Grades

It is important to realize that grades in this class reflect your outcome performance (i.e., measured results), not your effort.  Your course letter grade is assigned based on the weighted average of the grades that you earned during the semester. The class has no traditional final or midterm. Instead of the final, students participate in the annual McIntire Hedge Tournament.
     1) 20 homework assignments count for 70% of the grade
     2) Class participation is worth 10%
     3) The Hedge Tournament is 20%

If we will end up doing more/less homework, I will scale the weight so that after subtracting the two lowest ones the homework still weigh 70%.
 

Homework and how to submit it

Generally, each homework consists of a program, submitted electronically via the myCommSite. The class schedule indicates what is due and when. Deadlines are automatically enforced by the server, without exception. All homework must be uploaded before the deadline according to the McIntire server clock (not your computer clock, which might be off or even in a different time zone).  The server will automatically shut down at the deadline. Do not cut it close!

Because we publish full solutions shortly after the deadline, all late homework is penalized at 50%.  Remember that you have two freebies that you might use if you happen to be late. In the rare event that the network or the server malfunctions and you are not able to upload the homework, please send me your submission via Teams.  The timestamp of the posted files will be proof of your timely submission.  Always keep a copy of all files.

Pay attention to zipping and uploading. It is easy to lose points for being careless (e.g., uploading a link rather than the homework, uploading a non-final version of the project because you did not saved it properly, etc.).
Tip: Make sure that you zip and submit the whole homework folder, not just a file or two.  Likely, if you cannot zip is because VS is holding some of your files.  To fix that:  1) quit VS, 2) wait a minute or two for VS to fully quit, 3) Zip, 4) Open the zipped folder to make sure that the files are there.

Want to double-check your submission? Go to myCommSite, and click "Past Submissions." Download your submission, unzip it and run it.  That is what the grader will do.

Remember that you cannot run a zipped file.  If you want to double-check your homework you need to unzip and run.  If the tip above does not work, check whether you have some instances of Excel still active with the Task Manager, and if you see one, end it . To call the Task Manager, press the start button in windows and type "task mgr" or press ctrl-alt-del.  If it shows you the summary view, click 'more details'.   You will likely find an instance of Excel still running. Right click it and end it.


Grading the homework

We use the following scale:
96-100 = excellent homework, full functionality, no flaws
90-95 = very good, full functionality, minor flaws (but still satisfies all requirements)
84-89 = incomplete functionality, does most of what was requested
75-83 = incomplete functionality, does about half of what was requested
60-74 = incomplete functionality, does not do most of what was requested
1-59 = crashed or missing files
0 = nothing or very little submitted


Sometimes, even a single comma or a space put in the wrong place may introduce major defects in your software. This is the nature of this field.  In math, it is the same: 2.57 is definitely not the same as 25.7 even if just one dot was moved by one space. Please do not argue that you lost points "just because of a typo" and therefore you should get more.

I will drop your two lowest assignment. Use these drops wisely. Please do not ask for more, in fairness towards your classmates who will only get two.  Starting the course late, important recruitment meetings, and family events are not reasons to get more: they are already factored in your two freebies.  Evidence of COVID or other serious illness is a possible exception. If for any reason we will end up doing fewer/more than 20 homework, I will scale the weights.

If you are unsatisfied with the grade assigned to you by the TA, please see me during office hours. Do not send screenshots or email explanations.  I reserve the right to audit any homework, no matter how old. I also reserve the right to require a verbal code walk through from any student to verify understanding of the materials and originality of the work done.

All homework is pledged. DO NOT copy and paste work done by others. It is an honor violation. You are not learning anything from doing that, and you might insert in your homework subtle errors that might reveal what you did. I will pursue honor violations according to UVA policies.


Team Submissions

I will let you know when you can do team submissions, typically around H14.  Team submissions are optional. Working and submitting individually is encouraged, because it may get you to learn the materials better.  This is how it works:  either you submit the homework individually, as you normally do, OR you submit a .txt file titled "[Student First and Last name] submitted for me" (e.g., "Olivia Sullivan submitted for me"). If you do that, the TA will assign to you the points of that student.  No .txt file, no points.  You cannot do team submissions with people outside your team.

