Basic Class Information

Instructor: Professor Michael Gleicher. Contact me via CS559 Piazza. Office hours Wednesdays 2:00-3:00 (or by appointment) in 6588 Morgridge Hall (my office). Check my web page to see if I am out of town. (I will be out of town on 2/18, for example).

Teaching Assistants: Alex Peseckis and Bhuyashi Deka. The TAs will have consulting hours from 3-6pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and 3-4:30PM on Fridays. They will be available in Room B2532 in Morgridge Hall during those times. Contact via CS559 Piazza.

In an online class, communication is important. For this class, there are multiple mechanisms (Canvas, Piazza, Web, GitHub, Zoom, Email). Students should understand how the class uses all of these mechanisms. These mechanisms are especially important when you need help.

This page explains how the class will work. As an online class with some experimental mechanics, this might take some explanation. However, the class has a basic pattern - a 2-week rhythm—that we will repeat over and over…

This page discusses the use of AI tools (e.g., Generative AI) in CS559 this semester. It is more than just stating the policy (Short version: treat it as you would treat a friend who has taken the class). I want to explain how I am thinking about AI tools (as of January 2026) and how you might think about this for class. I have been thinking about this a lot - as a user of AI, as a computer scientist, and as an educator.

This is a Syllabus in the form of the official University Template. It details the course policies.

More information is on the course web page: https://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/559-sp26/ which provides the complete course documentation.

These aren’t really frequently asked questions; they are questions that I expect/want students to ask about why the class works the way that it does.

I want to explain the philosophy behind the design of the class. As a student, you might not care. But if you understand why this class is the way that it is, you should be better able to understand how the class works.

I have put this into a “FAQ” form to make it a little easier to organize.

This class has many different parts. While the Workbooks are the main thing, we will have Quizzes, Class-time Activities, Video Surveys, End-of-Week Surveys, and Checkpoints. This page tries to explain them all, how we will assess them, and how we will put them together to form final grades.

Overview of Grading

While students will ultimately be given a grade on the A-F scale, we will not use that for any of the components of the class (except the exam). We will not average grades.