Information Pertaining to Homework


Note: Go to this webpage pertaining to homework assignments to find out about specific homework assignments and due dates.

Information about the HW Component of Course Grade

Rather than have 6 HW assignments, and count your best 5 of the 6, like I've done for some classes that I've taught in the past, I will make the problems assigned throughout the semester worth various amounts of points, and just keep track of your cumulative points earned. In order to make some allowance for illness, work-related travel, canine urination, etc., that may make it hard for you to turn in a good solution to each problem, at the end of the semester I'll compute the HW component of your course grade as described below:
letting m be the sum of all of the point values for the problems assigned throughout the semester, and y be the sum of all of the points that you earn (your cumulative total), the number of HW points you receive (out of a maximum of 33.3, since HW is worth 33.3%) will be
33.3*min{y, 0.9*m}/(0.9*m) = min{333*y/(9*m), 33.3}
(and so you can miss up to 10% of the points, and still get a perfect 33.3 ... and extra credit points will count toward the numerator sum (y), but not the denominator sum (m)).
At this point in time, I don't know how many HW problems, or HW points, there will be this semester, but I'm guessing that overall the homework from the second half of the semester will count about the same, or perhaps just a little bit more, compared to the homework from the first half of the semester.

Late HW Policy

Most problems will be due 2 approximately two weeks after they are assigned, so that you will have ample opportunity to ask questions about the material and do the problems. (I indicate approximately two weeks since since some weeks I may post the homework after class. I hope that usually it will be just a few hours after class, but sometimes it may be as late as two days after class, in which case you will just have 12 days before the due date.) For the last assignment, you may only have about one week to work on some of the problems. If you don't have the solutions ready to turn in on the Wednesday that they are due, usually I will accept them up until noon on the Thursday following the day they were due, and will grade them after that only if I haven't already graded the papers of the other students. (You can assume this grace period is in effect unless I announce otherwise. For the Spring 2020 semester it won't be in effect for the last assignment, and the grace period may end at 9 AM for the 3rd assignment.)

When dropping off late HW papers, take them to my office in Nguyen Engineering Building / Volgenau School, putting them under my door (my office is room 1706). (Note: The building may be locked between 11 PM and 6 AM.) Whether you fax your paper, (to (703)993-1700) or leave it for me under my office door, send me an e-mail indicating that you turned in your paper late (with late meaning that you did not turn it in at the classroom on the nominal due date).

If you fax your paper, or drop it off, and for whatever reason I don't get it, then I won't give you any credit. So the best plan will be to always turn in your paper to me in the classroom on the Tuesday that it is due (but it is usually safe for you to put your paper under my office door --- I don't know of any instances when students have done so and I didn't get the paper).

Getting Help on HW

Although it is okay to discuss HW problems in a somewhat general way, you should not show anyone how you solved a problem, or have anyone show you how to solve a problem. In the past, some students have essentially treated homework assignments as "group projects" but this should not be the case. It's okay to say something helpful like "I found it useful to graph the likelihood function for several small samples I made up" or "remember that we need to be careful when the support of the distribution depends on the parameter," but it's not okay to show someone your solution, or say what your final answer is.

Other Comments about HW