Syllabus
Course Information
Section A: Tues & Thurs 3:30-4:50 PM @ 3007 BIF
Office Hours
About the Course
You will work with the fundamental tools of data analysis including the Python programming language, SQL, and Tableau. The goals of this course are to become comfortable working with data, communicate insights, and make better business decisions.
Instructional Team
Greetings! Please call me Park
. I started programming as a hobby in elementary school. During my final year as an accounting major here, I've made up my mind to pursue what I love to do! Fast-forward to 2024, I'm excited to be back at my alma mater to be a part of a leading-edge data analytics curriculum. My email is ypark32@illinois.edu in case you need to reach me.
Hello All! I'm Amarthya, a grad student from Statistics-Analytics. I'm particularly interested in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and AI, with a special focus on predictive analytics. Outside of academics, I enjoy watching movies and am a big fan of soccer. Looking forward to an exciting semester ahead! If you ever need help or have questions, feel free to reach out to me at kuchana2@illinois.edu.
Grading Breakdown
Grading Components
Participation
Your participation grades are based on two criteria – 1) participation in in-class exercises and 2) participation in discussions in class. Your participation grades are purely subjective. Over the course of the semester, I will observe who speaks up in classes, who helps their classmates, and who puts in efforts on in-class exercises. I will reward the quality, not quantity of participation.
After-class Exercises
These exercises aim to reinforce your understanding of topics we discuss in lectures. The challenges are highly similar to the ones you see in lectures. You will get an unlimited number of attempts.
Quizzes
Each of the 5 quizzes will test your understanding of the topics we discuss in lectures. All quizzes are open-book. The lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Problem Sets
Similar to after-class exercises, each problem set is consisted of coding challenges. These challenges will be closely related to business applications. Consider these a preview of the case studies. 🦜
Case Studies
Case studies will bring together all topics we discuss in lectures. You will work with real-world datasets to load, clean, transform, and derive insights. Unlike the previous coding challenges, you will complete these case studies in a Jupyter notebook environment (e.g., JupyterLab, Google Colab, JupyterLite).
Capstone Project
During the last few weeks of this course, you will work on an independent capstone project. The goal is to create a portfolio that showcases your data analytic skills.
Letter Grades
Policies
Attendance
Your attendance is reflected towards the participation points. Up to 2 absences are allowed without a prior approval (no points will be deducted for the first 2 absences). For any special occasions, please email Amarthya in advance.
Amarthya, our TA, will be managing the attendance and coordinating with those who are absent. If you are going to miss a class, please directly email Amarthya at kuchana2@illinois.edu ✉️ with the following subject format - "BDI 475: Absent - [Name] - [Date(s)]" (example: "BDI 475: Absent - John Doe - 09/14/2023) with documentation.
👉 Valid documentation include but are not limited to:
Late Submissions
Students are to complete and submit assignments on the due date. 10% will be deducted each day from the total available points of the assignment for late submission. No assignments will be accepted more than 48 hours after the deadline.
Final Case Study: Late submission of the final assignment will NOT BE ACCEPTED to give graders enough time before the grade entry deadline.
Quizzes: Unless otherwise noted, quizzes are to be accomplished in-class. Remote access or late attempts will not be allowed (access code will be required).
Communication
I will use Canvas as the primary means of communicating with the class. You are responsible for ensuring that you have access to Canvas for this course.
If I need to communicate with you individually, I will send you an email.
Getting Help
Please post any course-related questions on the Canvas discussion board. For any other questions or feedback, e-mail me at ypark32@illinois.edu. If I am not available, I may refer you to one of the TAs.
Honor Policy
The University (https://studentcode.illinois.edu/docs/2021-Student-Code.pdf) has honor codes that students are expected to follow. The following parameters should be followed for assignments in this course. Group Assignments: Group work must never be discussed with anyone other than members of your group, the instructor, or TA, unless specifically allowed. This prohibition includes classmates not in your group, students not in this class, tutors, other instructors or professors, friends, parents, etc. Individual Assignments: All work submitted to fill the requirements of individual assignments must represent your independent effort. You may discuss your ideas with your fellow students. However, you must not plagiarize anyone else's work. Obtaining and using a case key / solution from any other sources is cheating, whether you copy the authors' exact words or not.
Disclosures
Food/Housing Insecurity Statement
Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support and alert the course instructor.
Disability Resource Statement
To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 217-333-4603, email disability@illinois.edu or go to the DRES website: www.disability.illinois.edu.
COVID-19 Statement
If you feel ill or unable to come to class or complete class assignments due to issues related to COVID-19, including but not limited to testing positive yourself, feeling ill, caring for a family member with COVID-19, or having unexpected child-care obligations, you should contact your instructor immediately, and you are encouraged to copy your academic advisor.
Building Emergency Procedures
In the event of a tornado warning, please seek shelter in the Wohlers Hall basement or the Armory, or in the BIF basement between 8 am and 4:30 pm weekdays (the nearest designated University tornado shelters). If a tornado is imminent, the BIF basement stairwells also can be used on an emergency basis. In the event of a fire in BIF, exit BIF and proceed to 141 Wohlers Hall. In the event of threat from a shooter on campus, lock down the classroom and move to a place of safety within the classroom. If you encounter a suspicious package, do not touch the package; alert campus security, and refrain from cell phone usage until the situation is resolved. More detailed information and action instructions are available in the Building Emergency Action Plan.
Campus Emergency Statement
Emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time, so it's important that we take a minute to prepare for a situation in which our safety could depend on our ability to react quickly. Take a moment to learn the different ways to leave this building. If there's ever a fire alarm or something like that, you'll know how to get out and you'll be able to help others get out. Next, figure out the best place to go in case of severe weather – we'll need to go to a low-level in the middle of the building, away from windows. And finally, if there's ever someone trying to hurt us, our best option is to run out of the building. If we cannot do that safely, we'll want to hide somewhere we can't be seen, and we'll have to lock or barricade the door if possible and be as quiet as we can. We will not leave that safe area until we get an Illini-Alert confirming that it's safe to do so. If we can't run or hide, we'll fight back with whatever we can get our hands on. If you want to better prepare yourself for any of these situations, visit police.illinois.edu/safe. Remember you can sign up for emergency text messages at http://emergency.illinois.edu/.
Sexual Misconduct Policy and Reporting
The University of Illinois is committed to combating sexual misconduct. Faculty and staff members are required to report any instances of sexual misconduct to the University's Title IX and Disability Office. In turn, an individual with the Title IX and Disability Office will provide information about rights and options, including accommodations, support services, the campus disciplinary process, and law enforcement options. A list of the designated University employees who, as counselors, confidential advisors, and medical professionals, do not have this reporting responsibility and can maintain confidentiality, can be found here: http://wecare.illinois. edu/resources/students/#confidential. Other information about resources and reporting is available here: http://wecare.illinois.edu.
Mental Health Information
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional wellbeing. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, skill-building workshops, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University's resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do – for yourself and for those who care about you.
Counseling Center
217-333-3704610 East John Street, Champaign, ILJennifer House is the Gies Embedded Clinical Counselor from the Counseling Center. Jennifer provides individual counseling as well as consultation hours to Gies students. Contact Jennifer directly via email at jhouse@illinois.edu to schedule an appointment or for additional information. You can also visit the counseling center website site at:http://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/about-us/embedded-counselors.