Objectives and Policies

Objective

The objective of this course is for the student to gain an understanding of how relational database systems are designed and implemented. The course will emphasize a balance between database design and implementation and the structure of database systems. Students will be expected to employ the concepts learned in this course to complete a non-trivial database design project.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Identify and explain the architectural components of a relational database and the salient design characteristics of component.
Summarize how transactions are processed in a relational database by explaining the functions which typically occur in the process and the common options of each function.
Demonstrate a working knowledge of the Structured Query language (SQL).
Apply common techniques such as Entity Relationship Diagramming (ERD), ERD translation into relational schemas, and schema refinement and normalization for designing and developing a relational database.
Build an actual database and associated application using current development tools and technologies.

Policies

	Attendance: You are expected to attend class and participate in the discussion of the topic for the given day. The instructor reserves the right to adjust your final grade by one letter grade (i.e., B+ to A-, etc., up or down) to reflect attendance and participation.
	Appointments: Office hours are posted on this web site. Additionally, you may schedule an appointment with me during my free times. To schedule an appointment, please send me an email requesting a specific time to meet. As a general rule, please keep appointments to 30 minutes or less, if possible.
	Homework/Programs: I encourage you to work together in study groups to accomplish your homework and programs for this class. However, all work that you turn in must be your own. You may not copy another's work. Student's found doing so will receive a zero on that assignment and risk failure in the class for a repeat offense. For more detail see the course collaboration policy.
	Late Policy: Homework will received a 25% late penalty per day that it is late. This penalty is a cap on the maximum grade you can receive, not a subtraction from the actual grade, so it is often in your best to turn in your homework, even if late. Programming assignments will receive a 1% late penalty per hour that they are late. This penalty is also a cap on the maximum grade.
	Grades: In general, this class is graded by the standard scale: 93-100 (A), 90-93↓ (A-), 87-90↓ (B+), 83-87↓ (B), 80-83↓ (B-), 77-80↓ (C+), 73-77↓ (C), 70-73↓ (C-), 60-70↓ (D), and 60↓ (F). However, some grade consideration will be given based on the class mean, standard deviation, and clustering.
	Email: Since I'll be communicating certain class information via email, I expect you to read you're email daily.