ECO 250.02 Spring 2015
Important!
Additional information required for this class is on Blackboard under “Course Information.”
Success in this course requires that you review that material as soon as possible.
Overview
In this course, you will get a solid introduction to statistical analysis, and you will learn how
to use Excel to do statistical analysis.
Statistical analysis is becoming increasingly important in all areas of business, especially
marketing, finance, operations, management, and economics. Employees at all levels must
able to understand statistical concepts to make good decisions and to explain their positions
to others. They must also be able to understand statistical concepts to judge the strength of
arguments made by others. The ability to do statistical analysis is a strong plus in the job
market. The objective of the course is not to make you a statistician but to improve your
critical thinking skills by enabling you to understand better the benefits and limitations of
statistics in supporting business decision making.
Excel has become a standard tool used for many purposes throughout business. Nearly every
employee of any business will be provided Excel by his or her employer and will be
expected to be able to use it. Those who have mastered some of Excel’s advanced
capabilities will have an advantage on the job and in the job market.
Required Materials
1. Learning Business Statistics with Microsoft Excel 2010 (& Excel 2013), Spring 2015
Edition. Older versions of this text (up to one year) can be used. Available at the
UNCG bookstore
2. ResponseWare license. Available online or at the bookstore.
3. A PC with the full version of either Excel 2010 or Excel 2013. You will a lab
computer for class, but you will need a PC for work outside of class. A Mac can be
used for most of the work in the course but require special considerations.
Information about Macs is available on Blackboard.
Item 1 is a course pack I have prepared for use as the primary text. You will need a threering binder. The cost is approximately $30.
Item 2 can be purchased online (preferred) or at the bookstore. See Blackboard for more
information. The one-year license costs $15.
The lab computers in 221 Bryan will be used during class. Outside of class you will need
access to a PC running the full version of Excel 2010 or 2013, and it will need to be set up
for class use. See Blackboard for more information or if you wish to use a Mac.
Class Meeting Location
Class will meet in the computer lab in 221 Bryan 11:00–12:15.
Attendance
Class attendance is very important for success in this course.
Excessive absences will result in your being administratively dropped from the course.
Depending upon when this occurs and the university withdrawal policy you are subject to,
this could result in the equivalent of an F on your transcript. This is less likely to happen if
Page 2
ECO 250.02 Syllabus Spring 2015
you contact me about an absence in advance or as soon afterwards as possible, you’re your
reason for missing class, regardless of whether or not you think I will accept it as a valid
excuse.
Your grade for ResponseWare questions on days for which you have an unexcused absence
will be zero and will affect your course average.
Your ability to do well on exams will be seriously hurt if you miss class. If absence is
unavoidable, contact me so that I can advise you on making up the material.
Grading
Grades are on a 10 point scale with minuses for the bottom two points and pluses for the top
two. For instance, 80–81 is a B–, 82–87 is a B, and 88–89 is a B+.
Your final base grade average will be calculated according to the following:
Exam 1
15%
Exam 2
20%
Exam 3
20%
Final Exam
29%
Homework Average
8%
In-Class (ResponseWare Questions) 8%
Total
100%
Exams
Exams will be written on paper, but Excel will be used to answer the questions. You will
have the opportunity to show your work for possible partial credit if your final answer is
wrong.
You may use the “Notes & Formula Sheet” during exams. A copy is provided in the text,
and you can download a duplicate from Blackboard. Copies will also be available during
exams if you forget to bring yours. You may write notes in margins of the formula sheet,
but, if you print it on two sheets of paper, you may not write on the blank sides. Put your
name on your Notes & Formula Sheet. You may be asked to turn it in during an exam, but it
will be returned to you.
In order to get the maximum benefit from the Notes & Formula Sheet, you should get in the
habit of using it when working homework or other problems and when in class. There is a
large amount of information on it, and unless you become familiar with it before an exam,
you will have difficulty finding the information you need during an exam.
Homework
Homework problem sets will be made available on Blackboard. For each homework, there
will be two problem sets: one for practice and the other for your homework grade.
Generally, the wording of problems in the two sets will be identical or very similar, but the
data provided will differ.
You will be able to work the practice problems as often as you wish. Each time, the data for
the problems will randomly change. All of the questions will be asked at once. A grade for
the practice problem sets will appear in Blackboard but will have no effect on your final
course grade. The practice problem sets will be available for the entire semester.
The homework problem set can only be done once, questions will be asked one at a time,
and you will not be able to go back to a previous question. There is a deadline for
completing the homework problem set, and it will disappear once that deadline passes.
