Syllabus and Course Informa - Boston University · Module Review of System Architecture from CS 682 This module is a quick review of the system architecture content from CS 682 with

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Enterprise ArchitectureCourse Description

This course builds upon the strong technical foundation of an MSCIS curriculum, by providing students with the CIO-levelmanagement perspective and skills of enterprise architecture, in the context of the technologies that implement thosearchitectures. Our Ross, Weil, and Robertson text provides much of the management content of the course, and the onlinecontent provides both management and technical skills. Students learn that enterprise architectures are best developedincrementally, by system development projects that are architected to conform to and become part of the overall enterprisearchitecture. The online content therefore includes many real enterprise system development case studies, showing how theseenterprise systems contributed to and helped define the overall enterprise architecture. The course also includes a number ofrealistic enterprise architecture assignments and an incremental term project with components spanning the course, toprovide students with hands on enterprise architecture experience. The course provides students with the understanding andskills needed to define and implement successful enterprise architectures that provide real value to organizations, such assubstantially reducing IT costs while improving performance, agility and alignment of information technology to businessgoals.

Technical Note

The table of contents expands and contracts (+/- sign) and may conceal some pages. To avoid missing content pages, you areadvised to use the next/previous page icons in the top right-corner of the learning modules.

Enterprise ArchitectureCourse Learning Objectives

By successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

Assess and document an organization's current enterprise architectureAssess and document an enterprise's core business modelExecute successful enterprise architecture activities in their organizationsUtilize different models and representations to influence acceptance and continuity of architectureGuide EA activities so that EA provides the greatest benefit to their organization, while avoiding the traps andpotential harm from poorly managed and executed EA programs.

Course Outline

Calendar Tool - You can see many due dates in the Vista calendar tool . You may add your own events there aswell. However, please be aware that you may not find all of the important dates for the course listed there. You willstay current by checking announcements, discussions, and emails in the course.

Readings - Each module has both textbook readings and online lectures . Your professor may suggest additionalreadings during the running of the course.

Discussion - There are threaded discussions for each module. These discussions are moderated by your facilitator.Postings for each discussion should be completed by the assigned due dates. There are also general discussions boards,which are not graded, for you to use to discuss any issues with your classmates. Please see the Discussion Module onthe home page for more details.

Assignment - There are assignments that are due throughout the course.

Assessments/Quizzes - Quizzes are also listed in the course calendar and accessed from the Assessments menu.Module Review of System Architecture from CS 682

This module is a quick review of the system architecture content from CS 682 with the purpose of helping students refreshtheir knowledge to prepare for the enterprise architecture material in this course.

Module 1 – Architectural Approach: An Introduction to Enterprise ArchitectureLecture 1 - Introduction to Enterprise ArchitectureLecture 2 - Precepts of Enterprise Architecture

Module 2 – Enterprise Architecture: Principles and MethodologyLecture 3 - Ensuring Precise Definition of the Business ProblemLecture 4 - The Role of Process in Ensuring Successful EA Deployment

Module 3 – EA Frameworks, SOA, and VirtualizationLecture 5 - EA Frameworks and Tools; Maturity ModelsLecture 6 - Service Level Architecture

File: Instructor

File: Course Designers

Module 4 – System Integration, Outsourcing, and Vendor Management Lecture 7 - Legacy Systems and System IntegrationLecture 8 - Outsourcing and Vendor Management

Module 5 – Enterprise Integration Technologies: ESB and Cloud ComputingLecture 9 - Enterprise Integration Technologies: Enterprise Service BusLecture 10 - Cloud Computing

Module 6 – Deploying Your Enterprise ArchitectureLecture 11 - SLAs, Performance Testing, and MonitoringLecture 12 - Fault Tolerance and Recovery

Module 7 – Prepare for and take the final exam

You will prepare for and take the proctored final exam.

The course will remain open two weeks after the final exam, so that you can continue discussions and ask any questions aboutdatabase technology, your grades or the course. This is also a time when we enter into a dialog where we endeavor to learnfrom you how we can modify the course so that it better meets your needs.

Instructor

Robert Schudy

Office Location:808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

Office Hours: By appointment or via email

Office Phone: (617) 358-0009

E-Mail: [email protected]

Hello,

My name is Robert Schudy. I am your professor for this course. I love defining, architecting, designing, and implementingcomputer systems and and have been doing this most of my adult life. My responsibilities as an Associate Professor in the METComputer Science Department include faculty coordination of the database area and faculty coordination of this MSCIS onlineprogram. Please feel free to bring to me any subject having to do with this course or the program.

I received my doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Rochester. I have conducted research and havearchitected and developed systems at Hewlett Packard Laboratories (where I initiated or assisted in the bubble jet, laserprinter, and RISC/Unix areas). At Bolt Beranek and Newman I architected and prototyped the first truly intelligent aircraftsystems; many of those systems are now operational in the latest air superiority fighters. I lead the Autonoumous Air VehicleAvionics Architecture project for ARPA, where I developed a new and very effective architecture for autonomous systems; I amtold that this is also proving successful in practice. In the commercial arena I architected the managed the development ofenterprise systems for two insurance companies. I developed the first flight operations enterprise architecture for Delta AirLines; you will see my Flight Management Object Environment at the top of the Delta Air Lines enterprise architecturediagram later in the course. I have architected advanced realtime security monitoring, analysis and reporting systems foreIQnetworks.

The best way to reach me is to email me within the course itself. If you would like to phone me my office number is listedabove. If the course email is not available when you want to contact me you can contact me at my main BU email address(also listed above). I normally pick up my email many times per day.

Course Designers

Marcia Nizzari

File: Course Materials and Resources

Office Location:808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

E-Mail: [email protected]

This text will be replaced with:met_cs679_10_fa1_bschudy_mnizzari_w00

Download

Marcia Nizzari is Director of Informatics for Good Start Genetics. She has over 27 years of experience as a CTO, softwarearchitect, and technical manager for a wide variety of application domains, including process control and manufacturing,software tools, avionics, financial services, telephony, and bioinformatics. Prior to joining Good Start, she was Director ofSoftware Development/Biomedical Applications, for Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Inc., a multispectral imagingcompany.

She joined the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research just as the draft human genome was published, and thenspent six years at what is now the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, chiefly as Director of Informatics for the Program inMedical and Population Genetics. In that role, she supervised development of all production informatics software for theGenetic Analysis Platform, which included genotyping, targeted sequencing, gene expression, and analytic systems for a widearray of population and disease association studies. She was co-investigator on several large NIH grants, including the ground-breaking NHLBI CARe project, which brought together 11 cardiovascular cohorts (60,000 patients) for genotyping andphenotyping meta analyses. Prior to her position at the Whitehead Institute, she was Chief Technology Officer and VicePresident of Operations for a large division of Thomson Financial. Her other roles as chief architect include several years atFidelity Investments and at Marcam Corporation, a process manufacturing company; she has also been an architect/designerand software developer of several process control products, software tools, and gyroscope-based guidance systems.

Marcia received the Master of Science in Computer Science degree from Boston University in 1990. Her undergraduate degreeis a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. Marcia has also served as chair of thecomputer chapter of the Central New England Council, Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Her computerscience interests include semantic representation, scalable architectures, and adaptive system design.

