Assignments are due at 11:59pm on the assigned due date. Any assignment submitted after the due date will be marked late. Late assignments will not be graded and receive a score of 0, however…
You are allocated 5 late days to use over the course of the semester that can be used on the assignments (not the group project). Outside of these late days only approved late submissions will be accepted. I will grant late submissions only for serious circumstances (medical emergency, family crisis, etc.). Please send a private note to the instructor in such an event as soon as possible.
Generative AI text tools such as ChatGPT are rapidly changing the way software is built today and learning how to “prompt engineer” such tools properly will undoubtedly be an essential part of any modern technical career. However, when students use such external tools to complete their coursework, the teaching staff cannot see how much of the programs written are your creation vs that of an AI system. This situation makes it difficult to assess the progress of your learning and engagement in the course.
To address this situation we have developed an internal tool, called “383GPT,” which will allow you to prompt a generative language model so that you can learn to leverage these tools in your programming, while recording your prompts for the teaching staff to review. You can use the resulting code produced by 383GPT as a part of your assignment submission without attribution. However, the use of additional external generative AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) are prohibited unless specified otherwise in the assignment.
| Letter | Percent |
|---|---|
| A | > 93 |
| A- | 90-92 |
| B+ | 87-89 |
| B | 83-86 |
| B- | 80-82 |
| C+ | 77-79 |
| C | 73-76 |
| C- | 70-72 |
| D+ | 67-69 |
| D | 60-66 |
| F | < 60 |
Any decimal above .5 is rounded up to the next number: 92.5 is an A, 92.49 is an A-.
Intellectual honesty requires that students demonstrate their own learning during examinations and other academic exercises, and that other sources of information or knowledge be appropriately credited. Scholarship depends upon the reliability of information and reference in the work of others. Student work at the University may be analyzed for originality of content. Such analysis may be done electronically or by other means. Student work may also be included in a database for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarized content in future student submissions. No form of cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or facilitating of dishonesty will be condoned in the University community.
For more details see the official honor code: UMass Academic Honesty Policy.
Lectures for this course will be held in person. My intention is that they will be recorded and available afterwards but the quality of the recordings are not my priority. I encourage you to attend lecture in person and use the recordings primarily for review or if you miss class due to extenuating circumstances. Many of the concepts of this course will quickly build upon each other so please be sure you are following along with the content as it is presented and ask questions and clarifications as needed.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course.
If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. If you require accommodations related to the final exam (e.g., extended time, a distraction-free setting) please let me know at least one week in advance.
Our classroom is an inclusive environment. I will promise to treat each and every one of you with respect and my expectation is that you do the same in return. Harassment of any form will not be tolerated in the classroom.
We all come to our classroom with unique backgrounds and perspectives on the world. At times, the difference between these perspectives causes friction when we interact with one another. If at any point you feel like my behavior, the behavior of a course staff member, or that of another student is making you feel unwelcome, offended, or uncomfortable please let me know as soon as possible. Do not be afraid to speak up during class and feel free to reach out to me at any point after class if something is on your mind. You have a right to a fair education and I encourage you to speak up.
I understand if you do not feel comfortable reaching out to me directly about an equity issue. There are resources available to you through the university to aid you in these situations. You can learn more about them here: UMass OEI Resources.
I welcome your feedback at all points in the course. If something is unclear, please speak up for your sake and for the rest of the class. If you find an error in my lectures, code examples, assignments, or in anything else, please reach out to the course staff and myself. If you have suggestions for how the course could be improved, please do let me know, I truly value your perspective.