Ciampa, M. (2006). CWNA guide to wireless LANs (2nd ed.). Boston: Thomson Course Technology.

After completing this course, the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate a high-level understanding of terminology associated with Wireless Telecommunications and discuss the Global System Mobile (GSM), Code Division Multiplex Access (CDMA), Second Generation (2G), and third Generation (3G)
• Identify and discuss the business and organizational issues involving Telecommunications technology and management as it applies to the wireless community.
• Demonstrate a key understanding of the frequency coordination and application for Wireless spectrum (domestic and international). 
• Understand the differences between Wide band -CDMA and CDMA 2000 as applied to the next generation of wireless cellular phones.
• Demonstrate a key understanding of how network protocols will be incorporated into the next generation of wireless cell phones including the TCP/IP model.
• Understand Wireless Networking and the 802.11x standards.

Grades will be determined as follows:

Percentage of Overall Grade

Participation/Conferencing 30%
Assignments/Projects       30%
Mid-Semester examination   20%
Final examination          20%

Grading Scale:
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

* A = 93 - 100
* B = 84 - 92.9
* C = 73 - 83.9
* D = 60 - 72.9
* F =  0 - 59 

    PENALTIES FOR LATENESS: Written assignments not in by due date: -5% /day

Do not expect an Incomplete in the course unless you have serious personal problems very close to the end of the term. University of Maryland University College regulations are strict about the assignment of an Incomplete. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for further information on grading policies.

Late Policy: Written assignments not in by due date: -5% /day

Extra Credit: N/A

There are four grading methods at UMUC. The most commonly used is the standard method. The pass/fail alternative is available only under limited conditions. The satisfactory/D/fail method is restricted to certain specified courses at higher levels. Any course may be audited.

GRADE
INTERPRETATION
QUALITY POINTS
A Outstanding scholarship 4
B Good scholarship 3
C Satisfactory scholarship 2
D Marginal performance 1
F Failure 0
I Incomplete 0
AU Audit 0
W Withdrawal 0

Incomplete: The Mark of I
The mark of I (incomplete) is an exceptional mark given only to students whose work in a course has been satisfactory but who for reasons beyond their control have been unable to complete all the requirements of a course. The following criteria must be met:

• The student must have completed at least 60 percent of the work in the course.
• The work already completed must be of satisfactory quality.
• The mark of I must be requested before the end of the course.

The procedure for awarding the mark of I is as follows:

• The student must ask the teacher for a mark of I. (Teachers cannot award a mark of I on their own initiative.)
• The teacher decides whether to grant the request.
• The teacher sets a date (no more than six months after submitting the original grade) for completion of the remaining requirements of the course.
• The teacher and the student together agree on the remaining requirements of the course and the deadline for submitting the work.
• The student is responsible for completing the work.
• After the work is completed, the teacher submits a grade-change form to replace the mark of I on the student's record with a grade.

If the mark of I is not made up within six months or by the agreed-upon deadline, the I is changed to an F.

The mark of I cannot be removed by means of credit by examination, nor can it be replaced by a mark of W (defined below). Students who elect to repeat an incomplete course must register again for the course, pay all applicable fees, and repeat the course. For purposes of academic retention, the course grade is counted as an F. The mark of I is not used in determining grade-point averages.

Withdrawal: The Mark of W
Students may receive the mark of W by withdrawing through the Interactive Registration and Information System (IRIS), by completing a registration-change form in Undergraduate Student Affairs, or by submitting a written request approximately two weeks before the last scheduled class in a semester or term. Any of these procedures constitutes official withdrawal.

This mark appears on the permanent record unless withdrawal is completed before a course begins. For purposes of academic retention, the mark of W is counted as attempted hours. It is not used in determining grade-point averages.

Attendance:  By registering for a WebTycho course, you are making a commitment to participate in your course conferences as well as other online activities. To contact your instructor, use the WebTycho conferencing software or e-mail links provided, which allow you to communicate with the instructor and your classmates in a virtual classroom 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please plan to participate regularly. You will note in the grading policy above that your online conference participation counts 30% of your final grade.
You are required to participate in on-line conferencing, answer assigned questions/case studies and do 3 term projects, and take two examinations. The mid-semester examination will be a proctored examination covering material up to week #7. The final examination will be comprehensive and consist of multiple-choice and essay questions where the most weight will be on the essay/problem solving questions. Students are expected to take examinations within the date range indicated in this syllabus or prescribed by the instructor. Students are also expected to notify the faculty member in advance if one is not able to visit our virtual class for more than 4 consecutive days.
Bi-weekly online conferencing questions provide interaction with other members of the class. The material in both the self-assessment and online conferencing questions often finds its way into the final examination.
More details of this Syllabus will be provided within WebTycho.

Writing and Research: Effective writing is critical to the intellectual life of university students and graduates within the workplace. Effective managers are usually effective communicators. Your work in this course must demonstrate your ability to master and effectively communicate course content. Effective writing

• Meets the needs of the reader
• Adequately covers the subject
• Uses expected conventions of format and organizations
• Demonstrates use of credible reasoning and evidence
• Satisfies standards of style and grammatical correctness
• Requires 100% compliance with UMUC's zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism.