Bill Cullen

Bill Cullen is the award winning designer of the Enterprise Service Bus. He has been helping corporations develop and maturetheir enterprise architectures for many years. Bill developed the lectures for Module 5, which introduces the current leadingedge enterprise technologies. As Bill was wrapping up Module 5 a large local firm pleaded with Bill to help them with somecritical enterprise architecture problems at the same time two other firms wanted him. Bill reports that the large firm hasadopted Ross, Weill, and Robertson as their EA "bible." With Bill's help they will succeed, but it means that Bill has been toobusy to provide us with his more detailed Biography. Hopefully his work demands will slack a bit and Bill will be able to join usin a Live Classroom or two.

Course Materials and Resources

Required Course Book

Enterprise Architecture as Strategy by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, andDavid C. Robertson

Publisher: Harvard Business Press 2006

ISBN: 978-1-59139-839-4.

This textbook can be purchased from Barnes and Noble at BostonUniversity.

This text will be replaced with:met_cs679_10_fa1_bschudy_m06

An introduction to our textbook

DownloadRecommended Software: Visio Professional

In this class we will use Visio Professional or another tool of your choice to create enterprise architecture diagrams. You canobtain Visio Professional free of charge from the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) Program, to whichthe College subscribes. Please see the next page for more information on the MSDNAA program.

Web-Based Resource: Turnitin.com

As part of this course you have access to the Turnitin.com service (http://turnitin.com). You can submit your papers oranything that you wish to Turnitin, which compares the text that you submit with a large database of text from the web andother sources, including millions of papers analized by Turnitin. Turnitin uses artificial intelligence algorithms to identify textthat may have been copied into a document or paraphrased without attributing the source. Your facilitators and I use Turnitinto verify that your work is original. You should consider submitting text that you find on the web to Turnitin before you includeit as a reference, because you may find that it has been plagiarized, and you should reference the original source. You shouldrun your term papers through Turnitin to verify that you didn't inadvertently incorporate someone else's work withoutproperly referencing it. If you submit a paper to Turnitin you will still need to submit it in the usual way through Vista. Weroutinely submit term projects, assignments, and discussion posts to Turnitin, to verify that they are original and not copiedfrom the web or elsewhere. All of the work which you submit, whether in exercises, discussion postings or term project, shouldbe your own original writing, or quoted and properly referenced material from other original sources. There is a Turnitindiscussion forum where you can discuss and learn about Turnitin and the amazing things that it does.

Live Classroom

Live Classroom Instructions and Procedures

In this class we will use the Horizon Wimba web-based Live Classroom. I plan to hold Live Classroom sessions twice per week,probably at 10 or 11 AM and 7 or 8 PM EST on Saturdays. Live Classroom sessions provide you with an opportunity to talkwith me and ask me questions. Sometimes I answer these questions using slides or electronic whiteboard. The Live Classroomsupports chat, voice conferencing over telephone or internet, and a variety of visual interaction facilities, including PowerPointslides and even video if we choose to use it.

To take advantage of the ability to talk with me and each other over the Internet I recommend that you purchase a headsetdesigned to plug into the audio jacks or USB port on your computer. These headsets are available from many vendors. Theprice ranges from $10 for a basic but serviceable model up to $50 for a professional model. You can also telephone into theLive Classroom as you would to a conference call.

You do not need to be present when the Live Classroom is held to listen to and watch the sessions, because I record LiveClassroom sessions, particularly when students ask good leading questions. If students are interested in material that is notalready in the course I often prepare a lecture with slides and deliver it and record it using Live Classroom.

I look forward to talking with you, discussing the material, and answering your questions.

In order to participate in these discussions or to access the archived sessions, you will need to go to the Live Classroom link onyour homepage (located near the bottom of the page) and complete the Setup Wizard. It is recommended you finish all of thelogin steps at least five minutes prior to the start of the synchronous discussion, so that you are fully prepared to access yourlive class session.

File: Study Guide

Live Classroom Instructions and Procedures

Live Offices

This course includes a "Live Office" for each facilitator, one for Professor Schudy, and one for student use. Live Offices aresimilar to Live Classroom, except for a few minor configuration differences. Live Offices are a good way for facilitators andstudents to review their assignments or other course material, because it supports convenient document or web sharing andvoice. A headset is convenient for Live Office. The student Live Office is for study groups, team projects, or similar groupactivities. Since Live Office meetings with your facilitator or professor are usually private sessions, you only need to schedulea session with your facilitator or professor. If you wish to use a Live Office for a group meeting it is convenient to have yourfacilitator or professor create a discussion topic to help coordinate the meeting. WE can also create additional Live Offices.

Boston University Library Link

As Boston University students you have full use of the BU Library-even if you do not live in Boston. From any computer, youcan access any of the library's resources that are electronically formatted-or better said, available online. Use this linkhttp://www.bu.edu/library/index.shtml to access the library's content whether you are connected through your online courseor not, by confirming your status as a BU community member using your Kerberos.

Using the links on the right side of the page, you can find articles, eJournals, and eBooks, and you can easily search thelibrary's content by subject. In addition, through the "Reference Shelf," you will have access to dictionaries, encyclopedias,handbooks, and more. If you are having difficulties gaining access, please consult the instructions below.

Connect to eResources

Boston University's Office of Information Technology and the Library offer an option for remote access to Boston University'sonline library resources.

Previously remote students had to use what was called the "ezproxy" library portal; the new access (still referred to as"ezproxy") allows all BU students a seamless connection to the BU Library's electronic resources through the link:www.bu.edu/library

If you are having difficulties gaining access through the library link you may want to go to www.bu.edu/library/research/connecting.html. From this page you can access material directly using the links near the top of the page, where you will seethe note, "eResources include databases, ejournals, and ebooks." Additional information about the ezportal system is alsoavailable in the links lower on the page, under the heading "authentication as a BU community member."

For questions regarding connecting to the library, you may want to try the library's Frequently Asked Questions page atwww.bu.edu/proxy/faqs.html.

Accommodation of Special Needs

In accordance with University policy, I make every effort to accommodate unique and special needs of students with respect tospeech, hearing, vision, seating, or other disabilities. Please notify Disability Support Services as soon as possible of requestedaccommodations.

MET CS 679 Study Guide

The following material is collected here for your convenience. The required readings, discussion particulars, and assignmentparticulars can also be found within the modules, in the "Discussion" and "Assignment" sections of the course respectively.

Module 1 Study Guide and Deliverables

Readings: Read the online lectures 1 and 2

EAAS: Preface, pp. vii-xiEAAS: Chapter 1 To Execute Your Strategy, First Build Your Foundation

Discussions: Discussion 1 postings due September 7 at 6:00 AM ET

Assignments: Assignment 1 due September 7 at 6:00 AM ET

Assessments: Quiz 1 due September 8 at 6:00 AM ET


Readings: Read the online lectures

EAAS: Chapter 2: Building a Foundation for ExecutionEAAS: Chapter 3: Implement the Operating Model via Enterprise Architecture






EAAS: Chapter 4: Navigate the Stages of Enterprise Architecture MaturityEAAS: Chapter 5: Cash in on the Learning






EAAS: Chapter 6: Build the Foundation One Project at a TimeEAAS: Chapter 7: System Integration






EAAS: NoneSome URLs will be given for reading on this topic.

