Attendance, classroom presentations by students or guest speakers

Attendance is important and required. If a student misses a class session, he or she will be entirely responsible for learning the materials missed without the benefit of a private lecture on the instructor's part. Furthermore, the student will be responsible for finding out what assignments may have been given and when they are due.

We may have student and/or guest presentations. Students are expected to actively participate in all classroom presentations and discussions, ask questions, and regularly make contributions such as offering comments, responding with good answers, and providing feedback.

Suggested readings

The textbook is an excellent survey and tutorial resource. Most up-to-date topics on topics discussed in class can be found in technical journals and recent conference proceedings. Students should develop a habit of regularly browsing IEEE Software, IEEE Computer, Communications of the ACM, IEEE Security & Privacy, IEEE Network, IEEE IT Professional, IEEE Cloud Computing, and similar magazines.

Email communications

E-mail communication is fast, flexible, and effective. You are expected to have an @ku.edu email account and regularly check it. Important classroom notes will be communicated via email.

You are a graduate student registered in a graduate course offered by the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas, a top regional and a nationally ranked institution. Your communications, especially written communications (composition, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc), must reflect that status.

Do not send email in HTML format; it will not be processed. Unless you are specifically asked to send a document (in PDF format), send text-only emails in text-only format.  See the Guidelines for Submitting Electronic Documents.

Common policies

In-classroom policy. Students are expected to come to the class on time, be attentive and engaged, conduct themselves professionally, engage in informative discussions, and avoid anything that could cause a distraction or detrimental either for other students learning or for the instructor's presentations. Profanity and swearing is not allowed.

Academic integrity/dishonesty policy. The definitions and consequences of institutional academic integrity policies will used. Academic dishonesty "includes giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of assignments or reports, knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work, falsification of research results, and plagiarizing of another's work."

Late exam-taking policy. If a student will have to take an exam at a later time (due to an excused and verified absence), he or she will be asked to make the following pledge and sign it: I have been granted the privilege to take this exam on _____________ because I was unable to take it on ______________ due to an excused absence. I pledge that I will not obtain from anyone by any means (in writing, speaking or via digital communications) any information about the exam.

Attendance policy. Attendance is important and required. If a student misses a class session, he or she will be entirely responsible for learning the materials missed without the benefit of a private lecture on the instructor's part. Furthermore, the student will be responsible for finding out what assignments may have been given and when they are due. Exceptions will be made for family emergencies, religious observance, and illnesses. Verification of absence may be required.

Cell phone policy. Cell phones should be turned off before coming to the classroom. Cell phone use for the purposes of texting, email or other social media should be avoided. Earphones for music are OK during lab work or individualized problem solving, as long as the volume allows you to hear announcements. Also cell phone or other cameras may be used to photograph projects and the whiteboard but avoid shots that include the presenter.

Laptop policy. It is OK to use laptops, tablets or similar devices for taking notes but turn off audio and avoid any possible uses (e.g., Web surfing or social media visits) that could cause distraction for others.

Incomplete grade policy. "Incomplete (I) grades are used to note, temporarily, that students have been unable to complete a portion of the required course work during that semester due to circumstances beyond their control. Incomplete work must be completed and assigned an A-F or S/U grade within the time period prescribed by the course instructor. After one calendar year from the original grade due date, an Incomplete (I) grade will automatically convert to a grade of F or U, or the lapsed grade assigned by the course instructor."

Accommodations for students with disabilities. The University of Kansas is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for special accommodations may be made thru the KU Student Access Services.

KU's diversity policy statement. As a premier international research university, the University of Kansas is committed to an open, diverse and inclusive learning and working environment that nurtures the growth and development of all. KU holds steadfast in the belief that an array of values, interests, experiences, and intellectual and cultural viewpoints enrich learning and our workplace. The promotion of and support for a diverse and inclusive community of mutual respect require the engagement of the entire university.

KU's sexual harassment policy. The University of Kansas prohibits sexual harassment and is committed to preventing, correcting, and disciplining incidents of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment and sexual assault. Sexual harassment, sexual violence, and a hostile environment because of sex are forms of sex discrimination and should be reported. (“Sexual Harassment” means behavior, including physical contact, advances, and comments in person, through an intermediary, and/or via phone, text message, email, social media, or other electronic medium, that is unwelcome; based on sex or gender stereotypes; and is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with a person’s academic performance, employment or equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from University programs or activities or by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or educational environment.)

Commercial note-taking ventures. Pursuant to the University of Kansas’ Policy on Commercial Note-Taking Ventures, commercial note-taking is not permitted in this course. Lecture notes and course materials may be taken for personal use, for the purpose of mastering the course material, and may not be sold to any person or entity in any form. Any student engaged in or contributing to the commercial exchange of notes or course materials will be subject to discipline, including academic misconduct charges, in accordance with University policy. Please note: note-taking provided by a student volunteer for a student with a disability, as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, is not the same as commercial note-taking and is not covered under this policy.

