Dr. MaryAnne Egan
Professor of Computer Science

Some of the courses Dr. Egan has taught over the last 20 years at Siena include Introduction to Computer Science, Web Design, Introduction to Programming, Diversity in Computer Science and Web Programming.

Contact Office Hours

Siena College requires students to wear appropriate face coverings (e.g. masks, fully covering both mouth and nose) in all college buildings, including classrooms, laboratories and studios. If students arrive to a class, lab, studio, or office hours without a face covering, they will be denied entry, and must leave and obtain a face covering before they can return. Likewise, students are required to wear face coverings when in hallways within buildings and to be prepared to put one on if they come within six feet of another person when traversing campus. Students who refuse forfeit the right to attend class until a mask is worn and are subject to disciplinary action for violating the campus code of conduct (see policy). All college employees have the right to refuse services to students if they do not comply with these requirements.

Students are requested to use available cleaning products to wipe down their desks or work areas when they arrive in class. Classrooms will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized at least once daily as well. Students with any symptoms of illness, especially those associated with COVID-19 must not attend class under any circumstances. As with any absence, they should contact instructors to discuss missed lectures and assignments.

If the instructor is quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure, the class will be offered remotely until the Instructor is able to return to campus. Additionally, Instructors may move the class to remote instruction if they feel in-person meetings are not safe.

Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python, 4th ed., Guzdial and Ericson, 2016.

Computer Science Illuminated 7th ed., Dale and Lewis, 2019.

For a complete list of topics covered see the Course Schedule

None

Introduce the discipline of computer science

Enhance problem-solving abilities

Learn how to program and solve problems using the Python programming environment

Help acquire knowledge about computing systems in general, both hardware and software

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Even if your career takes you in a direction that doesn’t require computer science or computer programming, the organization and problem-solving skills that you learn in this course can be applied in many different situations.

By learning to program a computer, which requires very precise instructions, you can hone your problem-solving skills to a much higher degree.

Final grades for this course will be based primarily upon lab work, homework, and performance on exams. The following weights will be used to determine grades:

5%	Class Participation/Attendance
20%	5 Homework Assignments
20%	11 Labs
15%	Exam 1
20%	Exam 2
20%	Final Exam

Letter grades will be assigned based on your numeric final average.

Grade	Numeric Equiv. *	Description
A	90-100	A student earning this grade must demonstrate not only mastery of course material, but also originality or creativity that is appropriate to the problem solving nature of this course.
B	80-89	Mastery described above has a hole here and there.
C	70-79	Student lacks an understanding of some of the material presented in class and worked with in the lab.
D	60-69	Serious deficiencies in several areas that were covered in the course.
F	<60	Deficiencies span the better part of the course.

* These are approximate ranges; + and – ranges are omitted here for brevity’s sake.

Your participation grade is based on questions you ask and answer in class. We expect and encourage you to come to class prepared! See the schedule of topics for a tentative course outline including reading assignments and dates. Also, if you aren’t in class – you can’t participate!

All exams will be closed-book and cumulative, although the second exam will stress material covered after the first exam. In each exam, you will be permitted to bring in one sheet of paper (8.5” by 11”) with anything you like handwritten on it (you may use both sides).

I am available if you should run into difficulty in working on your projects, homework, or labs, whether it is regarding concepts, clarifications, algorithm development, or syntax problems.

If you can’t make my office hours, talk with me about scheduling an alternate time to meet or see a tutor. You should be aware that an office visit is evidence that you care about your work and your progress in the course.

You are also welcome to visit the office hours of the other professors teaching this course. Their hours are listed here:

• Dr. Goldstein (online, zoom link in Canvasa) -- Tues and Thurs: 9:30am-11:00am, Wed: 9:30am-10:30pm and 1:30pm-2:30pm
• Dr. Vandenberg (RB313) -- Mon: 1:00pm-2:00pm, Tues: 10:00am-11:30am, Wed: 10:00am-11:30am, Fri: 9:00am-10:00am
• Dr. Flatland (outside tent A) -- Wed: 3:00pm-4:00pm

Homework assignments will consist of writing short Python programs to solve problems, short answer, essay, and/or problems about general computer science topics. Late work will not be accepted.

While it is acceptable to discuss the meaning of homework assignments and general approaches to solving the problems with other students in the course, any cooperation beyond that point is not allowed.

In addition to your instructor, computer science tutors are available to answer questions you might have regarding the homework.

If you receive help from anyone other than your instructor, you must document this help in your assignment by including a written statement describing the help you received.

We strongly suggest that you avoid sitting next to other students in the class at the computer while you are working out your solutions.