Discussions: Discussion 5 postings due October 5 at 6:00 AM ET

Assignments: Assignment 5 due October 5 at 6:00 AM ET

Assessments: Quiz 5 due October 6 at 6:00 AM ET



EAAS: Chapter 8: Now – Exploit Your Foundation for Profitable GrowthEAAS: Chapter 7: Take Charge! The Leadership Agenda

Discussions: Discussion 6 postings due October 12 at 6:00 AM ET

Assignments: Assignment 6 due October 12 at 6:00 AM ET

Assessments: Quiz 6 due October 13 at 6:00 AM ET


Readings: Review course material

File: MSDN Academic Alliance Software Center

File: Course Grading Information

Discussions: There is no discussion

Assignments: There is no assignment

Assessments: The final exam opens at 9:00 AM on October 15 and closes at 11:59 PM on October 19

Final Exam Details

The Final Exam is a proctored exam available from October 15 at 9:00 AM ET to October 19 at 11:59 PM ET. TheComputer Science department requires that all final exams be proctored.

The exam is a three-hour closed-book exam consisting of multiple-choice and true/false questions. It will only be accessibleduring the final exam period. You can access it from either the Assessments section of the course or from the Final Exammodule on the home page. Your proctor will enter the password to start the exam.

You will receive a technical support hotline number before the start of the exam. Please bring this number with you to theexam.

MSDN Academic Alliance Software Center

MET College is a member of the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA), which allows faculty, graduate andundergraduate students currently enrolled in MET courses to obtain certain Microsoft products free of charge.

You can obtain many types of Microsoft software free of charge from the MSDNAA Program. By the first day of class yourinstructor will submit your BU email address to Microsoft to enroll you in the program for the current semester. You willreceive an email from the MSDNAA E-Academy License Management System (ELMS) from the address: [email protected].

Some spam filters may direct this email to a junk email folder, so you may want to check your junk email folder or add theaddress above to your contacts or other white list. The email will provide you with a username and password, and direct you tothe MSDNAA site:

URL: http://msdn04.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Storefront.aspx?campus=bu_mccs,

FAQ and basic information are at: http://csmet.bu.edu/AASC/index.htm

If you do not receive your email by the end of the first week, first check your junk email folder and then please send an emailexplaining that you did not receive your MSDNAA credentials for this course. Include your name and bu.edu email address inthe email and send it to [email protected].

General software you may be required to use in this course include word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software,such as the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications in Microsoft Office. If you use Microsoft Word 2007, please use the SaveAs feature to save your documents in the earlier Microsoft Word 2003 (.doc) format for posting in the class, rather than theXML-based (.docx) MSWord 2007 format, so that your classmates who do not have MSWord 2007 can read them withoutinstalling the converter.

Course Grading InformationCourse Structure

The course is organized as a sequence of six main weekly modules, plus a seventh module for the proctored final exam. Eachof the six main modules includes assigned textbook readings and online lectures in text, graphic, and video formats. Studentshave an opportunity each week to participate in synchronous Live Classroom and Live Office sessions where students interactwith their faculty in real time; these live sessions are recorded for students who can't make the live sessions. Each of the firstsix modules includes graded homework assignments, graded discussions, a review quiz and a graded quiz. There is a termproject which helps students integrate everything that they learn in the course, and apply that learning to the replacing anaging service bureau application. During each week of the course you will implement the aspects of the term project that arebased on the enterprise architecture aspect that you are studying that week.

Grading Policy

All students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of database technology and the ability to use and developdatabases. To obtain an exceptional grade you have to exceed expectations in your assignments, quizzes, term project, finalexam and discussions.

Grade Weighting

There are a total of 19 graded items (6 discussions, 5 assignments, 6 quizzes, 1 term project and 1 final exam). Course lettergrades are determined in a three-phase process designed to accurately determine how well each student has demonstratedthat they understand and can use the subject matter of the course. The process begins when the professor computes theweighted scores, using the weighting below. Your professor examines not only the overall weighted score, but also student'sscores in each of the five areas, and the trend of scores in each of these areas. The professor then determines a letter gradefor each student. The professor pays particular attention to the final exam score. He often reviews entire final exams to get abetter understanding of how well each student understands each area. The professor then sends a spreadsheet containing allgraded items for all students, and the proposed letter grades, to our facilitators, requesting review and comment. When theprofessor receives feedback from the facilitators he finalizes the grades and uploads them to the University InformationSystem, where students can see their grades via the Student Link.

All graded items are graded as a percentage of the maximum anticipated score; this traditional American grading system issometimes termed "out of 100." Rarely a student may so exceed our expectations that they earn more than 100.

Grading Structure and Distribution

The following table summarizes the five kinds of graded items and the default percentage of grades determined by each ofthese kinds of graded items. Each of these graded items is explained below.

Overall GradingPercentages

Assignments 20%

Discussions 5%

Quizzes 25%

EA Term Project 25%

Final Exam 25%

Assignments

In each of the first five weekly modules you will have homework assignments. Feel free to do additional exercises of your owndesign and submit them to your facilitator for feedback. If you wish you can ask your facilitator or professor for additionalexercises tailored to your background and educational needs.

If for any reason you are unable to meet any assignment deadline, contact your facilitator, preferably in advance. Extensionsmay be granted under mitigating circumstances. Scores for assignments submitted late without extenuating circumstances willbe penalized ten percent. Assignments submitted late near the end of the term may not be graded, because our facilitators arevery busy grading term projects, resulting in zero scores for those assignments.

If you are stuck, and just can't complete part of an assignment, then submit what you can complete to your facilitator, askingfor help. Your facilitator may then choose to provide you with guidance in the areas where you are stuck, and return thepartial assignment to you for further work and resubmission. Your facilitator will deduct from your score on the resubmissionfor any portion of the solution which your facilitator provided to help you. Your professor authorizes our facilitators to regradebased on resubmissions. Whether a particular resubmission should be regraded is up to the judgment of the facilitator.Resubmissions may not be graded near the end of the term, when facilitators are very busy grading the term projects.Resubmissions are intended to help struggling students who are stuck, and resubmissions are not intended for routine use.

Participation: Discussions and Class Contributions

Five percent of your grade is based on your class contributions. This grade is derived from your participation in the moderateddiscussions in each module. This is an important part of the learning process. Your discussion grade is based on how well yourdiscussion postings contribute to your classmates' learning experience and understanding of the material. Thus a good leadinglearning question posting can be worth more than a good answer. Students who do exceptionally well in helping theirclassmates will occasionally receive bonus class contribution points.

Quizzes

There is a review quiz in each of the first six modules. These review quizzes are primarily to help you prepare you for themodule quizzes. When you finish a review quiz you will see the questions, your answer, the correct answers and tutorialmaterial for each question and each answer. The review quizzes do not count in your grade. You can take the review quizzesat any time, as many times as you want.

File: Quiz Instructions

There is one graded quiz in each of the first six modules. The results for your quiz will be released as soon as possible afterthe quiz closes. When the quiz results are released you will be able to see the questions, your answers, the correct answers,and tutorial material, just as in the review quizzes. Your professor releases the quiz results. Quizzes may be taken after theresults have been released, with the professor's permission, but the scores on late quizzes do not count on your grade.

