Assignments¶
Grading¶
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Assignments (5) | 50% |
| Course Project | 30% |
| In-Class Paper Quizzes | 15% |
| Participation | 5% |
Letter grades follow the overall percentage: A ≥ 90, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F < 60.
Assignment list¶
There are five individual assignments, each released and due as shown below (all due at 12:00 pm / noon). See the Schedule for the full week-by-week plan.
| # | Title | Released | Due | Notebook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HW1 | Tokenization & N-Gram Language Models | Jan 27 | Feb 10 | Tokenization & Vocabulary |
| HW2 | Machine Learning & Text Classification | Feb 17 | Feb 26 | Classification Fundamentals |
| HW3 | Neural Text Classification & Structured Prediction | Mar 3 | Mar 24 | Embeddings & Sequence Models |
| HW4 | Neural & Pretrained Models (RNN/LSTM, Transformer, BERT, T5) | Mar 31 | Apr 9 | Transformers & LLMs |
| HW5 | LLM Post-Training & Agentic AI | Apr 14 | Apr 23 | SFT with LoRA/QLoRA · Agentic NLP |
Each assignment is a runnable notebook. Open it from the Table of Contents to read it inline or launch it in Colab.
Course project¶
The final project is done in groups of at most 2 (individual projects require prior approval). You may pick from a list of shared tasks or propose your own research project. Data and evaluation methods must be clearly defined, accessible, and ready to use. No double-dipping projects across classes. The project is graded across three milestones:
- Proposal (Week 4) — initial project proposal.
- Progress report & mid-term demo (Week 10) — 10-minute demo with preliminary results, during office hours.
- Final report & presentation (Week 15) — final report plus an in-class presentation with live Q&A.
Submission policy¶
- Assignments are submitted through Canvas; programming work is in Python.
- Include both your report and code.
- The Canvas timestamp is the official submission time.
Late policy¶
Assignments are due at 12:00 pm (noon). Late work is accepted up to 24 hours after the deadline with a 10% penalty (e.g., a 90 becomes 81). Nothing is accepted more than 24 hours late. This is enforced strictly — a 12:01 pm submission incurs the 10% penalty. Documented extenuating circumstances (e.g., a medical condition with University-issued documentation) will be handled case by case.
Quizzes¶
- Scheduled quizzes (counting toward the 15%): ~20–30 minutes, 5–10 questions, in class on paper, closed book (paper notes allowed). Scope and date announced at least one week in advance.
- Unannounced check-ins (participation only): 2–3 minutes, 1–2 questions. Bring a device to answer quickly.
Generative AI policy¶
You may use free generative-AI tools (e.g., Copilot, open LLMs) for assignments and the project, but you must not fully delegate your code to them — prefer autocompletion over wholesale generation. You must cite any AI usage (tool, version/date, and what it produced) and include an AI-usage reflection statement at the end of each assignment, written without AI. No AI is allowed on in-class quizzes. See the Syllabus for full details.
Academic integrity¶
- You may discuss ideas, but may not look at or share code — similar code scores zero. Document anyone you discussed solutions with.
- Cite all external resources (papers, libraries, Discord, StackOverflow, AI tools).
- Programming work is checked with collaboration-detection software. Violations are reported per the OU Academic Misconduct Code.