Communication#

In this course we will communicate with you through Wattle Discussion Forum. You are expected to check it regularly and “I did not see the message” is never a valid excuse.

You must follow the ANU’s policies against discrimination, harassment and bullying in Wattle Discussion Forum.

Here is a quick set of rules regarding whom to contact:

• General interest question: post in wattle for everyone to see
• Specific questions about tutorials: send an email to your tutor
• Potential bugs in the assignments: send an email to your tutor
• Organizational and administrative questions: send Jochen or Peng an email
• If you are struggling or need advice: send Jochen or Peng an email

The lecturers and tutors do not check emails and wattle forum after hours or on weekends. If you really do need to get in touch, please make sure you do not leave it until the last minute.

Lastly, as an ANU student there will still be some emails which go to your “UID” email account (i.e., uXXXXXXX@anu.edu.au), e.g., notices about exam timetables, notifications of potential plagiarism, plagiarism interviews, etc. So it’s important that you check it regularly. But for COMP4620/8620 content (that is, lectures, tutorials, etc) your first and best option is always Wattle Discussion Forum.

Deliverables#

In COMP4620/8620 you will be assessed through the following deliverables:

Assignments#

Assignment 1 - Paper presentation - 20%

In weeks 1 and 2, students are required to select a topic/paper from a given list of topics/papers and have to give a presentation about this in class at a predefined date and time in weeks 3-12 and answer audience questions.

Assignment 2 - Paper reviews - 15%

Students have to select one paper for each of the three parts of the course (weeks 3-6, 7-9, 10-12), write a review about the paper and contribute to the discussion of the paper. The papers will be assigned to the students who have selected less than 3 papers.

This assignment consists of 3 parts, one for each part of the course with varying deadlines.

Assignment 3 - Evaluation - 15%

Students have to evaluate presentations and discussions by other students over 10 weeks and answer quizzes. One evaluation per week.

Assignment 4 - Team project - 50%

Each of the tasks is staged, with individual milestones due approximately every two weeks and a final report at the end of the semester.

Except for the final report, individual milestones may be marked during the tutorials.

You can find the late/extension policies further down this page.

Your assignment submission will be run through plagiarism-detection software, so if you use any code from somewhere else make sure you reference it in your assignment (see academic integrity).

Final marks and grades#

To pass the course, you must score at least 50% overall

Your final mark will be the total of your marks on the individual assessment items with the additional caveat that your mark may be scaled by the examiners’ conference to provide your overall course mark and grade.

If your final mark is less than 50 but greater than or equal to 45 then you will receive a PX grade and be eligible for supplementary assessment to try and pass the course.

If your final mark is less than 45 you will fail this course with a grade of N.

If you enroll, but do not participate in the course at all you will fail with a final grade of NCN, which means a failure due to non-completion.

Marks#

Marks for all assignments will be released through Wattle.

Late penalties#

Late submission of any assessment item (and non-attendance at exams) will result in a mark of zero for the assessment item. You need to hear this loud and clear, there’s no wiggle room on this and we will not accept “it’s only a few minutes late” excuses. The reason is that that’s not fair to the other students who handed something in by the deadline (they probably would have loved to have another few minutes as well).

This means you must plan ahead. Do not leave your submission to the last minute. It’s much better to get something done early and then refine it from there (especially with the GitLab submission process). We will not accept last-minute excuses for lost work, etc. so make sure you are aware of all the submission deadlines and plan accordingly. Also, make note of the communication policy above and, if you need help/assistance from a lecturer or tutor, you cannot get it after hours/at the last minute.

Extensions#

Postponing assessment deadlines is possible with good reasons and appropriate documentation (e.g., a medical certificate). If you are sick in the lead-up to an assignment deadline, or if you feel sick on the day of an exam, see a doctor and get a medical certificate. Then, get in touch with the convenor and we will make alternative arrangements for your assessment.

Appeals#

From the date that your marks for any assessment item are released electronically you have a period of two weeks in which to appeal your mark. After this period your mark will be locked in.

If you’re unhappy with your mark for any assessment item, then here’s the relevant ANU Policy (see section 61):

The University recognises the right of students to seek a review of, and to appeal against, a result for an assessment task within a course, or their final result in a course. Appeals against a result for an individual assessment task are considered as a component of the final grade, after the final grade is released. Appeals against assessment outcomes are conducted according to the Assessment Rules.

As with any ANU course, you are able to apply for special assessment consideration.

Supplementary assessment#

If you receive a PX grade you are eligible for supplementary assessment. The assessment item may be an assignment, a written exam, an in-lab test, or an oral exam. If you pass this supplementary assessment item you will receive a PS grade and a mark of 50. If you fail, you will receive a grade of N and a mark of 44.

Supplementary assessment (e.g., deferred exams) may happen after the course is finished, so make sure you keep checking your emails over the break so we can let you know the details.

Academic integrity#

There are several different aspects to academic integrity, and several different types of academic misconduct. The ANU academic integrity rules apply to every aspect of your work and behaviour in this course, including but not limited to:

• All your submitted work is assumed to be entirely your own work. Besides forbidding any direct copies, this also means that no part of your submission is inspired by, based on or a re-formulation of work by somebody else. Re-formulating the work of somebody else is actually worse, because (in addition to plagiarism) it shows a clear intent to deceive.

• If your work has been inspired by something else (e.g., a classmate, or something you found on the web) you must indicate this in your assignment. You will be assessed only in your original work but, by indicating all sources clearly, you won’t be guilty of academic misconduct. Failure to indicate any of your inspirations, sources, or collaboration partners will be regarded as an intent to deceive.

You are expected to be able to explain and defend any submitted assessment item. The course convener can conduct or initiate an additional interview about any submitted assessment item for any student. If there is a significant discrepancy between the two forms of assessment (e.g., if you clearly don’t understand the code that you submitted) it will be automatically treated as a case of suspected academic misconduct.

These rules are not at odds with being resourceful and working collaboratively. You should discuss your work in this course with others taking the class, however, you must never misrepresent the work of others as your own.

If you break any of these rules, it is very likely you will get caught. We are pretty good at finding plagiarism cases and the consequences of plagiarism are much worse than a bad mark on an assignment. We (the lecturers and tutors) do not enjoy being a part of it any more than you do. Please help to make this a course which focuses entirely on the learning process and not on policing academic misconduct issues.