CompSci 260 - Winter, 2020 (Dillencourt)

Final exam option page

As announced earlier (click here and then click on either PPTX or PDF), you have the option of either

1. Accepting your provisional grade (based on the homework assignments and the midterm score that resulted in the higher grade), or
2. Receiving a grade of Incomplete and taking a final exam at a later date.

Here is a link to a page where I will post status, announcements, and updates about the final exam. If you choose to take the final exam, it is your responsibility to monitor this page frequently. If you choose to accept your provisional grade you can safely ignore it.

Below are a few things you may want to read if you are still not sure whether to accept your provisional grade or take the optional final exam.

Administration method

I have not yet determined how the final exam will be administered. My thinking on the subject may change significantly as faculty receive more guidance about best practices for giving distance exams and as my colleagues and I learn more about the process and its pitfalls.

For now, I would expect the exam to be given in one of the following three ways. But as stated above, this is subject to change.

1. Proctored written exam: If it is feasible to do so and permitted by the University, I will give the option of taking the exam in the traditional paper format, in a designated room, at a specified time. Seating would be assigned, with sufficient separation to achieve safe social distance. It appears increasingly unlikely that this will be a permitted option.
2. Proctored distance exam: The University has contracted with third-party services to proctor distance exams. The basic idea is that you take the exam monitored by a recording camera. Additional details would be provided if we choose this option. The exam would most likely be broken into time segments, where you would work on one problem per time segment. The problem would be available for download at the start of the time segment. You would then work on the problem and upload your upload your solution before the end of the time segment. There would be a short break between time segments. A typical time segment length would be 5 to 10 minutes for a short problem, 15 to 30 minutes for a longer one.
3. Oral exam: This would be a one-on-one meeting, which could be done via videoconferencing or possibly (optionally), if circumstances permit and safe social distance can be maintained, in a room on campus. I would ask you to solve a problem, you would solve it, and I would ask you questions about your solution. This would likely be repeated for multiple problems.

Exam format, coverage, grading

The exact exam format will depend on the administration method (see above). The major focus of the exam (at least half, possibly much more) will be network flow and NP completeness (knowledge of the basic theory/methodology and ability to apply the knowledge.) There may be questions about the earlier material as well.

The only reason for taking the final would be to demonstrate that you understand the material well, and that your provisional grade and your performance on the midterms did not fully reflect your knowledge and ability to apply the course material. Hence the grading will be based on your ability to produce correct solutions to problems rather than to accumulate points through partially correct answers. Partial credit will be given under certain circumstances, but generally speaking two partially correct answers will be worth less that one completely correct answer.

Grading scale

During the quarter, there was a reasonable expectation that the final examination would be held under normal circumstances and might give you an opportunity to improve your grade. Because of the unforeseen circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this expectation turned out to not be the case. To account for this, I based the provisional grades on a very generous scale.

If you take the final exam rather than accepting your provisional grade, the final exam is your opportunity to improve your grade. Under these circumstances, the generous scale on which the provisional grades are based is no longer appropriate.

To illustrate the difference, here are the two scales for midterm 1. The first scale is the one that was originally posted. Had a final exam been given, the final scale would have been set so that the distribution of grades was similar to the distribution of grades on this one. The second scale is the scale that was used to compute the provisional grades.

• Midterm 1 original scale:
  • A: >= 83
  • A-: >= 67
  • B+: >= 50
  • B: >= 35
• Midterm 1 scale used for provisional grades:
  • A: >= 80
  • A-: >= 65
  • B+: >= 50
  • B: >= 35

To further illustrate the difference, here are two scales for midterm 2. The first scale yielded approximately the same distribution as the original scale for midterm 1. The second scale is the scale that was used to compute the provisional grades.

• Midterm 2 original scale yielding approximately the same distribution as the midterm 1 original scale:
  • A: >= 88
  • A-: >= 77
  • B+: >= 66
  • B: >= 40
• Midterm 2 scale used for provisional grades:
  • A: >= 82
  • A-: >= 72
  • B+: >= 55
  • B: >= 40