Syllabus for stat 350, Spring 2012

Section 050 (the lab code is 051): 2:30 -3:20 pm. M/W/F(reg): REC 123 and W (Lab): ENAD 135

HW 20%

Class participation 5%

Exam 1 20%

Exam 2 20%

Total 100%

The final grade will be calculated according to this formula for all the students:

Semester grade = Hw% * 20% + Labs% * 10% + Class Participation * 5% + Mid1 * 20% + Mid2 *20% + Final * 25%

Do not count on a curve to help you. You should assume that the letter-grade cutoffs for this course are the typical 90-100 for A- to A (A+ might be given for extremely high scores like 98.5), 80-89 for B-to B+, etc. Please note that minus and plus grades will be given for A, B, C and D (A+ may be given as well, only for rare cases like mentioned before). Grades will be posted on Blackboard. I reserve the right to change the grading scheme and course layout should unusual circumstances demand it.

STAT 350 uses the application on Blackboard, which will give you an idea of how you are doing in the class. You will see a traffic light symbol with either the green, yellow, or red light depending on how you are doing. We will offer some suggestions by e-mail if your grade is not where you would like it to be. The signal will not be updated every week, but it will be updated after the two mid-term exams during the semester.

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  Unless specified in the posted assignments (on course website), usually Hw will be due by 5pm on the following Monday. Please put it into the dropbox beside my office door, HAAS116.
  
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  No Late Homework. You should start every Hw as early as it is posted. If completing assignments is a problem to you, then you are recommended to take the course at another semester as the assignments comprise a fair amount of your grade.
  
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  One Hw score will be dropped at the end of the semester. If you have an excused HW, this is the one which will be dropped. If you have two excused HWs (very rare, for emergencies or official reasons), then these two will be dropped. You do not get to drop an additional low HW score just because you have one excused absence. You are encouraged to start the homework early in the week .
  
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  You can discuss the homework with people, but it should be done on your own. Once caught, copying other’s work or solutions will be reported as cheating and all your hw points will be cancelled as a penalty.
  

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  Each lab material will be posted at least one week ahead of time. labs will consist of a computer assignment related to the topics we currently cover in class. Labs will go more smoothly if you try the template code (included in posted labs), consider the Lab questions and reviewed the notes ahead of time.
  
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  Most labs will involve SAS as the main instrument, see some useful links and instructions at www.stat.purdue.edu/~xuanyaoh/stat350. Practice on “How to open SAS” before your first Lab.
  
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  Labs are on Wednesday, and will be due at the beginning of Friday’s class. Labs should be typed and submitted as a hard-copy. DO NOT spam me with unnecessary SAS output! When you are handing in an assignment which involves the use of SAS, you should include ONLY output that is relevant and it should be included in a logical order. Attaching SAS output or anything else not required by the questions as an appendix is not acceptable and you will be marked off for doing so. In other words, cut and paste ONLY the parts you need to your lab assignment, leave the rest in SAS.
  
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  Arrive on time to lab so that you can start immediately. Try to debug on your own, open-ended questions like “how to edit the code for this question” is not welcome in this class. One or two lab exams may be given to test your independent SAS-coding ability.
  
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  You must leave the lab in 10 minutes after the class. It is unfair to the t.a. or students from other classes if you stay late.
  
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  For each of the labs, you are allowed to use your online SAS manual and other course materials such as lecture notes and your textbook and information from the course website. You are allowed to discuss the lab assignment with the instructor (although your instructor will not DO the lab for you) and other students, however you are expected to print out and turn in your own independent work. Conversation in lab should be limited to only the lab assignments and course material. Copying other’s work will result in a score of 0 for all your labs.
  
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  There are no make-up or late labs. If you are on athletic team or have a job interview or have some other valid documentable reason for missing multiple labs, contact me in advance for a discussion of your options.
  
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  One lab score will be dropped at the end of the semester. We may have a test on SAS programming in the last week of class.
  
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  On several occasions we will not have a formal lab for certain topics, in these situations I will use the lab time to continue normal lectures. You should go to Regular Wednesday classroom then.
  

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  You are expected to attend each class and to participate in the discussion and activities.
  
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  Class participation is worth 5% of your final grade.
  
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  If you are absent due to illness or other documentable emergency, it may be possible to work out a way to make up class participation points. Timely documentation for your absence is necessary. Do not wait until the end of the semester to turn in documentation for your absence.
  

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  The exams will be closed book/closed notes exams.
  
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  You will be allowed to bring pencils, a calculator, and ONE one-page cheat sheet (8 ½” by 11”, handwritten, both sides) to each exam. This one-page handwritten cheatsheet will be worth 1 point on the exam. Any violations, e.g. extra page(s)/printed documents, will result in a score of 0 points for the exam and be reported as cheating, .
  
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  Exam 1 and 2 will last exactly one hour, with all STAT 350 students taking the exam together in the evening.
  
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  The Final Exam lasts two hours, with the date and time announced later.
  
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  When the exam day is approaching, see the course website for review problems and other exam information.
  

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  Valid reasons for missing an exam include university documented absence, illness, and /or a death in your family. Work is not a valid excuse.
  
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  If you must miss an exam due to a class conflict or school trip, you need to print off a “Make-up Exam Form” from the course website, complete the form, and turn it in to your instructor at least one week in advance with appropriate documentation stapled to the make-up exam form.
  
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  If you are missing the exam due to an emergency, you must email your instructor with details of your situation and the information requested on the Make-up Exam Form from the course website no later than 9am the day after the scheduled exam.
  
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  Your instructor will need to approve your documentation (university or doctor’s note, obituary, etc.) before your exam grade will be recorded.
  
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  Failure to meet these deadlines and absence from the regular exam will result in a score of 0 points.
  
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  I make every effort to accommodate student schedules while also protecting the integrity and security of the exam. The make-up exam time will be determined based on the schedules turned in to me by the students sometime early in the week of the exam. If you turn in your form after the make-up exam has been scheduled, then you will have to adjust your schedule to the time that has already been chosen. Usually only one make-up exam time will be scheduled following each regular exam.
  
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  No mid-term make-up exam will be given earlier than the scheduled time.
  

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  Make sure you can get access to SAS during the first week of classes. Difficulty in having access to SAS will not excuse you from getting the work done. The first lab, due in the second week, requires you to use SAS.
  

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  If you have been certified by the Office of the Dean of Students as someone needing acourse adaption or accommodation because of a disability OR if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please contact our instructor during the first week of classes.
  
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  If you have a letter from ODOS stating that you may have extra time on the exams or use the testing center, you will also need to turn in a Make-up Exam Form from the course website at least a week before each scheduled exam to let me know your situation. We cannot accommodate the extra time during the regularly scheduled exams, so you will have to take the exam with the other make-up exam students or in the ODOS testing center.