ECT 438 Spring 2026

ECT 437 Senior Project 1: Project Management and ECT 438 Senior Project 2: Capstone together comprise the senior project for students in the ECET department. ECT 437 is taken in the fall, and ECT 438 is taken in the spring.

This website is used to keep track of the sections of ECT 438 that are for the CS majors, taught by Jeff Kinne. The sections for other majors is managed separately and taught by Dr. Javaid.

General Information

Course website - https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/ECT_438_Spring_2026

Your Instructor

Jeff Kinne, jkinne@indstate.edu
Office: Root Hall A-165 and in Microsoft Teams, phone 812-237-3394
Instructor Office Hours: normally in my office - M 8:30am-10am; 11:30am-1pm; T 9:30am-3pm; W 8:30-10am; 11:30am-1pm; R 8:30am-3pm; F 8:30am-2:45am. I am normally available for online meetings - MTWRF 8am-4pm, SMTWR 8-10pm if I am not in class or a meeting
Meeting: https://cs.indstate.edu/jkinne-meeting

Graduate assistant help - TBD. See https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/ISU_CS_People#CS_Departmental_Graduate_Assistants

Lecture, Exam

Lecture: arranged meetings with project groups
Exams: none
Final exam: no exams in the course; instead there will be final project presentations

Prerequisites - ECT 437

CRN numbers - 12705 (ECT 438-002), 12706 (ECT 438-302).

Required text For the project management content of the course, we will the the following.

• Coursera Google Project Management - should be free to take online, and can get certificate with ISU's Coursera license this term.
• Free online - Project Management – 2nd Edition by Adrienne Watt.
• Information technology Project Management by Schwalbe (maybe not free).

Note that the other sections of the course use the following textbook. This is not required for Jeff Kinne's sections of the course.

• Project Management for Engineering and Technology by David L. Goetsch.

Software/Programs

• TBA

Class notes - Notes during class will mostly be kept in the documents in this OneDrive folder. Note that you will need to authenticate with your ISU account to view the folder. Some files from lecture may be kept at https://cs.indstate.edu/~cs473/ which can also be seen when you are logged into the terminal by doing: cd ~cs473/public_html/.

Announcements/Assignments/Quizzes/Exams

HW These are posted in Canvas or on the CS server. Some HWs are due the next lecture day, some are due a week after assigned. All times are Eastern US time.

Rules Rules for HWs, quizzes, exams are in the course policies below.

Announcements Announcements will normally be posted to the course in Canvas (and will probably be emailed to your ISU email address if you have the default settings for notifications in Canvas).

Course Description and Content

Course Description

The official description of this course from the catalog is

"A planned project approved by the professor and performed by the student. The project demonstrates an advanced level of design competency in the student’s major and is performed in consultation with one or more faculty consultants/advisors. Representatives of industry, government agencies, or community institutions collaboration is encouraged. "

Since these are the sections of the course for CS majors, we will be focusing our discussions and projects on software management and development. We may have some groups that work together with students in the other sections of the course if there are projects that make sense for this to happen.

Course Outline

This course outline is subject to change.

Unit A - Project Management, complete the remaining courses in the Google Project Management Coursera certificate.

Unit B - Project, complete a major software project.

Learning Objectives

Foundational Studies HIP

ECT 438 is a Foundational Studies High Impact Practice (HIP) course. The requirements for HIP courses are the following.

HIP Learning Objectives

• Integrate and apply multiple (foundational studies and disciplinary) ways of knowing to address a particular topic or issue.
• Adapt and apply skills, knowledge, experience, and ethical reasoning gained in one situation to new situations/projects to solve difficult problems or explore complex issues.
• Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively across or within a different cultural or disciplinary community context.

Skill Applied Learning Requirements

• Explicitly demonstrate how the curriculum will develop critical thinking skills.
• Explicitly demonstrate how the curriculum will develop information literacy skills.
• Demonstrate how the curriculum will give students the opportunity to apply what they are learning to real world scenarios (be they through applied experiences or in-depth research).
• Demonstrate how the curriculum will require a written student reflection.
• Demonstrate how the curriculum will give students the opportunity to identify and solve problems.

CS Major

Computer Science Program Student Outcomes addressed in this course:

• SO 1: Analyze a complex computing problem and apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
• SO 2: Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
• SO 3: Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
• SO 4: Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
• SO 5: Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
• SO 6: Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce computing-based solutions. [CS]

Project Topics

Each student is required to research and complete a software project according to a proposal approved by instructor to pursue as a final semester long project in this course. Students are expected to work in teams. The project proposal is approved by the instructor. On occasions, industry involvement facilitated by the faculty member are pre-approved but is not always available. If you have connections with industry through internships, friends, family members who know people, you can use all your networking and resources to explore these opportunities. Projects in the past have included the following types of components.

• Data scraping and analysis.
• Website interface.
• Data collection from physical sensors (using raspberry pi / arduino).
• Machine learning.

