CSCI-A 542: Technical Foundations of Cybersecurity
Spring 2024


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Policies and Logistics

Grading

Completion of online modules 25%
Online quizzes 25%
Labs 30%
Final exam 20%

The minimum scores for each grade are:
A 93; A- 90; B+ 87; B 83; B- 80; C+ 77; C 73; C- 70; D+ 67; D 63; D- 60.
You must keep track of your grade and if necessary improve your work throughout the course to get the grade you desire. There are no options to receive extra credit to further improve your grade.

A+ grades will be assigned to the top 1-2 students in the course.

Announcements and Class Readings

Read emailed announcements carefully!

Announcements will be made via email to the course list. You are responsible for reading each announcement carefully. If you have opted to not receive Canvas mailings, you are responsible for checking your Canvas email at least once a day.

You are required to read all the assigned readings posted on the schedule page before starting the online module for that week.

Online Participation

Your online participation grade will be computed by Top Hat based on the percentage of online activities completed each week.

Communication

I will check email at least once a day (on weekdays). Note that due to the excessively high volume of email, it is likely that I will miss your email if it is not addressed to me correctly. Use "542" in the subject field of your email, because once I day I will filter for that keyword and look for course emails.

For questions that are of general interest (other students may benefit from the answer), please post to the Canvas discussion board. I will monitor that board frequently and answer questions there.

Quizzes

After completion of the online module for each week you will answer a timed 10-minute quiz, due by Sunday 11:59pm of that week. These quizzes are closed-book and about 60% of the quiz will cover all the material from the online module that week. About 40% of the quiz will cover your reading assignment for the following week.

Since you have an entire week to complete the online module and take the quiz there will be no extensions. To account for occasional circumstances such as falling ill, we will drop your lowest three quiz scores.

Lab Late Policy

Manage your time well, and start early!

Grace periods: To accommodate for unavoidable circumstances, you will be given a 3-day grace period for up to two assignments. Beyond the deadline (and grace period if applicable), you will be penalized 25% a day. For example, if you score 73% and are 5 minutes late, you will be penalized 25% for 1 day, resulting in a score of 73 – 25 = 48%).

Drops: Your lowest lab score will be dropped.

Use these freebies wisely — they are meant for circumstances such as falling ill or interviewing. I will not grant any additonal extensions.

Top Hat

We will be using the Top Hat (www.tophat.com) for the online course modules. You will be able to submit answers to using Apple or Android smartphones and tablets, laptops, or through text message.

You can visit the Top Hat Overview within the Top Hat Success Center which outlines how you will register for a Top Hat account, as well as providing a brief overview to get you up and running on the system.

An email invitation will be sent to you by email, but if don't receive this email, you can register by simply visiting our course website: https://app.tophat.com/e/109472
Note: our Course Join Code is 109472

Should you require assistance with Top Hat at any time, due to the fact that they require specific user information to troubleshoot these issues, please contact their Support Team directly by way of email (support@tophat.com), the in-app support button, or by calling 1-888-663-5491.

Formatting

All written assignments must be submitted in PDF format via Canvas. Pages must be formatted with 1-inch margins, 11-point font and single spacing.

Regrades

Since a single AI will be grading assignments, we do not expect any discrepancies in grading. Nevertheless, if a regrade is requested, the student must submit a one paragraph justification explaining why their answer is deserving of a higher score.

Honor Code

Give credit where it's due and don't plagiarize. Don't copy, paraphrase, or read others' solutions. The same applies to text generated by ChatGPT or other AI based large language models. Don't look at another work while writing your own. Remember, when you cheat, you cheat yourself above all else.

IU's Honor Code and policies apply to your conduct in this course. Furthermore, you will be required to provide certification of the "How to Recognize Plagiarism" test along with your first lab.

You may discuss course material with other students in the course or with the instructors. Each student must however submit their own written answers to questions on the assignments. You may not read or copy anybody else's written answers—all submitted work must be your own, based on your own understanding of the content after such discussions. You may not read solutions for assignments on the Web (including websites for previous semesters, inside or outside of IU).

Credit your sources. In your assignments, list all your collaborators (e.g., "I discussed this assignment with Alice, Bob, ...") and credit any sources (including software) used. You must also credit sources that are permitted by the instructor. For example, you must credit code that we give you if it helps you with your work (either by direct use of the code, or by simply enhancing your understanding by reading the code).

Violations of the Honor Code will be treated seriously. Please let me know if you have any questions—better to be safe than sorry!

Special accommodations

Please let me know before the end of the second week of the semester if you have any disabilities and would like me to make appropriate accommodations. All discussions will remain confidential, although the Disability Services office may be consulted to discuss appropriate implementation of any accommodation requested.

Religious Observances

I realize that some students may wish to take part in religious observances that fall during this academic semester. Should you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please come speak with me before the end of the second week of the semester to discuss appropriate accommodations. See IU's policy.