Frequently Asked Questions

Online Exam Rules	Proctoring: The exam will be proctored. The session will be recorded. You need to turn on the cameras, mute your microphones, and make sure that your hands and face are visible. Try to sit at a position so that your hands and your face can be seen. You will use a computer during the exam time majorly to scroll up or down the question paper (exceptions: downloading question paper and uploading answer sheet). Submission: You need to write solutions on paper sheets very neatly, write your full name, student ID, scan the pages using a scan app (such as CamScanner). Do not take a pic but scan it using a scan app. Combine all pages into a single PDF. You don't need to scan each page as a PDF and then combine them. You can keep scanning multiple pages in the same PDF. Submit the PDF on Brightspace before the class time ends. Check google.com to get NY time and not your computer or watch. Submit the answer sheets on time according to NY timezone. Late submissions will be penalized. Hence, submit a version 15 minutes before the exam end time. You can submit an unlimited number of times before the deadline. Practice using 4-5 fast scan apps, scan at least 10-15 documents, convert them to PDFs as fast as possible and send them to your email for practicing. You are solely responsible for any late submissions. Exams are closed slides, closed book, closed notes, closed conversation, and closed Internet. Referring to any material during the exam constitutes academic dishonesty and thereby you will be cheating your own friends and honest hardworking students. Such cases will be reported to Academic Judiciary. First-time proved charges leads to F / D / C- grades in the course. Second-time proved charges (for a 2nd offense) leads to dismissing from the graduate program. Given these serious penalties, logic says that life and career are at stake with cheating but minuscule gains from it. So it is not worth cheating. SASC-registered students will get their respective accommodations. Submission must be made to Brightspace. Students must log in to the respective meeting links 20 minutes before the exam start time to make sure that everything (cameras, focus, microphone, speakers, etc) is working fine. Students must make sure that the camera focus is on their HANDS, FACE, and ANSWER SHEETS like in this picture. The camera must focus on a decent area rather than just the hands. If it is difficult to see the question paper and show the hands on camera, three approaches can be tried: (i) Use a smartphone, (ii) Sit far from the laptop, or (iii) Keep laptop at a higher elevation than yours or sit at a lower elevation than that of your laptop. Points will be CUT for not showing hands, face, and answer sheets. Please understand the motivation behind these rules. It is to minimize cheating. Students must NOT ask questions during the exam through audio as audio questions disturb other students and might give away ideas to other students. Audio questions will NOT be answered. Students can ask questions PRIVATELY through CHAT only if they think that the question is incorrect or incomplete in some way. We will only answer those questions that we think that are genuine. Questions that are already addressed here in FAQ, or the course webpage, or in the lectures will not be answered. If the question does not include enough information, please make the right assumptions and clearly state it. Students should not ask unnecessary questions that are already answered in this FAQ or the course web page or the lectures. Students should place their Student ID card in the first page so that even the ID card gets scanned into the PDF. Please write your full name and SBU student ID on the first page of your answer sheets. Please include the following integrity statement on the first page of your answer sheets before the exam begins. This will be the promise you make that you will not be cheating. ''Academic integrity is expected of all students at all times, whether in the presence or absence of members of the faculty. Understanding this, I declare that I shall not give, use, or receive unauthorized aid in this examination. I have been warned that any suspected instance of academic dishonesty will be reported to the appropriate office and that I will be subjected to the maximum possible penalty permitted under University guidelines.'' Students must use ONLY ONE HAND for scrolling up/down the question paper and their other hand should always be in focus through the cameras. Scrolling takes at most a second. Reason for this rule: To avoid cheating. It is easy to use both hands for searching online. It is relatively more difficult to search online through one hand only. Students must not wear headphones. Any/all student(s) can be asked to mute/unmute their microphones for any length of time while proctoring. Students must follow the exam guidelines. Please use a good app like CamScanner to scan your answer sheets in black-and-white mode (which is clearer than picture mode). Whenever you complete a page, write the page number at the bottom of your answer sheet, and then scan the page using the app. The scanned pages will keep getting appended in a same file. Save the file as PDF. Upload this file to Brightspace. This process saves a ton of time than scanning each page as a separate PDF and them combining them. Students must scan and upload the answer sheets in a single PDF to Brightspace before the exam end time. Late submissions will be penalized. Students must NOT leave the meeting room until the end of the exam. Students can bring a book to read after submitting answer sheet PDF on to Brightspace. Reason: To avoid cheating. Important: Not following the exam rules can lead to PENALTY.
Tips for Success	[Pre-Lecture Preparation.] Within 24 hours of a lecture, preview the materials (lecture slides and textbook topics) as much as possible. Use fast-reading technique to very quickly preview the topics that will be covered in the lecture. Scan exercise questions to understand what problems can be asked about the particular topics that will be covered in the lecture. [During Lecture.] Be extremely attentive. Have 100% focus on the ideas taught in the lecture slides. [Post-Lecture Preparation.] To get some level of expertise on the lecture topics, a student must spend at least 10 hours on each hour of lecture for decent understanding. Hardwork and practice is the only shortcut to success. [Tricks to be a Better Learner, Thinker, and Problem-Solver.] Pre-lecture preparation, post-lecture preparation, practice hundreds of problems, revise frequently, create cheat sheets for revision, practice fast reading, teach the lecture materials (NOT homework) to friends/family/relatives, group study on lecture materials, recall before sleeping, create diagrams for every concept/idea, visualize everything, and ADVANCED-LEVEL: SOLVE PROBLEMS PURELY IN MIND THROUGH IMAGINATION WHILE CLOSING EYES.

