CIS 110 {{FULL_TERM}} - Recitation Info

Recitation Times and Rooms:

2-Hour recitations, designed for students with no prior experience at all who want extra time in recitation to go over concepts and work on structured programming exercise:

1-Hour recitations, designed for students who have any prior programming experience at all and/or who feel comfortable with the course and would like to spend less time in recitation:

Recitation Assignment and Change Requests

Please read the following information carefully; it covers many common questions about the CIS 110 recitation assignment system.

• 2-Hour vs. 1-Hour Recitations: Two hours recitations are intended for students who have no prior programming experience and would like extra time in recitation to review concepts and work on structured programming exercies. One hour recitations are intended for students who have any prior experience at all and/or would like to spend less time in recitation each week. You should make your own judgement as to which recitation length you prefer, and we will make our best effort to accomodate that request. If you change your mind about which recitation length is best for you, you my submit a new request until one week after the add deadline.
• Changing recitations: If your schedule changes, you would like a different recitation length, or you are unhappy with your current recitation assignment, just complete this form again to request a change. You will be able to request a change for any reason at least until the add deadline, and to change recitation length for at least one week beyond the add deadline. Note that requests are processed in batches, not instantaneously; if you have an outstanding request, your new one will update it.
• The system automatically assigns you to a recitation session based on your preferences and conflicts. Rather than picking among the open recitations, you may select:
  • which recitations you would prefer to attend (your first choices),
  • which you are able to attend (your second choices), and
  • which you are unable to attend (your conflicts).
  This gives a reasonable trade-off between individual choice and ensuring that all students are able to attend vibrant recitations.
• Enter preferences for every recitation, not just your preferred recitation length. You will not be able to submit the form until you have done so. We will attempt to assign you a recitation in the following order, subject to space:
  1. A recitation you would like of your preferred length;
  2. A recitation you can attend of your preferred length;
  3. A recitation you would like, but not your preferred length;
  4. A recitation you can attend, but no your preferred length.
  Remember, if you are not happy with your assigned recitation, you can submit a new request.
• You must provide specific conflicts for each recitation you say that you are unable to attend.  If you do not, your request may be rejected and you will need to enter a new request.
• It is your responsibility to keep the system updated if your preferences or class schedule change.  You will be able to modify your existing request, and it will be processed according to the modification time. If you fail to modify your request, you may be assigned a recitation that is no longer convenient.
• We will start processing requests on the date stated in Homework 0. All recitation assignment requests received prior to that date will receive equal consideration. Requests received after that will be handled in the order they are received, except that priority will be given to assigning recitations for new students over change requests.
• Requests are processed in batches, approximately once per day, and with decreasing frequency as enrollments settle. If you request a recitation change, it may not get processed until the following week. Processing requests in batches gives the system more flexibility to assign you a recitation that is most convenient for you.

Late Penalty:

• If you do not submit a first recitation assignment request prior to submitting Homework 1, there will be a point deduction on every homework assignment until you submit your recitation request. This reflects the fact that recitation attendance is required. There will be no penalty if you did not request a recitation before submitting Homework 0. However, the course is full, and the chance of getting a preferred recitation will be much lower the longer you delay signing up for a recitation.

Tips and Notes:

• It is up to you whether to mark very few or lots of the recitations you can attend as "preferred." However, the fewer recitations you mark as preferred, the more likely you are to be assigned one of your "able to attend" recitations, and it may not be one you want. We encourage you to list all reasonably convenient recitations among your "preferred" recitations to minimize the chance you will be assigned a very inconvenient one.
• There is no advantage to an early vs. a late recitation time in terms of course material or homework.
• Once the semester starts, we typically process change requests once a week until the add deadline. We cannot process change requests more quickly or on an individual basis. Unless you have an actual conflict for your recitation time or want to switch between the 1-hour and 2-hour formats, we generally allow you to switch recitations only if it improves the balance between recitations or allows other students to switch into recitations they would prefer as well. We can only make those types of switches by considering change requests in groups. (We definitely encourage you to submit a change request if you would prefer a different recitation. The worst that happens is we leave you in your current recitations.)
• There is at least a 24-hour delay from when you register for the class in PennInTouch to when you can sign up for recitation. This is a limitation of PennInTouch, which only sends us updated class lists once a day. The request form is only available to registered students.

Accessing the Recitation Assignment System:

• You can access the recitation assignment/request form at {{CGI}}/form.cgi?form=rec_change.