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CSC 320: Foundations of Computer Science
Term Fall 2011
Course Website http://webhome.cs.uvic.ca/~wendym/320.html
Instructor Wendy Myrvold
Email: wendym at csc.uvic.ca
Office: ECS 552
Phone Number: (250) 472-5783 (send e-mail for a faster response)
Office Hours: See course web page.
Lecture Schedule 
(A01)  TWF 11:30 - 12:20 p.m.    ECS 124 
(A02)  TWF 11:30 - 12:20 p.m.    ECS 124

Tutorial Schedule 
(T01)  T 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.    DSB C 130
(T02)  W 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.    ECS 108
Tutorials begin the week of September 13, 2011. If you need extra help you may attend both tutorial sections.
Textbooks
Required: Elements of the Theory of Computation, 2nd Edition
by Harry R. Lewis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, Prentice-Hall, 1998
Course Objectives Students should improve their ability to read, write, and understand proofs. They also should learn to read, understand, and manipulate formal mathematical definitions with precision. The students should gain an understanding of what can and cannot be computed using the models of computation studied.
Course Content Formal definitions of computation, languages and computability. Automata theory: finite state automata, pushdown automata and Turing machines, deterministic and non-deterministic machines. Language classes defined by classes of grammars. Equivalence of grammars and automata as language definitions. The Halting Problem, reductions, and NP-completeness.
Homework Assignments There will be 5 assignments of equal weight. Hand in your best effort at the beginning of class on the due date. No late assignments.
Students must have an average of at least 50% on the assignments in order to write the final exam.
Students are encouraged to work in study groups. However, final assignment submissions should be generated independently. You are expected to solve the problems yourself. Copying solutions from others, the web, or any other source will be considered a serious academic offense and may result in failure of the course.
Participation During randomly selected classes, students will be assigned a participation mark for attendance. Students must have at least 50% of the participation points available in order to write the final exam.
Exams The midterm is in class on Wednesday October 26, 2011.
Students must obtain at least 40% on the midterm in order to write the final exam.

The final exam will be scheduled by the University.

For courses which have final exams, students are strongly advised not to make final plans for travel or employment during the exam period since special arrangements will not be made for examinations that may conflict with such plans.
Grading You earn points from assignments, participation and the midterm.
The maximum number of points (representing a perfect score on all work) available from each source is:

Coursework Points Assigned
Assignments 20
Midterm exam 25
Participation 5

If you get Q points from these sources, then your final mark is the sum of Q plus your score on the final exam weighted so that it is out of (100 - Q). Note however that you must have at least 10/20 (50%) on the assignments, at least 10/25 (40%) on the midterm and at least 2.5/5 (50%) of the participation points in order to write the final exam. Those students not permitted to write the final exam will receive a mark of N in the course. Otherwise, final numeric scores (in percentages) will be converted to letter grades as follows:

F D C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+
0-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90-100

Dividing lines between letter grades may be adjusted by a maximum of 3% to account for natural breaks in the numeric scores.

Grades Description
A+, A, A- Exceptional, outstanding or excellent performance. These grades indicate a student who is self-initiating, exceeds expectation and has an insightful grasp of the subject matter.
B+, B, B- Very good, good or solid performance. These grades indicate a good grasp of the subject matter or excellent grasp in one area balanced with satisfactory grasp in the other areas.
C+, C Satisfactory, or minimally satisfactory. These grades indicate a satisfactory performance and knowledge of the subject matter.
D Marginal Performance. A student receiving this grade demonstrated a superficial grasp of the subject matter.
F Unsatisfactory performance. Wrote final examination and completed course requirements; no supplemental.
Posting Of Grades Term marks, provisional final grades and final grades will be posted by student number. NO NAME WILL APPEAR. These postings are for your information and for your validation of the data entry. If you do not wish your term marks and grades to be publicly posted in this manner, please notify the course instructor by e-mail no later than Sept. 19, 2011.
Csc Student Groups The Computer Science Course Union (http://cscu.csc.uvic.ca/mediawiki/index.php/) serves all students who are either in a computer science program or taking a class in computer science. Please sign yourself up on their mailing list if you would like to be informed about their social events and services.

Women in Engineering and Computer Science (http://wecs.uvic.ca/) - The purpose of the WECS is to encourage more women and girls to consider Computer Science or Engineering as a career and to support them in their decision once they arrive at UVic.
The Engineering Students' Society (ESS) serves all students registered in an Engineering degree program, including Software Engineering (BSEng). For information on ESS activities, events and services navigate to http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~ess .
Course Policies And Guidelines Late Assignments: Late assignments will not be accepted except in very exceptional circumstances.
Coursework Mark Appeals: Mark appeals can be done at any time and you are strongly encouraged to appeal if you feel an assignment has been misgraded.
Attendance: We assume that students attend all lectures and at least one of the two tutorials. You may attend both tutorial sessions if you need extra help. It is entirely the students' responsibility to recover any information or announcements presented in lectures from which they were absent.
Electronic Devices: No unauthorized audio or video recording of lectures is permitted.
Calculators are not permitted for examinations, no other electronic devices (e.g. cell phones, pagers, PDA, computers, etc.) may be used during examinations or tests (unless required to accomodate a student with a disability).
Plagiarism: Submitted work may be checked using plagiarism detection software. Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic fraud are taken very seriously by both the University and the Department. You should consult http://web.uvic.ca/calendar/FACS/UnIn/UARe/PoAcI.html for the UVic policy on academic integrity. Note that the university policy includes the statement that "A largely or fully plagiarized assignment should result in a grade of F for the course".

The Faculty of Engineering Standards for Professional Behaviour is at http://www.uvic.ca/shared/shared%5fengineering/docs/professional-behaviour.pdf

The department guidelines concerning fraud are at http://www.csc.uvic.ca/courseinfo/policies/fraud.html

Department Policies: A list of department policies regarding all courses may be found at http://www.csc.uvic.ca/courseinfo/policies/index.html

This course aims to provide equal opportunities and access for all students to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the class and its curriculum and to meet the syllabus requirements. Reasonable and appropriate accommodation will be made available to students with documented disabilities (physical, mental, learning) in order to give them the opportunity to successfully meet the essential requirements of the course. The accommodation will not alter academic standards or learning outcomes, although the student may be allowed to demonstrate knowledge and skills in a different way. It is not necessary for you to reveal your disability and/or confidential medical information to the course instructor. If you believe that you may require accommodation, the course instructor can provide you with information about confidential resources on campus that can assist you in arranging for appropriate accommodation. Alternatively, you may want to contact the Resource Centre for Students with a Disability located in the Campus Services Building.

The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing, and protecting a positive, and supportive and safe learning and working environment for all its members.