Course Syllabus (Official)

Course Syllabus (Official)#

Below is the official UBC-mandated Course Syllabus for CPSC 203. Elements of this document are fixed and unchanging. Additional details about the course are available on the course website.

Land Acknowledgement#

UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site.

Aerial photo of the UBC campus showing the Martha Piper fountain, and mountains in the skyline.

Course Information#

Name

Description

Course

CPSC 203

Term

2024 Winter Term 2

Instructor

Prof. Ian M. Mitchell (he/his/him)

Lectures

Tuesday, Thursday from 12:30 -14:00 in SWNG 221

Mode of Delivery

In-person: All course activities and assessments, including the Final Exam, will be conducted in-person

Canvas URL

https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/152117

Course Discussion

To ask any course-related questions, use private (personal, not useful for anyone else) or public (helpful for other) messages on Piazza

You can find all the important term dates in the UBC Academic Calendar.

For information on how to contact your course instructor, including office hours, see the course website.

Calendar Description#

CPSC 203 (3) Programming, Problem Solving, and Algorithms

The UBC calendar description of this course is:

Analysis of increasingly complex algorithmic problems, using a modern programming language and a variety of approaches. Problem decomposition and abstraction guide explorations of topics from applied algorithms, for example Voronoi Diagrams, Markov Chains, Bin Packing, and Graph Search. Not for students with credit for, or currently enrolled in, CPSC 210 or CPEN 221. [3-0-1]

Prerequisite: Pre-reqs: One of CPSC 103, CPSC 110, APSC 160, EOSC 211, MATH 210, PHYS 210, COMM 337.

Corequisite: N/A

Warning

If there is a lab and/or tutorial listed for this course, you must register for all course elements without conflicts, otherwise you may be automatically removed from the course! There are usually lab or tutorial exemptions for some students (i.e. those repeating the course) and instructions for that will be in this syllabus. There may also be terms in which no official lab and/or tutorials are scheduled.

Other Instructional Staff#

For information on this, see the course website.

Schedule of Topics#

The tentative course schedule, subject to change, can be found on the course website.

This is the tentative plan for CPSC 203 this term. Things may change depending on many factors so this is subject to change.

Week

Week of

Topic

POTW

Lab

Test

1

Jan 6

Terminal, Markdown

POTW 1

-

-

2

Jan 13

Data Representation

POTW 2

Lab 1

-

3

Jan 20

Decomposition and Design

POTW 3

Lab 2

Test 1

4

Jan 27

Python Classes

POTW 4

Lab 3

Test 2

5

Feb 3

Pandas and Web Data

POTW 5

Lab 4

-

6

Feb 10

Git and Version Control

POTW 6

Lab 5

Test 3

7

Feb 17

Midterm Break

-

-

-

8

Feb 24

Data Structures

POTW 7

Lab 6

-

9

Mar 3

Graphs and Search

POTW 8

Lab 7

Test 4

10

Mar 10

Catch-up Week

-

Lab 8

-

11

Mar 17

Graphs and MHall

POTW 9

Lab 9

Test 5

12

Mar 24

State Spaces

POTW 10

Lab 10

-

13

Mar 31

Maps

POTW 11

Lab 11

Test 6

14

Apr 7

Review

-

-

-

Course Structure#

For information on this, see the course website.

Learning Activities#

For information on this, see the course website.

Learning Materials#

There is no requirement to purchase textbooks or any other materials for this course. Resources and materials for this course can be found on the course website.

Assessments of Learning#

The grading scheme for this course is:

Item

Weight

Due date(s)

Category

Problems of the Week (POTWs)

20% (10 x 2%)

Sundays at noon

Homework

Labs

10% (10 x 1%)

Thursdays at noon

Homework

Programming Projects

15% (3 x 5%)

Three in the term

Homework

Tests (mini-exam)

30% (6 x 5%)

~ Bi-weekly

Exam

Final Exam

25%

TBD

Exam

Passing Criteria#

  • Students must satisfy ALL conditions to pass the course:

    1. Pass the Lab component with a grade of at least 50%,

    2. Pass the Tests and Final Exam components (together) with a grade of at least 50%,

    3. Pass the Final Exam with a grade of at least 40%.

If a student does not satisfy these requirements, the student may be assigned the lower of their earned course grade or 45% in the course.

Policy on Late or Missed Assignments / Exams#

Late Policy#

Attention

Many assessments in the “Homework” category may be submitted after the original deadline for partial credit. The amount of partial credit and the corresponding deadlines can be found in PrairieLearn.

Assessments in the “Exam” category must be completed in the time window specified for that particular assessment.

Note

Please refer to the UBC Calendar for details on exam clashes, hardships, and cancellations.

What if I miss labs, tests, or the exam due to an illness, health, or other personal situations?#

Normally, most assessments in this course have multi-day window or a generous grace period, which should suffice to account for unexpected but short-term absences.