Course Objectives and Performance Indicators

Project Identification

Students will review and research approved proposal for a semester long team-oriented based project related to their program of study

1. Student teams will investigate project alternatives, and propose a single complete turnkey industry-based project.
2. Student teams will research relevant topics and issues related to their proposed design project to further gain a comprehensive understanding of the needs and deliverable.
3. Student teams will re-define the project scope, objectives, constraints, criteria, specifications, and other necessary elements that will be required to successfully complete the proposed design.
4. Students will compose a comprehensive industry grade project proposal for approval

Project Planning

Students will develop a comprehensive project plan to facilitate the management of the design and completion of their semester-based industry project

1. Students will employ the use of a Gantt chart to identify the necessary tasks and duties required to facilitate the completion of their project
2. Students will identify and assign tasks and duties to team members to delineate the roles and responsibilities of each team member
3. Students will formulate start dates, durations, and end dates to produce a timeline of events for each task
4. Students will investigate potential issues within their project by performing a Critical Path Analysis
5. Students will formulate a Risk Management plan to identify, assess, and prioritize risks used for control and reduction of risk occurrence
6. Students will formulate a final User Manual for project

Project Execution

Students will execute all stated elements of their semester long industry-based project

1. Students will complete the investigation, design, drawing, and analysis of all systems and components of the project deliverables
2. Students will perform all analysis, simulation, modeling, prototyping, and calculations necessary to gather empirical data for the use of their design decisions and design alternatives
3. Students will modify all designs as necessary to meet the project objectives, specifications, and deliverables based on their analytical results and design options
4. Students will develop a full list of vendor and supplier information of standard items and equipment utilized within their design, and construct a general cost of associated goods

Project Evaluation

Students will create and present their final project to a panel of faculty and industry representatives during a comprehensive design review for conformance to the stated design objectives and deliverables

1. Students will prepare all necessary written, oral, and graphical documentation of presentation material related to communicate their technical design project to an industry and professional level of acceptance
2. Students will conduct a detailed and systematic design review of all elements of their project
3. Students will justify all calculations, analysis, design features, materials, processes, and elements of their project
4. Students will validate their choices and correlate those choices to meeting the projects stated outcomes
5. Students will complete peer evaluations of each team member’s contributions to the project

Program Accreditation Assessment

Students will complete assessment evaluations related to their program of study for use in program assessment and accreditation.

1. Students will solve problems based on academic, industry, or certification related testing to evaluate the comprehensive nature of the educational outcomes and objectives presented during their course of study

Course Assignment This course is a semester long project with a large scope and intended to be an encompassing project of your studies within your degree. Intention of project to offer student an understanding, and sense of magnitude, of work in the professional setting. In conclusion, this project is intended to also be of such quality, breadth, and depth that is serves as the best possible indicator of student potential to prospective employers when student interviews for industry positions upon graduation. The students should work in a team. Each team will produce the following:

• Project Ideas
• Pre-approved proposal by the instructor for each team project.
• Project Proposal (consists of the problem statement (goal/objective), methodology to achieve theobjective (design criteria), implementation plan, and criteria to evaluate the implementation (result) constraints, GAANT chart etc).
• Six bi-weekly/periodic progress reports these reports detail team/student progress and document student integration of the FS Learning Objectives for this category.
• Final report design requirements (Library research expectation – extensive): for writing this report. The report must be typed and free of spelling/grammar errors. Report consist recommended engineering report with the following: title page, summary, introduction (problem statement), background info (literature review), methodology, calculations, drawings, component/parts list, results & discussion, conclusion, list of references, etc. The references must be cited in the text and conform to APA guidelines. The title page should include the topic, course #, industry & supervisor name (if applicable), instructor name, and team/student names.)

Finalized Project Proposal & Planning

• Gantt charts (occasional checks of your planning and process documentation)
• Midterm Project Review
• Final design portfolio (possible elements included as necessary to your project)
  • 1 Page Executive Summary of Project
  • Background Information and Subject Research
  • Project Objectives
  • Project Constraints
  • Design Specifications & Criteria
  • Project Schedule
  • GAANT Chart
  • Critical Path Analysis
  • Project Methodology to Achieve Objectives
  • Problem Identification & Needs Assessment
  • Design Concepts and Ideas
  • Design (Program code/Architecture/Schema)
  • Modeling and Prototyping
  • Production of Detail and Assembly Drawings
  • Component/Part List
  • Vendor / Supplier Information
  • Implementation Plan
  • Budget Analysis
  • Risk Management Plan/Analysis
  • Evaluation Criteria for meeting objectives with final design
  • Project Team Notebooks
  • Final PowerPoint presentation document
  • Project Poster
  • Peer evaluations

Course Evaluation

All material will be graded on the values of accuracy, necessary inclusion of items in your project, individual justifications of each decision, proper design criteria, meeting your design objectives, etc.….

