CS 511A Course Information (Fall 2003)

CS 511A: Course Information (Fall 2004)

Prerequisites: CS 102G, CS 201 and CS 241. The most important prerequisite is the ability of algorithm design and programming.
Time/Place: Monday and Wednesday 1:00pm - 2:30pm, Cupples II 217
Instructor: Dr. Weixiong Zhang (zhang@cs), Jolley 506, 935-8788
Course TA: Ali Gardezi (aig1@cec) and Brian Haynes (bchaynes@cse or bch2@cec)

Office Hours:

Dr. Zhyang: M-W 2:30-3:30pm (Jolley Hall 506, after the classes) 

Ali Gardezi: M-W 4-5pm (Urbauer 114); Brian Haynes T-T 4-5pm (Urbauer 114)

Textbook: Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 2003.
Homework Assignments: There will by 5 sets of homework assignments. The assignments are due either in Dr. Zhang's office in Jolley 506 by 12:50pm or in class at the beginning of the class on a given due date. Any homework submitted in class after 1:30pm will be given a 15 point late penalty. If you arrive to class after 1:30, wait until the end of class to bring up your homeworks. It is VERY disruptive to have students walking in late and coming to the front of the class to submit their homeworks. No assignments will be accepted after the solutions are handed out at the end of class. You are strongly advised to get started early so that you can get help if needed! These homeworks are not designed to be done in just a few days. There may not be a single way for a given problem. I expect you to spend 10 hours for a two week homework assignment --- It will be very frustrating if you try to do this all in the last few days. For some problems you may need to think about them a while and then set them aside for a little.
Exams, quizzes and course projects: There will be no midterm nor final. There will be many small quizzes done near the end of some classes. There is also a course project that requires problem analysis and modeling, algorithm design and implementation, and testing and result analysis.
Policy on Collaboration: In solving your homework problems and working on your project, you may discuss HIGH-LEVEL approaches to solving the homework problems with your classmates, HOWEVER, you are to work out all details of any solutions discussed and write up the solution completely on your own. In particular, when working with a student on an assigned homework problem you should do so verbally -- Nothing should be written. Remember to keep your discussion at a high-level so that everyone can work out the details on their own. Also you must clearly acknowledge anyone (besides me or a class TA) with whom you discussed any problem and say briefly what you discussed.
Please keep any discussions you have with other students to a small group of no more than 3 students and be sure that each of you are equally involved. If you just listen in and are then able to understand and write up the solution you have missed at least half of the benefit of the homework and this will show up on the exam. It is really important to work through the process of recognizing when you are heading the wrong way and learning how to work through the problem solving process.

Violations of any of the above rules will be dealt with harshly! The homework problems and projects are designed to help you learn the material being taught. Being told the solution and understanding it is VERY different from working through the process of actually finding a solution. If you do not take an active role in the process of solving the homework problems, then you won't get much out of it, hence you won't learn the material and you are unlikely to pass the exams.
Computation of the Final Grade: The total number of homework points that you receive across the 5 homeworks will account for 60% of your grade, all quizzes account for 10% and the project counts for 30% of the total grade. An "A" will be awarded for an overall percentage of 85% or better, a "B" is given for an overall percentage between 75% and 84%, a "C" is given for an overall percentage between 65% and 74%, a "D" is given for an overall percentage between 55% and 64%. No credit (i.e. an "F") will be given for an overall percentage less than 55%.