Syllabus
The undergraduate curriculum is designed to meet the needs of our students and provide them with a full education in their short time here. Copies of class syllabus and exams from previous years are available from the Undergraduate Advisor. The General Catalog contains a description of all courses. Please consult with current faculty who have taught your course in the past or the department chairs so that you are aware of the expected scope of the material to be covered.
It is imperative that your course covers the appropriate material so that your students are properly prepared for future courses.
Every Instructor is expected to distribute a class syllabus document that contains textbook (optional or required) and topic information that can be used for evaluating course equivalency with courses in other schools. Instructors should be aware that this syllabus is a public document. Please submit your syllabus and exams to the Undergraduate Advisor at the end of the quarter for our records.
Waiting Lists and Crashing Students
Please email the Staff Student Affiairs Manager for information on Waitlists and Crashing Students
Canvas
Canvas is the leading LMS among major public research universities. Already in use by a majority of University of California campuses, California State Universities and Community Colleges, Canvas has proven to be a reliable solution to support teaching and learning. The Canvas learning platform is known for being customizable, adaptable, and reliable.
The transition to Canvas will require time, effort, and careful thought, with engagement and representation from faculty, students, and staff. A project steering committee provides guidance and oversight as UCSB adopts Canvas as the campus-wide LMS and retires the existing GauchoSpace LMS.
Teaching Assistants and Readers
Every discussion section will have one Teaching Assistant hired to lead it. The TA's typically are responsible for leading discussion sections, grading homework and exams, and proctoring exams. Our graduate students generally lead 2 or 3 sections per quarter.
The contract with the Teaching Assistants requires that all instructors fill out the TA Assignment Form for each Teaching Assistant and submit it to the Staff Graduate Advisor before the start of classes each quarter.
Teaching Assistants are not expected to teach lectures, set assignments and exams, or work more than their required 10 (25%) or 20 (50%) hours per week.
Textbooks
All undergraduate classes have prescribed textbooks to insure consistency of the syllabus. Changes to course textbooks must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Instructors and Teaching Assistants can borrow desk copies of the textbooks from the Staff Graduate Advisor.
Academic Calendar
UCSB is on a quarter system which divides the academic year into three main eleven week quarters. Lectures are scheduled either two or three times per week for the 10 weeks, and then the last week is for final exams.
Approved academic calendars can be found on Registrar's Calendar's and Deadlines. The PSTAT Departmental Class Information page has more schedule information.
Lecture Hall Data Projectors
Most classrooms have podiums equipped with computers and connections to data projectors. Instructional Development Classroom Services provides support for the equipment as well as microphones in larger lecture halls. You will mostly likely need to visit their Kerr Hall office to get an A126 key which allows you access to the podium and projector.
i-Clicker
Most large lecture halls are configured to use the i-Clicker systems to allow students to respond and interact during lecture. Schedule a live training with iclicker (Select University of California, Santa Barbara)
Final Exams
All regular undergraduate courses are expected to have a final exam during the scheduled exam time. The Schedule of Final Exams is set by the Registrar. Instructors are not authorized to change the published time of final examinations.
Please respect the students' time during "Dead Week", the week 10 of the quarter immediately preceding the week of exams.
Academic Integrity
Honesty and integrity in all academic work is essential for a valuable educational experience. The PSTAT department takes academic honesty and integrity very seriously. The instructor of the course has the authority and the responsibility to handle any incident of misconduct, but they also should report every such incident. Guidelines for reporting a breach of academic honesty and integrity policies are as follows:
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Inform the student that the incident will be taken to the Office of Judicial Affairs.
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Report to the Office of Judicial Affairs with justification.
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The 5A, 5LS, and 109 instructors should also inform the Undergraduate Course Coordinator.
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Upper Division course instructors should inform the Undergraduate Chair.
Please review the Office of Student Conduct Policies and Procedures for Academic Integrity.
Office Hours
All instructors are required to hold at least two office hours each week for each of the course they are teaching. The times and locations of these office hours should be published on GauchoSpace, in the syllabus.
