Monash University > School of Computer Science and Software Engineering > CSE1303 > Assessment details
The final exam is worth 60% of your final mark. There are exam hurdles which you must meet in order to pass the subject. The final exam will be held in the end-of-semester exam period (February). There will be no supplementary exam. Deferred exams are permitted only in extraordinary circumstances.
There are twelve prac (laboratory) classes in CSE1303, six each for Part A and Part B of the subject. Pracs constitute 20% of your final mark. Pracs are compulsory: there are prac hurdles which you must meet in order to pass the subject. Your prac notes will be given to you at the start of your first prac. Pracs are of three hours duration; the third hour is optional but strongly recommended. See also the section below on missed pracs.
If you are repeating the subject, you must attend all pracs again. You cannot count your marks from the previous semester. This is one more reason for you to save all of your prac work on a disk at the end of the semester.
You are expected to read through the prac notes before each prac class, and to perform the preparatory tasks described in the notes. Also, some time may be spent in the tutorial which precedes a prac going briefly through the requirements of the prac (although you shouldn't rely on this).
Most prac work is designed so that most students cannot start and finish it in three hours. You must devote considerable thought to the prac work prior to attending the prac, and ideally you should have code already written for a substantial portion of the prac prior to attending it. The prac should be used to seek assistance with respect to unresolved issues, to finalize programs, and to debug and test your programs.
If you have trouble preparing for the prac you should seek assistance concerning requiremrnts and approaches to the problem from tutors or lecturers during consultation hours.
All pracs are assessed. However, not all pracs carry the same amount of marks. Each part of the subject will have a total of 100 marks, and pracs rangs from 10 to 30 marks each.
In general, some marks will be allocated to preparation before the prac class. If preparation involves written work, show your work to the demonstrator for marking. Preparation marks can only be earned at the beginning of the class: you cannot do the work after the class has begun and receive marks for it.
Programming assignments will be marked by the demonstrator during the prac class. No marks will be awarded for programs completed after the end of the prac class. No extensions will be given.
Programs will be marked for correctness, programming style, adequate testing and documentation. During marking you may be asked questions to show your understanding of your program.
If your program does not produce correct output for the specified input, you can receive at most one mark less than half marks for it. If your program does not compile, you will receive zero marks for it. Make sure you retain a working copy of your program before you make changes.
These are available if you do not feel sufficiently challenged by the regular pracs. They may be worth extra marks which will boost your mark for the practical part of the subject. You can attempt the advanced questions if you have completed the regular prac.
Tutorials are one-hour discussion classes where you will discuss and solve set problems in a group. The tutor is not there to give answers, but to help you to achieve the answers yourself. You should attempt all tutorial questions before the class. Tutorial notes will be handed out at your first tutorial class. Tutorials are compulsory and attendance will be taken.
Medical certificates (and other evidence) entitle you to miss at most two Part A pracs and two part B pracs throughout the semester. If you miss more than that, you must do the prac in your own time and submit it to the Assistant Lecturer. Failure to do so will result in zero marks being given for pracs over your limit.
There is one mid-semester test, worth 20% of the final mark. It will be held during a lecture. If you miss the test without a valid reason, you will be given zero marks. There are no supplementary tests.
Last modified 2002-11-20