What you should know on the first day of class
Lecture Sessions
Four lecture sections are being offered for ECE 120 this Spring, https://ece.illinois.edu/academics/courses/ECE120. Three sections (AL, AL2, and AL5) will be taught in-person and one section (AL4) will be taught online through Zoom. You will attend three lectures per week (MWF) during the scheduled lecture times (in-person/ online synchronous lectures). For more information, please see the detailed schedule (link).
Discussion-Worksheet - Every Thursday
You will also attend a weekly discussion session every Thursday. During the scheduled discussion time, you will work with other students on a worksheet. The discussion sessions will be conducted by TAs. You should turn in your completed worksheet to your TA at the end of each session. We will not accept late or unreadable worksheets. For more information, please see the Discussion Session Canvas page (link).
Homework
Homework assignments and their deadlines will be posted on the Assignments Canvas page (link). Homeworks are submitted online through PrairieLearn (PL) Links to an external site. / GradeScope Links to an external site.. For more information on PL/Gradescope-based HWs and grading policy, please see the link. Homework 1 (PL-based) is due on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, by 11:59 pm.
Laboratory assignments
There will be three hardware labs and ten software labs in ECE120. Lab instructions/template code will be posted on GitHub. The lab deadlines are posted on the Canvas Detailed Schedule page (link). Labs will be due roughly every week. A failing grade (F) for the course will be given to any student who does not score at least 50% in the labs. Lab 1 -SP25 is due on Friday, January 31, 2025, by 11:59 pm.
To gain access to the labs, you must create your repository on GitHub. Follow this link: Github Setup for Lab1 - Spring 2025. The page will guide you through the process of creating a GitHub account and connecting it to the illinois org. Once you have created your GitHub account, you will find the instructions for Lab1 in the README.md file.
Midterms and final exam
There will be three midterms and a final exam in this course. All exams are paper-based in-person exams. Exam dates are posted on the Detailed Schedule Canvas page (link). Detailed instructions on exam policies, syllabus, conflict exam requests, and practice exams will be posted on the Canvas Exam Schedule page.
Prelecture -Quizzes (optional) - due at 8:30 AM on the day of the lecture session - single attempt
The pre-lecture quizzes, which are closely related to Prof. Lumetta's lecture notes and recording, are due by 8:30 am CST for the lecture covered by the lecture notes (posted in the detailed schedule) on that day. You will take the pre-lecture quiz on PrairieLearn. Links to an external site. Prelecture-Quizzes will be graded on correctness. It can earn you extra credit towards Exams (2% of the overall grade without going over the 60% Exams cap). The extra credit will be calculated based on the overall quiz score (i.e. your overall quiz score on PrairieLearn). The First pre-lecture quiz (i.e. Quiz 2, named based on the lecture number) is due on 1/24/2025.
In-class - Quizzes (optional) - during the lecture session - single attempt
The quiz is intended to determine if the student understands the basic concepts covered in the class/lecture while encouraging attendance. There is a marked negative correlation between those who do not attend class and do poorly in the course. The pop quizzes will be administered during lecture time. They are paper-based (for AL, AL2, and AL5 sections) and via web tools or a google form for online section, AL4; the exact number of quizzes will be determined throughout the semester.
In-class pop quiz policies:
- We may announce the week of the pop quiz in advance.
- The pop quiz is expected to take an average 5 mins. We expect to have approx. 5-6 mins quizzes during the semester.
- In-class quizzes will be graded on correctness.
- These quizzes can earn you up to 1% extra credit towards your overall grade, independent of the exam cap.
- There will be no make-up quizzes.
- Students are expected to bring paper and pencil to take the quizzes.
Getting help
The ECE 120 Staff are committed to helping you learn, but you must ask for help! If you have technical questions, please ask during Office Hours or post a question on the Campuswire. You can also ask your instructor or TA quick questions after lecture or discussion. If you have questions about how to improve your learning skills, please feel free to ask any member of the course staff with whom you feel comfortable. These conversations are best had in person/Zoom (face-to-face) rather than by email. Finally, if you have questions about course logistics/policies or can't get your question answered any other way, please email Prof. Bhowmik.