The Final Exam

The final exam consists of a combination of fifty multiple choice, choose multiple, and true/false questions. You will have threehours to complete the final exam; there should be plenty of time. The final exam is configured so that if you run out of timeyou will be notified, but you will still be permitted to continue taking the final. This feature is intended to permit you tocomplete the final in spite of technical difficulties. Vista records the time for your submission of each question, so we cangrade you fairly even though there are technical or other difficulties. The questions on the final exam will be very similar tothose on your graded quizzes, except that the final exam has fifty questions, compared to the twenty on the quizzes. Yourfinal exam will be proctored, either at an ACT testing center, using remote proctoring, at BU or with a special proctoringarrangement. Your final exam will be offered in the last week of the course. The final exam will be released in the same waythat the quizzes are released. You will be able to see the questions, your answers, the correct answers, and tutorial materialfor each question.

The Enterprise Architecture Term Project

In your term project you will design and implement new enterprise architecture to an existing system. The details of the termproject are found in the document linked below:

CS 679 Term Project: Replacing an Aging Service Bureau Application

Grading Structure

Your assignments, discussions, quizzes, term project, and final exam will be graded on a percentage basis. The following tablesummarizes typical correspondence of percentage grades and letter grades for individual graded items. The process andcriteria for determining course letter grades is more complex than computing the weighted average grade and looking up theletter grade in the table below.

LetterGrade

Approximatepercentagegrade range

GradePoints

A 96–100 4.0

A- 91–95 3.7

B+ 86–90 3.3

B 81–85 3.0

B- 76–80 2.7

C+ 71–75 2.3

C 66–70 2.0

C- 61–66 1.7

D 56–60 1.0

F 0–55 0

Note that C is the lowest grade that satisfies degree requirements in graduate courses and that you need to maintain a gradepoint average of 3.0 or better to graduate. For more information, see the MSCIS Academic Policies online manual.

The percentage ranges above are approximate. Your letter grade is determined by your professor as the best overall measureof how well you have demonstrated that you understand the material, taking into separate consideration your performance inthe quizzes, assignments, term project, discussions and final exam. Additional grading criteria include any substantialdifference in your performance on the proctored final exam and the general trend of your scores over the term. The actualgrade ranges will be adjusted to reflect the difficulty of graded items.

Timeliness

Many learning activities require sharing your assignments and opinions with your classmates. It is very important that you, aswell as your classmates, submit your assignments on a timely basis.

Quiz InstructionsAccessing the Quiz

File: Final Exam Information

You will have access to the quiz at the beginning of the module. However you should not access the quiz until you havecompleted all learning activities for the module and are prepared to meet the objectives for that module.

Quiz DetailsQuizzes normally have twenty questions, but the number and type of questions may vary from quiz to quiz. You canaccess the quiz details from the assessments menu.The questions are either choose multiple, multiple choice (choose one), or True/False.All questions are randomized.The points for each question are shown.The quiz questions will display one at a time on your screen.You may skip over questions and revisit them in any order.You will have 90 minutes to complete the quiz. You should have enough time so that you aren't rushed.You can take each graded quiz only once.You may not pause the quiz and return to it later.You will be able to continue to save answers to questions after the time has expired, but any late answers will be timestamped and marked as late. This will allow us to grade your quiz fairly in the event that technical difficulties occurwhile you take your quiz.

Saving Your Answers in VistaTo answer a question, select your response from the options below the question.When you have completed your response, click Save at the bottom of the page.You can go back and edit previous responses that you saved.If you have typed something and then try to go to the next question without saving, Vista will prompt you to save thequestion.You will see question number buttons on the right-hand side of your screen; use these to move easily from question toquestion at any time.When you have completed all answers, click the Finish button.You will be asked to confirm that you are ready to submit the completed quiz. You can then Cancel or go ahead tosubmit by clicking Okay.You will see a confirmation message telling you that your quiz is submitted.

The Quiz Comment Questions

There is one short answer question at the end of each quiz and the final exam. This comment question appears as a quizquestion, but there are no points for this item. Use this as a place to provide feedback about the quiz as a whole or tocomment upon a particular quiz question, the way that you might write comments in the margins of a paper quiz. Be sure toreference the alphanumeric question identifier as well as the question number, because question order is randomized. Yourfacilitator will examine your comments and determine whether a grade adjustment or other action is appropriate.

If a technical issue of any kind arises during the exam, complete the exam, answering the remaining questions, and thencontact your facilitator or instructor immediately.Other Questions

If you have any questions about the quiz please feel free to contact your facilitator.

Technical Support

Assistance to resolve technical problems is available from Vista Support, and is restricted primarily to problems associated withthe functionality of the Learning Management System.

The Contact Information for Vista Support is:

Form: www.bu.edu/help/vistaPhone: (888) 243-4596

Final Exam Information

The Final Exam is a proctored exam available from October 15 at 9:00 AM ET to October 19 at 11:59 PM ET. TheComputer Science department requires that all exams be proctored.

The exam is a 3 hour, closed-book exam consisting of a combination of 50 choose multiple, multiple-choice (choose one), andTrue/False questions. The exam is only accessible during the final exam period. You will access it from either the Assessments

section of the course or from the Final Exam module on the home page. Your proctor will enter the password to start theexam.

Access to the online course material, including the lectures, discussions, and chat feature, ends on October 15 at9:00 AM ET and will be unavailable until October 20. Please plan accordingly.

FormatYou will have 3 hours to complete the final exam. There is a clock in the upper right corner of the screen keeping time

File: Important Message on Final Exams

File: FAQs

for the exam.There are 50 questions.This is a closed book/closed notes exam. You cannot bring any materials into the exam. You cannot access anyweb based content other than the course exam during the three hour period.You can take the exam only once.Each question will be delivered one at a time.You can revisit the questions and change your answers as many times as you want before submitting the exam.

Saving Your Answers in VistaTo answer a question, select your response from the options below the question.When you have completed your response, click Save at the bottom of the page.You can go back and edit previous responses that you saved.If you have typed something and then try to go to the next question without saving, Vista will prompt you to save thequestion.You will see question number buttons on the right-hand side of your screen; use these to move easily from question toquestion at any time.When you have completed all answers, click the Finish button.You will be asked to confirm that you are ready to submit the completed exam. You can then Cancel or go ahead tosubmit by clicking Okay.You will see a confirmation message telling you that your exam is submitted.

If a technical issue of any kind arises during the exam causing you to go over the allotted time, finish answeringall the questions in the assessment and then contact your facilitator and instructor immediately. You can submitquestions after the time has expired although they may not count toward your grade.

Opening the Exam

Go to the Assessments Menu or the Final Exam Module on your course home page to access the exam. Your proctor will enterthe required password to start the exam.

Technical Support

Student Services will provide you with a technical support hotline number before the start of the exam. Please bring thisnumber with you to the exam.

Important Message on Final Exams

Dear Boston University Computer Science Online Students,

As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain the reputation and integrity of our online MSCIS degree program, the ComputerScience Department at Boston University's Metropolitan College requires that each of the online courses offered include aproctored final examination.