For longer term absences (a week or more), please contact the instructor to discuss options.

If ill health is an issue, students are encouraged to seek attention from a health professional. UBC’s Student Health and Wellbeing website has links to many different resources.

Tip

Don’t be shy or embarassed to use these health services, and if the first one doesn’t work for you, try another!

What should I do if I need accommodations to be successful in this course?#

Please see page-accommodations

University Policies#

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions.

Details of the policies and how to access support are available on the [UBC Senate website](Details of the policies and how to access support are available on the UBC Senate website.).

Final Examinations#

The examination period for 2024 Winter Term 2 is Saturday April 12th - Sunday, April 27, 2025. Except in the case of examination clashes and hardships (three or more formal examinations scheduled within a 24-hour period) or unforeseen events, students will be permitted to apply for out-of-time final examinations only if they are representing the University, the province, or the country in a competition or performance; serving in the Canadian military; observing a religious rite; working to support themselves or their family; or caring for a family member. Unforeseen events include (but may not be limited to) the following: ill health or other personal challenges that arise during a term and changes in the requirements of an ongoing job. Further information on Academic Concession can be found under Policies and Regulation in the UBC Academic Calendar.

Grievances and Complaints Procedures#

A student who has a complaint related to this course should attempt to resolve the matter with the instructor first. Students may also talk to other members of the teaching team (TAs, course coordinators, co-instructors) if they do not feel, for whatever reason, that they can directly approach their own instructor.

Academic Integrity#

The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this enterprise, all students are expected to know, understand, and follow the codes of conduct regarding academic integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting only original work done by you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them to others as required. This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is your work. Violations of academic integrity (i.e., misconduct) lead to the breakdown of the academic enterprise, and therefore serious consequences arise and harsh sanctions are imposed. For example, incidences of plagiarism or cheating may result in a mark of zero on the assignment or exam and more serious consequences may apply if the matter is referred to the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Careful records are kept in order to monitor and prevent recurrences.

A more detailed description of academic integrity, including the University’s policies and procedures, may be found on the Academic Integrity Website

If you have any questions about how academic integrity applies to this course, please consult with your professor.

Grading Practices#

Faculties, departments, and schools reserve the right to scale grades in order to maintain equity among sections and conformity to University, faculty, department, or school norms. Students should therefore note that an unofficial grade given by an instructor might be changed by the faculty, department, or school. Grades are not official until they appear on a student’s academic record. If you have any questions about how academic integrity applies to this course, please consult with your professor.

Disability Assistance#

The Centre for Accessibility (CFA) ensures educational equity for students with disabilities, injuries or illness. If you are disabled, have an injury or illness and require academic accommodations to meet the course objectives, visit the CFA website for more information or contact the CFA directly at: info.accessibility@ubc.ca.

Equity, Human Rights, Discrimination and Harassment#

UBC is a place where every student, staff and faculty member should be able to study and work in an environment that is free from human rights based discrimination and harassment. If you require assistance related to an issue of equity, discrimination or harassment, please contact the Equity Office or email (info@equity.ubc.ca), your administrative head of unit, and/or your unit’s equity representative.

Health & Wellbeing#

At UBC health services to students are provided by Health and Wellbeing. Nurses, physicians and counsellors provide health care and counselling related to physical health, emotional/mental health and sexual/reproductive health concerns. As well, health promotion, education and research activities are provided to the campus community. If you require assistance with your health, please contact Health and Wellbeing in person (UBC Life Building, Room 1400), or by phone (604.822.8450) for more information or to book an appointment.

Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO)#

SVPRO is a safe and confidential place for UBC students, staff and faculty who have experienced sexual violence regardless of when or where it took place. Just want to talk? We are here to listen and help you explore your options. We can help you find a safe place to stay, explain your reporting options (UBC or police), accompany you to the hospital, or support you with academic accommodations. You have the right to choose what happens next, and we believe you. We support your decision, whatever you decide. Visit svpro.ubc.ca, email them at svpro.vancouver@ubc.ca, or call us at 604.822.1588.

UBC Investigations Office (IO)#

The UBC Investigations Office (IO) responds to formal reports of sexual misconduct and discrimination involving UBC students, faculty, and staff through investigations and alternative resolution processes. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or some other form of sexual misconduct by a UBC community member and you want the UBC Investigations Office (IO) at UBC to investigate, please contact the IO. Investigations are conducted in a trauma informed, confidential and respectful manner in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness. You can report your experience directly to the IO via a secure webform here or by calling 604.827.2060 or online by visiting io.ubc.ca.

SAFEWALK#

You do not have to walk alone on campus. If you feel unsafe walking alone on campus after dark, or if you are not too sure how to get somewhere on campus, then Safewalk can accompany you to your destination.

Call Safewalk at 604.822.5355 during their opening hours from 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM.

For more information, visit our website or download the UBC SAFE app on iOS and Android devices.

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