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New CS Student Quick Reference

This document lives at: http://new-cs-student-quickref.wiki.uml.edu/

EMail

Computer Science majors have two email addresses: one is a general UML address and one is a Computer Science address. Important information like communication from your professors, job/co-op opportunities, or the last day you can drop a class without penalty, comes through these accounts. The best thing to do is to forward both email accounts to an account you check daily.

UML Email: https://exchange.uml.edu/

CS Email
The easiest way to read CS email, if you have not forwarded it to another account, is to use pine, a text interface email program. To read your mail using pine:
  • Log in to your CS account
  • Launch pine by typing pine at the command line

Elm, another text-based email program, is also available on mercury.

Connecting to CS Linux Servers
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/cs/cs_infrastructure/cs_email_connectivity.html

Forwarding your CS email to another account
1. create a file in your CS root directory named .forward
2. the content of that file should be:
      \your-CS-username, full-e-mail-address-to-forward-to
   ** the \your-CS-username part tells the mail server to
      leave a copy of the e-mail in your CS account
   ** note that the two parts are separated by a comma
   ** make sure that the forwarded-to e-mail address is
      correct or your e-mail could go into an infinite loop!
   ** you absolutely must test your setup by sending an
      e-mail message to yourself and making sure that it
      goes where you expect it to
3. example:
      ~ > cat > .forward
      \heines, heinesj@comcast.net
      ^D   (this is Ctrl-D)
      ~ >

CS Account

In addition to a CS email address, CS students get space on a CS Linux server to keep files on. Most CS courses require students to upload homework files to their CS directory and use the submit command to send the files to their professor. If you have not already filled out a CS account application in class, you can apply for an account in Olsen 312.

Getting an account
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/cs/cs_infrastructure/request_an_account.html

Connecting to your account
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/cs/cs_infrastructure/connecting_to_cs.html

Uploading files
To transfer files from your home computer to your account, you need an FTP program that supports SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). Some free programs are:

Your account is on a Linux system. This tutorial show you a few basic commands for managing your files: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/unix1.html

Submitting homework
Your CS professors will ask you to turn in your programming projects using the submit command at the command line on your CS account. Submit timestamps your files and moves everyone's homework to the same directory under the class's account for grading. You will need two pieces of information from your professor to submit each assignment: the class name, which stays the same, and the assignment name, which will be different for each assignment. You can send one file or an entire directory of files. For classname "smithcs205" with assignment name "assignment2" and your file name "myfiles.zip", navigate to the directory containing myfiles.zip and type:

[youraccount@mercury homework]$ submit smithcs205 assignment2 myfiles.zip

To send a directory you'd navigate to the directory above it and use the directory name in place of the file name. If you decide before the assignment deadline that you want to make changes to an assignment you already submitted, you can submit it again. The last submission will be the one that's graded.

More information about CS accounts
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/cs/cs_infrastructure/cs_infrastructure_home.html

CS Computer Lab

The lab is in Olsen 308 and two adjoining rooms. It is open 24/7. You open the lab door by swiping your Student ID. You need a CS Account first, which makes the door recognize your Student ID. There are PC's running Linux and Windows, and Macs running OS X in the lab. They all have a login screen. Your CS account username and password work on the Linux PC's and on the Macs. On the Windows PC's you log in with your UML email username and password.

More information about the CS Lab:
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/cs/cs_infrastructure/lab_info.html

CS Library

The Computer Science library is in Olsen 219A. You open the door by swiping your Student ID. The door will only admit CS student ID's. There are two walls full of computer science reference books on various technologies and languages, but also tables to work on and comfortable couches. It's a good refuge for studying and socializing.

Signing up for classes

1. Choose classes from your course grid, keeping in mind course prerequisites, UML GenEd requirements for electives, and CS requirements for electives.


2. Meet with your assigned advisor. All CS majors have a CS advisor. Your advisor will make sure that the courses you choose will count toward your degree and give you a courseload that you can manage. Your advisor will sign off on your course choice in ISIS. Without your advisor's signoff in ISIS you cannot enroll in a course.

3. Wait for your "enrollment appointment". It is not actually an appointment. It is the first date that you can enroll in courses. The dates are staggered to insure that upperclassmen, who have the earliest dates, can get into the courses they need to graduate.

4. Sign up for your classes in ISIS. ISIS is the online database that keeps track of your credits and tuition and allows you to sign up for courses.

ISIS: https://www-sa.umassadmin.net/servlets/iclientservlet/stuss/?cmd=login
  • Username: Your student ID
  • Password: You choose it the first time you log in.
>

Completing your degree

The CS Undergraduate Coordinator is Prof. Jesse M. Heines. His page is the first place to go for information on completing your degree. Information such as degree requirements, allowed/required electives, transfer credits, grading policies, withdrawing from a class etc is all here in one place.