Cross-curricular initiatives
Activity in this class that fulfills the initiative
Effective Writing
Project 1, Project 3, Weekly conferencing
Competence in Information Technology
Project 2, Project 3
Historical Perspective
Project 1
International Perspective
Project 1, Project 3, Weekly conferencing
Civic Responsibility
Weekly conferencing
Information Literacy
Project 1, Project 2, Project 3, Conferencing

Photo ID Policy for Exams
When you take examinations and tests, the proctor will require you to show a picture ID such as a valid driver's license or similar ID. Please remember to bring your ID.

Academic Integrity
Integrity in teaching and learning is a fundamental principle of a university. UMUC believes that all members of the university community share the responsibility for academic integrity, as expressed in the University System of Maryland policy "Faculty, Student, and Institutional Rights and Responsibilities for Academic Integrity." Details are available from the Office of the Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies.

At UMUC, faculty members are expected to establish classroom environments conducive to the maintenance of academic integrity by promptly giving students a complete syllabus describing the course and its requirements, grading submitted work promptly and adequately, and arranging appropriate testing conditions, including having faculty members monitor examinations given in class.

Students at UMUC are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will contribute to the maintenance of academic integrity.

Failure to maintain academic integrity (academic dishonesty) may result in disciplinary action.

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to obtaining or giving aid on an examination, having unauthorized prior knowledge of an examination, doing work for another student, and plagiarism.

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to) copying verbatim all or part of another person's work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, computer programs, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator.

Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully following accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should acknowledge those sources in footnotes.

UMUC's policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism can be found in the current copy of the Undergraduate Catalog or is available from the Office of the Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies.

Appealing a Grade
Procedures for appealing a grade are available from the Office of the Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies or in the current copy of the Undergraduate Catalog.

There is a time limit for appealing a grade. Therefore, students who want to appeal a grade must initiate the process within 30 days of the posting of the grade.

Code of Student Conduct
Students are subject to the UMUC Code of Student Conduct, which can be found at in the current copy of the Undergraduate Catalog or is available from the Office of the Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies. Violations of the code are considered to be violations of UMUC policy and are grounds for discipline by UMUC. Allegations of misconduct by UMUC students should be referred to the associate provost, Undergraduate Student Affairs.

Change of Address
Students who move during the semester or term should not only leave a forwarding address with the U.S. Postal Service but should also notify Undergraduate Student Affairs as soon as possible.

Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities are advised to contact the office of Disabled Student Services (http://www.umuc.edu/studserv/dss.html). Under privacy laws, students are not required to tell their professors about their disability. A student with a disability need only notify the DSS office. That office will, in turn, notify the instructor about whatever accommodations that student requires.

Projects:  A major course project will be (has been) assigned for this course. It has multiple parts, all of which are required. For detailed information on the course project, see the WebTycho Project Description area (as of 18 November 2003). The course project will involve creating a student web site about a wireless telecommunications topic. Topics, format, and depth of the project will be coordinated on a one-on-one basis. A formal assignment will be posted electronically by week three in the Assignment area of WebTycho. Although the specifics may vary, students should demonstrate an awareness of and commitment to the process of "Critical Thought." Critical thinking means, among other things, to analyze a topic from different perspectives, to seek out causes or potential consequences of issues and events, and to apply what you have learned to new, possibly unrelated areas. I expect you to not only integrate "critical thinking" into your academic endeavors within our distance learning community, but also to take this concept with you.

A one-page description of the student's intended project must be submitted no later than week 5, to be approved by the instructor NLT week 7. The project is due for evaluation by week 13.

In addition to a course project, there will be several smaller projects required for this course. Each student will be required to do these smaller projects, although you are encouraged to collaborate with your group members. Smaller projects include, but are not limited to News Reports, Software/Hardware Evaluations, Internet Collaboration, Encryption, Web site maintenance and Solaris/Linux familiarity (FTP, Telnet, E-mail). See the WebTycho Syllabus for detailed due dates for each of these projects.

Session
Date
Assignments and Readings
1
05 Nov 2003
Introductions; The History of Radio Communications; The Cellular Market Regulatory Structure

2
12 Nov 2003
Fundamental Wireless System Design and Components; The Cell Base Station

3
19 Nov 2003
Radio-Frequency Channelization ; Radio-Frequency Propagation; Project 1-CN selection

4
26 Nov 2003
Wireless Communication System TowersI; Antennas and Radio-Frequency Power

5
03 Dec 2003
Base Station Equipment and Radio-Frequency Signal Flow; Wireless System Capacity Engineering; Project 1-CY or 1-SE or 1-HE due; Project 3 proposal due

6
10 Dec 2003
Cellular Regulatory Processes; Enhancers and Microcells

7
17 Dec 2003
Design Tools and Testing Methods; The Mobile Switching Center; Proctored Exam Week

8
21 Jan 2004
The N-AMPS Standard; The Fixed Network and System Connectivity; Microwave Radio Systems

9
28 Jan 2004
Wireless Interconnection the the Public Switched Telephone Network; Cellular Call Processing ; Project 2 due

10
04 February 2004
Roaming and Intercarrier Networking; Wireless Fraud

11
11 February 2004
Digital Wireless Technologies; Digital Wireless Technologies; Project 3 due

12
18 February 2004
Wireless Data Technologies; Wireless Data Technologies; All students Read Student Web Pages

13
25 February 2004
Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio; Satellite PCS Systems; Web Page Evaluations by students

14
04 March 2004
Broadband Wireless Technologies; The Future of Wireless Telephony; Final Exam

15
11 March 2004
Grade Computations