies and procedures will help students learn about issues related to academic success and to proceed efficiently through our programs. Students new to Colorado State University (CSU) may find some policies of the Department and CSU are different from those whence they have come. Students are strongly encouraged to review this document to see what it contains. We encourage you to study the section on Academic Integrity, which has critical policies that specifically apply to our courses. Knowing about local practices and resources available will help you succeed.
This document is divided into three main sections:
This includes information on:
This section includes detailed information on acceptable academic practices, and unacceptable practices (dishonesty) with examples.
Policies and Procedures include:
Advising:
Students are encouraged to seek advice whenever they have questions about their degree program. Department faculty and staff are here to help students succeed in their academic endeavors. CS faculty have an open-door policy when it comes to helping students. Students are strongly encouraged to ask for help in any situation.
The Department has developed a two-part advising system:
1) a Key Advisor, and assistant advisor, who helps students with policies, procedures, and with making proper degree progress; and
2) a faculty advisor, who helps students select their senior level computer science courses, and advises them on careers paths in computer science.
The Key Advisor:
The Key Academic Advisor is an advising professional who is responsible for helping students complete their degree requirements. The Key Advisor, and the Assistant Director keeps students informed about which set of requirements apply to them, their remaining degree requirements, and how to navigate the policies, procedures, and resources of the Department, College and University. Students should feel free to contact the Key Advisor by phone, email, or in his office at any time.
Faculty Advising:
In addition to the Key Advisor, the Computer Science Department brings students and regular, tenure-track faculty together one-on-one to discuss senior CS elective (Group I) choices and career plans and other issues related to their computer science education. The faculty advisor is assigned during a student's third year in the program. Students are encouraged to maintain contact with their assigned faculty over their last years in school with any academically-related problems and concerns they may have. Faculty advisors can offer unique insight into the nature of the discipline, alert students to opportunities and careers in computer science after graduation, and discuss with them the content of advanced computer science courses.
In summary: the advisors are experts on Department and CSU rules, specific policies, and degree-related information. Faculty advisors work with the students to find and work toward their individual special interests and goals.
Faculty and Staff Help:
In addition to working with academic advisors, the CS Department encourages students to contact any individual faculty to discuss any academic matter at any time. Faculty are here as a resource for students, and can be relied upon to provide help and encouragement. If you want to speak to any professor about any school-related matter, you should not hesitate to stop by their offices, send email to them, or call them on the phone.
Registration:
Registration for classes is done over the Internet, using CSU's
RamWeb facility (http://ramweb.colostate.edu
Class Overrides:
Students may find themselves unable to register for a class for a number of reasons. Courses may be full, or the registration system may not recognise their prerequisites. In such cases students may request an enrollment override from the CS Dept. for CS courses. Access to courses in other departments can only be obtained by the department offering the course.
The CS Dept. allows adds during the first week of classes, after that, unless a student has been attending class, adding a course is not allowed. This is in order that students not add a class in which they are already too far behind to catch up.
Minimum Grades & Prerequisites:
There is a C or better requirement (i.e., greater than a C-) for using a CS (and certain mathematics) classes as prerequisites for other CS classes. This requirement is strictly enforced so that students understand material well enough to proceed in the program. For the same reason, the prerequisite order in which courses may be taken is taken very seriously by the computer science faculty, who have spent considerable time and energy deciding the optimal order of topics in the curriculum. Exceptions are granted only very rarely, and only for academically defensible reasons.
Challenge Examinations:
Students who believe that they already know the content of a CS course may request "testing out" of the course through a Challenge Examination. Whether a Challenge Examination is offered is up to the department and instructor offering the course for which a challenge is requested.
Since Challenge Exams are to test students on material they have already learned outside normal University courses, challenge exams are not offered to students who have previously attempted a course (including W drops). Challenge examinations may be attempted only once for a given course.
To request a Challenge Examination, students should start by contacting the current instructor of the course for which a challenge is desired. Challenge examinations may consist of a comprehensive examination, a substantial programming assignment, or both. Students must earn a grade of C or better on the examination in order to obtain credit.
Students attempting a challenge examination will be charged $20 per credit whether the challenge is successful or not (this will be billed to a student's University account). Successful challenges will earn a student credit for the course with an entry on the student's transcript with a grade of "pass."
Degree Audits:
All Students who have at least 60 hours are encouraged to contact the Key Advisor for a degree audit -- a definitive list of a student's remaining requirements for graduation. All students who are about to graduate should set up an appointment with the Key Advisor prior to registering for their final semester to go over their requirements.
Degree audits can be requested by email in many cases.
