The marks for the course will be distributed as follows (note: the instructors reserve the right to modify the marking scheme at any time, although the final marking scheme should be fairly close to that given here):

To pass the course, you must obtain at least 50% on the weighted average of the midterms and final exam. Students who fail to meet this requirement will receive at most a mark of 45% for the course, regardless of the results of the formula above.

Each assignment, each tutorial quiz, and each pre-class quiz contributes equal weight toward its respective average.

Pre-class quizzes

Pre-class quizzes will be due online roughly weekly and be scaled to 2 points each, where your grade will be rounded up to the next integer (so, 30% on a quiz would earn 1/2, and 68% on a quiz would earn 2/2). Your lowest two pre-class quiz marks will be dropped. Because you can earn 100% even if you miss a quiz, we typically do not accept excuses for missed pre-class quizzes. That said, if you have concerns, please talk to us!

Assignments and Tutorial quizzes

• Tutorial quizzes will take place every two or three weeks, and will consist of a group portion followed by an individual portion on the same problem domain. Tutorial quizzes may only be submitted in your registered tutorial during the time set aside for the quiz (arrive on time!) Solutions will be posted on the Wednesday of that week.
• The problem domains of the four tutorial quizzes will reappear on the assignment: it will be released on Wednesday and due 10 days later (Saturday) at 22:00, unless indicated otherwise on the assignment. Assignments will be submitted via GradeScope.
• Late work will receive no credit, but please contact us promptly if you believe you will be late. We may be flexible, and even if we're not, we will try to be helpful.
• Collaboration: See the academic conduct guidelines.

Examinations

Both sections will write common midterms and final exam. The midterms have been scheduled for Wednesday October 10th and Wednesday November 7th from 19:00 to 21:00. If you have a conflict with the midterm times, you must inform your instructor no later than two weeks in advance of the exam! For evening midterm exams, we will accept any reasonable scheduling conflict as an excuse for missing it. (Here's the boundary line between unreasonable and reasonable: If you see tickets to a concert during the exam time that sounds pretty cool after the term starts, and we have already posted the exam date, that's an unreasonable excuse. But, if you already bought tickets to that pretty cool concert before the term started, that's a reasonable excuse.) That said, we strongly encourage you to write the exam, as accommodation may just involve back-calculating a midterm grade for you from the final exam.

Both midterms and the final examination will have an individual and a group stage. Your overall mark on the exam will be either your raw individual mark, or 85% of your individual mark plus 15% of your group mark, whichever is larger. You will be allowed to bring and use up to one double-sided, letter-sized (8.5 x 11in) sheets of paper (or two one-sided letter-sized sheets of paper) but no other notes, no books, and no electronic equipment.

Do not write an exam if a medical factor might significantly impair your performance. If you are unable to write a midterm due to illness, inform your instructor immediately, detailing the period during which you were ill, but do not present a doctor's note. The instructor will establish and explain accommodation at that time. If you are unable to write the final examination due to illness, you must apply to your home faculty for Academic Concession as soon as possible.

In accordance with UBC Policy #65, students who are scheduled to attend classes or write examinations on the holy days of their religion must notify their instructors two weeks in advance of the religious holiday they wish to observe. Instructors will provide opportunity for students to make up the missed work or examination without penalty.

Bonus

Bonus points are available for doing anything that, in the staff's opinion, goes above and beyond the standard expectations of the course, and contributes to the learning of the student who did it without detracting from others' learning (preferably, contributing to the entire class's learning). The course staff has sole discretion over whether an activity qualifies for bonus points and how many to award. To calibrate, we will usually award one bonus point at a time and won't award more than 4 at a time without national news coverage.

Examples of activities that may gain you a bonus point:

• Noting an interesting connection between course material and general current events or an algorithmic development or application of interest.
• Posting something especially scintillating on the discussion board, particularly if it gains acclaim from your peers.
• Following up on an open question raised during class (by searching the literature, developing an algorithm, writing a proof, or performing experiments) and posting a summary of the results.
• Establishing a weekly, open 320 study period by reserving space and posting an open invitation.
• Proving P = NP (or P ≠ NP) and sharing authorship with the instructional staff.
• Anything else the course staff deem worthy.

• The first three are worth 0.2% each.
• The next three are worth 0.1% each.
• The next three are worth 0.05 each.
• etc...

Course Policy on Review of Marking

Here is the procedure to follow if you wish to have an assigned mark reviewed:

1. You have one week from the time the grades are posted to submit a regrade request.
2. You should submit the regrade request on Gradescope. Write a note explaining precisely why you believe the grade you were given for that question was inappropriate.
3. The person who graded the question will review your request, generally with input from other TAs or other instructor involved in the original marking. The decision of your TA or instructor is final. It may either increase or decrease the assigned mark based on the cited questions or other questions.

Note: Marking often involves some degree of subjective judgment. When the assigned mark falls within the range deemed consistent with the marking scheme, your instructor will always respect the judgment of the original marker. This assures consistency in marking for all students.