Inclusive Classroom

We believe that diversity and inclusiveness are essential to excellence in academic discourse and innovation. In this class, the perspective of people of all races, ethnicities, gender expressions and gender identities, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and nationalities will be respected and viewed as a resource and benefit throughout the semester. Suggestions to further diversify class materials and assignments are encouraged. If any course meetings conflict with your religious events, please do not hesitate to reach out to Laney to make alternative arrangements.

Lecture Questions

• We invite everyone to raise their hands to ask and answer questions during class, and to engage in discussion with classmates. However, we know it’s not always the easiest thing to speak up in a big classroom, or to clarify your thoughts in real time.
• Therefore, you can also ask Laney questions directly via the Lecture Question form. Laney will review these questions during the break and after lecture, and respond during lecture or on Piazza, keeping you anonymous.

To create and preserve a classroom atmosphere that optimizes teaching and learning, all participants share a responsibility in creating a civil and non-disruptive forum for the discussion of ideas. This includes all ways you interact with classmates and course staff -- in lectures, office hours, Piazza, etc.

Name and Pronoun Usage
As this course includes some discussion, it is vitally important for us to create an educational environment of inclusion and mutual respect. This includes the ability for all students to have their chosen gender pronoun(s) and chosen name affirmed. If the class roster does not align with your name and/or pronouns, please inform Laney of the necessary changes.

Evaluation

You will receive one grade that will appear on your transcript for DS2500 and DS2501. Your grade will be evaluated based on your homeworks, labs, exams, mini-presentations, and a semester project.

• Homework: 25%
• Labs: 20%
• Exams: 30%
• Mini-Presentation: 5%
• Semester Project: 20%

Letter Grades

Your final grade for DS2500 will use the following breakpoints when we convert from letter to number grades. We use natural rounding, so a 95.6 becomes 96 but 95.4 becomes 95. All homeworks are weighted the same, regardless of the specific number of points.

Homework

Homeworks will be assigned weekly(ish). They are due on Fridays at 9pm unless otherwise noted.

Your grade for each homework will comprise your score on each of three components:

• Accuracy. You’ll answer quantitative questions about the dataset on gradescope. These answers are auto-graded. Gradescope can be a little picky, so make sure you don’t put extraneous characters or whitespace in your answers -- and double-check the “correct/incorrect” confirmation!
• Visualization. You’ll be asked to submit screenshots/downloads of at least one Python plot on every homework. We expect these plots to be labeled, easy to read and understand, and appropriate for the data.
• Code Quality. You’ll submit your code as well, which we will review and grade based on its modularity, readability, and reusability. Please see our DS2500 grading guidelines for more information.

Homeworks will be scored and returned to you, on Gradescope. After getting your homework back, you have the option to file a regrade request. under one of the following categories:

• Clarity -- you’re not sure why points were taken off, even though you’ve read the rubric and your grader’s comments.
• Mistake -- your grader mistakenly took points off.

When filing a regrade request, specify which category the request belongs in. You’ll receive a response, and possibly an updated score, from your grader. After that, if you still have concerns or questions about your grade, email laneys@northeastern.edu.

Late Policy - Homework

The final assignment of the semester, due on Friday 4/11, will be a second-chance homework. You can use this homework to re-submit one of Homework 1-5, and we'll re-grade it. It's a chance to re-do a homework that didn't go as well as you'd hoped, or submit one where you'd missed the original deadline.

You can submit homeworks up to 48 hours late with no penalty. No other late submissions will be accepted. This policy exists for those times you're having a tough week, are feeling sick, or are falling behind in your work; we won't make any exceptions to this policy. If you have any questions about this policy, email Prof. Laney (laneys@northeastern.edu). The second-chance homework may not be submitted late.

If you ask for an extension beyond the 48 hours, I’ll remind you that this policy exists for those weeks when you have an issue like illness, busy-ness, family issues, etc.; no one is entitled to additional extensions except under extraordinary circumstances that go far beyond these common issues. If something very serious is going on, I’m going to be worried about you but won’t grant any extensions unless I hear directly from WeCare or a similar source.

It’s better to submit something than nothing! Even if your homework is incomplete, if that late deadline is approaching, submit whatever you have. We give partial credit, and it’s better to have that than a zero

Labs

Labs are scheduled on Mondays and are due at 9pm on the same day. We recommend taking advantage of the in-person lab and working with classmates and TAs, but it is not required. You are still responsible for completing the lab assignment even if you are not present in the lab.

You can work with a partner or alone for labs. If you work with a partner, only one person needs to submit on Gradescope but they need to tag the other person to ensure credit. Labs are auto-graded directly on Gradescope. Because of this, we need you to complete the assignment exactly as specified -- function names, parameters, file names, everything.

You receive full credit for completing and submitting 3 out of 5 problems and passing all tests on gradescope. Feel free to complete all 5 for extra practice. Details of the lab grade:

• 3, 4, or 5 functions pass all tests: 100%
• 2 functions pass all tests: 75%
• 1 function passes all tests: 50%
• 0 functions pass all tests: 0%

Late Policy - Lab

If you miss a lab deadline, we’ve set aside two late deadlines where you can submit a missing lab with no penalty. Because labs are auto-graded, you can simply resubmit them on gradescope up until the late deadline. Solutions will be released in between the two late deadlines.

• Labs 1-3: Late submissions by February 7 at 9pm
• Labs 4-5: Late submissions by March 28 at 9pm

This policy exists for times you fall behind on a lab, aren’t feeling well, or are busy with classes/life. Apart from these two late deadlines, no late submissions will be accepted.

Exams

We’ll have two exams during the semester. Both are administered in-person during lecture. Please make sure they are on your calendar so you don't miss class that day. Exam dates are:

• Friday, February 14th
• Friday, April 4th

Exams will be on paper. You may bring one 8.5x11-inch cheat sheet with anything written or typed on it, one side only. No other materials will be permitted. You will have the entire 100-minute class period to complete each exam, but they are designed to be shorter. Take your time, answer all questions completely, and double-check your work.

If you have a DAS accommodation related to exams, it is your responsibility to arrange to take the exams in the DAS office. Make sure you set this time up at least a week ahead of the scheduled exams to guarantee the time and space you need.

Late Policy - Exams

We expect everyone to be present for scheduled exams. In the case of an unforeseeable, unavoidable emergency that causes you to miss an exam, reach out to Laney directly. I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to reschedule, but the earlier you reach out the better.