Department of Computer Science and Engineering
CSE 131 / 501N	Fall 2015

Collaboration Policy

Academic integrity is an essential characteristic of any scholar.

• Anyone found cheating on any assignment in this course will receive an F in this course.
• Other consequences may include suspension or explusion from Washington University.

To avoid problems, it is important to understand what forms of collaboration are encouraged and which forms constitute cheating.

If you have any questions about this, please ask the instructor.

You are encouraged to work with other students on your assignments, and to help other students find and fix problems in their programs, provided that you comply with the following conditions:

• Honestly represent your work. The material you turn in for course credit must be a fair representation of your own work. Copying another's work is strictly prohibited.

• Give help appropriately. When helping someone, it is important not to simply give them a solution, because then they may not understand it fully and will not be able to solve a similar problem next time. It's always important to take the time to help someone think through the problem and develop the solution. Often, this can be accomplished by asking them a series of leading questions. Remember the old saying:
  Give someone a fish and they'll eat for a day.
  Teach someone to fish and they'll eat for a lifetime.

• Give credit for help received. If you receive help from people (besides the TAs and the instructor), you must list their names where appropriate using comments in the material you submit.

• Work individually or in groups.
  • Studio work is collaborative and is always performed in groups of two to three people. Working in groups can be beneficial because you can discuss design options and catch each other's mistakes.
  • Pair programming is permitted for most lab assignments, subject to the following rules:
    1. Only two people may work together. (Groups of three or more are not allowed because it reduces participation of each group member.)
    2. You must work side by side on the entire lab. It is your resposibility to schedule time to complete the lab when both of you are available.
    3. You must take turns at the keyboard, preferably switching at each step of the assignment.
    4. You must discuss each solution as you are completing the lab (not just watch the other person type).
    5. You may NOT divide up the assignment and each do part of it. Both parthers must participate in completing the entire assignment.

  • If in doubt, ask your instructor. Be sure to ask in advance if you have any doubts about whether a certain type of collaboriation is acceptable.

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  Last modified 10:18:51 CDT 15 June 2015 by Ron K. Cytron