COMPSCI 682 Neural Networks: A Modern Introduction

Assignments

Assignments are due just before midnight, at 11:55pm, unless otherwise specified. You will hand in the assignments electronically through gradescope.

Late day policy

• Free late days: You can use 7 late days in total, with up to 3 late days for one assignment. Beyond 3 late days the assignment will not be counted at all. Once you have used all 7 late days, penalty is 25% for each additional late day. We will use your latest submission for grading and for calculating your late day usage. There is no bonus if you don't use late days at all. There is no need to ask for permission for late days – we will automatically figure late days based on the latest gradescope submissions. Delay of even a single minute counts as a full late day, so do not wait till the last minute to submit.
• Documented late days: Beyond the seven “free” late days, we will only provide “verified” late days as required by university policy, with documentation (i.e. illness documented by a doctors note).
• Undocumented late days: If you submit your homework late for any reason not covered by the above two policies, you may include at the top of your submission a justification for why it was submitted late. When assigning grades at the end of the semester, the instructor will consider all these justifications and may, at his sole discretion, waive some or all of the penalties applied. The instructor may also waive penalties for submissions that are only very slightly late (e.g. 15 seconds after the deadline). No feedback will be given before the end of the semester about how these decisions will be made. Please make sure to include this in the submission itself and not, e.g., by emailing the instructor.

Re-grading policy: Errors in grading of assignments and exams can occur despite the best efforts of the course staff. If you believe you’ve found a grading error, submit a re-grade request on gradescope. Re-grade requests must be submitted no later than one week after the assignment is returned. Note that re-grading may result in your original grade increasing or decreasing as appropriate.

AUDIT and SAT/UNSAT

Audits are not permitted. Students must decide on SAT/UNSAT grading by November 15.

Rationale: Due to the high demand for seats in this class, our priority is to accommodate students who are committed to earning graded credits. As such, auditing is not allowed. Decisions regarding SAT/UNSAT grading must be communicated to us by November 15, which is expected to be shortly after the release of Assignment 2 grades. Bear in mind that by this deadline, a significant portion of your final grade will still be undetermined. If you foresee challenges dedicating time during the latter half of the course, it might be best to enroll in a different semester. No exceptions will be made.

Use of AI is not permitted

This course assumes that all work submitted by students will be generated by the students themselves, working individually or in groups as directed by assignment instructions. Students should not have another person/entity do the writing of any portion of an assignment for them, which includes hiring a person or a company to write assignments and using artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Copilot.

Title IX

In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non-confidential) can be found at the following link: https://www.umass.edu/titleix/resources.

Accommodation Statement

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements.

Academic Honesty Statement

Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/).