Each week we'll work on a problem set from a past regional contest, or culled from one of the problem set archives. There will be a minimum of five problems in a set, a maximum of ten. Some of the problems will be designated as individual problems, all others are group problems.
The time you spend programming and thinking about solving problems is meant to improve your programming and problem-solving skills in the context of a programming contest. The contest is a timed event, but you won't be limited by time, per se, on some of the problems each week. On other problems you will be limited in how much time you can spend.
Everyone participating on a regular basis during class and who participates in the regional programming contest will get a grade no lower than a B.
To earn a grade higher than a B you must solve at least 15 problems before the contest and you must make a good presentation after the contest.
To earn an A or A+ you must solve at least 20 problems. You must solve at least 10 individual and at least 10 group problems.
Solving hard problems helps you earn an A+. Creating good data sets counts as half-a-problem.