Online Exam Rules

Proctoring: The exam will be proctored. The session will be recorded. You need to turn on the cameras, mute your microphones, and make sure that your hands and face are visible. Try to sit at a position so that your hands and your face can be seen. You will use a computer during the exam time majorly to scroll up or down the question paper (exceptions: downloading question paper and uploading answer sheet).
Submission: You need to write solutions on paper sheets very neatly, write your full name, student ID, scan the pages using a scan app (such as CamScanner). Do not take a pic but scan it using a scan app. Combine all pages into a single PDF. You don't need to scan each page as a PDF and then combine them. You can keep scanning multiple pages in the same PDF. Submit the PDF on Brightspace before the class time ends. Check google.com to get NY time and not your computer or watch. Submit the answer sheets on time according to NY timezone. Late submissions will be penalized. Hence, submit a version 15 minutes before the exam end time. You can submit an unlimited number of times before the deadline. Practice using 4-5 fast scan apps, scan at least 10-15 documents, convert them to PDFs as fast as possible and send them to your email for practicing. You are solely responsible for any late submissions.
Exams are closed slides, closed book, closed notes, closed conversation, and closed Internet. Referring to any material during the exam constitutes academic dishonesty and thereby you will be cheating your own friends and honest hardworking students. Such cases will be reported to Academic Judiciary. First-time proved charges leads to F / D / C- grades in the course. Second-time proved charges (for a 2nd offense) leads to dismissing from the graduate program. Given these serious penalties, logic says that life and career are at stake with cheating but minuscule gains from it. So it is not worth cheating.
SASC-registered students will get their respective accommodations. Submission must be made to Brightspace.
Students must log in to the respective meeting links 20 minutes before the exam start time to make sure that everything (cameras, focus, microphone, speakers, etc) is working fine.
Students must make sure that the camera focus is on their HANDS, FACE, and ANSWER SHEETS like in this picture. The camera must focus on a decent area rather than just the hands. If it is difficult to see the question paper and show the hands on camera, three approaches can be tried: (i) Use a smartphone, (ii) Sit far from the laptop, or (iii) Keep laptop at a higher elevation than yours or sit at a lower elevation than that of your laptop. Points will be CUT for not showing hands, face, and answer sheets. Please understand the motivation behind these rules. It is to minimize cheating.
Students must NOT ask questions during the exam through audio as audio questions disturb other students and might give away ideas to other students. Audio questions will NOT be answered. Students can ask questions PRIVATELY through CHAT only if they think that the question is incorrect or incomplete in some way. We will only answer those questions that we think that are genuine. Questions that are already addressed here in FAQ, or the course webpage, or in the lectures will not be answered. If the question does not include enough information, please make the right assumptions and clearly state it. Students should not ask unnecessary questions that are already answered in this FAQ or the course web page or the lectures.
Students should place their Student ID card in the first page so that even the ID card gets scanned into the PDF.
Please write your full name and SBU student ID on the first page of your answer sheets.
Please include the following integrity statement on the first page of your answer sheets before the exam begins. This will be the promise you make that you will not be cheating. ''Academic integrity is expected of all students at all times, whether in the presence or absence of members of the faculty. Understanding this, I declare that I shall not give, use, or receive unauthorized aid in this examination. I have been warned that any suspected instance of academic dishonesty will be reported to the appropriate office and that I will be subjected to the maximum possible penalty permitted under University guidelines.''
Students must use ONLY ONE HAND for scrolling up/down the question paper and their other hand should always be in focus through the cameras. Scrolling takes at most a second. Reason for this rule: To avoid cheating. It is easy to use both hands for searching online. It is relatively more difficult to search online through one hand only.
Students must not wear headphones.
Any/all student(s) can be asked to mute/unmute their microphones for any length of time while proctoring. Students must follow the exam guidelines.
Please use a good app like CamScanner to scan your answer sheets in black-and-white mode (which is clearer than picture mode). Whenever you complete a page, write the page number at the bottom of your answer sheet, and then scan the page using the app. The scanned pages will keep getting appended in a same file. Save the file as PDF. Upload this file to Brightspace. This process saves a ton of time than scanning each page as a separate PDF and them combining them.
Students must scan and upload the answer sheets in a single PDF to Brightspace before the exam end time. Late submissions will be penalized.
Students must NOT leave the meeting room until the end of the exam. Students can bring a book to read after submitting answer sheet PDF on to Brightspace. Reason: To avoid cheating.
Important: Not following the exam rules can lead to PENALTY.

Tips for Success

[Pre-Lecture Preparation.] Within 24 hours of a lecture, preview the materials (lecture slides and textbook topics) as much as possible. Use fast-reading technique to very quickly preview the topics that will be covered in the lecture. Scan exercise questions to understand what problems can be asked about the particular topics that will be covered in the lecture.
[During Lecture.] Be extremely attentive. Have 100% focus on the ideas taught in the lecture slides.
[Post-Lecture Preparation.] To get some level of expertise on the lecture topics, a student must spend at least 10 hours on each hour of lecture for decent understanding. Hardwork and practice is the only shortcut to success.
[Tricks to be a Better Learner, Thinker, and Problem-Solver.] Pre-lecture preparation, post-lecture preparation, practice hundreds of problems, revise frequently, create cheat sheets for revision, practice fast reading, teach the lecture materials (NOT homework) to friends/family/relatives, group study on lecture materials, recall before sleeping, create diagrams for every concept/idea, visualize everything, and
ADVANCED-LEVEL: SOLVE PROBLEMS PURELY IN MIND THROUGH IMAGINATION WHILE CLOSING EYES.