By requiring proctored finals, we are ensuring excellence and fairness, as well as consistency of our program. Most of theonline final exams are administered at specific testing centers, but other arrangements are also available. Detailed informationregarding scheduling will be provided approximately two weeks into the course via email. This early notification is being givenso that you will have enough time to plan accordingly to take the exam.

We know that you recognize the value of your Boston University degree and fully support the efforts of the University tomaintain the highest possible standards in our online degree program. Thank you for your participation and support of thisimportant academic differentiator of our online programs.

Regards,Professor Lou Chitkushev, Ph.D.Chairman, Computer Science DepartmentBoston University Metropolitan College

BU Online Proctored Final Exam FAQsGeneral Proctored Final Exam Questions

Why do I need to have a proctor for my final exam?

Is the Final Exam online?

Is there a time limit for my final exam?

What should I do if my computer crashes or I get bounced out of my exam?

Whom should I call during the exam period if I am having computer problems or an emergency that I cannot resolve on myown or with the help of my proctor and/or testing center staff?

Scheduling Your Exam at an ACT Testing Center

Do I need to schedule my exam at an ACT testing center?

When I try to login to the ACT registration web site I get an “invalid login” message.

How can I find my BU ID number?

When I try to schedule a date for my exam at an ACT testing center I get a message that says, “No test appointments areavailable during the month you selected.”

What should I do if my ACT testing center is fully booked during the exam window?

When should I arrive at my ACT testing center for my final exam?

Where can I find directions to my ACT testing center?

How can I change or cancel my appointment at an ACT testing center?

Does the ACT testing center need my Kerberos user name and password?

I live outside of the United States, how can I find an ACT testing center?

What should I do if the closest ACT testing center is over 60 miles away?

When is the exam window?

Whom should I contact for help scheduling my final exam?

What should I bring to my final exam?

ProctorCam Questions

What is the process for scheduling my exam with ProctorCam?

I have not received an e-mail confirming that I have scheduled my exam with ProctorCam.

What kind of Web-cam should I use?

Will I need to show ID to take my final exam?

Where can I take my final exam with ProctorCam?

What happens if I lose connection with ProctorCam during my exam?

I need to make a change to the exam time/date I requested on the ProctorCam site.

Does my proctor need my Kerberos user name and password?

Can I use ProctorCam if my internet connection does not meet the minimum speeds?

How do I login to my final exam?

Independent Proctor Request Questions

Who can act as an Independent Proctor for my final exam?

What is the process for requesting an Independent Proctor?

What is the Distance Education fax number?

I am trying to fax my signed proctor request form, but it is not going through.

I need to request an Independent Proctor but I do not have access to a fax machine.

I submitted a request for an Independent Proctor but I haven't received any notification.

I need to make a change to the exam time I selected on the Independent Proctor Request form.

My proctor has been approved, but has not received instructions for my final exam.

How will I know if my proctor has received instructions for my final?


BU On-Campus Exam Questions

Is there someone at Boston University who can proctor the exam?

How do I get to 808 Commonwealth Avenue?

Is there parking available for the exam on Campus?

General Proctored Final Exam Questions

Why do I need to have a proctor for my final exam?

By requiring proctored finals, we are ensuring the excellence and fairness of our programs. Proctors help us confirm theidentity of the student taking the test remotely. We believe your degree is much more legitimate and authentic as a result.

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Is the Final Exam online?

Yes, your final exam will be online in Vista. When it comes time for your exam and you login to the “Assessments” section ofyour course in Vista, you'll see TWO final exam options: Final exam at ACT Testing Center and Non-ACT Final examtaken with approved proctor. Please select the appropriate link for your exam situation.

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Is there a time limit for my final exam?

Yes, each exam is timed. The time limit can range from 90 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the course and exam. You shouldarrive at the ACT center at least 10 minutes before your scheduled start time. If you arrive to your ACT testing center afteryour exam start time, you will not be able to take your final exam.

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What should I do if my computer crashes or I get bounced out of my exam?

None of the exams are set to shut down when time expires, so if a computer crashes, if you get bounced out of your exam, ifthere is a power/Internet outage, etc., you should be able to get back into your exam. Work with your proctor or the staff ofthe testing center to try and get back into the exam. If you are able to get back in, complete the exam and then e-mail yourinstructor and Student Services Coordinator to alert them to the issue so that any anomalies can be taken into account whengrading.

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Whom should I call during the exam period if I am having computer problems or an emergency that I cannot resolve on myown or with the help of my proctor and/or testing center staff?

If you experience a technical issue or an emergency during the exam period, there is an “on call” phone line that is onlyavailable during the exam period. This phone is only activated during the exam period: (857) 488-0108.

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Scheduling Your Exam at an ACT Testing Center

Do I need to schedule my exam at an ACT testing center?

All students in the USA should schedule their final proctored exam at an ACT testing center. This is the most reliable way toavoid technical or password-related issues on the day of your exam.

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When I try to login to the ACT registration web site I get an “invalid login” message.

When you login to the ACT web site to schedule your exam, make sure you are using your BU ID number (starting with anupper-case U) rather than your username and Kerberos password. Your BU ID number(starting with an upper-case U) will actas both your username and Password on the ACT site. Both the username and the password are case-sensitive soplease make sure you use an upper-case U when entering your BU ID number.

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How can I find my BU ID number?

Go to www.bu.edu/studentlink

Click on Academics

Click on Transcript Preview & Ordering

Click on View with Name & ID

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When I try to schedule a date for my exam at an ACT testing center I get a message that says, “No test appointments areavailable during the month you selected.”

This message on the ACT web site indicates the ACT testing center you chose for your final exam is fully booked for the examwindow. Try another nearby test center if feasible.

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What should I do if my ACT testing center is fully booked during the exam window?

Your first step should be to check other nearby ACT testing centers. Since several areas in the United States have more thanone testing center, it is advisable to check more than one for availability during the test window. ACT also encouragesstudents to check back from time to time, as there are frequent cancellations for space during your exam. If you are unable totake the exam at another ACT location, or if no spaces become available at a later date, you will need to request to use anIndependent Proctor.

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When should I arrive at my ACT testing center for my final exam?

You should arrive at the ACT center at least 10 minutes before your scheduled start time. This will ensure that you have timeto get checked in and start your exam as scheduled. Please note that exams at ACT testing centers have specific start and endtimes. When you select a time to take your exam, remember these are the start and end times for your exam, not a timerange. If you arrive to your ACT testing center after your exam start time, you will not be able to take your finalexam.

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Where can I find directions to my ACT testing center?

After you have scheduled your exam you should receive an e-mail message confirming your appointment. The e-mail messagewill contain instructions on how to reach your ACT testing center. Please print/save these directions as we do not have accessto them. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within 24 hours, please contact [email protected].

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How can I change or cancel my appointment at an ACT testing center?

You can make changes to your ACT appointment by using the ACT web site you originally used to schedule your final exam. Allchanges to appointments at ACT test centers need to occur at least 72 hours prior to your scheduled exam time. ACT will beunable to accommodate you if you change or cancel your scheduled appointment less than 72 hours in advance.

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Does the ACT testing center need my Kerberos user name and password?

