Syllabus


Instructor Information

Dr. Hyrum D. Carroll

Center for Computational Science & Department of Computer Science
Middle Tennessee State University
KOM 361-A
(615) 898-2801

Office hours:
Tuesdays: 4:45 - 5:45 PM
Wednesdays: 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Thursdays: 4:45 - 5:45 PM
and by appointment

Lecture

Tuesdays & Thursdays: 6:00 - 7:25 PM
KOM 321

Textbook

Operating System Concepts, 8th, Update Edition by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne
Note: Please apply the textbook's errata.
Note: The books Operating System Concepts, 8th Edition and Operating System Concepts Essentials may be cheaper and may still cover all or most of the same material and may have the same exercises, but this has not been verified.

Undergraduate Course Description

Three credits. Prerequisites: CSCI 2170 and 3160 [with a grade of C or better in both courses]. Concepts and facilities of an operating system. Major concepts in memory, processor, device, and information management are covered as well as interrelationships between the operating system and the architecture of the computer system.

Goals

An introduction to the concepts and facilities of an operating system. Major concepts in memory, processor, device, and information management are covered as well as interrelationships between the operating system and the architecture of the computer system.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

Grading Scale

A (90-100)
B (80-89)
C (70-79)
D (60-69)
F (below 60)

Plus and minus grades may be given at the professor's discretion.
Averages are rounded to the nearest integer. Approximately 3 in-class exams will be given with the lowest score dropped. Missed exams will count as zero. Students are expected to complete all projects and assignments. Any questions concerning a grade on a lab, exam, or homework must be presented within one week of when the item was returned. A grade of I will be given only in accordance with University policy. The last day to drop without a grade is January 25, 2012. The last day to drop with a grade of W is March 23, 2012.

Performance Evaluation

Homework 10%
Lab Assignments 40%
Exams 20%
Final Exam 30%

Homework

Homework assignments are due before the beginning of lecture of the date due (i.e., 5:59 PM). Late homework assignments will NOT be accepted. Submit homework assignments using the handin program unless specifed otherwise.

Labs

Lab assignments are due at 10:00 PM on the assigned due date. Late labs will be reduced by 20% per each day that they're late (Saturday and Sunday count as 1 day). For example, a lab that would have received a 90% that is due on Wednesday at 10:00 PM but was turned in on Friday at 5:00 PM will get a score of 54% (= 90% * [100% - {2 * 20%}]).
No assignments can be turned in after the last day of classes.

Lecture

Attendance is required by the university. If you can not make a lecture, please inform me and get the relevant materials from a classmate.
Computers are permitted in lecture for note taking. Other activities such as web surfing, stock trading, and social networking are inappropriate.
Students that do not attend the first 2 lectures may be dropped from the course.
An audible cell phone ring during class will require the owner to bring cookies (or equivalent) to the next class.
Additionally, all views are to be heard and engaged respectively. As scholars, we are expected to analyze subject matter critically and express reasonable positions that are based on logic and fact rather than on emotion.

Website

The course website is at http://www.cs.mtsu.edu/~hcarroll/3250/. Announcements and assignments will be posted there and/or emailed to your Pipeline email address. You are expected to monitor the website and your email account frequently (i.e., at least every other day).

Advice for Succeeding in this Course


Honor Code

It is expected that all work for this class (including exams, homework and labs) is your own. The university policy for academic misconduct will be followed. Academic misconduct includes the following behaviors:
Plagiarism: The adoption or reproduction of ideas, words, statements, images, or works of another person as one's own without proper acknowledgment.
Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. The term academic exercise includes all forms of work submitted for credit or hours.
Fabrication: Unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.
Facilitation: Helping or attempting to help another to violate a provision of the institution code of academic misconduct.
If you are found responsible for committing an act of academic misconduct, the penalty will range from a grade of zero for an individual assignment to a failing grade for the course. For more information, please refer to the following links:
Computer Science Department Policy on Academic Integrity
MTSU's Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy

Financial Aid Notice

Do you have a lottery scholarship? To retain Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship eligibility, you must earn a cumulative TELS GPA of 2.75 after 24 and 48 attempted hours and a cumulative TELS GPA of 3.0 thereafter. You may qualify with a 2.75 cumulative GPA after 72 attempted hours (and subsequent semesters), if you are enrolled full-time and maintain a semester GPA of at least 3.0. A grade of C, D, F, or I in this class may negatively impact TELS eligibility. Dropping a class after 14 days may also impact eligibility; if you withdraw from this class and it results in an enrollment status of less than full time, you may lose eligibility for your lottery scholarship. Lottery recipients are eligible to receive the scholarship for a maximum of five years from the date of initial enrollment, or until a bachelor degree is earned; students who first received the lottery scholarship in Fall 2009 or later will additionally be limited to 120 TELS attempted hours. For additional Lottery rules, please refer to your Lottery Statement of Understanding form via RaiderNet, review lottery requirements on the web at www.mtsu.edu/scholarships/telsconteligibility_scholarships.shtml, or contact the Financial Aid Office at 898-2830. Students receiving any form of financial aid should always consult the Financial Aid Office before dropping a course. For additional information, contact the Financial Aid Office (898-2830) or see http://www.mtsu.edu/financialaid.

Reporting of Unofficial Withdrawals

Federal regulations require that students who cease class attendance but do not officially withdraw from the University must be reported so that future financial aid will cease and/or the student will be required to return funds. Therefore, during the term I will be required to complete a roster indicating those students who have stopped attending class without officially withdrawing. Faculty members are not required to check attendance each day; however, you may use project submission deadlines, exams, quizzes, advising appointments, or other methods I choose may be used to determine unofficial withdraws.

Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodation, or you have questions related to any accommodations for testing, note takers, readers, etc., please speak with me as soon as possible. Students may also contact the Office of Disabled Students Services (898-2783) with questions about such services.

Accreditation Activities

Samples of graded work will be collected for our accreditation team. Identifying information will be removed from any such work collected.
Note: This syllabus is tentative and is subject to change.