Week 5 [Sep 9]
Policy on project work distribution
As most of the work is graded individually, it is OK to do less or more than equal share in your project team.
Related: [Admin: Project: Scope]
Policy on email response time
Normally, the prof will respond within 24 hours if it was an email sent to the prof or a forum post directed at the prof. If you don't get a response within that time, please feel free to remind the prof. It is likely that the prof did not notice your post or the email got stuck somewhere.
Similarly we expect you to check email regularly and respond to emails written to you personally (not mass email) promptly.
Not responding to a personal email is a major breach of professional etiquette (and general civility). Imagine how pissed off you would be if you met the prof along the corridor, said 'Hi prof, good morning' and the prof walked away without saying anything back. Not responding to a personal email is just as bad. Always take a few seconds to at least acknowledge such emails. It doesn't take long to type "Noted. Thanks" and hit 'send'.
The promptness of a reply is even more important when the email is requesting you for something that you cannot provide. Imagine you wrote to the prof requesting a reference letter and the prof did not respond at all because he/she did not want to give you one; You'll be quite frustrated because you wouldn't know whether to look for another prof or wait longer for a response. Saying 'No' is fine and in fact a necessary part of professional life; but saying nothing is not acceptable. If you didn't reply, the sender will not even know whether you received the email.
Why so much bean counting?
Sometimes, small things matter in big ways. e.g., all other things being equal, a job may be offered to the candidate who has the neater looking CV although both have the same qualifications. This may be unfair, but that's how the world works. Students forget this harsh reality when they are in the protected environment of the school and tend to get sloppy with their work habits. That is why we reward all positive behavior, even small ones (e.g., following precise submission instructions, arriving on time etc.).
But unlike the real world, we are forgiving. That is why you can still earn full 10 marks of the participation marks even if you miss a few things here and there.
Related article: This Is The Personality Trait That Most Often Predicts Success (this is why we reward things like punctuality).