Undergraduate Coordinator's Information Page: http://teaching.cs.uml.edu/~heines/advising.shtml

Every semester at least one student needlessly receives a failing grade for a course, that permanently affects their cum, because the student forgot to withdraw from the course by the withdrawal date. Keep track of withdrawal dates, exams, and other important dates on the academic calendar.

Academic calendar: http://www.uml.edu/admin/registrar/calendars/academic_calendar.html

Prof. Heines has been working with undergrads for so long that he can sum up the undergrad degree requirements in two lines:
  • 2.3 & 2.5 GPAs + 120 credits + course grid
  • 3 AH + 3 SS including Diversity & CS Ethics

This means that you need a 2.3 cumulative grade point average (CUM GPA, shown on the last line of your Unofficial Transcript in ISIS) in all courses taken at UMass Lowell and a 2.5 GPA in all CS courses taken at UMass Lowell, plus 120 total credits, and all courses on your course grid must be completed either by taking the course at UMass Lowellt or transferring in an equivalent course.

You can compute your CS cum with this calculator:
http://teaching.cs.uml.edu/~heines/curriculum/ugrad/CS-CUM-Calculator.xls

You must complete three General Education (GenEd) electives from Arts & Humanities and three from Social Sciences. These six electives must include a course that satisfies the Diversity requirement and one that satisfies the CS Ethics requirement. Note that the CS Ethics requirement is not the same as the University GenEd Ethics requirement, which does not apply to CS majors.

You must submit a DIG (Declaration of Intent to Graduate) form, at least one semester before your graduation. For example, you must submit a DIG form in the fall semester for spring graduation.
http://www.cs.uml.edu/~heines/curriculum/ugrad/PolicyStatements/DIGForms.html

CS Student Advisory Board

The Student Advisory Board is made up of undergrad students and a faculty advisor. The purpose of this board is to relay issues that the students of the department have to the faculty and staff of the university. You can e-mail ideas for improving the student experience to student-advisory-board@weblab.cs.uml.edu.

Behavior Guidelines for All Types of Situations


How to address professors

  • just “Professor <Last Name>” is the correct way
  • use this form of address for both men and women
  • no need for “Respected Professor” or “Sir” or “Madam” or anything like that
  • only call professors by their first name if they invite you to do so
  • staff members should be addressed as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or “Ms.” <Last Name>
  • see the list of faculty and staff at the beginning of this information packet
  • professors typically address students by their given name unless you request them to do otherwise

How to contact professors

  • e-mail, e-mail, and only e-mail
  • we do not recommend telephoning, but if you do call, leave your full name and phone number as well as the times when you are available to receive a return call
  • use the finger command on Unix to find out professors’ login names
  • if professors have personal Web pages, they will be found at: http://www.cs.uml.edu/~loginname

E-mail etiquette

  • do not change your CS account “finger name”
  • always “sign” your e-mail message with your full name, especially if you send e mail from a non-CS account such as Yahoo!, AOL, or hotmail
    • do not include your Student ID number unless you are writing to your adviser and he or she has to look up your academic records
  • when a professor e-mails you or replies to your message, reply or acknowledge his or her e-mail in a timely manner
    • check your e-mail often for a reply, not once a week
  • write in formal style
    • in complete sentences
    • with capitalization
    • just you would write a in a term paper
    • spell-check your message
    • use American spellings for words like “color,” “criticize,” etc.

When you come to see a professor in his or her office

  • do not just stand at the door waiting to be recognized – knock!
  • respect office hours – professors have them because they have many other responsibilities besides teaching
  • if a professor is not in his or her office during posted office hours, send e-mail and make an appointment for another time

The msgs message system

  • read msgs, do not “opt out”
  • only post messages that are relevant for everyone to see, including faculty
  • this is not the place to post “for sale” messages of any type

Workload expectations

  • these are probably considerably higher than what you are used to
  • respect assignment due dates, do not beg for extensions
  • but if you need an extension for some reason, contact your professor as soon as possible, not the day the assignment is due

Grade expectations

  • monitor your status throughout the semester, do not wait until the semester ends
  • go see your professor as soon as possible if you’re falling behind
  • do not ask to take final exams early so that you can leave early for semester break
  • do not beg for grade improvements and extensions at the end of the semester
  • respect answers you receive from professors, do not ask the same question over and over again in the hope of getting a different answer

Cheating and “zero tolerance”

  • the Department of Computer Science has a “zero tolerance” policy with respect to cheating
  • this means that if you are caught cheating, you will automatically fail the course
  • therefore, the best advise we can give is “don’t even think about it!”
  • US academic honesty expectations are very high due to copyright laws and our attempt to balance the need to share information and maintain openness with giving credit where credit is due
  • there are some behaviors that we consider cheating that students from other academic cultures might not, such as
    • doing an assignment together when you do not have permission to do so
    • telling students in another section of the same course about the content of an exam given in your section, even if you have different professors
  • these are department and university policies
    • they cannot be changed by individual professors
    • begging to be forgiven after you are caught cheating and asking for another chance will do no good

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