Policies and CS accounts: Difference between pages

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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 ___).
This page gives information about logging into and using the CS server (cs.indstate.edu).


=CS Common Course Policies=
=Logging In=
The CS server is a Linux server. The primary ways you will login to the server is either (a) with a terminal (aka shell) that allows you to type text commands, or (b) with sftp to transfer files between your computer and the server. In either case, you need a username (aka login) and password. There are two types of accounts on the system - ISU portal accounts, and local accounts.


'''Note: as of August 6, 2025, these policies are a draft and need to be approved by the CS faculty still.'''
==ISU Portal Accounts==
Any student/faculty/staff who is involved in CS courses or programs (enrolled in a course, teaching a course, etc.) can login to cs.indstate.edu using their full ISU email address and portal password. The first time you login to the system, an account is created on the system that you can use. It will set your home directory on the system to <code>/home/SID@isuad.indstate.edu/</code> where <code>SID</code> is your portal id (aka sycamore id - for students it is the part before the @sycamores in your email address). After logging in, you can run the <code>pwd</code> command to see this.


== Part Time Faculty ==
==Local Accounts==
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
Some users will have accounts on the CS server that are not tied to their ISU portal accounts. For example, CS faculty have local accounts, and a number of users of the server prior to 2025 have local accounts. These are accounts with username and password that were created just on the server (the ability to login to the server with ISU portal credentials was added in 2025).


== Talk About Academic Integrity in the First Class ==
=Student Use and Class Account=
Please take a few minutes during your first session to explain clearly to students:
For courses that are currently being offered, if the course uses the server, a class account is created that the instructor of the course can use if they like. This is explained with two examples: CS 151 Intro to Computer Science, and CS 473/573 Computer Networks.
* 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 ==
==Course Account==
Make sure your course syllabus clearly states:
An account on the system is created where files for the class can be kept that are to be shared with the students. For CS 151, the account created has username <code>cs151</code>. For CS 473/573, a single account, <code>cs473</code>, is created that is to be used for both courses.
* 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 ==
The course account is created with a <code>~/private</code> directory that is not accessible to other users. The class list (aka roster) of students and their accounts is put into this directory (<code>classlist_brief.csv</code> with the most important information for each student, and <code>classlist_full.csv</code> with more information). The instructor could keep other files in this <code>private</code> directory that is meant to be private (e.g., model solutions or grading information).
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 ==
=Student Use=
For exams, we ask that you:
For students who are currently enrolled in a CS course that uses the server, the first time you login to the system with your ISU portal account, a directory should be created within your account for the course. For example, students in CS 151 will have a directory <code>cs151</code>, and students in CS 473/573 will have a directory <code>cs473</code>.
* 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 ==
Permissions are set on the system so that instructors of the course have read access to the files within student's course directories for their courses. The instructor for CS 151 will have read access to the <code>cs151</code> directories of the students enrolled in CS 151; the instructor for CS 473/573 will have read access to the <code>cs473</code> directories of the students enrolled in CS 473/573; etc. The instructor of the course might have the students submit their work on the server within these directories. Each instructor can choose how they would like to do this.
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, 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/wiki/index.php/Unix_Lab_and_Help

Revision as of 02:19, 15 September 2025

This page gives information about logging into and using the CS server (cs.indstate.edu).

Logging In

The CS server is a Linux server. The primary ways you will login to the server is either (a) with a terminal (aka shell) that allows you to type text commands, or (b) with sftp to transfer files between your computer and the server. In either case, you need a username (aka login) and password. There are two types of accounts on the system - ISU portal accounts, and local accounts.

ISU Portal Accounts

Any student/faculty/staff who is involved in CS courses or programs (enrolled in a course, teaching a course, etc.) can login to cs.indstate.edu using their full ISU email address and portal password. The first time you login to the system, an account is created on the system that you can use. It will set your home directory on the system to /home/SID@isuad.indstate.edu/ where SID is your portal id (aka sycamore id - for students it is the part before the @sycamores in your email address). After logging in, you can run the pwd command to see this.

Local Accounts

Some users will have accounts on the CS server that are not tied to their ISU portal accounts. For example, CS faculty have local accounts, and a number of users of the server prior to 2025 have local accounts. These are accounts with username and password that were created just on the server (the ability to login to the server with ISU portal credentials was added in 2025).

Student Use and Class Account

For courses that are currently being offered, if the course uses the server, a class account is created that the instructor of the course can use if they like. This is explained with two examples: CS 151 Intro to Computer Science, and CS 473/573 Computer Networks.

Course Account

An account on the system is created where files for the class can be kept that are to be shared with the students. For CS 151, the account created has username cs151. For CS 473/573, a single account, cs473, is created that is to be used for both courses.

The course account is created with a ~/private directory that is not accessible to other users. The class list (aka roster) of students and their accounts is put into this directory (classlist_brief.csv with the most important information for each student, and classlist_full.csv with more information). The instructor could keep other files in this private directory that is meant to be private (e.g., model solutions or grading information).

Student Use

For students who are currently enrolled in a CS course that uses the server, the first time you login to the system with your ISU portal account, a directory should be created within your account for the course. For example, students in CS 151 will have a directory cs151, and students in CS 473/573 will have a directory cs473.

Permissions are set on the system so that instructors of the course have read access to the files within student's course directories for their courses. The instructor for CS 151 will have read access to the cs151 directories of the students enrolled in CS 151; the instructor for CS 473/573 will have read access to the cs473 directories of the students enrolled in CS 473/573; etc. The instructor of the course might have the students submit their work on the server within these directories. Each instructor can choose how they would like to do this.