Here's a short version of the grading standard I use:
When the class was combined (and called 373), graduate students always performed significantly better than undergrads, despite having more required work with harder material. In Fall 2002, if everyone had been graded according to the graduate curve I just described, about 5% of the undergrads would have As, about 20% of the undergrads would have Bs, and almost 50% of the undergrads would have failed. (In reality, since undergrads were graded on a separate curve, about 25% got As, about 30% got Bs, and less than 5% failed.)
This disparity was consistent across several years. Based on this past performance, I expect nearly half of undergraduate computer science majors would not pass 473G.
Two caveats: First, only graduate students (including students in the 5-year master's program) can be on the waiting list. Second, this waiting list policy is contingent on the approval of the oozing bureaucratic nightmare whose true name cannot be spoken outside the darkest planes of Hell, but which is known to its fragile mortal victims by the dangerously innocuous name "Banner".
To receive proficiency credit, you must get a grade of B- or better; the curve will be determined by the registered on-campus graduate students. Proficiency grades do not contribute to your GPA or your full-time student status.
Students who want to take the final for proficiency credit are encouraged to take the midterms as well; your proficiency grade will be determined by a weighted average of the exams you take. The times and locations for the midterms will be announced on the course web page. You may also find the lecture notes and homework problems useful as study material. On the other hand, if you find yourself learning a lot from the lectures and homeworks, why not just take the class?
A few students are not eligible for proficiency credit:
Finally, please do not wait until your last semester to take the proficiency exam.
Students in 473 are encouraged to use any printed, online, or living resource at their disposal to help solve the homework problems, provided that each student writes their solutions in their own words and properly credits all sources. If you use something you found in a book, cite it. If you use something you found on the web, cite the web page. If you get an idea from someone else, give them credit. This is the same standard of conduct that researchers are expected to follow for formal publications; start following it now. Citing your sources will not lower your homework grade.
Avoiding plagiarism is really very simple: Never present someone else's words or ideas as your own. Repeating ideas from other people, papers, or web pages without proper credit is plagiarism. Verbatim duplication of any source is plagiarism, including official homework solutions from previous semesters of 373/473, even if you properly cite your sources. Turning in a copy of someone else's work as your own, even with their permission, is plagiarism. Allowing other people to copy your work is also a violation of academic integrity. See the university's academic integrity guidelines (http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/policy/code/rule_33.html) for more information.
Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. Please see the CS department's recomended penalties for cheating offenses (http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/undergraduate/cheating.php). All cheating cases are reported to the department; students can be (and have been) expelled for multiple cheating offenses.
Our higher expectations for graduate students also extend to issues of acedemic integrity. A notice of any cheating offense by a graduate student will be entered into their file, where it will be seen by the student's adevisor, as well as their qual, prelim, and thesis committees. Several faculty members have publicly stated that they would refuse to advise or serve on a committee for a graduate student who has committed even a single cheating offense, no matter how minor or how far in the past. In short, if you cheat, you are signing your own death warrant.