link provided at the bottom of the respective assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and attach your assignment file. Click to turn in the assignment.

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EXAMINATIONS

You are required to take two examinations: a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored, online final examination. Consult the course Calendar for the scheduling of these exams.

Midterm Examination
The midterm exam covers all reading and assignments through unit 3, module 5, of the course. It is three hours long and consists of questions similar to those on the written assignments and on the practice test for chapters 1–7 provided in the Test & Quizzes area of the course Web site.

The exam is open book, but not open notes. In this regard you are permitted to bring only a scientific (nongraphing) calculator and the authorized textbook to the exam. The textbook must be an original bound hard copy; electronic textbooks (or printouts) are not allowed. You are also not allowed to bring any loose pages or notes, either typed or printed, or to consult a solutions manual or any other reference sources or sources of information. Programmable calculators are not permitted in examinations.

You may take the examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation no later than the end of the first week of the semester (see Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site).

If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.

For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook.

Final Examination
The final covers all reading and assignments from units 4 and 5 of the course, modules 6 through 9. It is three hours long and consists of twenty (20) multiple-choice questions worth five points each.

The exam is open book, but not open notes. In this regard you are permitted to use only a scientific (nongraphing) calculator and the authorized textbook. But you are not allowed to consult a solutions manual, notes of any kind (including graded or ungraded assignments), or any other reference sources or sources of information.

The final exam is taken online in Blackboard. An exam link will be activated and made available to you in the Tests & Quizzes area of the course site at the start of the last week of the semester. You may take the exam at any time during that week, but no later than midnight Saturday (eastern time). If you are on a course extension, you will need to arrange with your mentor a time to reschedule the final exam.

Statement about Cheating
The final examination in this course is an unproctored exam. That means you will not be supervised while taking the test. You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

• Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.
• Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
• Plagiarizing answers.
• Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.
• Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.
• Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Please also note that the exam is time-limited. That means you only have the allotted time in which to complete the exam. If you exceed the time limit on the exam, you will be penalized by having two points deducted for every minute that you exceed the time limit. This may also result in your failing the course.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.

Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and examinations are based on the following numerical grades:

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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.



2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams and arrange for proctors, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.



3. Arrange to take your midterm examination by following the instructions in the Online Student Handbook. Then complete the "Proctor Request Form" and submit it to the Office of Test Administration (OTA). You must make arrangements to take your examination and send in your "Proctor Request Form" to OTA before the end of the first week of the current semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)



4. Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.



5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning, or specifically with the Blackboard platform, be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.



6. Begin your study of statistics by reading the preface to the textbook. This will give you background on the subject matter, as well as an understanding of how the text is organized and a description of other materials available to you.

Study Tips—Completing Assignment Modules
To complete the assignment modules efficiently and effectively, consider following these steps:

1. Begin each module by reviewing the learning outcomes and acquainting yourself with the focus of each study assignment.



2. Read the study notes, and refer to the points raised when studying the assigned sections in the textbook. The study notes help you focus on the essential elements in the unit.



3. Study the assigned sections in the textbook. Note: Studying the material in the text requires that you not only read but also work through the illustrative examples. As you study the assigned material in the text, note the highlighted definitions, key facts, formulas, and procedures.



4. Do the self-check exercises recommended in the study assignment, and check your answers with the solutions in the Student's Solutions Manual. These self-check exercises and solutions provide practice and models for similar exercises on the written assignment.



5. Begin work on the written assignments as you complete each study assignment. That way the material studied each week will be fresh in your mind and you can reinforce better what you have learned. Some of the assignments in the course cover a great many chapters and exercises, so be sure to pace yourself.



6. Prepare assignments in an organized way, leaving space on your paper for your mentor's comments and corrections. Draw graphs accurately using electronic software whenever possible or graph paper (which you can then scan and insert into your assignment). Show all work, and use statistical notation and formulas appropriately (see "Study Tips—The Language of Statistics," below). Submit the assignment to your mentor by the due date indicated in the course Calendar.

Study Tips—Preparing for the Examinations
To prepare for the examinations, consider following these steps:

1. Review the learning outcomes for each module.



2. Reread the study notes for each module.



3. Review the key terms listed in the "Chapter Review" sections of the textbook.



4. Review your assignments and the corrections and comments provided by your mentor. Examination questions will be similar to assigned exercises.



5. In preparation for the midterm exam, take the practice test included in Tests & Quizzes > Midterm Examination. To simulate an actual exam, allow yourself a three-hour time frame, using only your textbook and a nongraphing, scientific calculator.

Study Tips—The Language of Statistics
As you begin to read the textbook, you will quickly discover that learning statistics involves learning a new language. As in all mathematics, the language of statistics consists of symbols and formulas that provide a shorthand for words, phrases, and sentences. Uppercase letters (X), for example, refer to data in a population (a population parameter), whereas lowercase letters (x) refer to data in a sample (a sample statistic). Other symbols serve as shorthand expressions for various measures. And Greek letters (e.g., Σ, μ, and σ) are also part of the notation.

In statistics we use symbols to communicate results, and we combine these symbols into formulas (mathematical sentences) that define how to use the data to obtain the desired results. These are the conventions of statistics, and you will be expected to use the appropriate symbols and formulas when presenting solutions to exercises.

As you study each section in the textbook and encounter new symbols and formulas, you may want to write them down in a list, along with their meaning (in the case of a symbol) or description (in the case of a formula). For an illustration, click Sample List of Symbols and Their Meaning.