Course Syllabus

General ground rules: During the 1st week you should read the material indicated under Module 1 (and so on for the other weeks). I have listed suggested problems for you to work in the BKM text. Solutions for the suggested end of chapter problems will be provided on Canvas in the Course Documents & Resources Module. Assigned homework that you will hand in for grade will be provided on Canvas. There will be 6 homework assignments (you can work in teams of 2 if you wish). The six assignments must be done in the Excel file that is provided.

Graded assigned homework will also include problems from BKM. Assigned homework for each Module is due on the Sunday that follows the 1st day of each module. Because we will have exams during weeks 4 and 8, there is no homework due (obviously the exam replaces the homework).  Exam 1 & 2 will be available from Thursday until 9:00 PM on Sunday of exam week.  This is a timed exam and the time limit is 4 hours.

All of the graded homework will be in Excel file format, so you must have access to this program. Please be sure that both Solver and Data Analysis Tools are installed. As part of Module 2, I have a narrated presentation on how to use Solver. Data Analysis Tools contains routines that will do Regression Analysis. I also have notes on Canvas (in Word format, not narrated) that will walk you through the basics of regressions. If you are not familiar with statistics you should review this material during the first week – there is a set of notes from BKM entitled “Quantitative Review.”

In all there are 6 homework assignments and 2 exams covering the 8 modules. I will schedule Zoom sessions via Canvas. These sessions are optional and I will archive each week’s live meeting so that you can listen in to that week’s discussion if you cannot make it.

Weekly details are in the corresponding module overview pages.

Canvas Information

Canvas is the where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

• The URL to access Canvas is: http://canvas.unl.edu 
• For Canvas, passwords, or any other computer-related technical support contact the IT Help Center.
• Phone: 402-472-3970
• Website: http://mysupport.unl.edu/ 
• Submit a support ticket: mysupport@unl.edu 

There will be two exams and 6 homework assignments during the semester (dates are in the class schedule section of the syllabus). Exam and homework weights are as follows:

• Exam 1 - 35%
• Exam 2 - 35%
• Six Homework Assignments - 30% (5% each)

Exams and Homework will be submitted using the online assignment manager links in Canvas.

In an online learning environment it's also valuable to include Netiquette guidelines. Feel free to use the ones listed below, adapt them, or replace them with your own. If you use the ones listed below please include the CC attribution.

• Participate: This is a shared learning environment. No lurking in the cyberspace background. It is not enough to login and read the discussion thread of others. For the maximum benefit to all, everyone must contribute.
• Report Glitches: Discussion forums are electronic. They break. If for any reason you experience difficulty participating, please call, email, or otherwise inform me of the issue. Chances are others are having the same problem.
• Help Others: You may have more experience with online discussion forums than the person next to you. Give them a hand. Show them it’s not so hard. They’re really going to appreciate it!
• Be Patient: Read everything in the discussion thread before replying. This will help you avoid repeating something someone else has already contributed. Acknowledge the points made with which you agree and suggest alternatives for those with which you don’t.
• Be Brief: You want to be clear—and to articulate your point—without being preachy or pompous. Be direct. Stay on point. Don’t lose yourself, or your readers, in overly wordy sentences or paragraphs.
• Use Proper Writing Style: This is a must. Write as if you were writing a term paper. Correct spelling, grammatical construction and sentence structure are expected in every other writing activity associated with scholarship and academic engagement. Online discussions are no different.
• Cite Your Sources: Another big must! If your contribution to the conversation includes the intellectual property (authored material) of others, e.g., books, newspaper, magazine, or journal articles—online or in print—they must be given proper attribution.
• Emoticons and Texting: Social networking and text messaging has spawned a body of linguistic shortcuts that are not part of the academic dialogue. Please refrain from :-) faces and c u l8r’s.
• Respect Diversity: It’s an ethnically rich and diverse, multi-cultural world in which we live. Use no language that is—or that could be construed to be—offensive toward others. Racists, sexist, and heterosexist comments and jokes are unacceptable, as are derogatory and/or sarcastic comments and jokes directed at religious beliefs, disabilities, and age.
• No YELLING! Step carefully. Beware the electronic footprint you leave behind. Using bold upper-case letters is bad form, like stomping around and yelling at somebody (NOT TO MENTION BEING HARD ON THE EYE).
• No Flaming! Criticism must be constructive, well-meaning, and well-articulated. Please, no tantrums. Rants directed at any other contributor are simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The same goes for profanity. The academic environment expects higher-order language.
• You Can't Un-Ring the Bell: Language is your only tool in an online environment. Be mindful. How others perceive you will be largely—as always—up to you. Once you've hit the send button, you've rung the bell.

Netiquette: Ground Rules for Online Discussions by Peter Connor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.