For homework problems that involve programming, you may develop your programs on another system, but you must have a copy in your course account to receive credit.

We reserve the right to examine any files in your course directories at any time.

You will work on labs with a partner, but you may not collaborate with others outside your lab partnership.

Your instructor and a Lab Assistant will be available during lab. We will generally not tell you how to do things but will point you in the right direction. The Lab Manual (to be distributed separately soon) has more details on the labs.

You should attend all classes and labs, but of course if you are truly feeling sick or have been quarantined, you should stay away. You are responsible for all announcements and material covered in class, whether or not you are physically present. It is your responsibility to obtain handouts, notes, and materials for any classes you may miss.

Do not miss an exam; make-up exams will not be given unless there is a valid advance reason for missing an exam, i.e. scheduled sports event (intramural events do not count), class trip, etc. Arrangements must be made in advance by contacting your instructor at least two weeks before the scheduled exam date to arrange an alternative time. Obviously if you are truly sick or quarantined we will make other arrangements.

NOTE: The final exam will be during exam week. We don’t control when it is, so you should not make any plans that would cause you to miss any portion of exam week until you know when all your exams are. We will not offer alternative exam times for the final exam in this situation.

In our Franciscan community, diversity is an invitation to celebrate the uniqueness of each individual, as well as the cultural differences that enrich us all. In this course, I will do my best to ensure that students from all backgrounds and perspectives will be served equitably. The diversity that students bring to this class will be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful and inclusive of the many identities of students in terms of gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, culture, perspective, and other background characteristics.

Your suggestions about how to improve the value of diversity and inclusiveness in this course are encouraged and appreciated.

Turn off all phones before you enter the classroom (virtually) or the lab. If you use your phone for talking, texting, or other purposes while you are in class you will be marked absent for that class and lose class participation points. If you use your phone to talk or text during lab, you lose five points off the grade of that lab. Leaving class to use your phone is not acceptable unless you work for an emergency service (firefighter, EMT, police, etc.).

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I am available if you should run into difficulty in working on your projects, homework, or labs, whether it is regarding concepts, clarifications, algorithm development, or syntax problems.

I will be holding virtual office hours during our scheduled class period and in-person office hours.

If you can’t make my office hours, talk with me about scheduling an alternate time to meet (or Zoom) or see a tutor. You should be aware that an office visit is evidence that you care about your work and your progress in the course.

You are also welcome to visit the office hours of the other professors teaching this course.

Tutors will be available soon after the semester starts, usually Sun-Thu evenings; details will be announced in class and posted on the tutoring web page.

Everything you turn in, except for labs, must be entirely your own work. Every lab you turn in must be completed by you and your partner only.

It is important that each student maintain the highest level of academic integrity in this class.

Guidelines are provided (at the website linked below) regarding what is and what is not appropriate collaboration on labs and homework. Academic dishonesty includes such things as violating these guidelines and cheating on an exam.

For additional information regarding academic integrity, you are expected to review the full Academic Integrity statement which is provided by the Computer Science Department.

The penalty for academic dishonesty in this course is a lowered final grade for the course, up to and possibly including an F.

We reserve the right to examine any files or directories in your csis110 folder at any time.

• We are all required to wear masks while in lab or office hours. I have to enforce this.
• We will have assigned seats for lab. These assignments may change periodically for lab so you can work with different people.
• You are encouraged to sanitize your area of the room before and after each lab with the materials provided in the room.
• No eating in lab; drinking only through a straw under your mask.
• When leaving lab, don't all leave at once: students closer to the doors will leave first to avoid congestion.

The College, as we've recently seen, may be forced to close in certain extraordinary circumstances.

You are instructed to bring all texts and a copy of the syllabus/course schedule home with you in the event of a College Closure. The Academic Calendar will be adjusted upon reopening; so be prepared for the possibility of a short mini-semester; rescheduled class/exam period; and /or rescheduling of the semester, depending on the length of the closure.

If your situation permits, you should continue with readings and assignments to the best of your ability, per the course schedule.

Online office hours will be used by me in order to maintain contact with my students. You will be able to “check-in” with questions that you have. If you do not have internet access available, I will also provide my home phone number and home address, as needed. Remember, internet, mail delivery, and telephone services may also be impacted by a Pandemic or other emergency event.

Finally, stay connected with information regarding the status of the College’s status and Reopening schedule by monitoring the Siena website, www.siena.edu.

   Academic integrity policy

   Accommodations policy

   Emergency preparedness

   Severe weather policy

   Attendance policy

    Cell phone use