No, ACT does not need your user name and password.You should never give your Kerberos password to anyone, noteven your proctor.

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I live outside of the United States, how can I find an ACT testing center?

The ACT testing centers that are equipped to proctor final exams for Boston University are only located in the United States. Ifyou live outside of the United States you will need to request an Independent Proctor for your final exam.

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What should I do if the closest ACT testing center is over 60 miles away?

For students that live 60+ miles from an ACT center, we recommend that you request to use an Independent Proctor for thefinal exam.

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When is the exam window?

The exam window will typically be from 9:00am Eastern Time on the first day of the exam (usually a Wednesday) through11:59pm Eastern Time on the last day of the exam (usually a Saturday).

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Whom should I contact for help scheduling my final exam?

For assistance scheduling your final exam, please contact our Proctored Exams Coordinator at [email protected] or617-358-1960.

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What should I bring to my final exam?

You will need to bring a government-issued photo ID with you to your final exam. You should also bring a copy of any and allconfirmation e-mail messages you have received from Distance Education regarding your exam. You will receive an e-mailmessage shortly before the test window that will let you know what else you can and should bring with you to the exam.

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ProctorCam Questions

What is the process for scheduling my exam with ProctorCam?

You can find instructions for scheduling your final exam with ProctorCam in the "How to Schedule your Final Exam" section ofthe Final Exam link on your course homepage in Vista. You will find a link to the ProctorCam webpage. Please make sure youfollow the instructions on the ProctorCam website.

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I have not received an e-mail confirming that I have scheduled my exam with ProctorCam.

If you do not receive an e-mail confirming your scheduled time with ProctorCam please contact your Proctored ExamCoordinator at [email protected] with the date and time you selected. The exam coordinator will be able to check withProctorCam to verify your scheduled appointment.

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What kind of Web-cam should I use?

The higher the resolution on your web-cam the better. Web-cams that are built into laptops are about the lowestresolution/quality web cam you should use.

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Will I need to show ID to take my final exam?

Yes, you are required to show a valid, government issued photo ID in order to take your final exam.

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Where can I take my final exam with ProctorCam?

You can take your final with ProctorCam any where that meets the minimum requirements for internet speed and web-cams.This means you can take your exam at home, the office, or from a hotel. To verify your internet speed please visithttp://speedtest.net/

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What happens if I lose connection with ProctorCam during my exam?

If you lose connection with ProctorCam for any reason during your final exam your proctor will contact you via phone to helpyou reestablish your connection. This is why it is important to provide your proctor with accurate information about how tocontact you.

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I need to make a change to the exam time/date I requested on the ProctorCam site.

Please contact ProctorCam at [email protected] for instructions on rescheduling your exam.

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No, your proctor does not need your user name and password. You should never give your Kerberos password toanyone.

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Can I use ProctorCam if my internet connection does not meet the minimum speeds?

No, you must meet all minimum requirements to use the ProctorCam proctoring option. If you cannot meet theserequirements you will need to take your final exam either at an ACT testing center or on campus.

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How do I login to my final exam?

-Your ProctorCam proctor will have the instructions you will need to access your final exam.

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Independent Proctor Request Questions

Who can act as an Independent Proctor for my final exam?

Please keep in mind that no one with a personal or family-based relationship to you will be approved. This includes parents,adult children, fiancés, neighbors, and friends. Additionally, co-workers will not be approved. Listed below are a few examplesof acceptable Independent Proctors:

Supervisor within your firmResource/General Manager within your firmCorporate Instructor within your firmUnion Representative/StewardPresident/Vice-President within your firmPrincipal or Superintendent of an Educational Institution, either public or privateOfficial Testing Service of an Accredited University or CollegeCertified College InstructorSchool Guidance CounselorLibrarianMilitary Educational OfficerClergyLaw Enforcement Officer (Sergeant, Lieutenant or Captain only)Official Learning/Tutoring Center

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What is the process for requesting an Independent Proctor?

In the Independent Proctor instructions, which can be found in the “How to Schedule your Final Exam” section of the FinalExam link on your course homepage in Vista, there is a link to our online Proctor Request form. Please follow the directionslisted on the form, remembering to fill out the form, submit the form electronically, print a hard copy, sign it and have yourproctor sign it, and fax the signed hard copy to Thomas Martin in Distance Education.

Once we have received both your online application and a copy of your signed request form we will be able to process yourrequest. After we have processed your independent proctor request, we will contact you to let you know if your request hasbeen approved.

Please keep in mind that no one with a personal or family-based relationship to you will be approved as an independentproctor. This includes parents, spouses, adult children, fiancés, neighbors, and friends. Additionally, co-workers will not beapproved.

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What is the Distance Education fax number?

The fax number for Distance Education is 617-358-1961.

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I am trying to fax my signed proctor request form, but it is not going through.

The proctor request form has both a contact phone number and the Distance Education fax number. Please check and makesure you are dialing the right number. The contact phone number is 617-358-1960 and the fax number is 617-358-1961.

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I need to request an Independent Proctor but I do not have access to a fax machine.

If neither you nor your proctor have access to a fax machine, you can scan the signed form and send it to [email protected] asan e-mail attachment.

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I submitted a request for an Independent Proctor but I haven't received any notification.

Because the approval process is not an automated system, it can take up to two business days to process an independentproctor request. You will also want to make sure that you have provided us with your correct preferred e-mail address in therequest form. All notification will be sent to the address you provided on the request form.

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I need to make a change to the exam time I selected on the Independent Proctor Request form.

Please contact [email protected] with the new date and time you will be taking your exam. Please note that you will not be ableto access the exam before 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time the first day of the exam window or after 11:59pm EasternStandard Time on the last day of the exam window.

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My proctor has been approved, but has not received instructions for my final exam.

Instructions will be sent to your proctor the week of the exam. To ensure that your proctor receives instructions for yourexam, please make sure they add [email protected] to their e-mail address books. Frequently office e-mail systems treat e-mailfrom Boston University as spam. Asking your proctor to add the above address to their address book should help prevent thisfrom occurring. Additionally, double-check your proctor's e-mail address before submitting your proctor request form, as theform will provide the only contact information we will have for your proctor.

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How will I know if my proctor has received instructions for my final?

You will receive an e-mail notifying you that the instructions have been sent to your proctor. However, it will be up to you toconfirm that your proctor has received the instructions. Please confirm with your proctor at least one day prior to yourscheduled exam time.

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No, your proctor does not need your user name and password. You should never give your Kerberos password toanyone.

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BU On-Campus Exam Questions

Is there someone at Boston University who can proctor the exam?

Typically, we will offer a limited number of spaces to students wishing to take their exam on campus at the 808Commonwealth Avenue computer labs. Please see the “On Campus” option in the “How to Schedule Your Final Exam”instructions in Vista for further information. Please note: There is limited availability for the “On Campus” option and it will bescheduled on a first come, first served basis.

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How do I get to 808 Commonwealth Avenue?

Once you schedule your exam at Boston University, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with directions to 808Commonwealth Avenue and the location of the lab where the exam will be proctored.

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Is there parking available for the exam on Campus?