ECO 250.02 Syllabus Spring 2015
Page 3
Success in the course requires practice working problems. The homeworks can help prepare
you for exams, but only if you work them correctly. For the homeworks to best prepare you
for exams, you must redo the practice set as many times as it takes until you can get 100
without looking at feedback from previous attempts and without using Excel spreadsheets
already set up to answer previous questions. Use only a blank Excel spreadsheet and the
Notes & Formula sheet that you will have when you take exams.
Just doing the homework problems is likely not sufficient to prepare you for the exams. At
the end of every chapter in the text, except the first, there are also problems. The answers to
all of the problems are in Appendix C. Working these problems will give you practice with
different wordings. The problems on the exams will never have wording that is completely
identical to those in the homework problems or the end-of-chapter problems. Experience
with many differently worded problems is the best way to prepare for the exam problems.
You also will be given problems in ResponseWare with different wording, and reviewing
these will be helpful. Some exam questions will test your understanding of concepts more
than your ability to work specific problems. Some questions of this type will be asked in
ResponseWare and will be covered in the lectures.
ResponseWare
Questions will be asked in every class that you will answer on a website. This system is very
similar to “clicker” systems that you have used in other course, but no physical clicker is
required. Some questions will be extra credit.
Review Material
In addition to the text, all PowerPoint presentations, including ResponseWare questions, will
be posted in Blackboard after a lecture. Excel workbooks containing problems worked
through in class will also be posted.
Seeking Help
Do not hesitate to contact me about any course issues, including absences or problems with
deadlines. If you have questions about course content, send either my graduate assistant or
me an e-mail or come to our offices. If your question concerns solving a problem with
Excel, attach the Excel file where you have attempted the problem to your e-mail. If
possible, bring a laptop to an office visit, but this is not required. Include “ECO 250.02” in
the subject line of any e-mail you send me. This is done automatically with mail sent
through Blackboard. My mailer will automatically give such messages special treatment that
will help ensure they will not be overlooked.
Tutoring
The Student Success Center also offers free tutoring for students in ECO 250. Most tutors
are undergraduates who completed the course with a grade of B+ or better. I have had many
positive reports from students who took advantage of this opportunity. For more information
see http://success.uncg.edu/lac/tutoring.php. To request a tutor, fill out and submit the form
here: http://success.uncg.edu/lac/service_request.asp. The deadline to request a tutor is
March 13, but there often is a shortage of tutors, and it is best to sign up as soon as possible.
Let me know about your experiences with your tutor. If you have any complaints, such as
missed appointments or other problems, contact Erin Morris (ejmorris@uncg.edu) at the
Student Success Center, 109 McIver.
Page 4
ECO 250.02 Syllabus Spring 2015
If you miss the deadline, or prefer a different tutor, on your request I will see if a graduate
student in economics is interested. You would have to negotiate a payment rate directly with
him or her.
Extra Credit
You have three ways to earn extra credit:
1) ResponseWare. Since some of the questions will be extra credit, your average on these
questions can exceed 100.
2) Turn in the Excel work done while working through chapters and answering end-ofchapter questions. This extra credit can add as much as six points to your final course
average. There are two parts to this extra credit:
a. As you work through the text, you will create new workbooks and/or modify existing
workbooks.
b. Work every end-of-chapter problem, except those marked with asterisks. For some
problems a worksheet with the data for the problem may be provided. Work out the
problem and clearly show your Excel steps on the same worksheet. For other problems,
there may not be a worksheet provided. Put the Excel used to work out these problems
on separate worksheets with the problem number on the tab. If one question has several
parts, show the work for all parts on the same worksheet.
Put all of the worksheet in a single workbook. E-mail it to the graduate assistant. (Kirubel
Aysheshim kdayshes@uncg.edu). Put “ECO 250.02 Extra Credit” in your e-mail subject
line. Your work will be spot-checked. You will receive a grade of 0, 50, or 100, depending
on how much you have successfully completed. At the end of the semester, the average of
all the extra credit grades will be taken and multiplied by six. That product will be added to
your final course average. Successfully doing all of the extra credit will raise you final
average by more than half a letter grade.
3) Finding errors in the textbook. For every error that you are the first to report, you will
receive .10 or .20 points added to your final grade. In order to receive this credit, you must:
a. Send the report to me (Professor Neufeld) by e-mail (john_neufeld@uncg.edu). Put
“ECO 250.02 Text Errors” in your e-mail subject line.
b. Describe the error and explain why you think it is an error and what you think the
correction should be.
c. Identify the page number and location of the error. The date at the bottom of the page
containing the error must be a 2015 date.
d. Be the first person to have reported the error.