Wearing a mask is a must during the pandemic. I do not anticipate our class to visit in person during this semester but if you will have to make a trip to the campus, please carefully follow KU's safety and health policies. To protect all of us, everyone must wear a mask in the classroom, lab, or faculty/staff offices as required by the Protect KU Pledge and by University policy. Violations of the mask policy are treated as academic misconduct. If one goes to a class/lab without a mask, he/she will asked to put one on. If you do not put on a mask when asked, you will have to leave class. Violations will be reported, and consequences will follow, up to and including suspension from the course.

Please use the CVKey app for self-screening to help determine if you should attend in-person class activities. If you choose not to use the app or do not have a compatible device, please use the paper health assessment form. The app and the paper form are available at cvkey.ku.edu.

Please visit KU's safety and health webpage: Protect KU webpage; itprovides information about safety policies, including social distancing and masks.

Minimal Zoom etiquettes

Sign in. Login with your full first name and last name as listed on the class roster. Do not use a nickname or other pseudonym when you log in. It makes it impossible to know who is in attendance.

Audio. Mute your mic (lower-left corner of the Zoom screen) after you login and whenever you are not speaking; it will help to avoid or minimize background noise and distractions.

Video. All students are encouraged to turn on their video streams. It is helpful to see each other, just as in an in-person sessions, and makes class presentations for me and other students more lively. You may use a virtual background; virtual backgrounds are not perfect but are much better than black screens.

Stay engaged. Close any apps on your computer that are not relevant and turn off notifications. Engage in classroom discussion. Ask questions; it is OK to ask a question via a chat dialog or by raising your hand, but it is perfectly OK to just interrupt me as I may not immedaitely notice a raised hand or a chat question.

Giving a presentation. If you have to make a presentation, you will become a co-host and will be able to share your screen. When you are done with your presentation, stop the shared screen. You might want to use a headset with an external mic for best hearing and speaking capabilities.

Virtual office hours. Office hours will be held virtually. To avoid running idle Zoom video sessions, please send an email (or call) for a Zoom meeting and a Zoom session will be launched using the same classroom Zoom session ID and password. Day time calls to the office phone number will be automatically transferred to my mobile number.

Academic integrity during the pandemic

The University of Kansas, the School of Engineering, and in particular, the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) have zero tolerance for academic dishonesty and academic misconduct.

When an exam or quiz is not administered in-person (in a classroom), a student will be asked to sign off on a Honor Pledge statement similar to the following:

I have been granted the privilege to take (a part of) an exam at home. I declare that I did not obtain from anyone by any means (in writing, speaking or via digital communications, or exploring the Internet for possible answers) any information about the exam other than reviewing my course textbook(s) and classroom notes before the exam. By signing this statement, I declare that the answers to the exam questions are entirely my own (i.e., they are my synthesis, my words, my writings, my solutions).

Of course the above also applies to homeworks.

As implied above, unless specifically stated (like for the team project tasks), a student is expected to do their exam or homework individually without any collaborative efforts with anyone else.

If a student is caught violating the above, their case will be forwarded to the Graduate Studies committee for appropriate disciplinary measures.

Blackboard features.To further facilitate academic integrity, the following features of the Blackboard (Bb) learning management system will be utilized:

• Each exam and quiz will be conducted synchronously, will be scheduled on a regular weekly session (students are always be encouraged to leave open their live Zoom video streams).
• Each exam or quiz will have a limited and narrow time (set via a timer) to be completed and each person will get only one chance to do it.
• Each exam or quiz will have about the same amount of time as an in-person exam or quiz, plus some additional Bb overhad time.
• Exam and quiz questions will be randomly numbered for each person. Furthermore, the multiple choice, matching and similar questions will have randomized choice selections.
• Exam and quiz questions will be displayed one-at-a time.
• The "originality checking" mechanisms of Bb (it's called SafeAssign) will be utilized for exams but also assignments. Bb is able to check written responses against online databases of previously published works and trace sentences or clauses to other sources.
• Bb features to prohibit printing, copying/pasting of exams will be turned on.

We will review these during the first class session, but you are strongly encouraged to review these codes in detail:

• ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• IEEE Code of Ethics

From the ACM's preamble: Computing professionals' actions change the world. To act responsibly, they should reflect upon the wider impacts of their work, consistently supporting the public good. The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct ("the Code") expresses the conscience of the profession.

From the IEEE's preamble: We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree.

The School of Engineering Statement on EdTech. "With the switch to online teaching as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, professors and instructors at the KU School of Engineering are aware that some students are actively posting homework, laboratory, and exam questions and responses to EdTech services (e.g., Chegg) even during exam time frames.

Keep in mind that when a person signs up to participate by either uploading, and/or downloading, and/or using posted material from these sites, the “terms of service” that are agreed to do not protect the person when KU and/or the School of Engineering decide to conduct investigations related to academic misconduct (e.g., plagiarism and/or cheating).

In fact, EdTech services, like Chegg, retain contact information of students who use their services and will release that information, which is traceable, upon request. Using these services constitutes academic misconduct, which is not tolerated in the School of Engineering. It violates Article 3r, Section 6 of its Rules & Regulations, and may lead to grades of F in compromised course(s), transcript citations of academic misconduct, and expulsion from the University of Kansas.

If unsure about assignments, it is important that students use the allowable available resources, such as instructor office hours, graduate teaching assistants, and/or tutoring. The School of Engineering wants students to be successful; cheating is not the way to attain that success."