Honor Expectations
As a student at the University of Virginia, you are trusted to be honorable and expected to behave in ways that merit that trust. We take advantage of this trust to provide a better learning environment for everyone. In particular, students in cs3120 are expected to follow these rules throughout the course:
I will not lie, cheat or steal. If I am unsure whether something would be considered lying, cheating or stealing, I will ask before doing it.
I will carefully read and follow the collaboration policy on each assignment. I will not abuse resources in ways that would be clearly detrimental to my own learning or unfair to other students. Viewing solutions from previous cs3120 or cs3102 courses is not permitted, except when explicitly allowed.
Community Expectations
As a member of a learning community of students, faculty, and staff, you are expected to exemplify these behaviors in cs3120:
I will actively affirm the value and dignity of others and treat my peers with decency and respect. I understand that one of the benefits of attending the University is to be part of a vibrant community that encompasses a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, personal and family histories, and world views. I will contribute to that community by sharing things that are unique about me with others, fighting against any biases I may have or that I observe in others, and being open to and respectful of people who are different from me. I will listen to the perspectives of others, and amplify those whose voices are not well heard.
I will not behave in ways that harrass, intimidate, diminish, or belittle others. If I observe such behaviors in others (including among my classmates, the course staff, or other University faculty), I will not tolerate them silently, but will either take it upon myself to mitigate them, or will inform one of the course instructors or another University administrator.
I will avoid putting myself and others at unnecessary risk or discomfort. I will follow the University’s pandemic policies. If I have reasons to suspect I might be infected, either due to feeling sick or having close contact with someone who has symptoms or has tested positive, I will not come to class and will notify the instructor for any relevant course issues.
I will care for myself physically and emotionally. Staying stationary and working at home can make it difficult to maintain your physical and emotional well-being. I will ensure that whatever I am doing to succeed in my courses does not take priority over my needs to exercise, stay hydrated, make time to eat lunch and dinner away from your workspace, and to safely spend time outside.
I will look out of the well-being of my classmates. The ongoing pandemic and tragic incidents last fall have resulted in much suffering and many hardships among our community and put many of our students under extraordinary stress. We hope this class will also become a supportive community. Be creative in maintaining and reinforcing that community through the struggles caused by the pandemic, and seek out and maximize opportunities for postive interactions with fellow students and others in the university community.
I will ask for help. I will make a reasonable effort to do things on my own first, and will work collaboratively with my cohort and other classmates when permitted, but will ask the course staff for help before getting overly frustrated. There are many ways to ask for help including the class discord server and office hours.
I will be open minded and curious. I understand that this course may do things in ways differently from what I expect, and may sometimes buck conventions that have been followed in other courses I have taken. I will ask questions when things make me uncomfortable, but also accept that being surprised, facing uncertainty, and being challenged with problems it is unreasonable to expect me to be able to solve, are often beneficial for learning new ways of thinking.
I grant the course staff permission to reproduce excerpts from my submissions for teaching purposes. My work will be attributed when it is shown in a postive way, but may be used anonymously if it is used to illustrate common pitfalls or other issues.
I will provide useful feedback. I realize that this will be attempting many new things, and that the cohort model being used this semester has not been tried previously. It is important that I let the course staff know what they need to improve the course. I will provide feedback either anonymously or by contacting the course staff directly. I will fill out all requested surveys honestly and thoroughly.