There is a parking lot attached to the building at 808 Commonwealth Avenue. There is also some metered on-street parking.The lot requires a parking permit, which you can request when you schedule your exam, or after your appointment on campushas been confirmed. When requesting a parking permit, please e-mail your mailing address to [email protected]. Your parkingpermit will be sent via FedEx the week before the exam.

File: Academic Conduct Policy

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Academic Conduct Policy

For the full text of the academic conduct code, please go to http://www.bu.edu/met/for-students/met-policies-procedures-resources/academic-conduct-code/.

A Definition of Plagiarism

"The academic counterpart of the bank embezzler and of the manufacturer who mislabels products is the plagiarist: thestudent or scholar who leads readers to believe that what they are reading is the original work of the writer when it is not. If itcould be assumed that the distinction between plagiarism and honest use of sources is perfectly clear in everyone's mind,there would be no need for the explanation that follows; merely the warning with which this definition concludes would beenough. But it is apparent that sometimes people of goodwill draw the suspicion of guilt upon themselves (and, indeed, areguilty) simply because they are not aware of the illegitimacy of certain kinds of "borrowing" and of the procedures for correctidentification of materials other than those gained through independent research and reflection."

"The spectrum is a wide one. At one end there is a word-for-word copying of another's writing without enclosing the copiedpassage in quotation marks and identifying it in a footnote, both of which are necessary. (This includes, of course, the copyingof all or any part of another student's paper.) It hardly seems possible that anyone of college age or more could do thatwithout clear intent to deceive. At the other end there is the almost casual slipping in of a particularly apt term which one hascome across in reading and which so aptly expresses one's opinion that one is tempted to make it personal property.

Between these poles there are degrees and degrees, but they may be roughly placed in two groups. Close to outright andblatant deceit-but more the result, perhaps, of laziness than of bad intent-is the patching together of random jottings made inthe course of reading, generally without careful identification of their source, and then woven into the text, so that the resultis a mosaic of other people's ideas and words, the writer's sole contribution being the cement to hold the pieces together.Indicative of more effort and, for that reason, somewhat closer to honest, though still dishonest, is the paraphrase, andabbreviated (and often skillfully prepared) restatement of someone else's analysis or conclusion, without acknowledgment thatanother person's text has been the basis for the recapitulation."

{The paragraphs above are from H. Martin and R. Ohmann, The Logic and Rhetoric of Exposition, Revised Edition. Copyright1963, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.}

Academic Conduct Code

Philosophy of Discipline

The objective of Boston University in enforcing academic rules is to promote a community atmosphere in which learningcan best take place. Such an atmosphere can be maintained only so long as every student believes that his or heracademic competence is being judged fairly and that he or she will not be put at a disadvantage because of someoneelse's dishonesty. Penalties should be carefully determined so as to be no more and no less than required to maintainthe desired atmosphere. In defining violations of this code, the intent is to protect the integrity of the educationalprocess.

I.

Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct is conduct by which a student misrepresents his or her academic accomplishments, or impedesother students' opportunities of being judged fairly for their academic work. Knowingly allowing others to represent yourwork as their own is as serious an offense as submitting another's work as your own.

II.

Violations of this Code

Violations of this code comprise attempts to be dishonest or deceptive in the performance of academic work in or out ofthe classroom, alterations of academic records, alterations of official data on paper or electronic resumes, orunauthorized collaboration with another student or students. Violations include, but are not limited to:

Cheating on examination. Any attempt by a student to alter his or her performance on an examination inviolation of that examination's stated or commonly understood ground rules.

A.

Plagiarism. Representing the work of another as one's own. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to thefollowing: copying the answers of another student on an examination, copying or restating the work or ideas ofanother person or persons in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without citing the appropriate source,and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging his or her contribution.Plagiarism can consist of acts of commission-appropriating the words or ideas of another-or omission failing toacknowledge/document/credit the source or creator of words or ideas (see below for a detailed definition ofplagiarism). It also includes colluding with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging his orher contribution, using audio or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by anotherstudent) without permission and acknowledgement of that source.

B.

III.

File: Who’s Who: Roles and Responsibilities

Misrepresentation or falsification of data presented for surveys, experiments, reports, etc., which includes butis not limited to: citing authors that do not exist; citing interviews that never took place, or field work that was notcompleted.

C.

Theft of an examination. Stealing or otherwise discovering and/or making known to others the contents of anexamination that has not yet been administered.

D.

Unauthorized communication during examinations. Any unauthorized communication may be consideredprima facie evidence of cheating.

E.

Knowingly allowing another student to represent your work as his or her own. This includes providing acopy of your paper or laboratory report to another student without the explicit permission of the instructor(s).

F.

Forgery, alteration, or knowing misuse of graded examinations, quizzes, grade lists, or official recordsof documents, including but not limited to transcripts from any institution, letters of recommendation, degreecertificates, examinations, quizzes, or other work after submission.

G.

Theft or destruction of examinations or papers after submission.H.

Submitting the same work in more than one course without the consent of instructors.I.

Altering or destroying another student's work or records, altering records of any kind, removing materialsfrom libraries or offices without consent, or in any way interfering with the work of others so as to impede theiracademic performance.

J.

Violation of the rules governing teamwork. Unless the instructor of a course otherwise specifically providesinstructions to the contrary, the following rules apply to teamwork: 1. No team member shall intentionally restrictor inhibit another team member's access to team meetings, team work-in-progress, or other team activitieswithout the express authorization of the instructor. 2. All team members shall be held responsible for the contentof all teamwork submitted for evaluation as if each team member had individually submitted the entire workproduct of their team as their own work.

K.

Failure to sit in a specifically assigned seat during examinations.L.

Conduct in a professional field assignment that violates the policies and regulations of the host schoolor agency.

M.

Conduct in violation of public law occurring outside the University that directly affects the academicand professional status of the student, after civil authorities have imposed sanctions.

N.

Attempting improperly to influence the award of any credit, grade, or honor.O.

Intentionally making false statements to the Academic Conduct Committee or intentionally presentingfalse information to the Committee.

P.

Failure to comply with the sanctions imposed under the authority of this code.Q.

Who's Who: Roles and Responsibilities

You will meet many BU people in this course and program. Some of these people you will meet online, and some you willcommunicate with by email and telephone. There are many people behind the scenes too, including instructional designers,faculty who assist with course preparation, and video and animation specialists.

People in your online course in addition to your fellow students

Your Facilitator. Our classes are divided into small groups, and each group has its own facilitator. We carefully select andtrain our facilitators for their expertise in the subject matter and their excellence in teaching. Your facilitator is responsible forstimulating discussions in pedagogically useful areas, for answering your questions, and for grading exercises, discussions,term projects, and any manually graded quiz or final exam questions. If you ask your facilitator a question by email, youshould get a response within 24 hours, and usually faster. If you need an answer in a hurry, post the question to the Aroundthe Clock Help discussion board, where the professor, all of the facilitators, and your fellow students will see it. Most questionsposted to Around the Clock Help are answered within a few minutes.

Your Professor. The professor for your course has primary responsibility for the course. If you have any questions that yourfacilitator doesn't answer quickly and to your satisfaction, then send your professor an email in the course, with a cc to yourfacilitator so that your facilitator is aware of your question and your professor's response.

