Welcome to Aberdeen

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Welcome to Computing Science

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Where is Computing Science?

• www.csd.abdn.ac.uk• www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/teaching/• Everything is on the Web pages, deadlines,

regulations, etc.

Meston Building

CSD: 2nd Floor

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People

• Head of Teaching: Judith Masthoff• Director (undergraduate studies): Wamberto

Vasconcelos• Level 2 tutor: Nir Oren• Level 3 tutor: Jeff Pan• Level 1+4 tutor: Frank Guerin

• Advisers:• See your Adviser to register for or change courses!

• You:• www.abdn.ac.uk/studentportal/• Need to elect 2 class reps!• Two staff/student meetings per year (in week 5)

Level 1 and Level 4 Tutor

• Frank Guerin• Office: Meston 227• Homepage:

• http://www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/~fguerin/

• Teaches Level 1 Course CS1015Grand Challenges of Artificial IntelligenceNOTE: First Lecture happens on Friday 1st

October (Tuesday lecture cancelled next week)

Portal

• Is your study aim (degree) correct?• Check via student portal. • www.abdn.ac.uk/studentportal/

• Are you registered for the correct courses?• Check via student portal. • www.abdn.ac.uk/studentportal/

• If wrong, see your Adviser…• You may have problems graduating next Summer unless

you get your course choices right now!

Level Information & Contacts

• Bookmark the Level Home Page:• http://www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/teaching/

• E-mail - check regularly for announcements• CSD: Plasma screen & Level notice board• Regulations Booklet & Online Level Handbook• Talk to us!

• Course Tutors, Demonstrators & Lecturers• HoD (by appointment)

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Plagiarism

• Very serious issue! • In simple English: cheating, copying, etc.• With computers, plagiarism is easy!• With the Internet, plagiarism is increasing!• Staff obliged to report suspected plagiarism• Penalties:

• Zero for assignment … zero for course!!

• Software detection tools may be used• Boss/Sherlock: http://cobalt.sourceforge.net/• Moss:

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~aiken/moss.htm

• Always acknowledge your sources:• Acknowledge contributions of others• Properly cite source - i.e. full URL or

reference• Writing “got this from the Web” isn’t enough!• If in doubt, ask your lecturer!

Avoid Plagiarism

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Plagiarism – How to Avoid

• Read assignment instructions carefully• Usually, this means do the work on your

own• Note: it is OK to discuss assignments in

general terms with your colleagues…• Read the undergraduate handbook!

• Leave plenty of time for assignments• Most copying happens the night before the

deadline

Level 2 Tutor

• Dr. Nir Oren• Surgery hour: 1-2pm

Thursday• Office: Meston 222• Teach Level 2 course CS2007• Homepage:

• http://www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/~niroren/

Level 3 Tutor

• Dr. Jeff Pan• Surgery hour: 1-2pm

Thursday• Office: Meston 220• Teach Level 3 course CS3019• Homepage:

• http://www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/~jpan/

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Mentoring

• The University is concerned about retention and poor attendance, esp. in Level 1, so now:

• Mentoring Scheme:• Groups of about 10 Level 1 CS students• Two Level 3 student mentors (CS3021)• One PhD/Postdoc supervisor• Friendly faces, similar experiences…• Advice/discussion on issues/problems…

• Strongly recommended for all Level 1 CS students• Very successful/popular last year – try it and see!

Level 3: Honours Regulations

• IMPORTANT:• Only your first attempt at a honours

assessment counts towards the final honours degree classification.

• Resits gain credits but do not improve mark for degree classification!

• If you are awarded a “No Paper” for any course – counts as CAS 0

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Attendance

• You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials and practicals which are specified for individual courses.

• Good attendance => Good exam results• Past years show a strong correlation

• Have to sign-in for practicals• Registry still send “warning” letters etc…• See on-line CSD Handbook for rules…

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Absences & Medical Notes

• Please notify Course Organiser if you miss a deadline due to illness (before deadline)

• Only Level Coordinators (for HoD) can grant “extensions” to deadlines

• But illness can be taken into account…• You must supply written evidence of illness

(GP’s note) if absent for more than 7 days• Hand in doctor’s note to Meston Reception

or Student Reception (main uni office)

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Assessment & Progression

• Continuous Assessment• Submission box• Late submissions and penalty• Feedback from CAs should help you measure how

well you’re doing…

• Examination• Typically: exam 50% + continuous 50%• Revision lecture• Resits – August (best to avoid!)

• Passes in CS1016 and CS1515 are required for entry to Level 2 Computing

Progression Regulations

• Entry into Senior Honours (Level 4)is not automatic:

• Students who have been accepted unconditionally onto an Honours programme will be eligible automatically to progress to the final year if they:

1. pass a minimum of 90 credits of the prescribed Level 3 courses for their intended degree programme

AND

2. Satisfy any additional conditions imposed by Degree Regulations

Computer Accounts & Keys

• CSD Computer Accounts• Keys

• Level 4 students are entitled to a key to Meston building •A refundable £20 deposit is required

• Keys available from Meston Reception (G01)•Please wait until next week

ACHIEVEThe Graduate Attributes WebCT site

• Interactive learning resources

• Self-assessment tests & exercises

• Reflect & record in your ePortfolio

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes/

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Important Info

• Societies (BCS, ACM, Computer Society)