Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. I am on the waitlist for CSE 8A and I would like to know my chances of getting in the class.
Course instructors do not manage waitlists and so we will not be able to help you with this. Waitlists are managed by CSE student affairs. Please contact UCSD CSE student affairs and they will be able to help you with this. As of Week 0, there is still space available in the class.
Link to CSE Student Affairs: https://cse.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/advising/cse-student-affairs-office-hours
2. Can I attend a different section of lab?
Unfortunately, no. There are a limited number of seats in the labs. You need to attend your assigned section.
3. I don't have access to Autograder. What should I do?
If you don't have access to Autograder, you can request access by going to autograder.ucsd.edu and clicking on "Join a Course". Fill in your details and choose "Course - CSE 8A". You can select any section, and make sure to write a brief explanation. Once you submit your request, a member of the staff will approve it, and you should have access to Autograder soon.
4. I do not have access to PrairieLearn. What should I do?
You should be able to enroll yourself using the link on canvas.
5. I do not have access to PrairieTest. What should I do?
Please make a private piazza post so the instructional staff can help you.
6. When can I use Copilot (or ChatGPT) and when can't I?
The answer to this question depends on the context. Here we've tried to expand on our policy for GenAI use to help make this more clear:
Homework: On homeworks, you generally will be expected to not use Copilot nor ChatGPT. If you are stuck on a question, you should use CodeHelp (signup link on canvas) or see a member of the instructional staff. You could ask a friend as well, but be careful as your friend might just give you the answer in a way that may not be productive for your learning. (CodeHelp and the instructional staff will instead seek to guide you to deeper understanding). The bulk of the final exam will be taken without access to AI or any outside help, so your focus should be on learning the material as well as possible to prepare you for the exam.
There may be a small number of questions on the homework that explicitly allow you to use Copilot. Those questions will be clearly marked for use by Copilot and we will give you a workspace that has Copilot enabled (you just have to sign in with your Copilot credentials). A portion of the final exam will allow you to use Copilot, so any such homework questions, along with the course projects, are your opportunity to practice the skills needed to successfully write software with Copilot.
Projects: The scope of projects is larger than homeworks, and the purpose of projects differs from homeworks as well. In homeworks, we want you to gain conceptual understanding (hence, GenAI is not allowed on much of the homework). On projects, we want you to apply what you learned to broader contexts. Therefore, on projects, we strongly encourage you to make use of GenAI tools such as GitHub Copilot. We still encourage you to spend time understanding the purpose of the code that the GenAI produces, and how each function you design contributes to your project’s goal. Of course, you’ll also be reading code, testing the code, and debugging along the way to completing your projects.
Quizzes: On quizzes, you can ONLY work on the PrairieLearn website (no outside tools or help). Almost all of the quiz questions will not allow you to use Copilot. You will be expected to understand code, trace code, test code, debug code, explain what code does, carry out problem decomposition, write code, etc. without the help of the AI. If you are allowed to use Copilot, it will be for larger questions where you write code.
Final Exam: The final exam will consist of three key parts. Part one will be a combination of short answer and multiple choice questions focused on code reading, explaining, testing, debugging, and code modification (no Copilot). Part 2 will be a section on code writing, debugging, testing, and modifying (no Copilot). Part 3 will ask you to write software, similar to the project, in a PrairieLearn workspace with Copilot enabled. For part 3, you will need to connect the PrairieLearn workspace to your GitHub Copilot account.
7. I added the class late, what should I do?
Welcome to the course! We're glad to have you. With a 10-week quarter system, we cover a lot of ground every week, which means you have some catching up to do. The CSE department has policies for joining courses late that may be helpful to review. Things to do:
Complete the syllabus quiz marked with #FinAid (details on canvas)
Sign up for all the course platforms linked on the home page of the course.
Complete the reading quizzes on PrairieLearn: RQ1 (Chapter 1-2), RQ2 (Chapter 3), and RQ3 (Chapter 4 and 5). (See the class schedule for more details.)
Watch the podcasts for the course either available on podcast.ucsd.edu or on canvas under Media.
Unfortunately, labs are held in person and cannot be made up. You can miss two labs in the course.
Homework 1 is due on 4/7/24. Please complete it if you can. If you've added after the deadline, remember that you can drop your lowest homework.
Review how to get help in the course - nearly all your questions should be posted on piazza or asked in Office Hours or Open Lab Hours.
Class attendance is entirely maintained electronically. If you've missed classes, we started attendance on Thursday of Week 1 and you can miss up to 4 classes and still receive full participation marks. Even if you miss more than 4 classes, points "lost" are replaced with your final exam grade.