Automatic submission and administration of programming assignments

This paper details a system to assist with the evaluation and administration of student assignments. In order to help with the evaluation of program execution, the system automatically compiles and executes the program while logging a copy of the session. This log, together with the code and documentation is then bundled into an e-mail which is sent to the course controller.The course controller automatically processes the e-mail, verifying it's authenticity, and sends an acknowledgement back to the student. The controller also automatically logs the submission in a database which is used to monitor student performance throughout the year. Additional facilities are provided to allow grades for the assignments to be entered into the database, to allow students to be excused from assignments if appropriate and to allow summary reports to be generated.