Room 1110
Timothy D. Korson
Office phone: 236-2605
Email: korson@southern.edu
Physical office hours: by appointment and after class (2:30 -
till 4 pm) Hickman Science Center Room 1117G
Class lecture time: 2:30 - 3:45 Mondays and 1:00-2:15 pm Wednesdays.
CPTR 124. Fundamentals of Programming
This course focuses on the skills a technical support person needs when evaluating alternate ways to solve business problems through the purchase, installation, and configuration of hardware and software. The student will learn methods for evaluating application software packages. Topics include: performance and feature evaluation, reliability, usability, maintainability, security issues, and cost of ownership issues as well as the role of policies and procedures. In addition to the actual evaluation process, this course will give students practice in the communication skills necessary to elicit good requirements and make effective oral and written recommendations. The course teaches the student to go beyond a purely technical perspective and consider a wide range of business issues when making a recommendation. The course will also consider requirements gathering and usability issues in general.
Some of the class periods will follow a traditional lecture format. For these class periods there will be some guest lecturers. Many of the classes will be student presentations of their evaluation results and other class assignments.Some of the lectures may be online. Check the schedule carefully to see which lectures will be online.and which days we will meet in class.
The student will learn:
The major class assignment consist of
Additional assignments are outlined on the assignments and schedule page.
Final grades are determined according to the following table:
A plus (+) or minus (-) may be attached to further qualify a letter grade.
The average used to determine the final grade is computed from the following class activities and is weighted as indicated in SnapGrades.
Preparation for exams The are no study sheets provided for exams. If you need a study sheet for exams, it is essential that you create your own by taking notes during the class lectures. Exams questions focus on items highlighted during class discussion and often require answers based on class discussion that cannot be found in the text. Reviewing old exams that I have given can also help you.
Remarks Assignments are due when specified. Most students will need to begin assignments as soon as they are assigned and work consistently until the due date. It is generally a mistake to postpone most of the work until shortly before the due date. In general no credit can be expected for late work. If I choose to accept an occasional late assignment it will typically be penalized 5% per day late.
Each test contributes significantly to the overall grade. In certain situations, due to unavoidable circumstances, a missed test may be made up. Arrangements for the retake MUST be made BEFORE the time of the originally scheduled test. The make-up test may vary greatly in form from the original test, but its content (topics addressed) will be the same. Because of this difference, any points added (the so called "curve") to tests taken during the regularly scheduled time may not apply to retakes.
Updates: This syllabus will likely be updated as the semester progresses. It is your responsibility to check the online syllabus for the latest information and course policies.
Academic Honesty: The basic principle is that you must not represent the work of others as your own work. This principle applies not only for term papers but for all types of assignments and projects.
Academic honesty does not exclude working together on team projects, but it does require that any collaborative work submitted must carry a clear signed statement detailing the nature of the collaboration and making it clear what part of the work was done by you and giving explicit credit to any work done by someone else. Obviously, collaborative work is only permitted when specifically required or allowed in the assignment statement. If in doubt just ask, I am generally quite favorable to collaborative work as long as the above guidelines are followed.
Term papers must include citations for any text not written by you, and references to any sources you used as background material. It is not permissible to compile material from off the web, massage it a bit, write a few transition phrases and submit it as your own. Both the wording and organization of papers you submit must be your own. Paraphrasing someone else’s text is generally not acceptable. Either quote and give credit to the original author, or write your own original text. A necessary, but not sufficient, condition of wither the paper is acceptable is a “yes” to the following question. When you are done could you reproduce the major thrust, reasoning and content of the paper from memory?
A violation of academic honesty is one of the most serious faults a student can commit and will typically result in an automatic F for the course or other serious consequences.
Disability Statement: In keeping with university policy, any student with a disability who needs academic accommodations should call Disability Support Services at 423-236-2574 or Lynn Wood Hall, room 137, to arrange a confidential appointment with the Disability Services Coordinator (DSC) before or during the first week of classes. (Students who request accommodations after the third week of the semester might not complete the process in time to receive accommodations for that semester.) Legally, no retroactive accommodations can be provided.
For more details, visit the Disability Support Services website at www.southern.edu/disability support.
Accommodations for disabilities are available only as recommended by Disability Support Services. Students whose accommodations are approved will be provided confidential letters which students should review and discuss with their professors in relation to particular course requirements.