Syllabus for CSCE 488: Computer Engineering Professional Development (Spring 2003)

Description: 1 Credit, 2 hours/week. Prepares students for the Senior Design Project course and professional practice through familiarity and practice with current tools, resources, and technologies; professional standards, practices, and ethics; and oral and written report styles used specifically in the computer engineering field.

Class Schedule: 3:30-5:20 p.m., Wednesdays, CBA 308

Instructor: Stephen Scott, Ferguson 305, sscott AT csce, Phone: 472-6994, Office Hours: 2:00-3:00 T & R, 1:00-2:00 W

TA: Jed Pedersen, Ferguson 17A, jedidiah@csce.unl.edu, Phone: 472-5027, Office Hours: 9:00-11:00 M, W, F

Prerequisite: AgLec 200

Corequisites: EE 476, CSCE 430

Postrequisite: Must be taken exactly one semester before CSCE 489

Prerequisites by Topic:

Familiarity with professional writing & speaking styles (in a general context), conventional word-processors, computer organization, logic design, and computer programming.
Exposure to the concepts and principles of professional ethics and team dynamics.

Course Web Page: http://www.cse.unl.edu/~sscott/CSCE488/. Consult this for current information, announcements, and pointers to useful sources on the web.

Textbook: None required, although instructor may provide or require manuals, standards, and other documentation relevant to the particular topics, projects, and technologies being employed.

Here are a couple of good books that may be helpful to you in this course and in CSCE 489:

Fred G. Martin, Robotic Explorations: A Hands-On Introduction to Engineering, 2001.
Jane E. Aaron, Little, Brown Essential Handbook for Writers, 3rd Edition, 1999.

Grading: There will be no examinations in this course. Grading will be based on:

One Take-Home Prerequisite Test
Several assignments, including homework, projects, written reports, and presentations. Expect at least one written report, with possible presentation, to be due during the last week of the class.

All graded assignments will be equally weighed toward the final grade.

Policies Regarding Attendance and Late Submissions:

Attendance: You are expected to come to all the classes ON TIME. I will leave the entrance to the class open until about 3:35 p.m. If you come later and find the door closed, you may not come to the class. This is to avoid disrupting the orderly conduct of the class. The penalty for each class missed will be 1% of your total grade for the course.
Late Submissions: No late submissions of homeworks will be accepted. Thus it is better to submit a partially completed homeowrk than a late one.

Grades: In computing your letter grade I will start with the following base scale:

90% = A

80-89% = B

70-79% = C

60-69% = D

59% = F

You will receive a + with your grade if the last digit of your score is a 7 or higher, and a - if the last digit is a 3 or lower. I will scale up from this base scale if necessary. So if you get an 87% in this course you are guaranteed a B+ (similarly, an 82% guarantees a B-), but your grade might be higher depending on your performance relative to the rest of the class.

Academic dishonesty of any kind will be dealt with in a manner consistent with the CS&E Department's Policy on Academic Integrity. You are expected to know and abide by this policy, which is available via the department's web page and this course's web page.

Anonymous Suggestion Box: Available at the course's web page is an anonymous suggestion box. I encourage you to submit comments or suggestions regarding my teaching style, course content, etc. You can submit your name and e-mail address with your suggestion, but they are not required.

Last modified 16 August 2011; please report problems to sscott AT cse.