CSE200
COURSE INFORMATION
Required Texts:
NOTE: The textbook comes with an access
code that must be purchased by each student; so obtaining USED printed
materials on your own is not sufficient. You will need access to the online
content in order to do the assignments. IF, however, you bought the
text/access code from cengage in the past and are
retaking the course – see Debby Gross for special arrangements; otherwise you
will need to buy the text.
Course Objectives:
The
course objective is to familiarize students with the breadth of business
software applications and to provide a working knowledge of spreadsheets and
databases. We emphasize using these tools to solve problems.
It is our goal that students will feel comfortable enough on computers
that they will be able to open up an unfamiliar business application and begin
learning it on their own, applying these tools to solve problems efficiently
and effectively.
Grading Policy:
In
the past, close to a 10 point scale has been the normal letter grade assignment
with a 2-3 point curve sometimes being applied. Due to the nature of the
exams given in this course, the difficulty level of the course is hard to
maintain, thus the deviation in grading policy from quarter to quarter.
However, there is a guarantee of a 10-pt scale i.e. no curving down, as well as
the following: at least 20% of the class will be given an A letter grade, at
least 30% will be given a B, and at least 30% will be given C. Final grades are at the discretion of the
lecturer.
|
Lab Assignments
(10) - variable points per lab |
20% |
200 points |
Quizzes – 50 points each (best 4 out of 5)
|
20% |
200 points |
|
Midterm |
25% |
250 points |
|
Final Exam |
35% |
350 points |
You must pass
the final exam in order to pass the course.
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend both
lecture and lab, although only attendance in lab is mandatory.
Students are responsible for all material covered, all assignments made, and
all due dates announced. No credit will be given for lab assignments if the
student does not attend lab.
Labs:
Each
lab contains two parts - a
Pre-lab and an In-lab assignment. The pre-lab assignments
can be found in the lab section of your course notes. You may start on
them at any time. The pre-lab lab files are available on Carmen
– click on the Content menu and then the Pre-labs link. The Pre-lab
assignment for a specific week is due during that week’s closed lab
session. When you arrive for your closed lab class, the TA will
distribute your In-lab assignment. This will usually consist of one or
more problems that apply the skills learned in lecture and during the
Pre-lab. You will have only 1 hour 48 minutes to complete the
in-lab assignment, so come prepared and make sure you have all the materials
(texts, notes etc) as indicated in the Pre-lab write-up. To
receive credit the lab assignment you must attend lab and submit your files by
the end of the class period. When labs are submitted a date/time stamp is
given. No credit will be given for late labs. Labs
5 and 9 must be submitted to pass the course, if you fail to do so –
please contact your Lab Instructor immediately.
Homework:
Homework
will be assigned but will not be collected. They are for your benefit to
complete. Answers will be provided online. In Carmen, click on Content
then “Link to Text and Practice Problems”.
Problem files and solutions are organized by topic.
Quizzes:
There
will be a series of 5 quizzes given during the quarter. Approximate
dates are listed on the syllabus. The dates of each quiz will be confirmed in
the lecture before the quiz is to be given. Each quiz is worth 50 points
and the best 4 out of 5 quizzes will be counted for a maximum point score of
200.
Exams:
The approximate date for the midterm as
well as the set final exam date is listed on the syllabus. Any
changes of exam dates will be announced in class – at least one week prior to
the exam as well as posted on the lecturer’s announcement page.
Make-up Policy:
It is the policy of this course that no
make-ups will be allowed for quizzes and only documented emergencies will be
given the option to make-up a midterm or final exam. You have a drop
quiz, so if you miss a quiz for any reason, it will be considered
your drop quiz. The only exceptions are for labs.
Extraordinary circumstances are described below. Make-ups will not be
given to students who miss assignments due to “over sleeping” or “not knowing
of the assignment”, etc. Documentation will ALWAYS be required to obtain
an excused absence for any exam.
Extraordinary Circumstances:
At
times, there are extraordinary circumstances that may require a make-up of a
lab assignment, midterm or final exam - notice again that no make-ups will be
given for missed quizzes; it will be considered your drop quiz even if you have
extraordinary circumstances with documentation. The appropriate person
will handle these on a case by case basis.
Contact your lecturer for all matters pertaining to the midterm or final
exam; contact your lab instructor in all matters pertaining to labs.
·
Notification must be made and confirmed prior to the
assignment
due date by e-mail, phone or in person. Leaving a voice
mail or e-mail, however, is not enough. You must have confirmation by the
appropriate person to be considered for a make-up.
·
In
a case where a person is unable to notify the proper person (ex. documented
medical emergency), notification must be made as soon as possible.