• Introductory Assignment 3% 15 Points
• 6 Progress Reports (Control/Monitor/Test Phase) 24% 120 Points
• Midterm Project Review 16% 80 Points
• Final Project Portfolio and Design Elements 35% 175 Points
• Final Presentation and/or Documentation 12% 60 Points
• Peer Evaluations 10% 50 Points
• TOTAL 100% 500 Points

Schedule of Assignments:

• Week No
• Week Start
• Day Required Assignment
• 1 12-Jan Optional Project Meeting
• 2 19-Jan Introductory Assignment (Resume) Submission - Optional Project Meeting
• 3 26-Jan Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 1
• 4 2-Feb Optional Project Meeting
• 5 9-Feb Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 2
• 6 16-Feb Optional Project Meeting
• 7 23-Feb Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 3
• 8 2-Mar Optional Project Meeting
• 9 9-Mar Spring Break
• 10 16-Mar Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 4
• 11 23-Mar Mid-Term Review
• 12 30-Mar Project Presentations
• 13 6-Apr Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 5
• 14 13-Apr Optional Project Meeting
• 15 20-Apr Mandatory Project Meeting and Progress Report 6
• 16 27-Apr Final Project Presentations
• 17 4-May Final Submissions

Assignments

Start Assignments and Exam Studying Early - I suggest attempting an assignment the day it is given, or the day after, so that if you have a problem you can ask early. If you continue to have problems in trying to complete the assignment, you will have time to ask again. Many of the assignments require thought and problem solving, which takes "time on the calendar" not just "time on the clock". By that I mean that spending an hour on 3 consecutive days is likely to be more productive than trying to spend 3 hours at once on the assignment.

Expected Amount of Work - If you take this class seriously and get what you should out of it, some weeks you will likely be spending around 6-10 hours or more on the class. The students who get A’s in their CS courses and have an easier time finding jobs do spend this much time on this course. Not everyone would need to spend this much time and not all weeks will be the same, but you should plan on putting in whatever time it takes. Note that the federal government definition of 1 credit hour as requiring 2 hours worth of time on the course for each credit hour of lecture, so you should think of this as the default for all of your courses.

Note - your classes in your major should ideally be more important than your part-time job.

Each week, you will normally have at least one assignment, often more than one (in particular at the beginning when the assignments are pretty small).

Grade Meanings

The letter grades are intended to have the following rough meaning. For letter grades I will use the usual breakdown as a starting point (90 is A-, 80 is B-, etc.), but will raise letter grades above this if I think it is needed (e.g., if assignments, exams, and quizzes are really tough).

• A+/A: You understand everything and probably could teach the course yourself.
• B+/A-: You understand nearly everything, and should be all set to use this knowledge in other courses or in a job.
• C/C+/B-/B: Some things you understand very well and others you don't (more towards the former for a B and more towards the latter for a C).
• D-/D+/C-: You did put some effort in, and understand many things at a high level, but you haven't mastered the details well enough to be able to use this knowledge in the future.
• F: Normally, students that get an F simply stopped doing the required work at some point, or cheated on something in the course.

Jeff Kinne Course Policies

Note that many of my course policies are changing for the 2025-2026 academic year. In particular, I will be trying out allowing the use of AI on assignments, but then also focusing a much higher percentage of points on exams and interviews / demonstrations.

To see what my course policies were previously, see Jeff Kinne Course Policies 2024.

Summary

• Assignments - frequent, required header section with citations (0 credit if missing), allowed to use AI or work together (but you will not be prepared for exams if you don't do your own work), graded pass/fail for participation (but with some comments on your code/solutions). I will go through my solutions soon after the assignment is due (many times, the next lecture day). The focus is on you learning quickly; the focus is not the grades.
• Exams - every 3 weeks, on paper for face to face students, lockdown browser with follow-up interview for distance students, very much based on assignments (so if you understand how to do the assignments, you should do well).
• Code review / demo - at least every few weeks, maybe more frequent - will be based on submitted assignments and will explain to the class and/or during office hours. You will do well if you can do the assignments on your own.
• Project - at least one per semester, multiple check points, required header section with citations (0 credit if missing), graded based on code review / demo. The goal is to do something "real", interesting, and/or exciting, and have something you can use in your portfolio (i.e., github).
• Academic misconduct - leaving out a citation from assignment or project, using anything not allowed on exams (not allowed to use anything other than paper/pencil on the exams). Penalty - F for the course and academic misconduct form filed.
• AI - allowed for assignments and projects, you will get 0 points for code review/demo if you don't actually understand what you are handing in. Some assignments may require using AI, learning using AI, finding and fixing problems with AI solutions. The goal is to learn to use AI responsibly and see potential pitfalls.
• Total course grade - will be 60% exams, 30% code review/demos, 10% participation (assignments marked pass/fail). The goal is to assign a grade based on what you can do on your own (fine to learn using AI or others, but the grade should be what you can do on your own after all of that). (Note: for ECT 437/438, the breakdown is different - 50% code review/demos, 50% participation.)
• 400/500 level courses - courses that are offered as a combined section with a 400 level for undergraduates and a 500 level for graduates (e.g., CS 473 and CS 573) will have some learning outcomes that are required for graduate students that are not required for undergraduates.

