Assembly Lang. Programming

Labs:	15%
Homework:	30%
Midterm Exam 1:	15%
Midterm Exam 2:	15%
Final Exam 2:	25%

Assignments

Part of this coursework includes regular short assignments. These assignments are important as a way to engage with frequent practice with the material in preparation for the exam, as well as a method to provide regular feedback on your progress and understanding. As such, completing the assignments each week is CRUCIAL for your success in this course. ALWAYS do your best to turn in your best attempt on every assignment, as partial credit for imperfect answers may be given when appropriate.

HWs will be graded according to the following distribution: Correctness of execution (70%), Comments (30%). Comments are critically important, and comments will be graded.

Each function has to be preceded by comments including the name of the function, arguments and their registers, and how the return value is passed.

Each line of MIPS instruction is typically commented on the right in a short C-like statement, so that comments on the right provide enough information to understand the flow of the function.

Read the homework assignments carefully. If you miss any of the requirements, points will be taken off (yes, even if it compiles fine). Don’t just copy/paste and submit the incomplete homework code from class. That’s essentially not doing anything, and will be given a 0.

Assignments will be turned in online, via Blackboard. If you have multiple files to turn in, submit a single archive that includes all of them. If there is a written (or drawn) portion to the assignment, then turn in your written answers in a portable document file format (e.g. pdf, txt, markdown). Microsoft Word and other similar word processor formats should be converted to a portable format before turning in your answers. Alternatively, you may hand-write your answers on paper and submit a pdf or image file by scanning or taking a photo of your answers. If you submit a photo, ensure that all answers are clearly visible and legible. Illegible answers that cannot be read will be treated as no answer.

Deadlines

All assignments must be completed and turned in on-time by their due date to receive full credit. Late homework submissions will have a 5% penalty for every calendar day after the due date. Unless otherwise specified, the time of all due dates is before midnight of that day.

In very exceptional circumstances, additional extensions to due dates may be granted at the discretion of the instructor if a student has unusual circumstances (such as long-term health issues) that would reasonably interfere with the on-time completion of several assignments throughout the course of the semester. To ensure that all students can be fairly accommodated, these exceptional extensions must be requested well in advance of the due date in question, as soon as possible.

Attendance

Students are required to attend class regularly, as regular attendance is one of the most important contributors to student success. However, students may occasionally need to miss class due to illness, emergency, or caring for a sick family member. In such cases, you are responsible for notifying me of your absences and working with me to arrange to make up any missed work.

A note on Zoom Participation: Classroom lectures will be recorded, and available for (re)viewing afterward. Occasionally, certain lectures may be moved online instead of the regular in-person meeting. These special online lectures will be announced by email in advance. Because I believe that the class will be more engaging if we can see one another, I strongly recommend that students keep their cameras on during a virtual class unless you have a valid reason not to, which you should discuss with me ahead of time.

Tutoring Resources

CLASS will be offering tutoring and Writing Center services, including an online searchable tutoring schedules are available that include resources on all campuses. A tutoring request form is also available if there are no tutors listed for the class for which you need help.

Student Mental Health and Wellbeing

We are a campus that cares about the mental health and well-being of all individuals in our campus community. Your personal health and well-being can impact your success in this course. Students sometimes experience mental health concerns or stressful experiences that interfere with academics and have a negative impact on everyday life. If you or someone you know are experiencing mental health challenges at UMass Lowell, please contact Counseling Services. Their services are free and confidential, and same day appointments are available.

I am available to talk with you about stresses related to your work in my class. Furthermore, I can assist you in reaching out to any one of a wide range of campus resources, including:

Counseling Services provides crisis intervention, assessment, referrals, short-term individual counseling, group therapy, and on-call clinicians outside of business hours. They are located at University Crossing Suite 300 and their 24/7 phone number is 978-934-6800.

UMatter2 is a university-wide initiative to support students and promote mental health. The office may be reached at 978-934-6671.

Consider also reaching out to a friend, faculty or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.

Grading

COMP.2030R labs are graded by attendance and participation. The final grade of COMP.2030 and COMP.2030R are identical. Individual tests and homework are not scaled.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

All students are advised that there is a University policy regarding academic integrity. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work. It is the students’ responsibility to familiarize themselves with these policies, as any misconduct will be handled according to the University policy.

Posting answers to homework exercises to any publicly-visible website or location also counts as plagiarism. Future students deserve the chance to fully engage with the homework assignments on their own. If you are found publicly posting any answers to a homework assignment, it will be treated the same as if you provided your answers to another student of this same class.

Credit Hour Policy

Federal definition of a credit hour requires that for every course credit awarded, a course must offer 15 hours of instructor-led course activities and 30 hours of out-of-class student work. This means that a standard 3 credit hour course requires 45 hours of instructor-led course activities and 90 hours of out-of-class student work.

University Privacy Statement

UMass Lowell recognizes the importance of mutual trust between students and faculty. Massachusetts is a two-party consent state, which means it is illegal to record someone without their permission. Recordings of classroom lectures are the intellectual property of the instructor. Instructors have the right to prohibit audio and video recording of their lectures, unless the requesting student is registered with Disabilities Services and recording of class sessions is an approved accommodation. In addition, sharing or selling recordings of classroom activities, discussions or lectures with any other person or medium without permission of the instructor is prohibited.