Spring 2007
21920
Course SyllabusCPSC 6985 Research and ThesisOnline
Instructor / Chris Whitehead, MCSE, Assistant ProfessorE-mail:
Office: CCT 441
Office Hours: TR 1:00 - 1:15 PM, 4:30 - 5:45 PM, 7:30 - 8:00 PM, W 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Contacting Me: If you need to discuss something which does not require a face-to-face meeting, please e-mail me. If you need to see me face-to-face but cannot meet during the scheduled office hours, please e-mail me so we can make arrangements to meet at my office at a more convenient time.
Office Phone: (706) 565-3527
Department Phone: (706) 568-2410
Department Fax: (706) 565-3529
Home Phone: (706) 561-2487
Web Site:
Required Textbook / None.
Course Description / This course is represents the application of a student's coursework to a significant and current problem in computer science. This involves a research project to be designed in consultation with a member of the graduate faculty of the Computer Science Department who agrees to direct the research and become the thesis advisor. Additional requirements include: A) The creation of a thesis committee of at least three members of the graduate faculty of the Computer Science Department. B) A proposal approved by the Chairperson of the Computer Science Department in consultation with the student's thesis committee. C) Successful defense of the thesis to the thesis committee.
Course Objectives / Upon completion of this course, the student will have demonstrated the ability to:
- recognize a significant and current problem in computer science;
- perform research on a significant and current problem in computer science; and
- apply previous coursework, past research, and current research to resolving the significant and current problem in computer science.
Assessment Methods / Other than the thesis defense, this course has no assessment methods.
Student Responsibilities / As a student in this course, you are responsible to:
- manage your time and maintain the discipline required to meet the course requirements;
- work with your thesis advisor to develop a thesis proposal;
- work with your thesis advisor to form a thesis committee consisting of at least one other departmental graduate faculty and at least one other faculty member from another department;
- perform the necessary research to fully understand the problem and to recommend possible solutions;
- communicate regularly with your thesis advisor;
- prepare a paper in accordance with the College of Science thesis standards that describes the problem, the research, and the possible solutions;
- coordinate with the thesis committee members to establish an agreed upon location and time for the thesis oral defense;
- prepare and present an oral defense of the research effort; and
- obtain the necessary approval signatures following a successful defense of the thesis.
Instructor Responsibilities / As your instructor/thesis advisor in this course, I am responsible to:
- work with you, the student, to develop a thesis proposal;
- work with you in forming the thesis committee;
- assist you in your research efforts and provide guidance as necessary;
- respond to your emails and other communications promptly;
- work with you in ensuring the thesis meets the College of Science thesis standards; and
- coordinate with the thesis committee members to provide guidance on the research effort, written document, and oral defense as necessary;
Tentative Schedule / The following is the tentative schedule for the course. It is subject to change.
DATES / Milestones
1/15 / Thesis committee formed and approved
1/30 / Department head approval of thesis committee
2/15 / Proposal approved by committee and department head
3/15 / Thesis completed and approved
4/1 / Oral defense
Additional Communication Tools / Addition communication tools may be used to support the research review and approval process. These tools will be available through WebCT Vista. You can access WebCT Vista at:
At this page, click on the "WebCT Vista" icon or the "Log-in" link under the WebCT Vista icon to activate the WebCT logon dialog box. Your WebCT username and password are:
Username: lastname_firstname
Password: ddmmyy
where "ddmmyy" is your birthdate: 2 digits for day, month, and year.
If you try the above and WebCT will not let you in, please use the "Need WebCT Vista Help?" link below the WebCT Vista icon on the WebCT home page ( to request help. If you are still having problems gaining access after the first week of the semester, please e-mail me.
Once you've entered WebCT, you will see a list of courses you have access to. The CPSC 6985 course is listed as "Research and Thesis - Fall 2006 CPSC-6985-V01." If you don't see the "Research and Thesis - Fall 2006 CPSC-6985-V01" course in the list, please e-mail me.
Once you have clicked on the course's name and accessed the particular course itself, you will find a home page with links to other sections and tools. Feel free to browse the site to discover what's available.
Obtaining MSDNAA Software / Because you are enrolled in a TSYS Department of Computer Science course, you may obtain free copies of certain Microsoft software from the Department for use at home as part of the MSDNAA agreement. The list of available software includes Visual Studio .NET 2003, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, SQL Server 2000, and many others. To obtain the free software, you can pick up CDs from the Department office, download the software, or have the software CDs mailed to you.
