Course Policies

I want you to succeed in this course. Your intellectual growth is my prerogative this semester. I am committed to working with you to help you learn. I want you not just to survive our class, but thrive and have productive, positive experiences that lead to a lifetime of further learning in this subject.

“Success” means more than just good grades and does not come easy. It involves being challenged intellectually, being regularly pushed out of your comfort zone, and not settling for less than your best work. It also takes active, intentional participation even when it is difficult to find motivation. The pandemic also presents new challenges to overcome everyday.

Struggling is normal and healthy. When you exercise to get physically stronger, impressive gains occur when you are struggling the hardest and you feel that you cannot go any further. The same is true when you are trying to get mentally stronger. Your earlier courses in statistics or computing might have been easy for you and you might feel like you are doing something wrong when you start to struggle. Struggle is actually a sign that you are doing things right.

This course has been developed to give you support when you are challenged and everyone in the course has your back. You will be challenged throughout this semester, but there are many resources for support to help you rise to the challenge. I will be available in many different formats and your classmates will be available for help in structured and informal support groups. There are people here to help you at every step on the way.

I am really looking forward to working with you in this course.