CPSC 235 010, Fall 2021 Syllabus

General Information

Instructor:: Dr. Dylan Schwesinger
Office:: Old Main 250; Phone: (484) 646 - 4389
email:: schwesin@kutztown.edu
Web URL:: https://csitrd.kutztown.edu/schwesin
Office Hours:: MoWeFr 8:00am – 9:30pm, We 5:00pm – 5:30m
Meeting Time & Place:: Section 010: MoWeFr 10:00am – 10:50am, OM 159

Course Description: This course is designed to provide an understanding of and internal execution of a program by a modern digital computer

Prerequisite: CPSC 136 and CPSC 125

Recommended Textbook: Computer Systems: A Programmer’s Perspective, Third Edition (CS:APP3e), by Randall E. Bryant and David R. O’Hallaron, Pearson.

Course Objectives

Describe and implement machine-level commands in a modern sequential computer.
Describe the architecture of a computer.
Describe basic digital logic design.
Distinguish between the concept of a cell’s name (address) with a cell’s value (contents), and the different things a cell’s value can represent.
Demonstrate the ability to work with data representing values, instructions, and addresses. This work will reveal that all three entities are similarly represented, can be found in relatively the same places, and are differentiated solely by their use.
Describe the non-numeric aspects of computing as it relates to logical bit and byte manipulation.
Use assembly language to better understand higher level languages, gaining useful insights applicable to several upperclass courses.

Course Organization

Your participation in the course will involve the following activities:

Attending the lectures
Doing assignments
Taking exams

Regular attendance and class participation are expected, but attendance will not be taken during lectures. Students are responsible for all material covered in class.

Policies

Assignments

All assignments are due by the specified day and time. Late assignments will not be accepted. All assignments must include the following information: your name, the course (CPSC 235), semester, year, and assignment number. Programming assignments must follow the Computer Science Documentation Standards. Failure to meet these expectations will result in a 10% penalty for that assignment.

Exams

Exams must be taken when scheduled unless I have approved an alternate time prior to the scheduled exams. Missed exams will be handled on an individual basis and will require written documentation for the absence. University policy will be followed.

Final Grade Assignment

Each student will receive a numeric score for the course based on a weighted average of the following:

Assignments (60%): There will be several assignments which combined will count for 50% of the course grade. Assignments may have different weights based on the perception of the relative effort required. The course website has information regarding assignments.
Exams (30%): There will be several exams which combined will count for 30% of the final grade. You must get a passing (60%+) grade on exams collectively to pass the course.
Quizzes (10%) The will be several quizzes which combined will count for 10% of the final grade.

The letter grade cutoff points are 93 (A), 90 (A-), 87 (B+), 83 (B), 80 (B-), 77 (C+), 70 (C), 67 (D+), 60 (D).

Bonus Points: The instructor will selectively consider raising individual grades for students just below the cutoffs based on factors such as attendance, class participation, improvement throughout the course, and special circumstances.

Academic Dishonesty

All students should familiarize themselves with the Computer Science Academic Integrity Policy

Assignments will be closely monitored for plagiarism. All infractions will be reported to the department chair. The penalty for cheating will be determined on a case-by-case basis, but it will always be worse than having not turned in the assignment.

Email Correspondence

The preferred method of course communication is email. When sending email, please indicate the course number in the subject line by placing it within square brackets, for example, “[CPSC 235] Need help on Assignment 1”. All email correspondence must sent from your Kutztown University email address. You can expect a response to an email with a properly formatted subject line within 24 hours. An email with an improperly formatted subject line may get no response at all.

Classroom Etiquette

Consideration for your classmates, instructor, and class is expected. Please come to class on time and prepared to learn. There should be no classroom conversations, sleeping, cell phone usage, or other disruptions to the class.

Instructor Assistance

If a student solicits assistance from the instructor and behaves in a disrespectful manner, the instructor reserves the right to refuse assistance until the student can behave in a respectful manner.

Accreditation

Any course work submitted to the instructor (including but not limited to assignments, tests, and projects) may be photocopied and retained for the purpose of assessment, accreditation and quality improvement, after removal of any information identifying the student.

Kutztown University Class Handout Information

Supplemental information from university offices for class handouts and syllabi is located here: Class Handout Information

Note: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.