Times and Places

Lecture will be

Instructors

Teaching Assistant

to be announced

Textbooks

These textbooks are required. Homework problems come from them. Background reading is assigned in them. Nevertheless, it may be possible to do without them with some inconvenience. These books will be on reserve in the math library 310 Vincent Hall (there are two copies of each of the textbooks on 2 hour reserve). All of the computing you have to do is covered on our computer examples web pages not in the textbooks. However, if you want to really understand what this is all about, you should purchase the textbooks.

We will be tentatively covering the following chapters and sections of these books

Book Ch. or Sec.
Hollander and Wolfe Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Section 5.5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Section 11.5
Section 11.6
Efron and Tibshirani Chapters 1-5 Review
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 22

Looking at the table above, it is obviously too much material to cover in a semester. We won't and can't cover all of every chapter listed above. So what this table is mainly good for is showing what will be omitted entirely (anything not on the list above).

About the Course

Don't Get Lost

Ask questions in class. If something isn't clear to you, it probably isn't clear to others either. Most questions arise because the instructor hasn't made a connection clear or has inadvertently left out an important point. Your question gives the instructor a chance to explain more clearly.

If you have difficulty with problems, ask for help from the instructor or TA. Don't wait until just before the exam (or worse just after) to ask for help. By then it may be too late.

Exams

The material covered by the exams will stated in class and on the course home page.

All exams will be take-home and use computers extensively. You will have the computer, the course web pages, all the on-line help for the R computer language. They will also be open book. You may get help from any non-human source (any reference whatsoever).

What you absolutely are not permitted is help from any person other than the instructor. And don't expect significant help from the instructor during an exam. I will clarify questions. I won't tell you how to do them.

Missed Exams

University policy is that midterm and final exams can be made up for legitimate absences, such as verified illness, participation in other University-sponsored activities, jury duty, military service, religious observances. If you must miss an exam, make arrangements in advance. Talk to the instructor before or after class or during office hours to make arrangements. If you find you will miss an exam without having made arrangements, call the instructor (612-625-8511) or, if he is not in, call the department office (612-625-8046) and leave a message. Do this before the time of the exam.

Incompletes

University and department policy is that "I" grades are used only when there is a small amount of unfinished work that the student can complete on his or her own before the end of the following semester, when there was a legitimate excuse why the work could not be done on time, and when arrangements have been made with the instructor as to when the work will be done. "I" grades are not given when there is a large amount of work undone and the student would need to attend the class in the next semester to learn the material.

Homework

Homework assignments will be assigned in class and on the homework assignments web page.

Homework will be accepted late without penalty until 3:20 on the day it is due (the end of the instructor's office hours). If you don't hand in homework in class, hand it in during office hours, or slip it under the instructor's office door (Ford 356). Do not put it in the instructor's mail box or the TA's mail box. These are not secure.

Homework may be handed in late without penalty if there is a valid excuse and an arrangement has been made with the instructor in advance. Otherwise, there will be a 30% penalty for late homework up to two weeks late. Homework more than two weeks late will not be accepted.

Working together in groups on homework is permitted, even encouraged, but each student must do his or her own write-up of the solutions and fully understand them. Talking about problems with other people does help in learning, but just getting solutions doesn't.

Office Hours

They are there for your benefit. If you are having difficulty, please come see the teaching assistant or instructor or both during office hours to get help. If you cannot come to the regularly scheduled office hours, make arrangements after the lecture or lab to see us some other time. Or you can just phone and see if we are available.

In the past, some students who had no previous exposure to R or any other real computer language (that does not include Facebook or e-mail) have had severe difficulty and needed several office hours of help to get up to speed with R. This is fine with me. That is what office hours are for.

Grading

Midterms 50% (25% each), Final 25%, Homework 25%

Note: the final exam is just another exam, same weight as a midterm.

Graduate students are graded on a basis entirely separate from undergraduate and non-degree students.

Disabled Students

In conjunction with University of Minnesota Disability Services we will ensure equal learning opportunities for disabled students. Talk to the instructor and Disability Services to make arrangements.