Programming 1

Support

Self-study is essential for successfully completing any university program.
We offer various types of support to help you understand the course material and prepare for exams:

• Exercise sheets
• Office hours
• Forum
• Tutorials
• Mini-tests

We encourage you to take advantage of these resources as much as needed to meet your individual learning requirements. Ultimately though, nothing can substitute your individual effort.

Exercise Sheets

Exercise sheets are designed to help you better understand the material covered in the lectures and to prepare for exams and mini-tests (details below).
They will be posted weekly, typically before Thursday evening, in the materials section of the CMS. We plan to release 14 exercise sheets in total, labeled from A to N. Unless stated otherwise, each exercise sheet will relate to the content of the two most recent lectures before its release.

Office Hours

Office hours will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.
During these times, you can consult with tutors about your individual questions and collaborate with fellow students. The specific times and locations are listed on the main page and in the timetable.

Forum

The forum provides a platform for you to interact with other students, tutors, teaching assistants, and the lecturer. It is also where you can ask organizational questions. If you need to discuss a specific issue with the course organizers (teaching assistants and lecturer), you can send a private message using this link.

The forum is the primary online communication tool for interacting with your peers and the course team about both technical and non-technical matters, replacing email communication. It includes features for contacting your tutors, assistants, and the lecturer. We expect you to address them in this order, after checking the forum for similar discussions. If privacy is not a concern, we encourage you to post your question publicly in the forum, as fellow students may benefit from it.

Tutorials

Tutorials are weekly sessions held at various times on Wednesdays, where the course’s learning objectives are explored through small-group interactions, guided by a tutor and based on the exercise sheets. You will be assigned to a specific tutorial group, and you will find your tutor’s name, along with the time and location of your tutorial, on your personal status page.

While participation in tutorials is not mandatory, it is highly recommended. However, please note that tutorials are no substitute for thorough self-study of the course material. In particular, the purpose of the tutorials is to clarify the remaining doubts that remain after self-study.

Mini-Tests

At the beginning of each tutorial session, we will conduct a mini-test lasting approximately 15 minutes. There will be 14 mini-tests in total (labeled A to N), each corresponding to the material from the respective exercise sheet. Each mini-test will have a maximum score of 15 points. You must be in the assigned room, as indicated on your personal status page, well in advance of the start of the test.
The first mini-test, labeled A, will take place on Wednesday of the second week of the lecture period (October 23, 2024).

These mini-tests will help both you and us track your ongoing progress in the subject. They also play a role in determining your eligibility for the final exam (see below). However, while the exercises in the mini-tests may resemble those in the exams in style, it is important to note that they do not reflect the same level of difficulty as the actual exams.

Exams and Grading

There will be both a midterm and an endterm exam, each lasting 90 minutes. If necessary (and to improve your grade), you can retake both the midterm and the endterm exams. To pass the course, you must pass both exams (or their retakes).

Exam Admission

The mini-tests from A to G (105 points in total) will determine your eligibility to participate in the midterm exam. Before the midterm, your lowest-scoring mini-test from these seven will be dropped (the maximum achievable number of points is therefore 90). To be admitted to the midterm exam (and its retake), you must achieve a total of at least 45 points (50%) from the (top-scoring) remaining six mini-tests.

For the endterm exams, mini-tests H to N will be considered (again 105 points in total). Similarly, your lowest-scoring mini-test from this set will be dropped (setting the maximum achievable number of points to 90). To be admitted to the endterm exam (and its retake), you must score at least 45 points (50%) from the remaining six mini-tests, and you must have passed the midterm exam or its retake.

Inability to Participate in Mini-Tests

The policy of dropping the lowest score out of each of the two sets of 7 mini-tests allows you to skip participation in up to two mini-tests without affecting your total score. It serves as the only compensation for individual cases of illness or other circumstances that may prevent you from participating in certain weeks.

Final Grade

You pass the course if you have passed at least one of the endterm exams.
Your final score is then calculated as

0.5 * maxPoints(midterm, midterm_retake) + 0.5 * maxPoints(endterm, endterm_retake)

i.e., it is the weighted sum of 50% from your best midterm result and 50% from your best endterm result. The final grade is calculated based on your final score using a grade table.