Note - all CS Policies are in effect.

More details are in the rest of this page.

400/500 Level Courses

For courses that are offered simultaneously at the 400 and 500 level (e.g., CS 473 and CS 573), the course is normally managed as a single course. The 400 level course is for undergraduates, and the 500 level course is for graduate students.

Note that graduate students who previously took the 400 level version should NOT take the corresponding 500 level version because in this case the 500 level course does NOT count as credits towards graduating.

For 400/500 level courses, the course is supposed to have some content/learning outcomes/assignments/etc. that are for the graduate students and not required for the undergraduate students. The course syllabus will indicate course learning outcomes that are for the graduate students. These outcomes will be assessed by having some assignments (or parts of assignments) that are required for graduate students and not for undergraduates (undergraduates might be able to complete them for extra credit).

Attendance

I will record attendance (a count of how many lectures you were present and on time for). This does not count towards the grade, but it does give me information about who is at least showing up. You are supposed to attend lecture. For online students who have a conflict with the lecture time, I will count attendance based on you send a message or email after watching the lecture whether you have any questions or not.

AI Learning Unit

I plan to take one unit of material and have us do a test to compare learning the material using lecture versus using AI. The basic plan will be to split the class in half; half of the class participates in lectures like normal; half of the class interacts with AI rather than participating in lecture (for an equal amount of time). I will make to catch people up from both sections after we do the test period. Why will we do this? We should be trying to figure out what types of learning might be improved by using AI more, so this will give us some information about this.

Grades

Your overall course grade will be computed as: exams 60%, participation 10%, demonstrations/interviews 30%. (Note: for ECT 437/438, the breakdown is different - 50% code review/demos, 50% participation, with no exams.)

Exams - These will be roughly every 3 weeks (4 exams during the term plus 1 final exam). Each exam will normally be worth a little bit more than the previous one. The lowest exam score (but not the final exam) will be dropped. There will be no makeup exams; if you miss an exam, then that is your dropped exam. Online students will take the exam at the same time as the rest of the class, in a lockdown browser, and will schedule an interview followup soon after the exam to confirm that this was your own work. For all students (online and face to face), for exams you are not allowed to use anything except yourself - no internet, phone, calculator, AI, communicating with other people, etc.

Participation - There will be frequent assignments. For most assignments, they will be graded strictly pass/fail based on whether you made some reasonable attempt to complete the assignment. Late work will not be accepted. My solutions will be shared with the class soon after the due date. The goal is to have frequent assignments that you do your best on, and then see my solutions so that you can more quickly learn. I will not do detailed grading on these assignments so that more of our time is spent working new problems than focusing too much on grading them. After you see my solution to a problem, you should go back to your work after class and fix your work so it is also correct.

Demonstrations/interviews/projects - Some assignments will be to demonstrate your code/solutions to the class. For some assignments, I will interview you to confirm your solutions. Some assignments will be to work on a project that is more open-ended or in-depth (and that will have a demo or interview). These are all things that give you practice on soft skills, and also allow me to confirm your understanding. You will be graded based on the understanding that is demonstrated during the demo/interview.

For each of the above categories, the total grade for that category will just be the sum of all the points in that category.

Assignments

Attribution and Comments

For all assignments that are handed in (this includes assignments, projects, or anything else that you submit for the course), you are required to have at the top of the submission a summary that includes the following elements.

• Author: your name
• Contents: what is this file for (e.g., hw 1 cs 500)
• Date: date handed in
• Summary: summary of a sentence or few - what does the program do or what is the file about, what changes did you make, etc.
• Attributions: list of sources you used. If you used AI you need to list the prompts you used, which AI was used, and if possible a link back to the AI's responses. If you discussed with anyone, list their names and the amount of discussion. If anyone looked at your code, you need to list that. If you copy/pasted code from anywhere, you need to indicate that and give a link to where you got it from. If you started with a file from class, you list that as well. If you have no attributions to list, then just put "none".

Missing - if this summary is missing, you get a 0 for the assignment.

Inaccurate attribution - if you give an inaccurate attribution (failing to cite that you used AI, failure to indicate that you talked with someone or showed someone your code, etc.), this is academic misconduct.

Very limited effort - if I determine that you put forth very little effort on any assignment, you will get a 0 for the assignment. For example, if all you did was ask an AI for the answer and then provide the AI's response. Or, if all you did was copy code from the internet or another student.

Schedule

The default schedule for my courses is the following.