Contact the Key Advisor:
Phone: 970/491-7137
email: peterson@cs.colostate.edu
Students taking CS Department classes are required to follow
our policies. Students should consult the instructor
of the course for clarification before taking action.
Ignorance of our rules and customs is not an
acceptable excuse for violating a policy of the
Department or University.
All CSU academic integrity policies apply within the Department.
The CS Department has additional policies to deal explicitly with course work
involving computers. It is important to understand these policies,
since actions considered acceptable in other types of classes
may not be acceptable in the CS Dept. Not knowing CS Dept.
policies could adversely affect your grade, or might be considered cheating,
even if you had no intention of dishonesty.
In questionable situations, the decision as to whether a student cheated
is made based on the intent of the assignment, the
ground rules specified by the instructor, and the
behavior of the student. Two guidelines help an
instructor decide if cheating has occurred:
* Program plagiarism will be suspected if an
assignment that calls for independent (single-student)
development and implementation of a program
results in two or more solutions so similar that
one can be converted to another by mechanical
transformation.
* Academic dishonesty will be suspected if a student who
was to complete an assignment independently
cannot explain both the intricacies of his or her
solution and the techniques used to generate that
solution. In the case of paired programming,
each student in the pair must be able to explain independently
the intricacies of the pair's overall solution.
Here are some examples of cases which are clearly unacceptable
and others that are clearly considered acceptable in the CS Department.
Examples of clearly unacceptable behaviors:
Examples of Acceptable Practices:
IN SUMMARY: you may discuss assignments with other students
but the work you turn in must be your own:
Actions Within the Course:
Actions by the University:
The following policies apply to all cases of
academic dishonesty: NOTE: Faculty are obligated by University policy to
report to the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct
Services all violations of academic integrity for which any penalty
is imposed.
The University Manual specifies the guidelines for incompletes. The Computer
Science Department recommends a grade of I (incomplete) be granted under
conditions of grave emergency which could not have been reasonably foreseen
by the student at the beginning of the semester and which conditions
are essentially beyond the control of the student. An instructor may request
documentation confirming the nature of the emergency.
In order to encourage progress through the degree program, it is recommended
that a grade of I only be given if the student has completed at C level
or higher the majority of work in the course, and it is anticipated that
the remaining work will be finished within a specified time period.
As an alternative to the incomplete, there is a university procedure in case of
emergency to permit a student to withdraw late (with a grade of W) from
a course after the regular drop period.
The University calendar is set two years in
advance by the faculty council in accordance
with the authority invested in it by state law.
The calendar is published in the CSU directory,
CSU bulletin, and class schedule. It is a
student's responsibility to be aware of important
dates such as beginning of classes, final
examinations and deadlines for withdrawing
from a course with no record or with a grade of
``W'' recorded. Students do not have the legal
competence to change the calendar and, hence,
should not ask for special consideration to allow
them to miss classes or not take examinations,
including finals, at appointed times. The
Department does not accept a student's travel
plans or arrangements as an excuse for missing
examinations or classes. The Department
expects students to attend all classes including
the last class prior to a vacation and the first
class after a vacation. It is a corporate faculty
prerogative to set the length of a vacation and
not that of an individual student.
Participation in official University activities,
e.g., an out-of-town athletic event, or special
religious observances may provide a legitimate
reason for an excused absence. The student is
responsible for discussing this with the
instructor at the beginning of the semester.
The student may be required to provide
verification for absences due to the death of a
family member. A funeral announcement or a
newspaper notice of the death is usually
sufficient. (This requirement may appear harsh,
but the reporting by students of deaths that have
not occurred has led to it.)
It is a violation of the law in the State of
Colorado to make entry or use of a computer
account for which authorization has not been
granted. Academic Computing and Networking
Services and the Computer Science Department
treat all such incidents seriously. When
warranted, violations will be reported to the
district attorney for prosecution.
It is an instructor's duty not to discriminate
amongst students on the basis of irrelevant
criteria. In particular, no special consideration is
given based on class standing, e.g., being a
graduating senior.
These principles apply explicitly to grading
practices. Instructors shall not assign grades
based upon capricious criteria, nor shall students
expect special treatment based upon conditions
unrelated to the course in which the grade is to
be assigned.
The policy of the University is to assure the
speedy and fair resolution of perceived
grievances, to provide for review processes to
guarantee fair and reasonable application of
University policy, and to encourage mediation of
possible conflicts at the earliest possible
moment. A student who believes that he or she
has been treated unfairly should first appeal to
the instructor involved and try to resolve the
problem on a mutually satisfactory basis. The
student should then discuss the matter
informally with the Key Advisor, if the problem
has not been resolved with the instructor.
