CSC490 – Senior Seminar

Instructor	Mohsen Beheshti	E-Mail	mbeheshti@csudh.edu
Classroom	NSM B-208	Class Time	TH 4:00 – 6:45 PM
Office	NSM A-132/134	Office Hours	W 10:00 AM – 01:00 PM TH 01:00 PM – 04:00 PM And/or by appointments
Phone	(310) 243-3398	URL	http://csc.csudh.edu

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Senior Seminar (3) - This is an intense, structured seminar. Students are exposed to current areas of research in Computer Science. Students will attend departmental colloquia, conduct research and present individual and group projects. Also, students prepare a written proposal for a senior project.

PRE-REQUISITE: CSC311, CSC321 and CSC331

PREREQUISITES BY TOPIC:

TEXTBOOK: none

REFERENCE: Articles

COURSE GOALS

OVERALL EDUCATIONAL GOAL:

To improve senior students’ capability in conducting literature search, presentations, oral and written communication skills. Students will also initiate the early phase of their Senior Design project that will be implemented and completed in Senior Design/Project Course.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS:

· Writing reports

· Writing summaries

· Giving presentations

· conducting research

· Working in teams

COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to do research regarding any computer science topics, create summaries of articles, make presentations, learn how to communicate with other team members, and complete the design for the project to be implemented in Senior Design/Project course.

COURSE POLICIES:

This course uses reading, discussion, and homework assignments will be given, and all problems will be graded. It is expected that you will need to spend time studying outside the class to prepare for the presentations, reports, and other assignments. Note taking is very important in this course and students are asked to keep an Organized Notebook. A notebook will help you to organize your work for easy access when preparing for your projects and exams.

Attendance: is expected and required. The student is responsible for materials missed during an absence, whether excused or not. Classes will start at the prescribed time and will end at the prescribed time. Excessive absences or tardiness will result in lowered grades. I will be available during the posted office hours and you may make an appointment for times not posted. The class roll will be called 5 minutes after the hour OR a sign-in sheet will be passed around at the beginning of class and once the sheet is returned no late additions will be made. YOU MUST BE ON TIME.

Paper Submissions: Each assignment should be presentable and submitted with a cover sheet. Reports should include name of the student, section number, instructor, and class meeting time.

Grading Breakdown:

Project/Exam 50%

Papers 35%

Attendance, class participation 15%

Grading Scale:

90-100 A

80-89 B

70-79 C

60-69 D

Below 60 F

Oral and Written Communications

Presentations:

Each student is required to have a series of presentations for approximately 15 minutes each to the class on current issues facing software industry and professionals.

Project Groups:

The project will be done in groups of two to three students selecting their own partners. Groups are free to choose the organizational structure of the group. Either a democratic or a more structured organization may be selected. In a democratic structure decisions are made by group consensus. In the structured teams a leader responsible for final technical decisions and/or a manager responsible for dividing the work among group members and controlling the progress of members of the group will be selected. Regardless of the general organization of the group it is expected that all members of each group participate in all activities in the respective project.

GENERAL POLICIES:

Academic Honor Code

Programming assignments must be done individually. Failure to do so will result in a violation of the CSUDH Academic Honor Code. The following cases will be considered as violations: identical code, and extremely similar code. Violations will be reported to the Office of Vice President of Academic Affairs.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Excessive absences will result in lowered grades. Excessive absenteeism, whether excused or unexcused, may result in a student’s course grade being reduced or in assignment of a grade of “F”. Absences are accumulated beginning with the first day of class.

STUDENT ACADEMIC APPEALS PROCESS

Authority and responsibility for assigning grades to students rests with the faculty. However, in those instances where students believe that miscommunication, error, or unfairness of any kind may have adversely affected the instructor’s assessment of their academic performance, the student has a right to appeal by the procedure listed in the Undergraduate Catalog and by doing so within thirty days of receiving the grade or experiencing any other problematic academic event that prompted the complaint.

ADA STATEMENT

Students with disabilities, who believe they may need an academic adjustment in this class, are encouraged to contact me as soon as possible to better ensure receipt of timely adjustments.

DEFINITION OF CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM

CSUDH is dedicated to a high standard of academic integrity among its faculty and students. In becoming part of the California State University academic community, students are responsible for honesty and independent effort. Disciplinary action will be taken against any student who alone or with others engages in any act of academic fraud or deceit. (Read University Regulations - page 63 2003-2004 University Catalog)

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topic	Note
1,2	Presentation I (self presentation) Written Paper I
3,4	Paper Presentation II (Ethics, or related issues) Written Paper II
5,6	Paper Presentation III (XML, Security, etc.) Written Paper III
7,8	Paper Presentation IV (3 topic Presentation) Written Paper IV
9,10	Paper Presentation V (Selected Topic Presentation) Written Paper V
11,12	Group Project Proposal Presentation VI Written Paper VI
13,14	Group project Design
15	Final Presentation Final Written Paper