Collaboration policies

Problem sets will include two types of problems:

• individual-only problems that you must complete on your own

• pair-optional problems that you may complete alone or with one other student.

General rules for collaboration:

• You may discuss the main ideas of a given problem with someone else (e.g., another student, a friend, or a tutor) provided that you acknowledge doing so in your solution, but you must complete the actual solution by yourself.
• You may not copy all or part of another person’s work, even if you subsequently modify it. This includes cases in which someone else tells you what you should write for your solution.
• You may not view all or part of someone else’s work.
• You may not show all or part of your work to someone else.
• You may not consult solutions from past semesters, or those found in books or on the Web.

Rules for working with a partner on pair-optional problems:

• You may not work with more than one partner on a given assignment. (However, you are welcome to switch partners between assignments.)
• You may not split up the work and complete it separately.
• You must work together at the same computer for every problem that you complete as a pair. While you are working, the screen should be visible to both of you. One person should type, while the other person observes, critiques, and plans what to do next. You must switch roles periodically, and your solution should be a true collaborative effort.
• You must both submit the same solution to each problem that you did as a pair, and you must clearly indicate that you worked on the problem as a pair.
• Although you will look at your partner’s work for pair-optional problems that you do together, the above rules for collaboration still apply to your interactions with students other than your partner.

Violations of the collaboration policy will result in a grade of 0 and will be reported to the Academic Conduct Committee (ACC). The ACC may suspend or expel students found guilty of misconduct. We will assume that you understand the University’s Academic Conduct Code.