BMGT 230/230B Business Statistics Fall 2023

When:                            Monday and Wednesday

9:30 to 10:45 am [sections 0101-0106]

11:00 am to 12:15 pm [sections 0201-0206]

12:30 to 1:45 pm [sections 0301-0306]

Where:                           Van Munching Hall 1524

Course Web-Site:         elms.umd.edu ** Please check multiple times per week **

Learning Assistant:      Erich Studer-Ellis

Office:                           4360 Van Munching Hall

Office Hours:                Zoom, Tuesday, 10:00 to 11:00 am

In-Person, Thursday, 10:00 to 11:00 am

e-mail: estud@umd.edu[Please do NOT send messages to me through

Canvas/ELMS]

Telephone:                     301.405.5653

Course Description:

This course reviews the uses of statistical tools to present, analyze, and interpret data. We

emphasize applications of statistical tools and their uses for organizational decision-making, not    the theoretical bases of statistical tools. You will develop data and analysis skills to apply in other courses, work experiences, and life experiences. Activities include:  representing data through

tables, graphs, and numerical summaries; examining applications of probability concepts in

organizations; using sample data to estimate characteristics of populations and to test hypotheses about characteristics of populations; and conducting correlation and regression analyses.

NOTES:

1. For in-person classes and discussion sessions, attend the section for which you registered 2. Ibegin and (usually) end in-person classes on time, which means

- please ARRIVE BEFORE in-person classes BEGIN

- please STAY UNTIL in-person classes END

3. Please use the restroom before classes begin

4. I have nothing to do with registration

Grade Policies:

1. Students who earn the same overall percent receive the same grade.

2. Grades are NOT negotiable. I will not consider requests for “special favors.”

3. Once determined, grade boundaries are fixed and Ido NOT “round up.”

4. I use a relative (v. absolute) grading scale. Approximately 31% of students will receive some type of “A” [“A+,” “A,” or “A-”]; approximately 40% of students will receive some type of “B” [“B+,”   “B,” or “B-”]; and approximately 19% of students will receive some type of “C” [“C+,” “C,” “C-”].

Course Requirements:

Examinations, exercise sets, and discussion session activities. Attendance and participation are

your responsibility; however, attending and participating in classes and discussion sessions and  reviewing materials on a regular basis should help you pass the course. Smart/mobile phones are NOT allowed for in-person examinations, so I recommend you acquire a dependable basic

calculator with base e – please know, you alone are responsible for knowing how to use relevant functions. Please NOTE: programmable calculators (such as the several TI 83 and TI 84 models) are allowed but unnecessary.

Examinations – Two IN-SEMESTER, COMMON EVENING (College Park time) in-person examinations (2 @ 23% = 46% of total grade) and a COMMON EVENING (College Park time) in-person FINAL examination (24% of total grade). All examinations are currently scheduled to be on paper. Students can use ONE formula/note sheet for each in-semester examination and one formula/note sheet for the final examination. Formula/note sheet guidelines:  STANDARD

PAPER (8.5” x 11”), HAND-WRITTEN (your handwriting, no photocopies), BOTH SIDES.

Please NOTE: ALL EXAMINATIONS are MAJOR GRADING EVENTS. According to

University policies [http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html], students must request excused absences from major grading events prior to the events when issues are known in advance and University-sanctioned, or as soon as possible after the events in cases of unexpected University-sanctioned issues. Students must also provide verifiable documentation (for example, an athletics department travel letter, their course schedule, a note from a healthcare provider, a

religious calendar, a court summons, or an obituary) to receive accommodations for missing major grading events due to University-sanctioned issues. Students who miss major grading events due to non-University-sanctioned issues will receive ZERO credit for the events.

Exercise Sets – On average, each of you will submit ONE on-line exercise set, basically a

homework assignment, each week-and-a-half (20% of total grade). Exercise sets will be  available on the COURSE WEB-SITE approximately one week before they are due and must be submitted  by 11:59 pm (College Park time) on the associated due dates. Though on-line portions of exercise sets will contain fixed-response (basically, multiple-choice) questions, I will provide detailed

answer keys soon after associated due dates. Exercise set grades are based on the following

sliding scale:  10 (of 10) points = vast majority of parts correct; 7.5 points = numerous parts

correct; 5 points = a sufficient number of parts correct; 0 points = basically everything else

(Please Note: exercise sets will generally contain different numbers of parts, so it is not possible   to provide absolute guidelines that convert the number of parts correct to a specific scaled score).  Many students find completing exercise sets a useful way to reinforce concepts and to prepare for examinations.

Discussion Session Activities – During discussion sessions, you will generally work in

TEAMS of 4 or 5 students to complete and submit an ACTIVITY SHEET (10% of total grade). Activity sheets will contain questions and problems that extend and apply course material.

Students on teams that  submit completed answer sheets will receive full credit; all other students will usually receive zero credit. Because attendance and participation are necessary to complete   activity sheets, students who arrive at discussion sessions more than 15 minutes late will not

receive credit for associated activity sheets (meaning arriving more than 15 minutes late = 0 credit for associated activity sheets). When possible, we will also solicit and answer questions and clarify issues during discussion sessions.

NOTES:

1. Students who experience unexpected long-term University-sanctioned absences (for example, due to illnesses) should contact me as soon as possible given the issues to arrange any necessary  accommodations.