Normally, one person in a team submits the homework and the others submit the text file.  However, partial team submissions are possible. Example: A, B, and C are in a team. A and C worked together and submit jointly: A submits and C submits the .txt file.  A and C get the same grade. B instead submits a separate homework and is graded separately. Since I cannot know what you intend to do (individual submission, skip a homework, team submission, partial team submission...) I ask that you let me know each time by either submitting the homework or the text file. No .txt file, no points.  Late text file submission will be treated as a late homework submission.

Grading Participation

Participation is worth 10%. It is assessed every day. Your final participation grade is determined based on the average of your daily participation scores.  These are the scores and their definitions:

  • +3  Stood out as an exceptional contributor to class dialogue.  Made memorable, high-quality comments
  • +2  Appeared engaged and prepared, contributed as expected
  • +1  Attentive, but did not engage in the discussion, or made repetitive or irrelevant comments that did not add much value
  • 0  Absent
  • -1  Appeared distracted or unprepared; behaved in ways that negatively impacted the classroom experience

Class participation is defined broadly: it means to have a positive attitude and a leadership role in class. This includes asking good questions, picking interesting WINITs, and offering insightful comments during demos and code walkthroughs. It means helping others to learn within the limits of the honor code and helping making the class a more productive and fun learning environment for all. It also means filling the end-of-semester survey. If somebody asks a question in the class chat and you can answer it, do so! This is healthy collaboration, not a violation of the honor code. I am monitoring the chat and might give you extra participation points for helping others.
See also the Attendance policy.

WINIT = What Is New In Technology (counts as two participation days)

Knowing what is going on at the intersection between finance and technology is important for your career. Also important is being able to explain it clearly to peers and managers. WINIT gives you an opportunity to keep up to date with what is new in technology and business, as well as to practice your skill at presenting/explaining technical topics.
Every time the class meets, a volunteer selects a recent newspaper article or short video and summarizes it for the class. Pick a video or an article about IT and Business that interests you and you believe that will be of interest to the class. It must have a business angle. A fintech company or product is always a good choice. If you are not familiar with fintech, read this Knowledge@Wharton article to familiarize yourself with the topic.  If you do not know where to start, look at the technology section of the FT, WSJ, WP, or NYT  (as McInitre studetn you have free access). 
Prepare a 3-4 minute verbal presentation and one question or two for the audience. No slides or supporting materials are required, although a short video is often well received. You should be able to explain clearly to the class what you have read and why it is important.  Do not assume that the class knows about the topic. Ask good general questions designed to generate a lively conversation.
Evaluation Criteria: is the topic IT+Business (even better: finance and IT)? Is it current? Was it able to generate an interesting discussion in class?
 

Bug Bounty

If you are the first to find and report via Teams a material error in the videos or class materials, you will be rewarded with 1 extra participation point (the "bug bounty"). The bug has to be material to get the extra point.  This policy helps the whole class to access accurate learning materials.

Grading the Hedge Tournament

The Tournament is worth 20%. The key metric for assessing your performance in the Tournament is how well you hedge your risks and it is measured by your weighted cumulative tracking error (we will explain in class what that metric is). Having a system that performs without errors and that looks professional can also help you marginally to get a better grade. Specific rules for the HT will be provided to you by mid-semester.

As for the homework, the Tournament rewards actual financial outcomes, not effort.  The grade is obtained by a linear interpolation that compares your performance the performance of the best team in class (100 points) with the performance of the unhedged portfolio (75 points).
 

Forming Teams and getting a Team Id

To participate in the Tournament, you need to have a team Id.  Teams of 1, 2 or 3 people max will be formed mid-semester. To get your team Id, I will send you a form via Teams.  The message must include all team members' names, userids (e.g., sg6m), and a fun team name. When I get that, I will assign you a team Id.

At the end of the semester each team member will have an opportunity to evaluate their teammates. Grades can be modified by  confidential peer feedback.
 

Assigning Your Final letter-grade

There are no fixed thresholds for letter grades. The class is lightly curved.

I use the following principles, that in my judgment insure an equitable assignment of grades:

The overall winners of the HT get an A+.
Being above-average in the three dimensions (homework, participation, and HT) guarantees you an A.

For less clear cases I will look at the weighted sum of your points.  For example: doing well in the homework and poorly in the HT or participation will weaken your case.
Based on numerous past editions, the class will have a GPA of about 3.5.

Contents

The HT

Some of the following links will be enabled later in the course.