Errors can be of any kind: typographic, spelling, references to the wrong cell, incorrect
values given, etc. Typographical, grammatical, spelling errors, as well as incorrect
references to illustrations, will each receive .10 points. Substantive errors (instructions that
refer to the wrong cells or provide values that are wrong will each receive .20 points. These
points will be added to your final course average. The values seen in Excel are rounded, and
the number of decimal places displayed can change. A value in the text will be considered
an error only if it differs from the value shown by Excel rounded to the same number of
decimal places as that in the text.
Error reports will be collected and periodically reviewed by me. I will acknowledge
receiving your report, but will not check it immediately. After reviewing your error reports, I
will send you an e-mail indicating whether or not you will get the extra credit. The only
circumstances where you wouldn’t receive the extra credit are if I do not agree that what you
have reported is an error, or if someone else previously reported the same error. You will
ECO 250.02 Syllabus Spring 2015
Page 5
receive a notification for each error you submit. If you were not given extra credit for a
particular submission, the notification will give the reason.
Instructors
Office
E-mail address
Professor
Dr. John Neufeld
449 Bryan john_neufeld@uncg.edu
Assistant
Mr. Kirubel
Aysheshim
103 Bryan kdayshes@uncg.edu
Office Hours
See Blackboard under
“Instructor Contacts.”
When sending e-mail to either of us, include “ECO 250.02” in the subject line. This will
ensure your message doesn’t get lost in the daily flood of e-mails.
Course Schedule
The course schedule is available on Blackboard. It will be updated to reflect any changes in
the schedule that might happen during the semester.
New Drop Policy
Please be aware that UNC General Administration has mandated a new policy on course
drops that applies to this course and all other courses for students that began at UNCG in
Fall 2014 or later:


Only 16 hours of courses can be dropped during a student’s entire academic career.
Courses dropped at other UNC campuses count in this limit.
If a student does not successfully complete at least 67% of the hours signed up for on the
second week of class, he or she will lose academic standing regardless of grades. That
means if you are signed up for three courses and drop one, you will lose academic
standing. The consequence is academic probation, suspension, or dismissal from the
university.
For more information about the new drop policy, see
http://studentsfirst.uncg.edu/withdrawal/course/.
Class Behavior
Classes will be informal. You are encouraged to ask questions in class anytime. Please do
not come to class late or leave early without either notifying me in advance or providing me
with an explanation afterwards.
Academic Integrity Policy
Students are expected to know and abide by the Honor Code in all matters pertaining to this course.
Violations of this code will be pursued in accordance with the code. The link to UNCG’s academic
integrity policy is: http://sa.uncg.edu/dean/academic-integrity/.
Faculty and Student Guidelines
Please familiarize yourself with the Bryan School’s Faculty and Student Guidelines. The link for this
document is http://bae.uncg.edu/assets/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf.
The Bryan School of Business and Economics’ Mission Statement
In the Bryan School of Business and Economics, we create and disseminate knowledge about the
theory and practice of business. In addition to our courses and research, we accomplish this
through hands-on projects, global experiences, and outreach to the community. Our work
produces principled leaders and exceptional problem solvers who have a global perspective, an
innovative mindset, a broad understanding of sustainability, and a commitment to improve the
organizations in which they work and the communities in which they live.
Student Learning Goals
Each program within the Bryan school has separate learning goals as listed with the degree
program. The essential components of a professional education in business (excluding the B.S.
and B.A. in Economics, the B.S. in Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies and the B.A. in
Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality) include common courses for breadth and opportunities for
advanced work for depth in the various business disciplines. These core business programs share
the following common learning goals:
1. Students will implement the various steps of the critical thinking process, supported by
the appropriate use of analytical and quantitative techniques, to formulate
recommendations for subsequent decision making.
2. Students will apply appropriate ethical standards when making recommendations for
business decision making.
3. Students will evaluate business decisions in the context of sustainability goals, balancing
environmental, social, and economic needs, conditions, and potential decision impacts.
4. Students will formulate appropriate strategies, in the context of global issues and forces,
to improve business performance in the world economy.
5. Students will explain the roles of innovation and innovation management in achieving
successful business strategies, decisions, and performance.
6. Students will be able to plan, schedule, contribute to, and lead projects.
Impact of this Course on the Program Student Learning Goals
On completion of ECO 250, students will have met many of the objectives of the first goal.