Grading Policy
- Homeworks - 10% (lowest two homework grades will be dropped)
- Labs - 20% (lowest single lab grade will be dropped, excluding Labs 8, 12 and 13)
- Discussion - 10% (lowest two discussion-worksheet grades will be dropped)
- Midterm 1 - 10%
- Midterm 2 - 15%
- Midterm 3 - 15%
- Final Exam - 20%
Every homework assignment will be weighted equally, even though the raw totals may be different. Likewise, every lab will be weighted equally. The lowest two homework grades will be dropped. The lowest single grade will be dropped among labs. For this reason, there will be no deadline extensions for any individual (personal) reasons.
Grade cutoffs:
| A+ 97 - 100 | B+ 87-89.99 | C+ 77-79.99 | D+ 67-69.99 | F < 60 |
| A 93-96.99 | B 83-86.99 | C 73-76.99 | D 63-66.99 | |
| A- 90-92.99 | B- 80-82.99 | C- 70-72.99 | D- 60-62.99 |
In the event that course performance is worse than expected, these cutoffs might be lowered, but they will never be raised. Otherwise, they are strict. For example, a grade of 89.99 is a B+ and not an A-. A failing grade (F) for the course will be given to any student who does not score at least 50% in the labs.
Submitting Regrade Requests (exam/homework/Lab)
Regrade requests for Canvas-based written Homework(HW) must be submitted to Gradescope. Note that the PL-based HWs are auto-graded. They are well-tested for accuracy. There will be no regrade requests for PL-based HWs. ECE120 labs are auto-graded. Lab regrade requests should be submitted to the head grader, Yehya (yehyas2@illinois.edu). If you have any concerns with the regrade requests email Prof. Bhowmik (ubhowmik@illinois.edu) within one week after you have received the graded Labs/HWs/Exams (this date is not extended if you do not claim your work on time.) You must explain why your answer merits more points. In the subject line of your email mention "Regrade Request: HW/Lab/Exam xx, Lecture Section xx". "xx" will be replaced by HW/Lab/Exam no. and section no (e.g. AL1/AL3/AL2) respectively. Any portion of the assignment other than what you asked for regrade might also be regraded which could result in an overall reduction in your assignment grade. Discussion Grading Policy and Regrade Request (link).
Submitting Late Work
We will not accept late homework (unless specified on Canvas/PrairieLearn) or lab assignments. If the Lab is not returned by the due time, you will receive 0 points for it. No exceptions.
Hardware Labs:
ECE120 has a combination of hardware and software labs. All the labs will be performed individually by the students. For hardware labs, students will need lab kits to perform the labs. It’s time to get students their Kits! Please take a look at the website, https://ece.illinois.edu/academics/ugrad/lab-kits, to request your lab kits (link)
Important Dates (hardware lab kits):
Order Window: Monday 1/13 - Thursday 1/30 @ 4PM.
In Person Pickup Window: Tuesday 1/21- Friday 1/31 at Room ECEB 1024 in the Facilities Corridor on the 1st Floor - 10AM- 2PM
Last day to report missing parts : Friday Feb 7 (In Person Only - We will not ship missing components)
--> Any kits not ordered by and picked up during these windows will need to be purchased. <--
Quick Links:
Online Store: https://my.ece.illinois.edu/buy/
Local Pickup hours: 10AM- 2PM
Local Pickup Location: ECEB 1024 in the Facilities Corridor on the 1st Floor
ECE120 Lab Kits: ECE120 Lab Kits can be acquired free of charge. Please read FAQs (link) before ordering. Mistakes will cause delays in receiving your kit! Email ece-kits@illinois.edu if you have any questions regarding the lab kits!