Computer Science 1 — Sample Term Schedule¶
What this is: a sample dated instance of the portable course design (
design_rationale.md), showing how the course maps onto a real semester. This example uses MSU Denver's Fall 2026 academic calendar — it is an illustration of the method (schedule, deadlines, and how assessment is timed around an institution's drop/withdraw dates), not a commitment to a specific offering. Retargeting another term or school means swapping this one overlay; the course design itself is date-free.
How to read this page
Students / self-learners: follow the week-by-week table as your pacing guide — each row is one week's material, and links appear as content is published. Ignore the institutional dates if you're self-paced; the order is what matters. Instructors: this file is the swappable per-term overlay. To retarget a different semester or school, copy it, replace the calendar constraints, and re-map the weeks — the course design itself never changes.
Term: classes Mon Aug 17 → Sun Dec 6, 2026; finals Dec 7–13; grades posted Dec 18.
Key calendar constraints (the sample term)¶
| Date | Event | Why it matters for course design |
|---|---|---|
| Mon Aug 17 | Classes begin | Week 1 starts. |
| Mon Aug 24 | Last day to drop, 100% refund | End of Week 1 — students need a real taste + a graded signal before this. |
| Wed Sep 2 | Last day to drop, 50% refund | Week 3 — second decision point. |
| Mon Sep 7 | Labor Day (campus closed) | No class Mon of Week 4. |
| Fri Nov 20 | Last day to withdraw | Week 14 — students should know their standing by here. |
| Mon–Wed Nov 23–25 | Fall Break (no classes) | Week of Nov 23 is effectively dead (see below). |
| Thu–Fri Nov 26–27 | Thanksgiving (campus closed) | — |
| Sun Dec 6 | Classes end | Last instructional day. |
| Dec 7–13 | Final Exam Week | Final assessment window. |
| ~Dec 16 | Grades due (posted Dec 18) | All grading — incl. the final — must clear in ~3 days. Demands autograding + ready rubrics. |
Design consequence: the "informed-drop" front-load¶
Because the 100% drop deadline is the end of Week 1 and the 50% deadline is Week 3, the course deliberately gives an honest preview of its real rhythm early, so students self-select with accurate information rather than discovering the workload after the refund window closes:
- Week 1 ships Module 0 (setup) and a genuine first taste of programming, with a low-stakes graded checkpoint (Checkpoint 1) due before Aug 24.
- By Sep 2 (50% deadline) students have completed assignment a01 and an early quiz — enough signal to judge fit.
- By the drop deadlines you'll have completed the setup exercise, your first assignment (a01), and Quiz 1 — enough to gauge whether the course fits your time and goals. Honesty over enrollment-protection.
Week-by-week schedule¶
Unit numbers reference the design-rationale topic spine. Front-loaded so Weeks 1–5 form the complete "teachable spine" that gets built first. Zelle chapter↔unit mapping (4e primary, 3e budget) lives in the design rationale and the syllabus schedule table.
| Wk | Week of | Units / focus | Calendar notes | Assessment milestones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 17 | Module 0 setup · Unit 0 what is computation · Unit 1 values, types, variables, first program · Lab 1 | Classes begin Aug 17 | Checkpoint 1 due before Aug 24 (pre-100%-drop taste) |
| 2 | Aug 24 | Unit 1 expressions, I/O · Unit 2 decisions | Aug 24: 100% drop deadline | a01 assigned |
| 3 | Aug 31 | Unit 3 iteration / loops | Sep 2: 50% drop deadline | a01 due; Quiz 1 |
| 4 | Sep 7 | Unit 4 strings & sequences | Mon Sep 7 Labor Day — no class | a02 assigned |
| 5 | Sep 14 | Unit 5 functions, decomposition, scope | — | a02 due |
| 6 | Sep 21 | Unit 6 lists, tuples, mutability & aliasing ★CS2 bridge — extra time | — | a03 assigned; Quiz 2 |
| 7 | Sep 28 | Unit 7 dictionaries & sets · Unit 9 testing & debugging (formalized) | — | a03 due |
| 8 | Oct 5 | Review + Midterm (Units 0–7) | — | Midterm exam |
| 9 | Oct 12 | Unit 8 files & exceptions | — | a04 assigned |
| 10 | Oct 19 | Unit 10 classes & objects ★CS2 bridge | — | a04 due |
| 11 | Oct 26 | Unit 10 inheritance + OOP example | — | a05 assigned; Quiz 3 |
| 12 | Nov 2 | Unit 11 recursion ★CS2 bridge | — | a05 due |
| 13 | Nov 9 | Unit 12 searching, sorting, intro Big-O ★CS2 bridge | — | Research paper due (written-comm) |
| 14 | Nov 16 | Applications / buffer · oral presentations begin | Fri Nov 20: withdraw deadline | Presentations (part 1) |
| — | Nov 23 | Fall Break + Thanksgiving — NO CLASS | Nov 23–27 campus closed/no classes | — |
| 15 | Nov 30 | Wrap-up · review · oral presentations finish | Classes end Dec 6 | Presentations (part 2) |
| Finals | Dec 7–13 | Final exam | Grades due ~Dec 16 | Final exam |
Lost week flag: the week of Nov 23 is gone to Fall Break + Thanksgiving. No new material or high-stakes deadline lands the week before or immediately after it — Week 13 closes the last CS2-bridge unit, Week 14 starts presentations, and Week 15 is wrap + finish. Don't schedule a deadline on Dec 1–2 expecting momentum across the break.
Assessment timing rationale¶
- Early + low-stakes before the drop deadlines (Checkpoint 1 in W1, a01 + quiz by W3) so students judge fit honestly.
- Midterm at W8 — natural midpoint, covers the procedural half (Units 0–7) before the OOP/recursion/algorithms half.
- CS2-bridge units (6, 10, 11, 12) carry extra time and dedicated assessment — these are what make or break CS 2050.
- Communication thread (ABET SO-3): research paper due W13, oral presentations W14–W15 — deliberately not crammed into finals.
- Grading-due constraint (~Dec 16): the final and late deliverables must be gradeable fast → autograding for code + rubrics finalized before finals week.
Portability note¶
Everything above except the dates, holidays, and drop/withdraw deadlines comes straight from the portable design. To run this course at another institution or term, swap this single file for that calendar — the units, assessments, and outcomes mapping don't change. That separation (portable core + dated overlay) is intentional.