• Exams - every third week on Wednesdays. Online students take the exam at the same time as the face to face students, and should schedule a 15 minute online meeting with me for the same day as the exam at a time that is after the exam.
• Assignments - most weeks there will be multiple assignments that are graded for participation. Normally, the recommended due date is the next lecture, and my solution will be shared at the beginning of the next lecture.
• Demonstrations - we will normally have around 10 minutes per lecture that is allocated for demonstrations. Depending on the number of students in the course, each student should expect to give a demo to the class roughly every few weeks.
• Interviews - these will be conducted during office hours. These may be about once/week if I have enough time for that. Interviews for assignments will be short (5-10 minutes).
• Projects - there will normally be one or two projects per course. They will normally have multiple check points that are graded. For each check point you will meet with me for a code review.

Exam Content

Most exams will be over just the content from that period in the course. So they are cumulative only in so far as earlier content is still needed for doing the later content in the course. The final exam will be cumulative.

Exam questions will be similar to those that were given as assignments in the class. Some questions will be identical to what was given as an assignment. Some questions will be an extension/modification of an assignment. Those who do what you are supposed to on the assignments (do them on your own as much as possible, only go to AI or others for help after you have struggled on your own, really understand the model solutions) should do well on the exams.

There will normally be a few exam questions that are a challenge even for the top students in the class. There will normally be a few questions that are easy even for the bottom students in the class. The goal is to have a broad range of scores so that the exam accurately measures your skills/knowledge.

The final exam is normally cumulative.

Academic Misconduct

What is considered academic misconduct in this course -

• Assignments/projects - lack of citation. All assignments and projects require to have a header section that includes citations to anything used (AI, internet sites, etc.) or anyone you discussed the assignment with. If this section is missing, the assignment is worth 0 points. If the citation section is present but is not accurate (i.e., you leave out a source that you used), that is academic misconduct.
• Quiz/exam - using anything that is not allowed. For quizzes/exams, you are not allowed to use anything except pen/pencil and paper. No calculators, no phones, no notes, no internet, no AI, no communicating with other people. Using any of these is academic misconduct.
• Quiz/exam - distance students will take the quiz/exam in a lockdown browser and otherwise have the same rules (no internet, no notes, etc.). Distance students are not allowed to take the quiz/exam on the same computer as another student in the course; doing so would be academic misconduct.

Penalty for academic misconduct -

• F for the course. This is a 0 tolerance policy. You do not get a second chance, the penalty is F for the course.
• Report is filed for academic misconduct (see Student Support and Accountability) violation (link to file report is https://cm.maxient.com/reporting.php?IndianaStateUniv and then select Academic Misconduct).

Grading Programs and Problems

• Programs: sometimes will be given scores for correctness, style, and being safe/secure code. By default, 1/2 of the points are for correctness, 1/4 for style, 1/4 for being safe/secure. Sometimes only the correctness will be graded. For programming style, see Programming Style - Generic. For safe/secure code, see Programming safe and secure code - generic.
• Math/proofs/essays: sometimes will be given scores for correctness and style. By default, 2/3 of the points are for correctness and 1/3 for style. Points are subtracted for any statement that you include that is false - so you should avoid a brain dump of every thought that you have because I will take off for things that you say that are not correct. For style in writing math/proofs/essay responses, see CS Writing Style - Generic.

Complaints or Questions

If you have any complaints or questions about anything in a course, you should always communicate with the instructor first. If you skip communicating with the instructor and go straight to complaining to someone else (your advisor, the department chairperson, the dean, the university president, etc.), they will generally tell you that you need to talk to the instructor first.

Course Announcements

Announcements regarding the course will be made both during class and in Canvas. You should make sure your settings are such that you will be notified of these announcements (e.g., by email). You should regularly check your ISU email account or have it forwarded to an account that you check regularly. You can set the account to forward by logging into your indstate.edu email online (if you aren't able to find the option, try a different browser or search online for things like - outlook online forward email setting).

Classroom Conduct

You may not use cell phones, iPods/music players, etc. during class. You should be civil and respectful to both the instructor and your classmates, and you should arrive to class a few minutes before the scheduled lecture so you are ready for lecture to begin on time. You may use your computer during class if you are using it to follow along with the examples that are being discussed. You should avoid spending time on email, Facebook, work on other courses, etc. during the lecture for this class (be fully present wherever you are, make the most of each experience).

Office hours

You can contact me by email or Teams or come to my office during the hours I am normally there. If you want to be sure I am there you can sign up for an appointment. Note that I normally am available for online meetings SMTWR 8-10pm as well. If you would like to meet in person you should reserve an appointment using http://cs.indstate.edu/jkinne-meeting to reserve an in person meeting with Jeff Kinne. I am normally in my office during my listed office hours, but by making an appointment you can be more certain.

Canvas

The course has a canvas site. Click https://indstate.instructure.com/ to go to canvas. You should see this course listed under your courses for the current term. If you don't you may need to click on the Courses icon and then click the "All courses" link. The canvas site is used for giving you your grades, for quizzes/exams, for getting to online lectures (which are done using Teams), and for posting announcements.

