Section B, Spring 2004
Professor Larry Heimann

This page contains information on policies specific to the 67-250 course. For general Information Systems program policies, please choose the General Policies button on the left. This section contains material on:

Grading

Readings

Faculty Information

TA Information


Grades: Grades in this course are determined by student performance in three areas: three small course projects (worth 20% total), two in-class examinations (20% each), a final exam (25%), short pre-class assignments and class participation (worth 15% total). Any grading curves, if deemed necessary, will be applied only to the final course score and not to individual assignments.

Exams and the course projects are designed to be completed by individuals without the assistance of classmates or other students. The Inforamtion Systems program has made a separate statement regarding the honesty and integrity policy in this course and I require that students review this policy as soon as possible as it will apply to this class. The faculty consider academic integrity to be of great importance, we actively scan for cheating policy violations, and will take swift and appropriate measures against those who fail to abide by these standards.

We will have small in-class assignments to do on a periodic basis. These assignments will not be announced in class before hand; since regular attendance is the norm, this should not be an issue. A major purpose of these in-class assignments is for both students and faculty to be certain that key concepts are understood and can be applied to basic problems. There will be no make-up for missed in-class assignments.

Any questions or concerns about grading must be directed to the Head TA, Sameer Sait, for resolution before it can be taken to aprofessor. An entire statement regarding regrading for IS courses in general can be found in the general policies section and will be implemented here. Do not labor under the mistaken impression that you are somehow special and therefore are exempt from this policy! If (and only if) you have followed the policy and are unhappy with the way Mr. Sait has handled your matter, you are welcome to take your case to the faculty. We will want Mr. Sait's input before making final decision (to be sure that we are fully informed when making the final decision), however, so any attempt to bypass the Head TA will be futile. If you attempt to do an endrun through the process, you will be sent back to discuss the matter with Mr. Sait. We also reserve the right to lower grades further if we believe the TAs have been too generous in the grading the assignment in question. (This has happened in the past so be forewarned.

 

Readings: In this class we have assigned two books which can be purchased at the CMU bookstore or online.

  • Information Rules by C. Shapiro and H. Varian
  • Professional Software Development by S. McConnell

In addition, we will utilize some online materials and provide some handouts as well. We expect students to have read through the text in advance of class so that they have a basic knowledge of what we are lecturing on each day.

Faculty Information: I maintain office hours that are run strictly on a first come, first served basis. However, I am available for appointments on other days and welcome students to stop in at other times without an appointment; if I am busy with something else at the moment then we will set up an appointment to talk at a more convenient time. Contact information is listed below:

    Professor Heimann  
Office:   Porter 319E
Phone:   8-8211
E-mail:   lheimann@andrew.cmu.edu
Office Hrs:   Wednesdays and Thursdays 1:00 - 3:00pm

 

Teaching Assistants: The Head TA for this course is Sameer Sait (ssait), a graduate student in the MISM program. We have three undergraduate TAs -- Michael Graham, David Fries, and Rachel Messham -- and more may be added at a later time. TAs will hold weekly office hours in the evening starting in February; time and room will be announced. If you wish to schedule a meeting with a TA that is not during office hours, contact our head TA and he will set up a time to meet (either with him or another TA).

Instructors reserve the right to make modifications to materials in this syllabus during the term as circumstances warrant.

 

Please note: this site contains relevant information for the Spring 2004 semester only. The site is maintained by Professor H, so any questions or problems with these pages should be sent to lheimann@andrew.cmu.edu. Since any criticisms will be taken as a challenge by the great Klingon warrior, practicing you bat'telh technique in advance is recommended. batlth qelDI' thIngan, lumbe'.