This is a programming course, and we assume students are entering this course with facility in programming (without it, a student will fall behind!). Although it requires no prior knowledge of the programming languages used, the course does require an understanding of general programming concepts and the ability to learn new languages quickly. Students who have taken EECS 492 (or some other AI class) may have an extra appreciation for some of the problems that we address, but EECS 492 is not a prerequisite for this course.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/durfee/courses/543fall00/
You will find the files needed for assignments here, as well as course handouts, syllabus updates, and all sorts of other useful stuff.
Announcements
regarding readings, homework assignments, and other course matters will be
disseminated via the course mailing list eecs543@umich.edu
(as well as at the beginning of lectures, of course) and on the homepage. Be
sure to check your email regularly, as well as the course homepage (and be on
time for lecture!), for up-to-date information, clarifications, tips, etc.
Often you can get an answer to a question by posting a message to the mailing
list, and someone else in the class will provide you with an answer (but do not
post homework solutions!!).
The
instructor will generally respond to specific questions via email. If you have
a comment or question of general interest, we recommend trying the mailing list
directly. Email directed to the instructor may be reposted to the list unless
requested otherwise.
There will be six graded homework assignments (problem sets) over the course of the semester. In general, these will be significant programming projects, involving the design and development of knowledge-based systems with practical implications. The assignments will intentionally provide some latitude for experimenting with alternative designs and approaches, and will thus be somewhat open-ended. As a result, assignment grading will be more subjective (like in the real world) compared to typical undergraduate courses, although each assignment will indicate what the important features of a completed project should be. Of course, it is assumed that good software-engineering practices will be observed in the development of code.
If you have a problem with the grading on a particular assignment, write a brief (one-paragraph) description of the problem, and hand it with the assignment to the instructor for a regrade. Regrade requests must be made no later than a week after the graded assignment is made available.
We expect adherence to the Engineering Honor Code in all assignments. All are to be completed on your own (or within a team if there are any group assignments). You are allowed to consult with other students in the current class during the conceptualization of a problem but all written work, whether in scrap or final form, is to be generated by you working alone unless otherwise expressly stated in the homework assignment. You are not allowed to sit together and work out the details of the problems with anyone. You are not allowed to discuss the problem set with previous class members, nor anyone else who has significant knowledge of the details of the problem set. Nor should you compare your written solutions, whether in scrap paper form, or your final work product, to other students (and vice versa). You are also not allowed to possess, look at, use, or in anyway derive advantage from the existence of solutions prepared in prior years, whether these solutions were former students' work product or copies of solutions that had been made available by instructors. Violation of this policy is grounds to initiate an action that would be filed with the Dean's office and would come before the College of Engineering's Honor Council. If you have any questions about this policy, including any ambiguities you might find in this policy, it is your responsibility to seek clarification with the instructor.
We expect students in this course to have a level of maturity and to have time management skills such that assignments will be submitted on time. If for some reason a student has a reasonable excuse to request an extension, such a request must be made several (at least 3) days before an assignment is due. Requests made later than this or after the fact will only be granted in cases of documentable, unavoidable emergencies. An unexcused late assignment will be penalized 20% per day (or fraction thereof) up to 3 days, after which the assignment will not be accepted.
Grading
The grade breakdown (subject to minor, announced revisions) is:
· Projects: 78% (approximately 13% each)
· Final in-class quiz: 15%
· Class Participation: 7%