Course Syllabus
Course Title: Programming for Engineers
Adding the course: This course is made up of multiple 5000-6000 level sections in different departments. I do not have add codes until the start of the semester. Please work with your department advisor to access this class. I will be trying to accommodate anyone who wants to take the course, but it is a complicated balancing act of figuring out caps for sections and the total enrollment over all sections.
This course should not be taken by anyone in the CS or CE majors or graduate degree programs. The CS sections are a catch-all for students outside the department who do not have a home department section to take.
Course Description: Many modern engineering systems incorporate computational elements, while other engineering systems needed to be validated through computational tools or through computer-aided data collection. This course is designed to provide a foundation in programming, software engineering, debugging, and using existing computational codes in the context of controlling physical equipment, gathering experimental data, and visualizing results. The course will be taught primarily using the C++ programming language, which provides balance between access to physical devices and modern programming concepts and then finish with a quick introduction to Python as a way to compare and contrast different languages concepts. The course provides a level of programming proficiency to students planning on taking additional coursework with a programming emphasis or who might need custom computational applications in their research. We will start by covering basic concepts in programming, but at a very high rate, so some basic prior experience in programming (Matlab, Arduino C, etc.) is helpful but not necessary. The course ends learning a bit of Python and seeing how to connect these two languages.
Lectures: MWF 9:40p-10:30am, JTB 310
Instructor: Fengjiao Wang
Email: fengjiao.wang@utah.edu
Course Staff Email: Use Piazza and email instructors.
Office Hours: In 3116 MEB (along the west face of the MEB 3rd floor). See the help link under the Canvas Course Resources module.
Course Materials: I will be using some notes I have written as well as online resources.
Testing: There will be two mid-terms and a final. You can find the finals schedule for all classes at https://registrar.utah.edu/academic-calendars/. The mid-terms will be Sept. 22 and Nov. 8. The final, as shown on the final exam schedule page, is Wednesday, Dec. 13, 8:00 – 10:00 am, in the regular classroom.
Grading: The course will use a mixture of short programming exercises, longer programming projects, tests, and some software development exercises as the basis for grades. The percentage breakdown is:
| Tests | 35% |
| Weekly Quizzes | 10% |
| Assignments | 50% |
| Participation | 5% |
Grade Scale:
[100-94] A, (94-90] A-, (90-87] B+, (87-84] B, (84-80] B-, (80-77] C+, (77-74] C, (74-70] C-, (70-67] D+, (67-64] D, (64-60] D-, (60-0] E
where [ ] means including that number and ( ) means up to but not including.
Programming assignments The instructions for each assignment and its due date will be posted on the class website. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the successful and timely submission of each programming assignment — start early and follow the instructions carefully. Corrupted or missing files will not be grounds for extensions. Double-check your submissions, and save a digital copy of all of your work.
Late Assignments Assignments turned in after the due date and time receive an immediate 10% of the possible score deduction per day up to two days. After 48 hours the assignment can no longer be submitted and the assignment score becomes 0%.
Late Passes Every student gets two late passes to use during the semester. It is not necessary to email the instructor to use a late pass - they just get applied if available. A late pass forgives the one or two day late penalty for one assignment. It does not extend the assignment past the two day late period. Late passes will be automatically applied to late assignments and tracked in the Canvas gradebook. Students cannot decide to shift a late pass from one assignment (for example, where a pass was used on a 24 hour late assignment) to another (a later assignment that was 40 hours late).
Lectures
In lecture I will use a laptop for slides, examples, and programming. All slides, examples, and programs will be posted on the class website. I will also occasionally use the chalkboard, but information put on the board will not be posted online.
Students are expected to participate in lecture by thinking about the material, asking questions, and offering answers to my questions.
We will occasionally have planning or design sessions during lecture that involve team-based planning and coordination. Students should come to class prepared for this with paper and writing implements.
Students are expected to engage with the instructor and classmates during class meetings. Students are permitted to use a laptop or mobile device to take notes or try programming concepts. Use of a laptop or mobile device for any other purpose is not permitted and students who do so will be asked to leave the classroom. While you may consider it a right to casually browse the web, engage in social media, or play games during lecture, such activity is very distracting to others (especially in a crowded classroom) and is not permitted.
Projects and Code Reviews
There will be projects and code reviews due throughout the semester. The release and due dates for each assignment will be posted on the class website.
Projects will involve a significant amount of programming and design. As this is a three-hour class, I expect students will spend an average of 6-9 hours a week working on the assignments.
Students must be aware that their work will be subject to peer review throughout the semester. We will make portions of your work visible for other students to see and review (with names, comments, and filenames intact). Please do not hand in anything objectionable or sensitive. Also, students will be required to review the work of their peers in the class. Specific requirements for reviews will be posted on the class website, and we will discuss how to conduct code reviews in class.
CADE Lab Accounts
The engineering computing lab (the CADE lab, WEB L 226) has all the hardware and software needed for this class. However, you are encouraged to use a laptop and set it up and administer the environment we will use.