Academic Dishonesty:
Faculty members are expected to use reasonably
practical means of preventing and detecting
academic dishonesty (see Catalog for the
Academic Integrity Policy). If a faculty member
has evidence that a student has engaged in an
act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member
will notify the student of the concern and make
an appointment to discuss the allegations with
the student. The student will be given the
opportunity to give his/her position on the
matter. If the student admits to engaging in
academic dishonesty or if the faculty member
judges that the preponderance of evidence
supports the allegation of academic dishonesty,
the faculty member may then assign an
academic penalty. Examples of penalties
include assigning a reduced grade for the work,
a failing grade in the course, or other lesser
penalty as the faculty member deems
appropriate.
If a student disputes the allegation or the
penalty imposed by the faculty member, he/she
should appeal to the Office of Conflict Resolution and
Student Conduct Services.
A hearing will be conducted to determine
whether a preponderance of evidence exists in
support of the allegations of academic
dishonesty. If the University Hearing Officer
finds insufficient evidence or clears the student
of the charges, the faculty member will change
the grade to that which the student would have
earned if the penalty for dishonesty had not been
assessed. If the University Hearing Officer
finds the student responsible for the charges, the
Hearing Officer may uphold the academic
penalty imposed by the faculty member or
recommend a greater or lesser academic penalty
and may impose additional University
disciplinary sanctions.
Appeals of Final Grades:
Faculty members are responsible for stating
clearly the instructional objectives of the course
at the beginning of each term and for evaluating
student achievement in a manner consistent with
these objectives. Students are responsible for
meeting standards of academic performance
established for each course in which they are
enrolled. Faculty members and instructors are
responsible for assigning final course grades.
Graded examinations, papers, and other
materials used as a basis for evaluating a
student's achievement will be available to the
students for inspection and discussion.
Students may appeal faculty grading decisions.
The burden of proof, however, rests with the
student to demonstrate that the grading decision
was made on the basis of any of the following
conditions:
Before making an appeal, the student should
discuss the situation with the faculty member
involved in the grading decision.
To file an appeal, the student shall submit a
written request to the department chair. The
request must set forth the basis for the appeal
identifying one of the three categories set forth
above. The request must be submitted or
postmarked, if mailed, no later than 30 calendar
days after the first day of classes of the next
regular semester following the date the grade
was recorded. If the appeal is not made within
this period the grade shall be considered final.
Within 30 days of receipt the request for an
appeal, the student's appeal shall be provided to
the faculty member who assigned the grade and
an appeals committee as set forth in the Dept.
Code. This committee shall be composed of two
faculty members not involved in assigning the
disputed grade, and two students from within
the department and one outside faculty member
who will serve as a voting chair.
The appeals committee will review the written
appeal and response of the faculty member.
They may elect to interview both the student and
the faculty member before rendering a decision.
The decision of the appeals committee will be
based upon whether one of the conditions for an
appeal set forth above has been met. At the
conclusion of the deliberations, the committee
will render one of the following decisions:
1) The original grading decision is upheld, or
2) The department chair or his/her designee
will reevaluate the student's achievement of the
instructional objectives of the course and assign
a grade accordingly.
Written notice of the committee's decision and
the reasons for the decision normally will be
sent to the student and the faculty member
within 30 calendar days of appointment of the
committee. The appeal committee's decision is
the final decision of the University. Written
summaries of the hearing and decision, together
with a rationale for that decision, shall be
provided the student and the faculty member
who assigned the grade and retained in the
department office for a period of one year.
Colorado State University affirms its
commitment to maintaining a work and study
environment for faculty, staff, and students that
is free from sexual harassment. The display of
sexually explicit digital computer images on or
in campus facilities may constitute conduct of a
sexual nature that creates an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive environment, even if not
directed at offending a particular individual,
and is prohibited by the University Sexual
Harassment Policy. Any violation of the
University Sexual Harassment Policy may
result in the imposition of appropriate
sanctions.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICIES
The Computer Science Department faculty will
not condone academic dishonesty. When academic dishonesty is
suspected, instructors will take action to
establish whether it has actually occurred. If it
has, the instructor will apply appropriate
disciplinary policy. The University specifies that
academic dishonesty may be grounds for dismissal. Penalties less
severe may be imposed instead. A list of possible
disciplinary actions is given below.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
INCOMPLETE GRADE POLICY
ATTENDANCE POLICY AND UNIVERSITY CALENDAR
UNAUTHORIZED COMPUTER USAGE
DISCRIMINATION
STUDENT ACADEMIC APPEALS
SEXUAL HARASSMENT