Attendance Policy: The teaching team will be present for every lecture and section, and we encourage you to participate fully to gain the most from the course. Please consult the syllabus for the complete attendance policy. TL;DR (see syllabus for details) – Lectures during approximately the first half of the semester are optional but strongly encouraged. During the second half, lectures transition into studios, and attendance is required. Attendance at your assigned weekly section is required throughout the semester. You are required to attend the final presentations during RRR week. Due to the size of the class, we won't be "catching up" students on missed assignments or details. It is your responsibility to obtain that information from fellow classmates.
Late Assignment Policy: Group project assignments may not be submitted late. Slip days cannot be applied to group work. Each student receives 4 slip days for the semester. A slip day provides a 24-hour extension on an individual assignment without a late penalty. Slip days are applied automatically once an assignment’s due date and time have passed, and any portion of a 24-hour period counts as one full slip day. For example, if an assignment is due Friday at 11:59 p.m. and you submit it Saturday at 12:01 a.m., you will have used one slip day. Because the entire 24-hour extension is charged, there is no benefit to rushing your submission once you begin using a slip day. You are responsible for monitoring your late submissions and remaining slip days in bCourses. Slip days do not apply to reading or video responses or quizzes. Late reading and video responses automatically receive a score of zero.
Regrading Policy: To request a regrade, you must meet with your GSI or Professor Paulos outside scheduled class and section times. Bring the assignment and a written explanation identifying the specific grading issue. Requests may be submitted no sooner than 48 hours after a grade is given and no later than two weeks after the grade is released. The teaching staff will regrade the entire assignment, so your grade may increase, decrease, or remain unchanged.
Section Attendance: Section attendance is required.
Note: This is primarily a design course. Unlike many other computer science courses, design problems rarely have a single correct solution. Instead, multiple approaches may be valid, each with distinct strengths, limitations, and tradeoffs. Throughout the course, you will learn to design new interfaces and critically evaluate them. In your assignments, you should identify and discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of the interfaces and applications you create.
Design is typically evaluated qualitatively, and a significant portion of your grade will reflect this approach. Assessments will consider the end-user experience and the overall quality of your designs, evaluations, and prototypes. Creating an interface or system that merely functions does not guarantee full credit. Successful work must also demonstrate thoughtful design decisions, usability, refinement, and attention to the user experience. Communicating your designs is as important as the design itself.