Online Lectures (using Teams)

Here at ISU section numbers starting with the number 3 (e.g.3xx: 301, 302, etc.) are generally online sections. There are 2 types of online sections, synchronous online and asynchronous online. Sections that are synchronous should be joined at the regularly scheduled time of the course, whereas sections that are asynchronous generally keep up with the material independently without regularly scheduled meetings. In general async sections are more difficult to stay on top of, and require a great deal of self-discipline (it is much easier to think "I can watch the videos tomorrow" and just get behind). So if you are in one of these sections make sure you get off to a strong start, and ask for help sooner rather than later. If you are in an online section, check your course schedule for course meeting times; if you have a meeting time, then your section is synchronous, otherwise it is asynchronous (or there is an error in the system).

You will get to the online lectures for this course by going to Canvas, select this course, click Microsoft Education on the left, and click on Meetings. You should see the schedule of lectures under the "Upcoming" heading; click on the "Recordings" to see videos/lectures that have been recorded. Note that the lectures are recorded and only available to those in our class. Recorded lectures normally appear later the same day as the lecture.

Participating online

If you are participating online, you are expected to either join lectures live through Teams or watch the recordings once they are available. You will complete assignments, quizzes, and exams on the same schedule as the rest of the class. For most of my courses, you can join the lecture live at the same time as the face to face students (as long as you don't have a time conflict). If you do this, then you can ask questions during lecture. Or, if you choose to watch the lecture recordings (so you can pause as needed, or watch at 1.5x or 2x), then you should send me questions you have before the next scheduled lecture.

Note that exams are required to be taken at the same time as the face to face students. These dates and times are given near the top of the syllabus.

For attendance when you are not in the room... If joining by Teams, you should post a comment in the chat to say if you have any questions about the current assignments, reading, the last lecture, etc. If watching the lecture later, you should watch it before the next lecture and send me a message by Teams or email saying if you have any questions or want any more examples about a particular topic. So, if not in the room, you should participate at least as much as "no questions from me right now".

Course Policies Quiz

The following is a quiz over Jeff Kinne's course policies: sample quiz. The link is to a practice quiz that you can try out. Those enrolled in the course need to take the quiz within the course for it to count. For Jeff Kinne's courses, you are required to score a 100% on this quiz within the first week of classes in order to continue in the course. Note that you will be able to take the quiz multiple times. If you choose not to score 100% on this quiz you should drop the course.

This page contains common CS course policies that all faculty teaching CS courses should follow. Note that this page is written from the perspective of the faculty member (i.e., the faculty member should do ___).

CS Common Course Policies

Note: as of August 6, 2025, these policies are a draft and need to be approved by the CS faculty still.

Evaluation

All courses receive student evaluations at the end of the term. In addition to the student evaluations, each faculty member is normally evaluated in each of their courses at least once per year. This Word document is a template for the evaluation of a course. Please pay attention to each aspect of the course that will be evaluated.

Part Time Faculty

Part time faculty are assigned a full time CS faculty member as a "support faculty member". The support faculty member should be added to the canvas course, should review the course syllabus/plan, should have a brief discussion about the course before the term starts, should visit the class some time within the first week or two of the course to make sure everything is going along properly, and will write up an evaluation of the course

Talk About Academic Integrity in the First Class

Please take a few minutes during your first session to explain clearly to students:

• Using AI tools (or any kind of cheating) without permission will lead to an automatic F in the course.
• A formal academic misconduct report will also be filed.
• There are no second chances; this applies whether it happens early or late in the semester.

Include in the Syllabus

Make sure your course syllabus clearly states:

• Whether or not AI tools are allowed (and in what context).
• What counts as academic dishonesty.
• What the penalties are (e.g., failing grade, official report).

Design Assignments That Encourage Real Learning

Try to create assignments that:

• Require students to think through the course material, not just paste questions into ChatGPT.
• Ask for short explanations or reflections along with code.
• Pull from class content that may not be handled well by AI tools (make it a little harder for someone to rely entirely on AI without understanding what they are doing).

Keep Exams Secure

For exams, we ask that you:

• Hold them in person whenever possible, using pen and paper.
• If the exam is online or needs to be submitted to Canvas, please use a Lockdown Browser, and consider quick follow-ups (like asking a few students to explain their answers).
• Do not allow phones, laptops, or any smart devices during the test (This helps make sure students are actually doing the work themselves).

Encourage Learning Over Shortcuts

Throughout the term, remind students that:

• Sticking to the material in the course is enough to succeed.
• Relying too much on AI now can hurt them later (especially in interviews or real jobs).
• Practicing with their own code or answer, even when it is messy or incomplete, is still the best way to learn.

