COMPSCI 314: Modern Data Communications

• Final Exam: 70%; Test: 15%; Assignments: 3@5% = 15%.
• COMPSCI 314 has a separate pass requirement, which means you must pass the theory (test and exam) section and, as far as applicable, the practical (assignments) section, separately.
• This course does not advertise a practical pass mark. If you have not achieved 50% in the assignments or test, you are still advised to sit the exam.

Assignments

This course will have three assignments worth 5% each. These assignments must be completed by 12 noon on their respective Friday deadline.

Test

The test is worth 15% of your final mark. It will take place on Friday, 1 September 2017 during lecture time, venues and other details to be advised.

Final exam

The final exam is worth 70% of your final mark. Please check Student Services Online for the exam time and date. The exam is closed book, and calculators are not permitted. Provisional exam results can be obtained from Student Services Online.

Textbook

The recommended textbook is: Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach by James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, published by Pearson (7th Edition).
The second and third part of the course are mostly based on this text (the first part is not based on the book). Copies of the book may be found in the university bookshop. Older editions of the book can be found in the library

Other books of interest are as follows:
   Computer Networks, 5/e A Systems Approach by Peterson and Davie
   Data Communications and Networking, 5/e by Forouzan
   Data and Computer Communications, 10/e by Stallings

Lecture Recordings

All lectures are recorded. Due to quality assurance, there may be a delay of a few days before the lecture recordings are distributed through Canvas. You can find the lecture recordings on the Lecture Recordings page in Canvas. Note that although the lectures are recorded, some learning activities conducted in class do not translate well to the recordings. To maximise your learning opportunities, you are encouraged to attend the class in person.

Piazza

Teaching staff regularly monitor the Piazza discussion forum in Canvas. Please make use of Piazza to ask any questions that you think might be of interest to other students - it's usually the fastest way to get an answer.  If your question is of a personal nature, or relates to a unique situation that will be of little interest to others, then please contact the teaching staff directly.

Help with Canvas

For help with Canvas see:

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/learning-and-teaching/CanvasHomepage/canvas-help---support.html.

Handling illness or absence

Disasters happen, and they shouldn't turn into showstoppers for you. If you must leave for family emergencies etc., please talk to the lecturer or somehow get a message to the department. The earlier we know, the better we can help.

For problems affecting assignments or tests see the lecturer as soon as reasonably possible.

For illness during exams or written tests (or other problems that affect exam or test attendance or performance) there is a central university policy that applies to all courses. It requires that students MUST contact the University within one week of the last affected examination, to apply for an aegrotat pass (for illness) or compassionate pass (other problems). Note: The one week limit is strictly enforced.

Refer to the University information link on Aegrotats and Compassionate Considerations:

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/cs-academic-information/cs-examination-information/cs-aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html

Policies

Here's the small print. We know that the vast majority of you don't really need to be lectured on this because you're genuinely here to learn and you value the diversity that comes with being at a university as much as we do. Nevertheless, please note the following:

Inclusiveness

We value you coming here to study with us, no matter where you come from or how you view yourself, and strive to accommodate disabilities. We want you to feel safe and welcome.

For this reason, the University of Auckland has zero tolerance for discrimination. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other ‘isms’ share one key feature: they ascribe negative characteristics to a group, and assume that those characteristics apply to all members of the group. The vice chancellor encourages anyone who experiences such behaviour to seek resolution via the appropriate processes, including if necessary complaints procedures, so the University can act appropriately.

Please see

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/eo-equity-office/zero-tolerance-for-discrimination.html

or talk to a member of the teaching staff or the student support network if you have any concerns.

Academic Integrity

We know that most of you won't cheat because you're here to gain insight and understanding. We don't want your achievements to be overshadowed by the misguided behaviour of others.

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Please refer to http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/teaching-learning/honesty