Asking for Help
Every student will get stuck sooner or later. When you do, feel free to ask for help in person or through the class website. We are happy to help.
In-person help is the most effective way to learn. Please make use of our posted office hours whenever possible.
Most assignments will have a help/questions forum is where you should post simple questions for other students. If you’d like to find a study partner, if you discover something really cool, or if you just have a simple question, feel free to post to this forum. The only rule is that you are not allowed to post code or discussions of any portion of any solution.
Cooperation vs. Cheating
Working with others on assignments is a good way to learn the material and I encourage it. However, there are limits to the degree of cooperation that I will permit. Working together to find a good approach for solving a problem is cooperation; listening while someone dictates a solution is cheating. You must limit collaboration to a high-level discussion of solution strategies and stop short of actually writing down group answers. The following guide is intended to clarify cooperation vs. cheating.
Collaboration:
Students may use code that we provide as part of this semester’s assignment and lab postings.
Students may use small “snippets” of code from web tutorials in their solutions. These snippets must be small pieces of general purpose code that are not direct solutions to the assignment. Snippets must not exceed about 10% of the statements in any assignment. When using snippets of code from the web, properly cite them in your source code. Place a comment immediately above each piece of borrowed code and state “Code example from” and give the source URL for the code. Place a comment below the snippet stating “End of example”.
Team programming is allowed for certain assignments. These assignments will clearly state that team programming is allowed. Independent, individual work is required for all other assignments, labs, write-ups and exams.
Studying together is encouraged. Students may discuss strategies and common problems and students may answer each other’s general questions.
Cheating:
When writing code, you must not base your work on any other person’s design or code. If you look at another student’s code, you are cheating. If you write code in a group (when not allowed), you are cheating. If you ask another person to help you write code, you are cheating. Write your own solutions.
When writing reports, all work must remain independent and confidential. Reading other people’s work or sharing of answers, data, text, or diagrams is cheating. Discussion of general formulas is allowed, but step-by-step solving of written problems together is cheating.
When taking an exam, you must work completely independently of everyone else. Any collaboration here, of course, is cheating.
We do not distinguish between cheaters who copy others’ work and cheaters who allow their work to be copied. If you are the source of materials or skill used for cheating, you will also fail the class. Be careful what you post to forums, and don’t show your friends your work!
Finally, if something you are doing may be considered both collaboration and cheating, it is cheating. Don’t do it.
The sanction for any cheating (plagiarism) in this class, no matter how small the offense, is an ’E’.
Policies and Resources
College of Engineering Guidelines For information on withdrawing from courses, appealing grades, and more, see the College of Engineering guidelines at https://www.coe.utah.edu/students/current/semester-guidelines/.
School of Computing guidelines For more information on School of Computing policies and guidelines, please refer to https://handbook.cs.utah.edu/2019-2020/Academics/policies.php
Safety The University of Utah values the safety of all campus community members. To report suspicious activity or to request a courtesy escort, call campus police at 801-585-COPS (801-585-2677). You will receive important emergency alerts and safety messages regarding campus safety via text message. For more information regarding safety and to view available training resources, including helpful videos, visit safeu.utah.edu.
Students with disabilities The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability and Access (http://disability.utah.edu (Links to an external site.)). CDA will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. Accommodations cannot be given without paperwork from this office.
Addressing Sexual Misconduct. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677(COPS).
Student Names & Personal Pronouns Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name as well as “Preferred first name” (if previously entered by you in the Student Profile section of your CIS account). Please advise me of any name or pronoun changes (and update CIS) so I can help create a learning environment in which you, your name, and your pronoun will be respected. If you need assistance getting your preferred name on your UIDcard, please visit the LGBT Resource Center Room 409 in the Olpin Union Building, or email bpeacock@sa.utah.edu to schedule a time to drop by. The LGBT Resource Center hours are M-F 8am-5pm, and 8am-6pm on Tuesdays.
Student Wellness Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, cross-cultural differences, etc., can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed and thrive at the University of Utah. For helpful resources contact the Center for Student Wellness at www.wellness.utah.edu or 801-581-7776.
Veterans Center If you are a student veteran, the U of Utah has a Veterans Support Center located in Room 161 in the Olpin Union Building. Hours: M-F 8-5pm. Please visit their website for more information about what support they offer, a list of ongoing events and links to outside resources: http://veteranscenter.utah.edu/. Please also let me know if you need any additional support in this class for any reason.
Learners of English as an Additional/Second Language If you are an English language learner, please be aware of several resources on campus that will support you with your language and writing development. These resources include: the Writing Center (http://writingcenter.utah.edu/); the Writing Program (http://writing-program.utah.edu/); the English Language Institute (http://continue.utah.edu/eli/). Please let me know if there is any additional support you would like to discuss for this class.
Note: This syllabus is meant to serve as an outline and guide for our course. Please note that I may modify it with reasonable notice to you. I may also modify the Course Schedule to accommodate the needs of our class. Any changes will be announced in class and posted on Canvas under Announcements.