Grades are assigned based on a contract system. You, the student, pick the grade you want and complete the necessary tasks to achieve it. Tasks include completing assignments (1 Blugold each, with 5 possible), meeting certain competency levels on a midterm and final (up to 2 Blugolds each), and participating in lecture (1 Blugold for >= 85% of quarter sheets turned in at the beginning of lecture).

The grading matrix follows:

Assignments are also handled a bit differently from the norm:

1. Assignments do not have individual deadlines.
2. Assignments do not have itemized scores. Your instructor will offer feedback, but each is graded pass/fail.
3. To receive a Blugold an assignment, you must complete all requirements listed in its specification. Submissions which fail to do so may be resubmitted.
4. Only one assignment (new or resubmitted) may be turned in per week. The submission week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.
5. All submissions must be turned in by two Fridays (May 3) before finals week.

• Honor your instructor's closed door. Please visit only during posted office hours. Do not drop by at other times without having scheduled a time via email at least one day before the meeting.
• Your instructor values his time with family. He does not respond to email after 5 PM or on weekends. Plan accordingly.

• A good education requires both good teaching and good learning. It takes hard work from both instructor and student.
• Early is better than on time.
• Plan for homework to take longer than you think.
• Do your own coding. Discussion of problems is allowed, but using another's code, sharing your code with others, or soliciting solutions from others will earn you a report of academic misconduct and lower your grade. You don't want to live in a world serviced by people who did such things to squeak by, so don't do them yourself.
• Grades are calculated according to your achievement, not your circumstances.