Dropped a class

Never thought I'd do this but I decided to drop the Geology class and pick it up later on in Summer Session or possibly Winter Session. Seemed like an interesting class, but already it felt like it was distracting me from my core subjects: Statistics and Accounting.

A course in Natural Sciences is a requirement for graduation, but is not a prerequisite for Eller admission and I felt I really needed to focus on Eller right now. Getting good grades in Accounting and Statistics is a whole lot more important than knocking off a Tier One course at this point.

So now I can focus on just numbers and ancient Greece! Whew, I feel better already. Why be a crazy woman if I don't have to be?!!

Anybody want to buy a geology book? ;-)

Fall 2008 is approaching

My schedule is set for the Fall semester. I'll be taking four classes (12 credits). They all seem reasonably difficult - no napping allowed! Two classes are general stuff that all freshmen/sophomores take, and (finally!) two are focused more on my major.

-------------------
CLASSICAL TRADITION
Surveys western civilization from the Greco-Roman perspective, beginning before the Greeks and Romans, investigating the origins of their cultures, and proceeding through Greece and Rome to the Middle Ages.

Size: 538 students! No smaller groups this time. Meets three times per week.

Textbooks: SEVEN of them! From Iliad to Socrates to Sophocles. Lots of reading, five pop quizzes, two five-page papers, two exams and a final.

-------------------
GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Students will learn that a few universal laws describe the behavior of our physical surroundings, from the universe to every action in our daily lives. this interdisciplinary course will cover aspects of the scientific process, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and Earth sciences, with an emphasis on geosciences and society, including earthquakes, mass extinctions in geologic history, and global warming. It will give students the ability to read and appreciate popular accounts of major discoveries and important public issues in the physical sciences.

Size: Probably around 200, with smaller discussion group of 30 on Thursdays. Meets twice per week with big group, and once per week with smaller group.

Textbook: The Good Earth. Big book with 18 chapters. Lots of reading again, 17 internet quizzes, two exams and a final. Multiple in-lecture writing assignments (this should be different!), and weekly discussion session assignments.

I found this interesting (in the syllabus): During exams, you are allowed to use one (8.5x11 inches) page of notes (both sides) which you have prepared (handwritten or word processed). Your name must be on this one page of notes and you must turn it in with your exam. Exam proctors will inspect your note page, which is to be prepared by you alone. Group efforts are not permitted. Your page of notes must be on ONE sheet and have NO loose pieces of paper attached. NO photocopies or cut and pasted items are permitted.

-------------------
STATISTICAL INFERENCE IN MANAGEMENT
(I decided I'd better take this NOW and get it over with!)
This is a first course in business statistics, with an emphasis on techniques for data analysis and inference in management. Students are assumed to be familiar with basic descriptive statistics, probability theory, and probability distributions. Presentation of technical material is combined with hands-on analysis of data to aid managerial decision making. Meeting will be a mix of lecture and problem-solving. There are two objectives for the course. First, to develop a conceptual understanding of statistics and the role of data analysis in management. Second, to master the mechanics of applied statistics.

Size: 145 students. No smaller groups. Meets twice per week.

Textbooks: Applied Statistics in Business, and Psychology of Judgement and Decision Making. Couldn't find a syllabus online yet.

-------------------
INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
Concepts involved in accounting for assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity; financial statements.

Size: 230 students. No smaller groups. Meets twice per week.

Textbook: (The usual Accounting-type textbook that they don't sell on Amazon and are apparently out of at the bookstore!). This second book was optional, but it sounded like a really good resource so I ordered it: Accounting Super Review. Couldn't find a syllabus yet.

-------------------
Sounds like a busy few months! I start Monday.

Accelerated Courses

For students contemplating the value of Summer Session (whether at the UA or elsewhere), here's what I see as the main advantages and disadvantages of an accelerated course. Some items, of course, are more important than others; you'll have to weigh them for yourself.

ADVANTAGES:
A1=> Speed. You have 13+ weeks condensed into around 4. It's a great way to make up some credits you're lacking in a short amount of time.
A2=> If you have the time allotted correctly, it's a very good way to learn a lot in a very focused manner.
A3=> Class sizes can be very small. For freshmen and sophomores anyway (non-Honors), Spring and Fall semesters have a minimum of around 35 students in every class; sometimes hundreds! Summer Session might have as few as FIVE students to a class. Lots of personal attention from the prof, and lots of time to ask questions. I think you learn a lot more that way, and it's a lot more interesting.
A4=> The prof won't tell you this (and I didn't hear it from them - it's just a guess), but condensing a syllabus forces the prof to be more focused about what they really need to teach and they tend to leave out the fluff and busywork.
A5=> Computer labs on campus are nearly empty. No trouble getting on a computer, no traffic jam at the printer, and those private group study rooms are actually AVAILABLE!
A6=> Getting across campus is a breeze because there are no throngs to fight through. I couldn't find actual statistics, but it wouldn't surprise me if less than 10% of the usual 35,000 students stick around for Summer Session. Big difference!
A7=> Parking is also a breeze compared to a regular semester. Same rules are in effect, but there are a lot more parking spaces available.

