Foundations of Computer Science, Spring 2011 Syllabus

Dr. Jennifer S. Kay
Department of Computer Science
Rowan University

Class Web Page: http://www.rowan.edu/~kay/classes/found

General Information about the Class

Course Title: Foundations of Computer Science

Catalog Description:

CS 07210:  3 s.h.
Prerequisites: C- or better in MATH 03160 and any one of the following: CS 01102, CS 04103, CS 01104 or CS 04113

This course provides an introduction to the theoretical foundations of computer science, including finite automata, context-free grammars, Turing machines, and formal logic.

A note about prerequisites: This class will use a lot of the material from Discrete Structures. Officially, you must have at least a C- in Discrete to take this course., but to succeed in this course, you must have a reasonable understanding of the material from Discrete. If you are uncomfortable with that material, you should probably drop this class and retake Discrete.

Instructor:

Dr. Jennifer S. Kay,
Department of Computer Science

3rd floor, Robinson Building
Email: kay@rowan.edu
Phone: (856) 256-4593          

Office Hours:

First week of school:
Rest of the semester:

Class Meeting Times and Location:

Section 1:

Section 2:


Alternate Means of Instruction: It is possible that some class meetings of this course might be online or some other alternate means of instruction. Whenever this will be done you will receive an email (to your Rowan account) and an announcement will also be posted on the class home page.

Required Book:
    James Hein, Discrete Structures, Logic, and Computability, third edition.


Prerequisite Guidelines:

The prerequisites are designed to ensure that you have some programming experience, and that you have also successfully completed Discrete Structures. In particular, you should be familiar with all of the following concepts from discrete structures which  are covered as noted in chapter 1 of our textbook

A note about missing exams or class:
In my class (and all of your other classes) class time is very important. Missing class means missing out on new material, quizzes, labs, etc. In general, there is no specific penalty for missed classes. However, by missing a class you may miss a quiz or a deadline, for which you may be penalized.

Generally I will not let you make up quizzes, however I will drop your two lowest quiz grades.

If you have to miss an exam (and I hope you will not) re-tests will be given only in cases of extreme hardship as defined by the rules of Rowan University, and I always require documentation of your reason for your absence.

You will still be responsible for any material taught during missed classes. You should get the names and email addresses and/or phone numbers of some other students in the class so that you can get notes, etc. if you miss a class. Missing a class will put you behind in the material and you will need to work hard to catch up.

Email:
I will periodically send email messages to the class rather than use the class web site. I will send this email to your Rowan University Web Email account. You are required to read this email daily (If you are unable to read your email from home, please let me know immediately and we'll work something out). The Rowan Web Email system will allow you to forward your email to another account and if you read your mail somewhere else more frequently, I encourage you to forward your Rowan email there. Early in the semester you will receive an special quiz via email that WILL NOT BE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS to ensure that you are reading your email.

Grading:
Midterms 40% (2 midterms, 20% each)
Quizzes 30%  (Your two lowest quiz grades will be dropped)
Final Exam 30%

Up to 3 points of extra credit for study group participation (see below)

While I will assign homework regularly, the problems that I will assign will generally be ones from the textbook in which the answers are provided for you to review. I will not collect homeworks, however you must do them in order to be sufficiently prepared for the quizzes and the exams. If you have questions about particular homework problems, please be sure to ask about them in class, talk to me during office hours, or make an appointment.

Expect to have a quiz any day you have homework due (in other words, there will be a quiz most days). Some of the quizzes will be very short, others will be longer.

Midterm Dates:

Working Together / Study Groups

I encourage you to work together with other students in the class on the homeworks. Often, you find you don't understand something as well as you think when you try to explain it to someone else. Remember that you must understand the material to prepare for the quizzes and exams. Quizzes and exams you must complete on your own.

Because I think it's so important to work with other students in this class, I will give you up to 3 points of extra credit for studying with other members of the class.

To get extra credit for each study group meeting:

You may accumulate a maximum of 3 extra credit points over the duration of the semester as follows:

Workload:

This is a 3 s.h. class, which means that you should expect to be spending 6-9 hours a week outside of class on homework assignments, readings, etc. If you find that you are genuinely spending more than 9 hours outside of class on your work, please let me know.

University-wide Policies
You should be familiar with all of the University-wide policies. They are included in the Student Information Guide which you can find on-line at http://www.rowan.edu/studentaffairs/infoguide/

Plagiarism:
To submit someone else's work as your own is plagiarism, a form of academic dishonesty. It is college policy that students who commit an act of academic dishonesty may be subject to failure in the course, suspension from the College, or both. (See the Rowan University Student Information Guide for further details.)

If you use materials that you've obtained on the Internet, from a book, etc., for example as part of a programming assignment, you must include an appropriate reference. To use such materials without proper attribution is a form of plagiarism. The only exception is that you may use the class textbook without providing a reference. I will make a reasonable effort to catch plagiarizers, and it will not be tolerated.

Using the Tutoring Center
The tutoring center is paid for by your tuition, and you should feel free to use their services (after all, you paid for it). There is no additional charge to Rowan students for using the tutoring center. For more information see http://www.rowan.edu/open/depts/learningcenter/tutoring_center/ 

Ask Questions. 
Any question that you may want to ask during class is most likely shared by someone else, so ask it!  The only ‘dumb question’ is the one that is not asked.  Ask the question!!

Classroom Decorum:

In order to show proper respect for the instructor and for your fellow students, please observe the following:

Getting Help:
I have scheduled office hours for your convenience; please take advantage of them. In addition, I can always be reached quickly via email  or telephone (see contact information above). If you are having a problem with the course, the sooner we discuss it the more likely we'll be able to deal with it.

Special Note:

Students with disabilities are encouraged to speak with me as early in the semester as possible about their needs for special accommodations.  If you have not already done so, you should also speak with the Academic Success Center/Disability resources in Savitz 339 (x4233).