Syllabus, Spring, 2020
CSci 5421: Advanced Algorithms
 

Instructor: Carl Sturtivant, carl@umn.edu


Textbook: Cormen, Leiserson & Rivest
"Introduction to Algorithms"
3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill


Read this document very carefully, as it defines what is required to perform effectively in this class. You will be assumed to have read and understood this syllabus: ignorance is not an excuse. If later in the semester you realize for example, that you can't attend the final exam, this will be your fault and no makeup exam will be supplied. Endeavor not to attempt make yourself an exception.

Course content very approximately in temporal order: However some subjects may be approached non-linearly because of natural cross connections in the material.
 

Sections of the book listed below should be read in conjunction with the class. As the class proceeds it should be clear which sections have just been covered in order, and therefore which are about to be covered. The course content is defined by the sections listed below.

Divide & Conquer
Chapter 30, §4.2, §4.5, §9.3, Problem 30-1

Number Theoretic Algorithms

Chapter 31

Dynamic Programming

Chapter 15, §25.2

Greedy Methods
Chapter 16, §23.1, §23.2

Amortized Analysis
Chapter 17

Advanced Data Structures
§21.3, §21.4 --- Disjoint sets
(Only in the 2nd Edition) --- Binomial Heaps
Chapter 19 --- Fibonacci Heaps

String Matching
Chapter 32

Network Flow --- optionally
§26.1, §26.2, §26.3

 

Evaluation: The following rules will be strictly enforced.

Evaluation will consist of assignments (7), a Midterm exam, and a Final exam. Assignments are a vital part of the learning process: persons who do not submit reasonable attempts at all seven assignments will receive an F for the course. Examinations are open book and open notes, but no electronic devices are permitted.

Due dates for all assignments are strict: all homeworks must be received by gradescope during the day they are due in order to receive credit.

Grading is absolute (i.e. not on a curve). The overall grade will be based upon: 8% for each homework, 6% for the midterm, and 30% for the final. In addition 8% of the course will be recorded for scholastic conduct. Students who do not violate the scholastic conduct rules (see below) will receive the full 8%. A minimum of 60% is necessary for an S or C- grade.

Grading will be as follows: 95.0% or above yields an A, 90.0% an A-, 85% = B+, 80% = B, 75% = B-, 70% =: C+, 65% = C, 60% = C-, 55% = D+, 50% = D, and less than 50% yields an F. Percentages are
not rounded when using this scheme, because this would be tantamount to moving all of the grade boundaries down by 0.5%.

If you have a question about grading, address it to the TAs via Gradescope. Only if something wholely unreasonable has occurred will the instructor intervene.

Furthermore,
there is a limit of 10 days from when an assignment's grade is posted online for grading problems to be dealt with. This includes the error of failure to post your grade online by the TAs, so check your grades online frequently to ensure they have been recorded.



Incompletes will in general not be given. An incomplete will be considered only when a provably serious family or personal emergency arises during the end part of the course, proof is presented, and the student has already completed all but a small portion of the work.

Make-up Exams will in general not be given. Verify at the start of the semester that you can attend all exams at the stated dates and times, and if you cannot do so, then withdraw from the course. A make up exam will be considered only when a provably serious family or personal emergency arises during the relevant part of the course, and proof is presented.



Scholastic conduct must be acceptable. Specifically, you must do your homeworks, and examinations yourself, on your own. Read these linked documents as a part of the syllabus. Do not search for homework related information on the World Wide Web; we do this and will recognize any logical idiosyncrasies from such answers that occur in your homework. Plagiarism in the widest sense is forbidden. Generate your own solutions.

In the event of academic misconduct on your part the
Office for Student Conduct & Academic Integrity will be consulted to see if there's a record of a prior instance of academic misconduct. In all cases, OSCAI will be notified of the present misconduct, so that future misconduct can be appropriately penalized.

Also the instructor will decide
privately if the misconduct in the present class is egregious or not. Included in the egregious category of misconduct is any sort of plagiarism where the student does not understand completely the material plagiarized. However, any academic misconduct is open to being decided to be egregious by the instructor.

If there was a prior instance of academic misconduct
or if the present misconduct is egregious, the penalty given for academic misconduct by the instructor is an F for the entire course. Note that OSCAI may independently decide in some cases to award an additional penalty, such as suspension or even expulsion from the University.

Only in the case that there is no prior instance of academic misconduct
and the instructor decides that the academic misconduct is not egregious will a lesser penalty be possible. OSCAI will still be notified.

The instructor may at his discretion at any time give any student a short oral quiz on a student's submitted answer to any homework question to determine whether the student understands the text they have supplied. Failure to supply an adequate response will be deemed evidence for academic dishonesty (plagiarism), which may lead to failing the course and disciplinary action from the university.