Economics 3402 (PARTIAL DISTANCE LEARNING)
Sections 01D, 02D and 03D

Professor Patron (Spring 2010)

Statistics for Business I

Instructor Information

Professor: Hilde Patron, Ph.D.

Office: Richard College of Business, Room 43

Office phone number: 678-839-5036

Email: hpatron@westga.edu

Want to know more about me and my interests? Check out my vitae:

http://www.westga.edu/~econ/faculty_patron_vita.pdf

Office Hours

Face-to-face (RCOB, 43) office hours:

Mondays: 7:00-12:00PM
Wednesdays : 7:00-9:00AM, 9:50AM-10:00AM, 10:50AM-11:00AM, 11:50AM-12:50PM

Online office hours:

To get in touch with me during online office hours, you may send me an email using the E-Mail Tool found on the StatsPortal course or directly to hpatron@westga.edu. If we need to, we can then log into the chat room on Statsportal. You may also call my office phone number.

Course Information

Meetings: This is a partial distance learning course conducted on StatsPortal and in person. You need to purchase access to the portal and register your access code. For instructions on how to purchase and register the code go to the end of this syllabus.

We will meet in person on the following dates (note that MOST but not all meetings are on Wednesdays), in the regular room (BUS 102) and the regularly scheduled class time.

Wednesday, April 7

Wednesday, April 14

Course Description:

In this course we study basic statistics concepts and emphasize their applications to business environments. The various topics include methods of presenting data, probability theory and distribution, central tendency and dispersion measures, hypothesis testing, and linear regression.

Prerequisites: MAT111 or MATH 1113, CISM 2201 and a 2.0 minimum GPA. You also need to have access to a computer and you must have access to the internet.

Textbook: "Practice of Business Statistics" by Moore, McCabe, Duckworth and Alwan. You have two options. YOU MUST SELECT ONE OF THE TWO. ACCESS TO THE ONLINE STATSPORTAL IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COURSE.

Option 1: StatsPortal Access Card PBS 2e: ISBN-10: 1429218037

Option 2: Practice of Business Statistics, Cd-Rom&StatsPortal: ISBN-10: 1-4292-2510-6

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

(1)  Construct and interpret tabular and graphical methods of presenting qualitative and quantitative data. (LG2, LG3, LG12)

(2)  Construct and interpret summary numerical measures of location, variability, and association for the sample and the population. (LG2, LG3, LG6, LG12)

(3)  Apply basic probability concepts, expected value, and variance to a variety of business applications (LG2, LG6, LG12) 

(4)  Use discrete and continuous probability distributions and sampling distributions in a variety of business applications (LG2, LG3, LG6, LG12)

(5)  Construct and interpret interval estimates and be able to determine the required sample size for constructing interval estimates (LG2)

(6)  Estimate regression models, evaluate the results of regression models, and use the results for prediction and forecasting (LG2, LG3, LG12) 

(7)  Use Microsoft Excel to generate descriptive statistics and perform regression and correlation analysis (LG2, LG3, LG12) 

Note: A complete list of expected learning goals (LG) for the Economics Department can be found at the department web site (www.westga.edu/~econ/outcomes.html).

Attendance Policy

You are required to attend the first meeting and the four exams. All other Face-to-Face meetings are highly recommended.

There is no grade for coming to class, but you are responsible for all material and all announcements made in class.

You cannot claim as an excuse for missing an assignment or quiz being absent when the announcement was made.

You also have to login the course every week and are required to participate in the classroom discussions.

Grading

We will have fourexams during the semester.  Additionally we will have online modules and assignments.

There will be 8 online modules. Each module is worth 5% of the grade. All modules combined are 40% of the grade. Failure to complete an online assignment will result in a zero on the quiz or exercise. No make-ups will given. Each module will be avialble for at least two weeks. You are responsible for completing the assignment within those two weeks. No assignments will be dropped. No deadlines will be extended.

The exams are all multiple choice. You need to bring an 882-Escantron to each test. If you miss a test you will have to provide a valid excuse in writting (doctor's excuse for example). If I deem the excuse acceptable you will have to take a cumulative final exam on the date scheduled by the registrar's office.  No other alternatives will be available for missed exams. No re-scheduling of the final exam date either. The final exam cannot be used to replace a low scoring test.

Something to keep in mind: In my experience, grades drop progressively during the semester, mostly because the material gets increasingly difficult.

Also, you need to bring a calculator to class and tests (NO CELLPHONES!). The calculator must, at the very least allow you to raise numbers to various powers and take all kinds of roots. A statistical calculator would be preferable.

All grades will be posted online on STATSPORTAL. Tests will be returned on the Face-to-Face meeting following the test.

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, etc. about your grade you MUST bring it to my attention within 48 of the posting date. You cannot wait until the end of the semester to argue about missing grades, or other problems (48 hours from publication date).

Grading Scale

A: 90% or higher

B: 80% to 89.9999%

C: 70% to 79.9999%

D: 60% to 69.9999%

F: Less than 60%

Note: an 89.9% is a B!

No extra credit opportunities will be offered!

Academic Integrity

Academic dishonesty as described by the Honor Code (which you can find at  http://www.westga.edu/assets/docs/studentHandbook2006.pdf) will not be tolerated. Any such actions will result in a score of zero on the associated  assignment(s) and/or dismissal from the course with a grade of F.

Affirmative Action

University of West Georgia adheres to affirmative action policies to promote  diversity and equal opportunity for all faculty and students.

Americans with Disabilities Act

If you are a student who is disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires assistance or support services, please seek assistance through the Center for Disability Services. A CDS Counselor will coordinate those services. See http://www.westga.edu/~dserve/

Equal Opportunity

No person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, age, or disability, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by UWG.

Having Problems with Statsportal?

Disclaimer

The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus at anytime during the semester. Any changes will be announced in writing.

StatsPortal

You can purchase the access card (and book) at the bookstore, or you can purchase it online directly using a credit card.

To purchase the access code online, direct your browser to http://courses.bfwpub.com/pbs2e.php and click on "students:purchase access to StatsPortal".

Click on View All Assignments:

See all components, due dates, etc: