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Math 221 Statistics for Decision Making Syllabus

Students in this course are expected to master the tools used for statistical analysis and decision-making in business. This course includes descriptive statistics concepts and inferential concepts used to draw conclusions about a population. Statistical decision-making techniques are used with sample data to predict population parameters. Research techniques such as sampling and experimental design concepts are included for both single and multiple sample groups.

DeVry University course content is constructed from curriculum guides developed for each course that are in alignment with specific Terminal Course Objectives. The Terminal Course Objectives (TCOs) define the learning objectives that the student will be required to comprehend and demonstrate by course completion. The TCOs that will be covered in detail each week can be found in the Objectives section for that particular week. Whenever possible, a reference will be made from a particular assignment or discussion back to the TCO that it emphasizes.

Format

Labs will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your mathematical, problem solving, analytical, and Excel skills to solve problems and apply statistical techniques to practical problems. Labs will be graded as follows:

Statistics (tables, calculations, accurate values)	40%
Graphs (titles, labels, accuracy)	30%
Analysis (interpretation, analysis discussion)	20%
Organization (proper format, style, used template)	10%

The labs are worth 65 points.  The labs provide real practice with data sets and will provide you with an opportunity to integrate the concepts with practice. The labs go beyond the questions in the text by requiring you to learn Excel for the purpose of statistical analysis. You will also be using your writing skills to provide a summary that analyzes and interprets the work that you have done.

Each lab has a "template" that you should use to submit your results.  You need to use Excel to answer the questions and then paste your graphs and tables into a Word document for proper presentation. One caution about all labs: unless it is required, do not return raw data sets as part of your results. Lab reports should be as concise as possible.

Submit your labs using the Dropbox created for that week's assignments. DocSharing and Journal areas should not be used for any work.

File Naming Convention 

Please name your file using the following convention:  "lastname_firstinitial_week#lab"  

For example, if you are Albert Einstein and you are submitting your Week 2 lab, the filename should be "einstein_a_week2lab". 

Deadlines

See Syllabus/"Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

Everyone involved in this class is expected to turn in original work. Any deviation from this policy will result in the actions specified in DeVry’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Week, TCOs and Topics	Readings/Class Preparation	Activities/Assignments
Week 1 TCO 1, 2, 3 Introduction to Statistics; Data Collection and Data Concepts	Chapter 1: Introduction to Statistics Chapter 2: Descriptive Statistics	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topic
Week 2 TCO 9, 10 Correlation and Regression	Chapter 9: Correlation and Regression Chapter 11: Nonparametric Tests: Section 11.4	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Lab Graded Discussion Topics
Week 3 TCO 4 Rules of Probability Probability Analysis	Chapter 3: Probability Chapter 4: Discrete Probability Distributions: Section 4.1	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topics Quiz
Week 4 TCO 3, 4, 5 Binomial and Poisson Distributions	Chapter 4: Discrete Probability Distributions: Sections 4.2 and 4.3	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topics Lab
Week 5 TCO 6 Continuous Probability Distributions	Chapter 5: Normal Probability Distributions	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topics Quiz
Week 6 TCO 7 Confidence Intervals	Chapter 6: Confidence Intervals: Sections 6.1 to 6.3	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topics Lab
Week 7 TCO 8, 11 Hypothesis Testing	Chapter 7: Hypothesis Testing with One Sample: Sections 7.1 to 7.3	Homework Assignment (ungraded) Graded Discussion Topics Quiz
Week 8 All TCOs	Final Exam

This course contains iConnect Live sessions, which provide the opportunity to attend live presentations that cover course materials, projects, and assignments. Please see the iConnect Live items for the days and times of the live sessions, and for the link to enter each session. You will also receive e-mail reminders each week.

If you are unable to attend the live session, you can watch the recorded session by clicking on the Recordings link that will appear in the iConnect Live item after the lecture has concluded. Please contact your instructor with any questions.

Unless otherwise specified:

• access to most Weeks begins on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. Mountain Time (MT) 
• all assignments are to be submitted on or before Sunday at the end of the specified week that they are due, 11:59 p.m. (MT).
• all quizzes and exams are to be completed on or before Sunday at the end of the specified week that they open, 11:59 p.m. (MT).

  "Week 8" opens at 12:01 a.m. (MT) Saturday of the 7th week. Any assignments or exams must be completed by 11:59 p.m. (MT) Thursday of the 8th week.

The maximum score in this class is 1,000 points. The categories, which contribute to your final grade, are weighted as follows:

Assignment	Points	Weighting
Discussions (Wk 1 @ 30 pts; Wks 2 - 6 @ 40 pts each; Wk 7 1 @ 25 pts)	255	25.5%
Labs (Weeks 2, 4, 6; 65 points each)	195	19.5%
Quizzes (Weeks 3, 5, 7)	300	30%
Final Exam	250	25%
Total Points	1000	100%

Your Final Grade will be based on the following scale:

Letter Grade	Points	Percentage
A	900 - 1000	90% to 100%
B	800 - 899	80% to 89%
C	700 - 799	70% to 79%
D	600 - 699	60% to 69%
F	599 - and below	Below 60%

Late work is strongly discouraged. Turning in work late can impair your chances of success in the course. However, DeVry Online understands that life and "emergencies" do happen, and thus, we offer this late policy:

For serious emergencies, your instructor will decide whether your late work may be accepted for full or reduced credit. Serious emergencies include: serious illness, accidents, natural disasters, eCollege server outages, etc. E-mail your instructor the information about your emergency and request approval to make up the assignment, lab, quiz, or exam. If you receive approval, make up the work according to the plan set by you and your instructor.

