Math 464 (sect 002) - Theory of Probability - Prof. Kennedy - Fall '17

Course policies and general information

Course home page: www.math.arizona.edu/~tgk/464_f17/index.html

Instructor: Tom Kennedy (Professor, Mathematics)
email: tgk@math.arizona.edu (Please include 464 in the subject line)
Office: ENR2 S318, Phone: 626-0197
Office hours: posted on the web.
Course place and time: MWF 1:00-1:50 ENGR 308

Textbook: The text for the course is Probability - An Introduction by Geoffrey Grimmett and Dominic Welsh. I will also post my lecture notes on the web. Some other probability books can be found here
Material covered: Roughly chapters 1-8 of Grimmett and Welsh. A more detailed syllabus is on the web.

Prerequisites: The official prerequisite, Math 322 or 323, is meant to insure that you have the "mathematical maturity" needed for the course. If you have not had one of these course you must talk with me.

Homework: Homework is the most important part of the course. The only way to learn mathematics is by doing it. Homework assignments will be posted on the web as a pdf file. You should feel free to work together on the homework. I encourage this, provided you are truly working on it together. Just watching someone else do it and then copying the answers will almost surely lead to a disaster when you take the exams. Google can probably find the answer to just about every homework problem I can find or make up, but I strongly discourage looking up solutions on the web.

Homework submission: A hard copy of your homework must be turned in at the start of class or to my mailbox in the MATH buliding. You may submit one homework by email during the semester.

Homework grading: Homework will be assigned almost every week. It will typically be due on a Friday and assigned at least one week before the due date. No late homework will be accepted. Your lowest two homework scores will be dropped. If you do not turn in a homework for any reason including illness, it counts as one of your two dropped homeworks.

Exams: There will be two in-class exams and a comprehensive final. The final is Monday, Dec 11, 1:00-3:00 in the same room as the classes. The in-class exams are tentatively scheduled for Oct 4 and Nov 17.

Grading: The weighting for course grades will be An overall course average of 90% or better will be an A, 80% or better will be at least a B, 70% or better will be at least a C, and 60% or better will be at least a D.

Missed Exams: If you miss one of the two in-class exams for a legitimate reason, your grade will be computed by weighting the homework 25 %, the other in-class exam 25 % and the final 50 %. A make-up exam will not be given for one missed exam. In the highly improbable event that you miss both in class exams for legitimate reasons, I will give a make up for the second exam at my convenience. For a missed exam I will ask for documentation of the legitimate reason, e.g., a note from student health if you are sick.

Dropping the course: Sept 4 is the last day to drop without a W.
Oct 29 is the last day to withdraw through UAcess with a W.
After that you need a Dean's signature to withdraw and this requires extraordinary circumstances.

Incompletes: The University General Catalog says that incompletes may be awarded only at the end of the semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. It should not be awarded if the student must repeat the course. I will vigorously enforce this policy. In this course, the only scenario I can envision that would lead to a grade of incomplete is that you cannot take the final exam due to illness.
Attendance: You are responsible for all announcements made in class including announcements of exam dates, homework due dates, as well as all material covered in class.
University policies : Students are responsible for informing themselves of University policies regarding
Academic Integrity
Non-discrimination and anti-harassment
Threatening behavior

Accomodations based on disability: Students planning to use accommodations based on disability for this course should privately identify themselves to the instructor by the end of the first week of class. These students must also provide the instructor with a letter of identification from the Disability Resource Center. This letter should include information about any accommodations you will need for the class, including accommodations for test taking. DRC site

Change to these policies With the exception of policies related to course grades and missed homeworks and exams, these policies may be changed with reasonable advance notice.