Attendance & Course Format

DS2000/2001 are organized as in-person, on-ground classes for Fall 2022 unless you are specifically registered for Section 1 of DS 2000 and/or Section 1 of DS 2001. This means that we expect you to attend class in person if you are well. We expect all members of the DS 2000 community to individually monitor themselves for illness. Do not attend DS 2000 lecture in person if you are ill in any way.

Professor Felix is immunocompromised and will be masking for the duration of the semester during lecture. (And would prefer that you do the same.)

If you are in Section 2, 3, or 4 and unable to attend class on any given day, your first, best option is to attend Prof. Rachlin's lecture (T/F from 11:45am - 12:50pm - See canvas for Zoom link information). We will not be recording lectures but we will be posting all materials from class after lecture. We encourage you to carefully walk through these materials and come to office hours to make sure that you don't fall behind. Please reach out if you feel you are falling behind—we have a large team to help!

In general, if you can't attend the lecture for the section that you are enrolled in on a specific date (this should not be a regular occurrence), you are welcome to attend a different section on that day.

All members of the DS 2000 community will follow university guidelines regarding masking, social distancing, and other public-health related policies.

DS 2001: Consult your individual DS 2001 guidelines for protocols about what to do if you are unable to attend DS 2001 on any given week.

Textbook and Resources

Both textbooks below are freely available online. Relevant chapters will be listed alongside lecture topics on the schedule page. You do not need to read the textbooks ahead of lecture; they're most useful as reference materials or for looking up new examples. Keep them handy when working on the homework or reviewing your lecture notes.
Recommended Textbook Intro to Python for Computer Science and Data Science. Deitel & Deitel. Pearson, 2019. ISBN: 0135404673. Available free online or purchase (Click on the O'Reilly link, then on "Not listed", and enter your NEU login details).
Python Reference Felix's Python notes available online
Python Reference Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist. Allen B. Downey. O’Reilly Media, 2015. ISBN: 1491939362. Available free online or purchase.
DS2000 Style Guide style guide PDF

Evaluation

We have produced a summary of some elements of the syllabus below.

It is our expectation that you refer to the syllabus to answer all policy-related questions.

DS2000 and DS2001 are graded separately and will appear as two different grades on your transcript. Check in with your DS2001 instructor for questions about practicum grading. Your grade for DS2000 will be weighted as follows.

  • Homework: 90%
  • Quizzes (lowest dropped): 10%

Homeworks

Homework sets will be assigned roughly every week, due at 9pm on Fridays. They will be evaluated according to the DS2000 Grading Rubric. No homework grades will be dropped.

Quizzes

We'll have quizzes most weeks, open from (updated 9/22) 9am on Mondays through 9:50am Fridays (eastern time). You can resubmit your answers right up until the quiz deadline. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped.

Late Policy

Life happens. You may turn in any homework assignment (but not quizzes) up to 2 days late (until Sundays at 9pm) for a 10% penalty. If you were to receive a 95% on a homework but it is submitted late, you would receive an 85% instead. You do not need to do anything special to request this late submission.

In the case of extenuating circumstances, please reach out directly to course staff as soon as possible to discuss your individual circumstances. Proactive communication is always preferred whenever possible.

Letter Grades

You will receive separate grades for DS2000 and DS2001. Your final grade for DS2000 will use the following breakpoints when we convert from number to letter grades. We will round decimals to the nearest integer (e.g., 94.5 will become 95 while 94.48 will become 94).
A
95 - 100
A-
90 - 94
B+
87 - 89
B
83 - 86
B-
80 - 82
C+
77 - 79
C
73 - 76
C-
70 - 72
D
60 - 69
F
59 and below

Software

We'll be using Python 3 in this class. Anaconda is your best bet for installing the latest version of Python along with various libraries. When you install Anaconda, it also comes with the editor Spyder, which we'll use to write and run Python code. Spyder will be our "official" DS2000 editor; if you like and use another editor that's totally fine, but we'll use Spyder in lectures and office hours, and we'll be able to help you out if something goes wrong.

Gradescope

You should be automatically signed up for our Gradescope page, where you'll turn in all your assignments. If you aren't, here is the link to the Gradescope course. Use the access code PXXWYD.

Piazza

You should be automatically signed up for our Piazza page, which is the course discussion forum. If you aren't, here is the link to the Piazza page.

Piazza is an extension of our classroom discussion, and we expect everyone to behave accordingly. No disrespect, rudeness, or abuse will be tolerated -- towards fellow students or towards the course staff. Piazza will be disabled if we feel it is being misused.

You may not post your code on Piazza, but you can ask, answer, and discuss different things you've tried, what worked and didn't work, and resources you've found. If you are unsure about whether or not something is acceptable, feel free to make a private post and we can make it public if you are good to go.

We'll also use Piazza to post course announcements, so make sure your email settings are turned on!

Communication

Piazza is the best place to ask general questions, get clarification on a homework spec, ask a follow-up from lecture, etc. Remember not to post code on Piazza, though!

Email for the instructors is the best tool for specific questions or concerns about your experience in class, or anything sensitive in nature. During the week, we'll respond within about 24 hours, but don't expect a response after 5pm eastern. On the weekends we'll be slower to respond, so if you reach out over a weekend you can expect to hear back by Monday around noon.

Office hours are the best place for talking through your approach to a homework problem. We're not here to give you answers, of course, but to be your fellow computer scientists thinking through a tough problem with you. Expect us to ask more questions than we answer.

You are welcome to attend any TA or instructor office hours, regardless of which section you're registered for. We're always happy to see you!

Academic Integrity

Homework for DS 2000 is expected to be completed as individuals. This means that you should not receive code in any form (written down, sent pictures, be told aloud) from other people. If in doubt, we urge you to come to office hours. Code is both extremely individual (which can be surprising to beginner programmers) and It is extremely hard to "unsee" once you have seen a solution, even if you are trying to look just for reference.

Violations of the academic integrity policy will result in a 0 on the given assignment for all parties involved. Repeated violations may result in a report to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR.)

The university's academic integrity policy discusses actions regarded as violations and consequences for students: http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academic-integrity

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects individuals from sex or gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on gender-identity, in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Northeastern’s Title IX Policy prohibits Prohibited Offenses, which are defined as sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship or domestic violence, and stalking. The Title IX Policy applies to the entire community, including male, female, transgender students, faculty and staff.

If you or someone you know has been a survivor of a Prohibited Offense, confidential support and guidance can be found through University Health and Counseling Services staff (http://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/) and the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy members (http://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/). By law, those employees are not required to report allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the University.

Alleged violations can be reported non-confidentially to the Title IX Coordinator within The Office for Gender Equity and Compliance at: titleix@northeastern.edu and/or through NUPD (Emergency 617.373.3333; Non-Emergency 617.373.2121). Reporting Prohibited Offenses to NUPD does NOT commit the victim/affected party to future legal action.

Faculty members are considered "responsible employees" at Northeastern University, meaning they are required to report all allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator.

Please visit http://www.northeastern.edu/titleix for a complete list of reporting options and resources both on- and off-campus.

Students with Disabilities

Students who have disabilities who wish to receive academic services and/or accommodations should visit the Disability Resource Center at 20 Dodge Hall or call (617) 373-2675. If you have already done so, please provide your letter from the DRC to me early in the semester so that I can arrange those accommodations.