What to Do If Someone Cheats

If you discover that a student has used AI or cheated:

• Please report it right away and assign the student an F in the course.
• Let the chair know what happened.
• Submit an academic misconduct form (we can help with that if needed).

Projects

Courses should have students do work that is more than "just" vocab, multiple choice questions, etc. For the majority of courses this will involve programming. For some courses this will be proofs/algorithms, system analysis/design, or other work of this nature. Courses should generally have a number of these types of assignments, with students working on these types of assignments at least half of the weeks in the semester.

University Policies

Reminder of some key university policies: respond to student questions with 2 business days (at most), submitted work is graded within 2 weeks (though faster is better), syllabus submitted to department chairperson and admin by the first day of lecture, 3 week attendance reporting, interim grades after the 6th week, no exams during study week.

Interim Grades

Interim grades are assigned after the 6th week of class. This means that there should normally be a significant number of assigned and graded work by the end of the 6th week. These should not be all bunched up in the 6th week; normally there should be graded work by the 3rd week of classes (preferably sooner).

Online courses

• Courses that are asynchronous online should have videos for some of the content, normally at least 1/2 as many hours as there would be lecture hours (at least 1/2 of 45 hours for a 3 credit course). Exceptions should be discussed with the support faculty and approved by the chairperson.
• Faculty should respond to student questions within 24 hours during the work week.
• Faculty should be available to meet with students by appointment (and respond promptly to requests).
• Only the following are approved to take CS courses online: distance students, face to face student who needs to take another course that is at the same time as the CS course (and cannot avoid taking both courses in the given term).

Face to Face Courses

• Students in face to face courses are required to take exams in the classroom.

Lab Help

See https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/Unix_Lab_and_Help

ISU Required Course Information Items

The items in this section are required and are the same for every ISU course.

Academic Freedom

Indiana State subscribes to the American Association of University Professors’ guidelines for academic freedom and faculty duties and responsibilities as described on their website. Here is an excerpt from the site:

Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement

Indiana State University recognizes that students with disabilities may have special needs that must be met to give them equal access to college programs and facilities. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please contact us as soon as possible in a confidential setting either after class or in my office. All conversations regarding your disability will be kept in strict confidence.

Indiana State’s Accessibility & Advocacy Resources Office coordinates services for students with disabilities: documentation of a disability needs to be on file in that office before any accommodations can be provided. The Accessibility & Advocacy Resources Office is located at HMSU room 816. They can be contacted at 812-237-3829 or isu-aaro@indstate.edu. Appointments to discuss accommodations with the Accessibility Resources Office staff are encouraged.

Once a faculty member is notified by the Accessibility Resources Office that a student is qualified to receive academic accommodations, a faculty member is obligated to provide or allow a reasonable classroom accommodation under ADA.

Non-Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct

Indiana State University is committed to inclusive excellence. To further this goal, the university does not tolerate discrimination in its programs or activities on the basis of: race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or any other protected class. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 in particular prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational institution that receives federal funding. This includes sexual violence, sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. If you witness or experience any form of the above discrimination, you are asked to report the incident immediately to Public Safety: 812-237-5555 or to The Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX: 812-237-8954. With respect to sexual discrimination, instructors, faculty, and some staff are required by law and institutional policy to report what you share with them to The Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX. You do, however, have the option of sharing your information with the following confidential resources on campus:

• Student Counseling Center: 812-237-3939; Gillum Hall, 2nd Floor
• Victim Advocate: 812-237-3849 or 812-243-7272 (cell); HMSU 8th Floor

For more information about discrimination and the support resources available to you visit the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX website. Please direct any questions or concerns to: Title IX Coordinator; 812-237-8954; Rankin Hall 426; ISU-equalopportunity-titleix@indstate.edu.

The Sycamore Standard

Indiana State University Students at Indiana State University are expected to accept certain personal responsibilities that constitute the “standard” for behavior in a community of scholars.

As a student at Indiana State University: I will practice personal and academic integrity; I will commit my energies to the pursuit of truth, learning, and scholarship; I will foster an environment conducive to the personal and academic accomplishment of all students; I will avoid activities that promote bigotry or intolerance; I will choose associations and define my relationships with others based on respect for individual rights and human dignity; I will conduct my life as a student in a manner that brings honor to me and to the University Community; I will discourage actions or behaviors by others that are contrary to these standards.

TimelyCare

The ISU dean of students asked faculty and staff to spread the word about this, so I am including it here in the syllabus.

Attention all faculty and staff! Indiana State University is now partnered with TimelyCare to deliver a new virtual health and well-being platform for students. This service is in addition to the in-person counseling services offered in the Student Counseling Center, 2nd floor Gillum Hall. The service provides 24/7 access to virtual care at no cost! Remind your students to take advantage of the TimelyCare services when they feel stressed or overwhelmed. We’ve included a slide that you can attach to emails, input in Canvas and present to students before and after class.