For all other matters, i.e. work, technical, or other personal issues, your instructor will decide whether your late work may be accepted. Your instructor will impose a per diem late penalty of 5% of the assignment points per day up to seven days. For late work make-up which is not emergency-based, you should request approval BEFORE the final deadline. If homework solutions are shared with the class, your instructor reserves the right to decline to accept late work after the sharing of the solutions, or to require that an alternative assignment be completed, if one is available. Only one non-emergency late submission will be allowed per student per course.

This late work policy applies to all graded assessments (including Final Exams) in the course with the exception of the discussion threads, which require approval of the College faculty management administrators. See the "Policies" item in Course Home for information regarding the discussion threads make-up policy.

In the Discussion areas of the course, you, as a student, can interact with your instructor and classmates to explore questions and comments related to the content of this course. Discussions will always close Sunday, 11:59 P.M. Mountain Time (MT).

A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. You are therefore encouraged to participate in the discussion areas to enhance your learning experience throughout each week.

The discussions will be graded for:

1. Frequency—Number and regularity of your discussion comments, and

2. Quality—Content of your contributions

Frequency—Number and regularity of your contributions. Students are expected to log into the course and post (respond) in the discussion topics on a minimum of three separate days per week in each graded discussion, beginning no later than Wednesday.

Quality—Content of your contributions. Examples of quality posts include:

• providing additional information to the discussion;
• elaborating on previous comments from others;
• presenting explanations of concepts or methods to help fellow students,
• presenting reasons for or against a topic in a persuasive fashion,
• sharing your own personal experiences that relate to the topic, and
• providing a URL and explanation for an area you researched on the Internet.

Full credit is awarded when both high quality and required frequency is met.

For policy on discussions (and all other policies), please review the information contained in "Policies" under the Course Home section of your course.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a violation of the Academic Integrity code of this institution and will not be tolerated.  The plagiarism policy applies to every aspect of your coursework including threaded discussions, exams, quizzes, essays, assignments, etc. It is important that students fully cite any outside ideas, text and visual aids they reference in that work.

If you copy from, rely on, or paraphrase from your text or from any other source, you must include in-text citations and complete end-of-text citations. For any source, you must include the proper reference material including the full URL and date accessed if the source is from the Web. For help, see the APA Citation Policy and Materials section below. Failure to cite completely in-text and at the end of the paper is a violation of DeVry Academic Standards. Instructors are required to follow the DeVry Academic Integrity Policy. Refer to your Student Handbook or the Policy tab under Course Home to read the policy.

Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

For additional information see your student handbook, which is available in the Student Services website.

APA Citation and Reference Materials

If you have any questions, we recommend using the following APA reference materials.

When are grades calculated, and how can I view my grades?

• You must complete any quizzes and post your written assignments (if necessary) to the weekly Dropbox by Sunday 11:59 p.m. (MT) each week, except Week 8 which closes at 11:59 p.m. (MT) Thursday.
• Once your work is reviewed, you should see comments and total points for each assignment in the Gradebook. Instructors should have Discussion work graded by the following Tuesday and all other assignments by the following Friday.
• You may check your progress at any time by going to the Gradebook, selecting the week and then your name.
• Click on the points earned for each assignment in the Gradebook to see any instructor comments.

What should I do if a discrepancy is found with my grade?

1.  Double-check the error and try to determine what caused it.

2.  Send your instructor an email explaining your findings. 

3.  Trust that any error in grading will be corrected quickly. 

What if I cannot get my work submitted on time?

• If you have an emergency that will cause your work to be late, please contact your instructor in advance of the due date so that arrangements can be made. Your instructor may reserve the right to deduct points for work turned in late based on the reason and the timeliness of notice.
• If a technical problem prevents you from meeting the scheduled due date, please contact the Help Desk at 1-800-594-2402 and immediately email your instructor about the situation.

What should I do if I have a disability that requires accommodation?

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for eligible students with documented disabilities as defined by state and federal laws relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our intent is to ensure that every student who makes a request for accommodations under ADA is advised of the accommodation process as promptly as possible. If you are a student with a verifiable documented disability, and you can provide medical documentation regarding this disability, then contact our ADA Officer at adaofficer@devry.edu or adaofficer@keller.edu for more information on how to receive ADA accommodations in your online classes or fax your request to 630-929-9745.

How can I get extra credit?

It is policy that extra credit will not be allowed in online courses for any reason.