## Course Policies back to [course home page](index.html) ### Grading + Numerous missed or substantially blank assignments, missed midterm or final exam, violations of course policy, and academic dishonesty are all grounds for additional, severe grade deductions up to and including failure in the course. + Final grade determinations are made by the instructors at their sole discretion. + Incompletes will be granted **only in exceptional circumstances**, e.g., extended illness. ### Participation and Attendance Lecture attendance is expected. We reserve the right to hold pop quizzes and unannounced, graded exercises during class. This is most likely to happen if attendance drops off significantly. <!-- ### Information Sessions Some weeks, TAs may hold one or more "information sessions" that will function like optional recitations on relevant course material. These will normally be scheduled in the evening, and whenever possible each topic will be scheduled on two different evenings at two different times to maximize the number of students that are able to attend. Attendance is optional but is strongly encouraged. If you are falling behind in the class, we may require attendance as a condition for receiving additional help catching up. --> ### Assignment and Late Policies + Submit your assignments through Gradescope. We will not accept submissions via email. + The late policies are detailed in the Intro slides. + Deadlines are enforced automatically by Gradescope. If you can no longer receive credit for an assignment, *Gradescope will not permit you to submit the assignment*. + There is no bonus for preserving these extensions, and only one can be used per assignment. + **Almost all assignments are cumulative.** If you don't get a feature working in one assignment, you may still need to complete it or fix it in order to complete the next assignment. + Because assignments are cumulative, *it is extremely difficult to catch up if you fall behind*. If you feel you are falling behind, *come to office hours PROMPTLY*, and we will work with you to help you get back on track. If you wait, the only viable option is likely to be dropping or withdrawing from the class. ### Regrade requests If you would like a **regrade** of an assignment or exam, you must submit your request **within 1 week** from the date when grades are released. Regrades will be submitted via Gradescope. ### Groups + Starting with HW2, you can work in groups of two. + You must work in the same group for all group homeworks. Any group changes must be approved by the professor. + If you feel you are not contributing or learning enough in your group, or one of your group members is not contributing or learning enough, *speak to the professor promptly* so a solution can be found before it is too late. Students who are not contributing in their groups *invariably bomb the exams*, so hiding behind or covering for group members only causes harm. + The professor reserves the right to split, merge, shuffle, or otherwise change groups to ensure all students are learning. ### Collaboration **The following principles govern what is and is not allowed:** + All submitted work must be the work of you and (for group assignments) your group members. You may not share code, except within your group on group assignments. You may not use code or solutions from the web. + You must never publicly post your code or make it available (e.g. via GitHub), even after the course is over. You may share it privately with recruiters or others who will definitely never be taking this or a similar class, provided you make clear it must not be redistributed. + Don't be clever about the collaboration policy. Any detected cases of cheating will be pursued. Penalties can include: receiving a zero on the assignment (the minimum penalty), failing the course, having a note placed in your permanent academic record, suspension, and ultimately expulsion. See Penn's [Code of Academic Integrity](https://provost.upenn.edu/policies/pennbook/2013/02/13/code-of-academic-integrity) for more information. **The following are allowed and encouraged:** + Sharing code with assigned partners on group projects. + Discussing algorithms and how to do assignments. + Using the web as a resource to understand algorithms, and for SystemVerilog reference. + ChatGPT or other AIs can be used to explain concepts or debug problems you are having (such as compiler messages). You can also ask the AI for code for your problem, but must document this usage in source code comments. Most of the documentation we have found on the web for SystemVerilog and Vivado is not very good. If you find any *useful* web resources for SystemVerilog or Vivado, **please post to Ed about them!** Your fellow students will appreciate the tip, and we may want to add a link on the course web site as well. ### Wellness We recognize that members of the Penn community are going through various personal situations. Your mental health and wellbeing are incredibly important to the teaching staff and we recognize the stresses (both school and non-school related) that many students are under here at Penn. As such, we encourage you to come speak to the course instructor(s) if you have any extenuating circumstances as you progress through this course. We want to make sure that you are aware of some of the mental health resources here at Penn. + [Student health and counseling](https://wellness.upenn.edu/student-health-and-counseling): the primary care and psychological care division of Wellness at Penn which can be used to schedule counseling appointments. Their emergency helpline is 215-898-7021. + [Penn mental health hub](https://wellness.upenn.edu/) If you are a victim of, witness, or are otherwise affected by unacceptable behavior: + In cases of sexual harassment and assault, please consult the [Department of Public Safety's Special Services](https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/about/special-services/sensitive-crimes/) at 215-573-3333 or 511 from a campus phone; this is a confidential resource. + To report other bias incidents, contact the [Penn Office of Diversity](https://diversity.upenn.edu/diversity-at-penn/bias-motivated-incident-report) + For violations of the Code of Student Conduct, contact the [Center for Community Standards and Accountability](https://csa.upenn.edu) All members of the course community are expected to be familiar with and abide by the University’s guidelines on general conduct and sexual harassment: + [University Code of Student Conduct](https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/code-of-student-conduct/) + [University Sexual Harassment Policy](https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/sexual-misconduct-resource-offices-complaint-procedures/) ### Diversity, Equity and Inclusion At Penn and in this class we value and actively seek to include all students and their unique identities (including but not limited to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, class, religion, and disability status). If, at any time, you feel that this class is not providing an inclusive environment to you or your classmates, please contact us. We want this class, lectures, office hours, review sessions, and exams to be an inclusive space where you feel comfortable learning. Please keep this in mind when you are interacting with other students in the class as well.