DISADVANTAGES:
D1=> You go to class EVERY DAY. None of the nice Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday stuff with the weekend available to knock off the harder homework. With the accelerated syllabus, the usual "weekend" falls between Wednesday and Thursday's class!
D2=> Homework may be due nearly every day. That means you're spending a good part of your non-class hours studying and doing homework.
D3=> Assignment grades aren't accelerated. It still takes time for the prof to grade things and you probably won't have the previous assignment back yet when you do the next one. That means any errors you made on the first, you will also make on the second.
D4=> Similar to the previous item, if there is group homework and individual homework that are closely tied together (as mine was in Business Math II), if you didn't understand the problem on the group assignment (or if you thought you understood but didn't!), there's no time to learn to do it right. You're handing in your individual assignment in the same class period as you get the group one back. Oops!
D5=> No tutoring is available. At least there wasn't for math. And even if there is, there's no time because that next assignment is due NOW! You can try your prof's office hours, but it was often late in the evening when I realized I didn't know how to approach a homework problem.
D6=> Miss a day and you really get behind. Better plan to attend EVERY class.
D7=> Don't expect to get the grade you're used to getting with the same level of effort on your part. Be prepared to step it up and improve your note-taking, increase your reading focus, and spend more time on homework. Even with that, you might not get your usual grade - see items D3 and D4, above!
D8=> Reading assignments are also accelerated. In a regular semester you might have one or two reading assignments a week with five or more days to get them read. In Summer Session, you're reading TWO of them nearly every evening!

The analogy that comes to mind is the old taking-off-the-bandaid dilemma. Do you ease it off slowly and torturously (regular semester), or do you rip it off quickly and deal with some short term intense pain (accelerated semester)?! I've heard that a lot of students take care of some of their Tier One and Tier Two requirements during Summer Session. You can't do them ALL that way, but it sure would speed up the pace and move your graduation date that much closer.

I might add to this list in the future, but those are the major arguments for and against an accelerated course.

Math is a Journey

For me, math is like a journey where you learn oodles of stuff on the trip and every once in a while they stop the train and make you get off and tell how much you understand. Those stops always seem to come a little soon for me. I nearly always learn the material, just not in time to be annointed with a good grade on a test! Enlightenment often comes when the train is in motion again.

I had one of those stops today and don't yet know the damage. My current grade - with all items in but the final exam score - is hovering in the vicinity of a low "B". Low enough it could drift into "C" territory, depending on how much I really understood. Don't want to go there, but it's entirely possible this time.

I'm a solid "B" student in math - never pretended to be more. Got a few "A"s along the way that were likely undeserved. But a "C" would be a little hard to stomach.

On the bright side, I'm done! And a "C" would mean I passed and that's the goal. After all, "C" is supposed to be "average" and average really does describe my math skills. This was, by far, the hardest of all my four math courses, and I know I'll still struggle with the concepts until I use them a lot more. It was probably not a good idea to take this kind of course in an accelerated semester but, if the worst they can do is stamp me "average", I guess I can live with that.

Not that I'm a grade snob or anything. But I need to keep my GPA as high as possible for admission into Eller College next Spring. Admission is competitive and I want as many things going for me as I can muster.

----------------------

ONE DAY LATER: Woohoo, I got a "B"!!!

----------------------

The Last Chapter

"Welcome to the last chapter of the last lesson in your academic math careers!" That's what the prof said when he opened the PowerPoint on Simulating Normal Random Variables yesterday. Worthy of celebration but I think we all were stunned into silence. This prof doesn't exactly engender frivolity... and I'll just leave it at that! Of course those of us in the accounting field will be using the concepts but, theoretically anyway, it won't be a "math class." Yippee!

Business Math II has been a lot harder than I thought. There are so many concepts and so many derivations of them that I can hardly keep track of what we're talking about and when to apply certain concepts. Test 2 is tomorrow, so I guess I need to figure it all out today!

There's still quite a bit to do before finishing the semester. Our online grade sheet shows 11 individual and group grades still awaiting a score. Two more homework assignments, a quiz, a test, a final, a written report, and an oral presentation - all by 3pm next Wednesday!

In my Native America class I still have a 5-7 page paper to write (my topic is Indian Legends & Lore) and a final next Wednesday. Very interesting class and a wonderful and personable prof. It's been difficult to juggle two classes in this condensed Summer Session, but I'm not sorry I did it this way. I really needed to get both classes out of the way before Fall.

Looking back, I can hardly believe that this time last year I had not even started my FIRST math class!! I've covered basically four semesters of math in less than a year's time! I still have a Statistics course looming in Spring 2009, but it's not officially a math class... I hope!

After next Wednesday I get a whole week and a half off before diving into Fall semester. Assuming, of course, I survive this week!