Fairness to Students:
We strive to treat students with dignity
and fairness and to be particularly sensitive to the diversity that exists
within the student body. Students with disabilities who request help will be
given reasonable accommodation with the assistance of the University Office of
Disability Services (292 - 3307)
Academic Misconduct:
In accordance with Faculty Rule 3335-31-02, all
instances of alleged academic misconduct will be reported to the Department
Chairperson and the Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM). Alleged
misconduct cases will be resolved via COAM’s hearing processes as described in
the University’s Code of Student Conduct. Instructors, lab
consultants and graders will not make an evaluation of the facts of the case,
either towards guilt or innocence.
As defined in the University’s Code of Student
Conduct, academic misconduct is any activity which tends to compromise the
academic integrity of the institution or subvert the educational process.
Students who violate the University’s policies regarding academic misconduct are
stealing academic credit and skewing the grading process against students who
are honestly participating in the course. Their actions diminish the value of
an academic degree when they falsely represent themselves as competent in a
subject matter in the workplace.
Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited
to, giving or receiving information or assistance during an exam or submission
of plagiarized work for academic requirements. It also includes changing graded
material and turning it back in to be re-graded for a higher
score.
While we encourage students to learn from each
other, each student’s submitted work must be entirely their own.
We encourage high level discussions of assignments. However, specific
discussion of a formula solution is not appropriate. Examples of
appropriate and inappropriate types of assistance are listed below:
Examples of appropriate assistance are as follows:
·
Students working together on non-graded examples
similar to those of the assigned materials.
Non-graded examples are provided both in written and electronic format
for use by students.
·
Studying in groups to learn problem solving
techniques and function syntax using non-graded
materials provided in the course text and notes.
·
Creating study guides for purposes of learning the
materials in preparation for exams and quizzes.
·
Getting assistance from a course staff member
(Lecturers, TA’s, Lab Consultants). Staff members are trained to help students
learn concepts so students can then successfully apply these concepts in the
completion of their own assignments.
Appropriate assistance from course staff members may take either of the
following forms:
o
A student asks for assistance for an un-attempted
problem or a problem they do not understand how to approach. The student should be shown how to do a
similar problem and/or directed to specific materials in the course text. Students and staff may also work through a
high level strategy of how to go about solving the problem.
§
Appropriate: “You need to add all of the values
that meet a specific criteria and the divide them by the number of items that
meet this criteria”
§
Inappropriate: “Use the formula =SUMIF(B2:B10,
TRUE)/COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE)”
o
A student asks for assistance with a mostly
completed assignment. The staff member
may identify an error and provide appropriate assistance.
§
Appropriate:
“The absolute referencing in the formula is incorrect, the price of
widgets doesn’t change when copied down the column”
§
Inappropriate:
“Add a $ in front of the 2 so the answer is B$2*C3.”
Additional examples of inappropriate assistance
are as follows:
·
Having another person complete any part of a graded
assignment and misrepresenting it as your own work or having another person
take an exam or quiz for you.
·
Copying any portion of a graded assignment or exam,
either written or electronic, even if this is later modified. This includes work/files from both current
and past quarters, even if you are re-taking the course and it was your own
work. Files may only be copied from the
course websites and/or directories as specifically directed in an assignment.
·
Giving or receiving an answer to a portion of
a graded assignment including graded homework, labs, quizzes or exams.
·
Helping another student with their homework or lab
as they follow along from your completed or partially completed work.
·
Working together on a graded assignment. High level discussions of problem strategies
are allowed, but be advised that near duplicate assignments will be considered
suspect unless the assignment was restrictive enough to justify such
similarities in independent work.
If a student has any questions about what is or is not
permissible, he/she should read carefully the course syllabus and/or ask the
course instructor for guidance.
Ignorance of the course policies or University’s Code of Student Conduct
is never an excuse for academic misconduct.
Top 5 things you can do to improve your grade:
This
is a hard course. Remember, there is no
set letter grade scale, but there are several things you can do to improve your
grade, such as:
1.
Come
to class. This is without a doubt the
best thing you can do for your grade.
Those students that do exceptionally well in the class (B or above) are
always the students that come regularly to class. I’ll be the first to admit that lectures can
be a little dry sometimes, but coming regularly will always improve your grade.
2.
Put
in a little over-time. You should be
prepared to spend at least 3-5 hours outside of class to complete your lab
follow-up and homework. A little extra
time spent reading the text section of your class notes always helps, and your
lecturer will be happy to give you extra problems on which to work.
3.
Ask
questions in class. Class is a lot more
engaging for you and the lecturer if you are an active participant in the
class. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! If you don’t understand something, there are at
least five other people in the class that don’t understand it either.
4.
Come
to all review sessions you can, if offered. Your instructor may schedule review
sessions periodically throughout the quarter if necessary. This is an excellent way to review the
material before an important test date.
5.
Ask
your instructor for help. I am more than
happy to set up one-on-one 30-minute review sessions any time, and I can be an
excellent resource for helping you with any problems you might have over the
course of the quarter. Some students
need a little personal attention in order to understand the material – but you
need to ask for it.