Dear Prof. Fua and course staff,
Thank you for the clarification regarding the issue with the released checkpoint file.
However, I would like to respectfully express my disagreement with the decision to cancel the graded exercise altogether. I understand that it’s difficult to determine who had access to the solutions, but this situation stems from a mistake on the teaching side, not the students’. Many of us took the time to study and prepare seriously, assuming the grade would count for 10% of the final mark. Canceling it now and replacing it with another session penalizes students who acted in good faith and who might not be available on the new date.
Additionally, the proposed alternative of counting the second graded exercise for 20% is not equivalent. Performance can vary between exercises for many reasons and doubling the weight of a single one can disproportionately impact final grades and adds unnecessary pressure. It also removes the benefit of averaging performance across multiple sessions, which is generally a more fair way to evaluate students.
In my view, a more fair solution would be to award everyone the 10% for this graded exercise. That way, students who didn’t look at the released solutions are not penalized, and the course staff acknowledges the error without shifting the burden to students.
I hope you will reconsider the current plan, or at least open a discussion on possible alternatives that don’t disadvantage students due to a mistake outside their control.
Best regards,
Albert