In addition to services for students, TimelyCare offers Faculty Support — a service for faculty and staff that is designed to equip you with information to help students who may be struggling. It’s available 24/7/365 for free so you can get the guidance on how to support a student in need of care. Access Faculty Support by calling 833-4-TIMELY, ext. 2.

How can students access TimelyCare? Students can go to https://timelycare.com/indianastate or directly download the TimelyCare app from the app store to register with their school email address by clicking the "Get registered" link. It is important that our students all register in advance on the platform-- and this is where you can help us! Students can then start visits from any web-enabled device – smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop – anywhere in the United States.

Who can use TimelyCare? Any enrolled student.

What services are available? TalkNow - 24/7, on-demand emotional support. Scheduled Counseling - Select the day, time, and mental health provider of your choice. (6 visits per year). Self-Care Content - 24/7 access to self-care tools and resources, such as meditation and yoga sessions, helpful videos, and short articles from experts.

How much does a visit cost? TimelyCare services are available at no cost to students.

Getting Help

You are also strongly encouraged to take advantage of Indiana State’s Writing Center. The Writing Center offers a variety of services designed to help students succeed in their classes and careers. The Writing Center is available to assist all registered ISU students with any area of reading or writing for any class. They can also help with personal projects like short stories or personal statements. They offer one-on-one consultations, drop-in services, and online appointments as well as group study tables. All services are free of charge. Students can make appointments by calling (812) 237-2989 or by using the link on the Writing Center website. Please prepare for your appointment by bringing your textbook, relevant notes and materials, and a printed copy of the writing you have attempted so far.

The Math Lab provides free tutoring for math students through on-campus and virtual meetings. By providing a judgement-free environment, students can build their confidence and view learning math as positive and rewarding. The Math Lab is located in Root Hall, room A009. The hours vary so be sure to check the Math Lab’s website (current link still needed, after website refresh in fall 2024) to see when tutoring hours are available for your particular math course. If you have any questions, email ISU-MathLab@indstate.edu or call (812) 237-2130.

Student support and accountability: https://sycamoresindstate.sharepoint.com/sites/STU-StudentSupportandAccountability

Accessibility and Resource Office: https://indianastate.edu/life-state/dean-students/aaro#request-accommodations

Student Affairs: https://indianastate.edu/life-state/dean-students

Writing Center: https://sycamoresindstate.sharepoint.com/sites/STU-WritingCenter

Commitment to Career Readiness

The administration, faculty, and staff at Indiana State University believe that in addition to educating students in academic content, it is important to prepare them to be professional and competent employees in the job market. We are committed to incorporating the eight career competencies outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as being necessary to success in the job search and workplace. Many of these eight career readiness competencies will be taught and integrated into your classroom learning:

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Oral/Written Communications, Teamwork/Collaboration, Digital Technology Application, Leadership, Professionalism/Work Ethic, Career Management, Global/Intercultural Fluency.

For additional assistance with your career development and preparation, please contact the Career Center (ISU-Career-Center@indstate.edu) or visit the Career Center's website.

Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

Indiana State University recognizes the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence programs and encourages faculty and students to develop literacy regarding these programs.

Your instructor may decide how to best pursue that goal within the following levels:

Most Restrictive: AI use not permitted. Any use of generative AI without explicit permission will be considered academic misconduct and may result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to failing the assignment, course, or even expulsion from the university.

Moderately Restrictive: AI use permitted, but all usage must be documented. Students must follow their assigned citation method for attributing ideas from outside sources, including generative AI. Failure to document AI usage may result in incomplete assignments, a lower grade, or a requirement to re-do the assignment. Assignments that rely too heavily on AI without sufficient student input may receive reduced grades.

Least Restrictive: AI use required for some course assignments. Some assignments will require students to explore generative AI tools and platforms.

Please note that the Indiana State University Office of Information Technology cannot provide support for artificial intelligence platforms, so faculty should carefully consider how to respond to students in the event of technical problems.

Your instructor may provide more explicit instructions regarding AI usage as part of the course syllabus and assignment descriptions.

As a student, you need to assess the validity and applicability of any generative AI output you use; you bear the final responsibility for all work you submit.

Policies clarifying methods of enforcement against the use of AI tools should be made available in the syllabus. Faculty are discouraged from relying solely on AI-detection programs since such programs can be unreliable and prone to bias.

Several programs and applications have options to view the edit history of a file. If a student is suspected of using an AI tool in violation of course policy, they should be given the opportunity to present this history as evidence. Additionally, students should be able to explain their work and reasoning on the assignment during an in-person meeting with their instructor.

You should always protect your data when using generative AI platforms. Do not share what you do not want easily found by others; this includes but is not limited to: private information, sensitive material, any text protected by copyright, or any course content (lecture notes, assignment descriptions, etc.) without the explicit permission of your instructor.

Generative AI platforms are part of a rapidly developing field, and policies listed here may need to change to reflect those technological advances.