Assessment
Assessments theoretically serve a purpose of measuring how much
you have learned (i.e. how much you have achieved of the course goals).
I would recommend you to first focus on your learning, then grades will
follow. I hope you can focus on your own learning.
It is my intent to design assessments that are a source of
intellectual curiosity, joy, and learning rather than a source
of stress. The timezone of this course is PDT.
Attendance
This course is taught mainly asynchronously which means that you will learn the content of the course by watching videos at a time that is convenient for you. However, each week you are required to attend one hour of office hours. On People tab you will see that we offer multiple office hours. You can attend any of those. It does not matter which one you attend but it is very important that you attend one, get to know your classmates, and ask any questions that you may have.Quizzes
Quizzes are an opportunity to practice
the topics learned in the lecture videos.
You can work on quizzes individually or in groups
but each one of you needs to submit separately.
Working together means discussing reasoning for questions.
You need to write your solutions independently from one another.
We will use office hours time to get in groups and work together.
Office hours are not a good time to start quizzes.
You should attempt quizzes before coming to office hours.
Five lowest quiz scores will be dropped.
The quizzes are due Thursday at 6 pm.
The quizzes are not timed.
That means once you begin the quiz you do not have to
submit it within a specific time period,
however, you have to complete it before it is due.
Homework Assignments
After a week of topics have finished you will be assigned a homework on these topics. You will be given one week to complete the homework. For homework you can use books, and notes but may not talk to your peers or anyone else. You cannot rely on online forums or tutoring, homework help websites. Homework assignments are timed. You do not have to take the homework assignment at any specific time. You can take it on any day and any time within the week that is assigned. The homework assignments are due 6 pm on Fridays.
Midterm Exam
Midterm exam will be open book and timed. You may not talk to anyone online or in person about the midterm. You cannot rely on online forums or tutoring, homework help websites. The midterm exam is scheduled for August 18. You can take the midterm at any time on that day. There will be additional office hours on that day. However, you are recommended to take the midterm at the same time as the office hours.
Final Exam
Final exam will be open book and timed. You may not talk to anyone online or in person about the final. You cannot rely on online forums or tutoring, homework help websites. The final exam is scheduled for August September 8. You can take the final at any time on that day. There will be additional office hours on that day. However, you are recommended to take the final at the same time as the office hours.
Grades will not be curved and will not be rounded. Please do not email me about any of these. The following weights will be adopted in calculating the total grade.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Attendance | 5% |
| Quizzes | 30% |
| Homework Assignments | 15% |
| Midterm | 25% |
| Final Exam | 25% |
| Weighted Total Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 96.5 - 100 | A+ |
| 93.5 - 96.499 | A |
| 90 - 93.499 | A- |
| 86.5 - 89.999 | B+ |
| 83.5 - 86.499 | B |
| 80 - 83.499 | B- |
| 76.5 - 79.999 | C+ |
| 73.5 - 76.499 | C |
| 70 - 73.499 | C- |
| 66.5 - 69.999 | D+ |
| 63.5 - 66.499 | D |
| 60 - 63.499 | D- |
| 59.999 and below | F |
Life Happened Card
We all know something always comes up in life. If something is preventing you from completing your work, you can use your life happened card. This imaginary card can be used for quizzes and homework assigments only. For any missed assignment that you use your card for, you will NOT receive zero points. Your grade will be calculated by ignoring that assignment completely. You can only use this card once. You have to use it within a week of the deadline of the assignment. Email your reader (Josie) to use your life happened card.Extra Credit Opportunity
There will be extra credit opportunities. If you complete all of them then you will receive 1% towards you total final grade. These will be announced later.
You are expected to comply to rules set by the Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Each assignment will be clearly labeled with instructions on whether you can work with others or not. If there are no instructions you should assume that the work should be completed by you only from start to finish. Academic dishonesty includes, for example, cheating on examinations or any assignment, plagiarism of any kind (including improper citation of sources), having someone else take an examination or complete an assignment for you (or doing this for someone else), or any activity in which you represent someone else’s work as your own. Violations of academic integrity will be referred to the Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct. You cannot share or distribute solutions online or offline or in any media now or in the future. You cannot obtain solutions from others. If there is evidence that you have worked with others intentionally or unintentionally YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS. This rule applies even if you violate the policies of this course on a single problem on an assignment, the whole assignment, or multiple assignments. No matter what the degree of academic dishonesty is you will fail the class. It is your responsibility to protect your answers being copied. Make sure not to save work on shared folders. It may be difficult to distinguish helping each other learn and studying together with violating academic honesty. If you are unsure of the distinction check with me before hand.
University of California, Irvine is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with permanent or temporary disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. If you have a disability that impacts your participation in this class, please contact the Disability Services Center (DSC) as soon as possible. Students approved for accommodations will notify the instructor by sending out a Faculty Notification Letter from the DSC website. Disability Services Center - Building 313 in Engineering Gateway - www.dsc.uci.edu - (949) 824-7494
The University of California, Irvine, in accordance with applicable Federal and State law and University policy, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or service in the uniformed services. The University also prohibits sexual harassment. This nondiscrimination policy covers admission, access, and treatment in University programs and activities.
My goal is to make everyone (yes, that includes you too) feel welcome not only in my classroom but also in the field of statistics and data science. If there is any reason you do not feel welcome in this class, please talk to me. If anything is said to you that makes you feel uncomfortable please talk to me. If there is any life event that is interfering with your learning in this class, please talk to me. I may not be able to solve all your problems but I may be able to direct you to the right resources on campus.
Writing an email
While communicating over email, please make sure the email- has an informative subject line.
- articulates your question or problem well.
- has a closing statement such as Sincerely, Kind Regards etc.
- has your name at the end.
Subject: Stats 115 - Your Subject
Dear Dr. Dogucu (or your grader's name),
I hope you are doing well (or some other humane sentence). I am writing to you regarding ______________. (Your concern or problem) (Any explanations, requests or suggestions for solutions to your problem)
Sincerely/Kind regards,
Your name
Online communication
Most of our online comminication will take place on Canvas. While communicating online please note the following:- Before posting a question, please make sure that the same question has not been posted before.
- Canvas Discussions are labeled as Week 1, 2, 3.. and so on. Make sure to write your post at the appropriate week's discussion.
- If you choose to post memes or any jokes, be mindful. Any joke about a person, or a group of people, or cultures is not funny. However statistics jokes are always welcome.
- Respect opinions of others
- There are absolutely no stupid questions. Do not feel shy about asking questions. Do not judge anyone about any question that they ask.
- If somebody asks a question about homework etc. do not reveal answers for them. Instead, show them in which lecture we have covered the topic.
- Be generous with likes. That means when you read something useful like the post so that we all know that we are not talking to ourselves but to each other.