Picking up the CDs. If you live or work in the local Columbus area, you can drop by the TSYS Department of Computer Science on the fourth floor in the new Center for Commerce and Technology building and check out a copy of the CDs. If you do not live or work in the local Columbus area, you may either download the software or request the CDs be mailed to you.
Downloading the software. The free Microsoft software is available for download from as part of the MSDNAA agreement. Once the software has been downloaded, it must be installed in accordance with the MSDNAA Agreement ( The account to use to access the download site is:
Username:
Password: ssnXXXX
where "XXXX" is the last four digits of your CSU ID.
If the above account information will not allow you to access the site, click on the "> Forgot Password?" link under the "Log Me In!" button on the home page of the site, then type in your and click on the "Go Find It!" button. If the system still does not recognize you, please send a message to . Be sure to include your in the message.
Requesting the CDs be mailed to you. As an alternative to downloading the software, you may request the software CDs be mailed to you. Simply send an e-mail message to . Include in the message your name, address, and the name and number of this course. Once you have received the CDs, you must install the software in accordance with the MSDNAA Agreement ( Once you have installed the software, you must place the CDs back in the box they came in (or a suitable container) and return them to the TSYS Department of Computer Science. There should be a return label in the box the CDs were sent to you in, but you will have to pay for the return postage.
Student Web Server Space / To make your Web pages and Web sites accessible outside of your own computer, you will need to place your Web pages on an actual Web server. All currently enrolled CSU students can request free Web server space on the CSU student Web server. Simply go to and click on the "Free Web Pages" icon, then click on the link to request the account. Under normal circumstances, the account and space will be created in a matter of seconds. If you experience any difficulties during the account request process, please e-mail the CSU webmaster ().
If Web server space is needed on servers other than studentwebs.colstate.edu to support the course work, account information will be provided to you.
Getting Help / Student assistants in the ComputerCenter and in the open lab can help you with basic computer-related problems (such as logging onto the network, saving your work, etc.), but they are not obligated to help you with your assignments. Tutors in the Department of Computer Science lab can help you with the assignments. Their schedule is typically posted in the Computer Science departmental office. Do not ask the tutors to write HTML,JavaScript, ASP, or other code required for this course for you. They are instructed to assist you in understanding concepts only.
Academic Honesty/
Plagiarism Policy / Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, activities such as cheating and plagiarism ( Dishonesty/Academic Misconduct). It is a basis for disciplinary action. Any work turned in for individual credit must be entirely the work of the student submitting the work. All work must be your own. For group projects, the work must be done only by members of the group. You may share ideas but submitting identical assignments (for example) will be considered cheating. You may discuss the material in the course and help one another with debugging; however, any work you hand in for a grade must be your own. A simple way to avoid inadvertent plagiarism is to talk about the assignments, but don't read each other's work or write solutions together unless otherwise directed by me. For your own protection, keep scratch paper and old versions of assignments to establish ownership until after the assignment has been graded and returned to you. If you have any questions about this, please contact me immediately. For assignments, access to notes, the course textbooks, books and other publications is allowed. All work that is not your own, MUST be properly cited. This includes any material found on the Internet. Stealing or giving or receiving any code, diagrams, drawings, text or designs from another person (CSU or non-CSU, including the Internet) is not allowed. Having access to another person’s work on the computer system or giving access to your work to another person is not allowed. It is your responsibility to prevent others from having unauthorized access to your work.
No cheating in any form will be tolerated. Penalties for academic dishonesty may include a zero grade on the assignment or exam/quiz, a failing grade for the course, suspension from the Computer Science program, and dismissal from the program. All instances of cheating will be documented in writing with a copy placed in the Department’s files. Students will be expected to discuss the academic misconduct with the faculty member and the chairperson. For more details see the Faculty Handbook: and the Student Handbook:
In programming courses such as this, you must be particularly diligent in submitting only your own work. In completing the assignments for this course, you may not copyany other coding from any other source other than the course text and material presented in class. Doing otherwise will be considered plagiarism and will result in the sanctions described above.
Confidentially of Information Shared by Students / CSU does not guarantee the confidentiality of information shared by students in the course environment. Therefore, students should not share any confidential information from employers unless explicitly released for public use.
ADA Accommodation Notice / If you have a documented disability as described by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 933-112 Section 504) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and would like to request academic and/or physical accommodations please contact Joy Norman at the Office of Disability Services in the Center for Academic Support and Student Retention, Tucker Hall (706) 568-2330, as soon as possible. Course requirements will not be waived but reasonable accommodations may be provided as appropriate.