CSCI 1227 Grading Scheme

Evaluation Category Weight
zyBook Assignments (Participation Activities, Challenge Activities, Labs)
These must be completed online, within the zyBook.
The percentage of total required points accumulated will count as this 30%.
For example, if 1500 points are required and you accumulate 1200,
you get 24% (80% of the possible total) in this category.
No extension will be given for any of these assignments. 		30%
Hands-On Exercises (during the live sessions)
You accumulate up to 30 points (30% of your total) by completing these in real time.
There will be no "make ups" for any of these exercises. Each week's exercise must be completed during that week's lab sessions. If you do not complete any of the Hands-On Exercises you will fail the course, no matter how well you do on the zyBook assignments and the final exam. 		30%
Proctored Final Examination (in-person, on campus)
Friday, April 11, 2025
Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm (Local Halifax Time)
Place: Loyola Academic 281 (LA281)
 40%
Total 100%
Final letter grades for the course will be assigned according to the scheme outlined in the university calendar, and based on the numerical total calculated as outlined above. This total numerical grade will be the key factor, but not the only factor, in assigning a final letter grade for the course.

Important Notes (subject to fine tuning as the course progresses)

  1. This course will be delivered "synchronously". That means that all sessions will be "live", which in turn means that all students are expected to "attend" those sessions. However, all sessions will also be recorded, so if a session is missed for some reason, it may be viewed later, but this should be the exception rather than the rule.
  2. Note that the final exam in this course is a pencil and paper exam, so you will not have the luxury of a Python interpreter or an editor to help you during the exam by pointing out your mistakes. Thus it will be extremely important to perform lots of experimentation with Python throughout the term so that you have have a good comfort level with the language going into the final exam. History has shown that failure to do enough practice is the main thing that comes back to haunt students at the end of the term. Be curious ... ask "What if" questions and make Python answer them for you!
  3. Every zyBook assignment has a submission deadline, and although you can keep working on an assignment after the deadline, only the points you have accumulated before the deadline will be transferred to Brightspace and thus be recorded as your mark on that assignment. Deadlines are published and available well in advance of due dates, so do not ask for an extension of any due date. It will not be granted. So your goal should be to start work on each assignment early, and aim to finish it in plenty of time.

    At the end of term, if one or more zyBook assignments have been missed, the instructor may (or may not, at his discretion) allow additional credit for one or more of those missed items. If at the end of the term your record contains homework gaps that you feel might significantly affect your overall grade once the final exam has been written, and you have completed some or all of the work that would fill in those gaps, you may wish to send the instructor an email containing an explanation for why there were gaps in the first place, along with any supporting evidence you might have, and some additional credit may or may not be given. Such allowance will be based on how well everything else has been done by you during the term, and this is also a place where your attendance record will be examined. If few live sessions have been attended (or even none, which has happened), further positive consideration is unlikely. In any case, this is how all sudden and not-so-sudden emergency-type events that might crop up during the term and cause one or more assignments to be missed, or late, will be dealt with. Such events might include anything from bad internet connections to chronic or sudden health problems, deaths in the family, favorite pets getting run over by cars, falling downstairs in the dark ... the possibilities are endless.