2. Students are responsible for submitting assignments in the appropriate forms and at the

specified times. Because exercise sets can be completed and submitted anytime for approximately

one week, few (if any) exceptions to due dates will be granted. In particular, students who

experience technical difficulties close to exercise set deadlines will not receive extensions or

accommodations for the associated exercise sets. Due to the administrative costs associated with

offering make-up opportunities for missed discussion sessions and activity sheets, I will count 8

of the 10 activity sheets when I determine grades (meaning, I will drop 2 of the 10 activity sheets).

Students who miss at least three discussion sessions due to University-sanctioned issues (for

example, student-athletes) are to notify me and provide appropriate documentation for each

missed discussion session as soon as possible (for example, when they receive their travel letters) so I can determine any relevant accommodations.

3. Students who VIOLATE course policies on assignments will receive ZERO credit for the associated assignments.

Course Materials:

A. Course Web-Site – Courses offered by the Smith School use the Canvas learning management system on ELMS [elms.umd.edu]. Please CHECK the course web-site

MULTIPLE TIMES each WEEK.

B. Course Packet [Required] – Basically, a compilation of course materials/notes and in-class examples. Also contains a complete course outline, “old” examinations, additional practice

problems, probability distribution tables, a glossary of key terms, and other important items.

Please purchase the physical, or paper, copy of the course packet before classes begin or as soon as possible after classes begin (location and cost to be determined; a digital version [PDF] of the course packet will also be available on the course web-site near the beginning of the semester).

Please review the course packet as soon as possible so you know where key materials are located well before the first examination.

C. Recommended – Kelley, W. Michael and Robert A. Donnelly. The Humongous Book of Statistics Problems, original edition, 2009. ALPHA. ISBN: 978-1592578658. Contains many additional statistics problems that reinforce basic concepts.

D. e-mail – If you send a message to me, please use estud@umd.eduand include BMGT 230 in the subject field. Please do NOT send messages to me through Canvas/ELMS.

Attendance Policy:

Again, attendance and participation are your responsibility; however, attending and participating in classes and discussion sessions and reviewing materials on a regular basis should help you pass the course (see also: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html). Please review course materials on a consistent basis and submit assignments and take examinations as scheduled.

Accommodations:

I accommodate all known University-sanctioned issues and needs. Students registered with the

Accessibility and Disability Service [ADS] are to provide all relevant documentation to me within the first two weeks of classes. In addition, students registered with the ADS are to discuss their

examination accommodations with me directly (through e-mail is fine). For additional information,

please contact the ADS at 301.314.7682, 0106 Shoemaker Hall, or

https://www.counseling.umd.edu/ads/.

Course Support:

Because course material is cumulative, please avoid falling behind. It will be difficult to do well in

the course if you do not understand material when it is presented. If you do not understand material, please seek assistance (from me or/and TAs) as soon as possible.

Office Hours – In addition to providing course support through e-mail, the TAs and I will  offer regular Zoom office hours. NOTES:  I will also hold at least one in-person office hour per week; I expect to provide the full office hours schedule by the end of the first week of    classes.

Review/Help Videos – I will provide review/help videos that highlight key concepts and offer suggestions for answering exercise set questions several days before exercise sets are due.

Answer Keys – I will post answer keys for all assignments and course packet material covered in classes to the course web-site as soon as possible after the associated due dates and classes.

Smart/Mobile Phones (voice, text, picture, or whatever) and Similar Devices:

For in-person classes and discussion sessions, as well as examinations, what do you think?!!!!

Laptop Computers and Tablets:

Because the course packet contains all relevant basic notes, laptop computers and tablets are

UNNECESSARY and PROHIBITED during in-person classes and discussion sessions. I must approve all requests to use laptop computers or tablets during in-person classes and discussion sessions, including requests by students with documented needs.

Academic Integrity:

The University of Maryland’s Code of Academic Integrity

[https://www.president.umd.edu/administration/policies/section-iii-academic-affairs/iii-100a] is designed to ensure that the principles of academic integrity and honesty are upheld. ALL

students are expected to adhere to the Code. I ENFORCE the Code of Academic Integrity and will deal with ALL ACTS of academic misconduct, including (but not limited to) cheating,

fabricating, plagiarizing, and facilitating academic misconduct, according to the Code. If you  have questions, please contact the Office of Student Conduct [OSC] at 301.314.8204, or 2118 Mitchell Building, or http://osc.umd.edu.

Examinations: students may use one hand-written formula/note sheet, a calculator, pencils, and scrap paper, but no other materials or resources, for each examination.

Exercise Sets:  students may work together to apply ideas and concepts; however, each student MUST generate and submit their OWN final answers. Please NOTE:  on-line assignments generate extensive data that I can analyze to detect many types of academic misconduct.

Ten Keys to Success:

10. Visit the course web-site frequently

9. Attend classes and discussion sessions

8. Watch review/help videos

7. Review answer keys and completed notes consistently

6. Use all sections and resources in the course packet

5. Review all course materials, not just “old” examinations, when preparing for examinations

4. Ask questions or/and seek assistance as soon as possible

3. Submit all assignments and take all examinations

2. Avoid over-confidence (common among students who took AP statistics) or under-confidence (common among students who have been told or believe they “can not do math”)

1. Focus on learning and understanding more than grades

Bottom Lines:

The only certain way to fail is to not try

Get your (or your parents’, your grandparents’, taxpayers’, …) “money’s worth” (i.e., make me work)!

Otis Redding

Tentative Schedule

(M = Monday, T = Tuesday, W = Wednesday, R = Thursday, F = Friday)