Your Manager of Student Services, Jen Sullivan. Jen is here to ensure you have a positive online experience. You willreceive emails and announcements from Jen throughout the semester. Jen represents Boston University's university servicesand works for the Office of Distance Education. She prepares students for milestones such as course launch, final exams, andcourse evaluations. She is a resource to both students and faculty. For example, Jen can direct your university questions andconcerns to the appropriate party. She also handles general questions regarding Vista functionality for students, faculty, andfacilitators, but she does not provide tech support. She is enrolled in all classes and can be contacted within the course as it is

File: Netiquette

running. You can also contact her by external email at [email protected] or call toll free at 1-888-524-2200.

People not in your online course

Although you will not normally encounter the following people in your online course, they are central to the program. You mayreceive emails or phone calls from them, and you should feel free to contact them.

Your Academic Advisor, Professor Anatoly Temkin. Dr. Temkin is the academic advisor for both on-campus and onlinestudents. Professor Temkin advises students on appropriate courses and programs. He also makes decisions on petitions forcourse waivers and transfer of credits for courses taken at other institutions. You can reach Professor Temkin [email protected] or at (617) 358-2566.

Your Online Coordinator, Chris Hutchison-Jones. Chris administers the academic aspects of the program, includingadmissions and registration. You can ask Chris questions about the program, registration, course offerings, graduation, or anyother program-related topic. Chris can be reached at [email protected] or (617) 353-2565.

Your Computer Science Department Administrative Assistant, Matt Slowik. Matt is responsible for administering mostaspects of the Computer Science Department, and he can help you with most matters. You can reach Matt [email protected] or (617) 358-0007.

Your Online Faculty Coordinator, Robert Schudy. Professor Schudy is responsible for the MSCIS online program. Feel freeto contact Dr. Schudy at [email protected] or (617)358-0009.

Professor Lubomir T. Chitkushev, PhD – Chairman, Computer Science Department, Boston University MetropolitanCollege. Dr. Chitkushev is responsible for the Computer Science Department as a whole, including the MSCIS program.Contact Professor Chitkushev with any issues that you feel have not been addressed adequately. The customary issueescalation sequence after your course facilitator and course faculty is Professor Schudy and/or Professor Temkin, and thenProfessor Chitkushev.

Professor Tanya Zlateva, Metropolitan College Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Dr. Zlateva is an AssociateProfessor in the Computer Science Department, our former chairman, and now the academic dean for the College. She isresponsible for academic quality and other academic affairs throughout Metropolitan College.

Netiquette

If you've been with us in the online graduate program for a while, you're probably pretty comfortable in this environment. Butfor those who are new or who may just want a refresher, here are some rules for communicating online which will help us allhave a pleasant and rewarding online experience:

Think of your discussion posts as though they were going to be printed in a newspaper. Thinking of yourposting this way should remind us not to write anything that might embarrass us or anyone else in the class. If youmake a mistake and wish that you could take a post back, just send an email to your facilitator and the Professor, whocan delete even graded posts.

1.

Feelings are helpful, but avoid negativity. Our feelings, including our angst when we don't understand something,our elation when someone else appreciates what we have written, and our sense of satisfaction when we know that wehave helped someone else, all help us learn. It's part of being human. Unfortunately another part of being human is thetemptation to lash out against someone with whom we disagree. Angry words thrown at someone through the air aregone in a moment, and the apology afterwards can even help the relationship, but angry words thrown around incomputer discussion threads or emails hang around forever to haunt us. Disagreement in discussions helps us gain otherpeople's insights and perspective and is critical to learning many of the finer points, so don't hesitate to share yourinsights and opinions, even if they are very different than your classmates, but always be respectful, particularly incommunications with others who may not agree with you.

2.

Remember the golden rule. Imagine that you are the recipient of your post or email and write what you would like toreceive if you were the recipient.

3.

Don't type in all caps. This is impolite, like shouting in an intimate setting.4.

Be careful with acronyms. Some students might not know their meaning. It is always better to spell them out, at leastat the first use.

5.

Don't disrupt discussion with unrelated comments. Wait until the discussion is over to change the topic.6.

File: Registration Information and Important Dates

File: Technical Support

Use the "Water Cooler" for posts that are social or outside the discussion category. The Water Cooler is helpfulfor building community, but students are not required to read Water Cooler posts. Putting your general posts in theWater Cooler helps your classmates who are pressed for time and also improves the continuity of the discussion threads.

7.

Be kind to people who may not have broadband connections. Don't incorporate large graphics, videos or imagesinto graded discussions unless this is necessary. Images in the "Introductions" posts help us build community, so theyare encouraged, but these are not graded, so people can skip them if they need to. If you are citing something largefrom an outside source in a public area like a discussion forum, provide a web address or link and steer others to whatyou wish them to see.

8.

Think twice before posting to course-level discussions. Different discussion topics have very different sizeaudiences. The group discussions are visible to you, your facilitator, your professor, and student services – about fifteenpeople. Course level discussions are visible to the entire class, which may include one hundred or more students, ten ormore facilitators, your professor, and student services. Think of addressing an audience of 100 when you are posting tothe course-level discussions.

9.

With your participation and cooperation, we're sure to have some lively, exciting discussions in this course.

Registration Information and Important Dates

Registration Information and Dates

Click here to view the drop dates for your course or go to http://www.bu.edu/online/online_course_schedule/important_dates/index.html.

Click here to withdraw or drop your course, or go to http://www.bu.edu/studentlink

Notes:

If you are dropping down to zero credits for a semester please contact your collegeor academic department.Non-participation in your online course does not constitute a withdrawalfrom the class.

*The Registration Fee is non-refundable

Technical Support

Assistance with Vista-related technical problems is provided by the Vista Support staff. To ensure the fastest possibleresponse, please fill out the online form using the link below.

Form: www.bu.edu/help/vistaPhone: (888) 243-4596

Support via email and phone is available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time; additional support hoursare provided during exam periods and will be posted on the Vista home page.

In addition, answers to many common questions and solutions to most problems are found in our database of FrequentlyAsked Questions.

If you are having issues uploading a document to Vista, please consult the following link prior to contacting Tech Support: Howto Upload a File

After-hours Support

Vista use and setup issues can be obtained by contacting Blackboard Support at (866) 207-3339. Contact Vista Support stafffor assistance with technical problems that relate directly to the Vista system.

Examples include:

Problems viewing or listening to sound or video filesProblems accessing Vista's internal emailProblems viewing or posting comments in the VistaProblems attaching or uploading files within Vista

Web Resources

To view certain media elements in this course you will need to have several browser plug-ins such as Shockwave, Flash, andAdobe Acrobat on your computer. See your Course Resources page for specific software requirements for use in this course.

To ensure you are using the most recent version of each plug-in you require click the hyperlink below for a description oftechnology requirements necessary to complete this course.

Technology Requirements

Browser Plug-Ins

To view certain media elements in this course you will need to have several browser plug-ins such as Java, RealPlayer,Shockwave, Flash, and Adobe Acrobat on your computer. Use the links in the Syllabus Course Resources page for specificsoftware requirements for use in this course and to download and install the appropriate software application.

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Documents

Syllabus and Course Informa - Boston University · Module Review of System Architecture from CS 682 This module is a quick review of the system architecture content from CS 682 with