For large classes, it may be necessary to reserve a conference room in which to hold your office hour. Use the Room Reservation page to reserve one of the departmental conference rooms.
Supporting Distressed Students
Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationships, depression, cultural differences, can interfere with the ability of students to succeed and thrive. For helpful resources, please contact UCSB Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) at 805-893-4411
If you encounter a student in distress, please contact Student Mental Health Coordination Services 805-893-3030 immediately and/or consult the Campus Distressed Student Protocol. Please call 911 if the situation is an emergency or there are immediate safety concerns.
eGrades
Grades for all classes are submitted electronically through the eGrades system. Instructors can also access this system for an official roster of enrolled students as well as the waiting lists.
Grading standard
A failing grade is an F, and a D- or higher will count as a pass for certain requirements. Statistics pre-requisite courses must be passed with a C or better. To get VEE credit from SOA/CAS in required courses, actuarial students must pass the course with a letter grade B- or better. University policy is that a C is a passing grade, and only students with a C- or worse may retake a class to improve the grade.
Grade changes
The eGrades system allows professor to directly request grade changes. University policy is that grades cannot be changed after they have been submitted unless there was a mistake in the original calculation. Clear errors in the grading of exams and mistakes in the recording of assignments should be corrected. However, work should not be re-graded and no new assignments can be accepted to improve a student's grade. This policy applies equally to requests to lower grades below a C-.
Academic Support for Students
For general academic support, students are encouraged to visit Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS) early and often. CLAS offers instructional groups, drop-in tutoring, writing and ESL services, skills workshops and one-on-one consultations. CLAS is located on the third floor of the Student Resource Building.
Instructors should advise students who are looking for tutors to check the Department of Statistics Tutors page. Graduate students that are Teaching Assistants for a class are forbidden to also be a paid tutor for that class. In the past, tutors that were not affiliated with UCSB have caused problems for our students.
Disabled Students Programs (DSP)
Accommodations for Exams: Students with disabilities may request academic accommodations for exams online through the UCSB Disabled Students Program. Students should make their requests for exam accommodations through the online system as early in the quarter as possible to ensure proper arrangement.
PSTAT Department DSP room coordination process: Very soon you will be approached by students as well as receive e-mails from DSP program. Here is what you need to know/do:
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DSP students often require exam accommodation: additional exam time and/or separate exam rooms. DSP documentation states exactly what accommodation is required. Instructors receive an e-mail from DSP stating what accommodations are necessary. You may be approached by students with papers from their doctors. Please refer them to DSP. Please inform students that you must have DSP verification in order to provide any exam accommodation.
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Students must request exam accommodation from DSP as early as possible in the quarter to ensure that separate rooms and DSP proctors are found. Proctors are provided by DSP; rooms are found by our staff UG advisor — see item 5 below.
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Students are required to submit the proctor request to DSP online at least 10 days prior to the exam in order to be guaranteed their accommodation(s). Sometimes, students will make requests later than 10 days in advance. While they may be difficult to process, by law, we need to make an attempt to fill the request. While you are not required to accommodate a student that does not submit such a request in a timely manner, we are asked, however, to attempt to accommodate such students. Please note: department staff cannot supervise or find proctors for your students. Requesting proctors on time from DSP is the student's responsibility; it then becomes responsibility of the DSP to provide one.
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Finding rooms for a 3-5 hour exam is difficult and time consuming. Students who did not submit an exam accommodation request 10 days in advance are not guaranteed that a room will be found. You may want to announce this to students in class and put it on Canvas.
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To help us, for all PSTAT courses, Please have the information as follows ready:
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When/Where the proctor gets the exam paper: The UG Advisor instructs the DSP proctor to contact the instructor for exam pick-up and drop-off locations. Exam pick-up is scheduled for 30 minutes before start of the lecture so it allows time for the proctor and instructor to start at the regularly scheduled course on time. The proctor coordinates with students on their meeting place.
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Where to deliver the completed test: The instructor specifies to the proctor where to deliver the completed exam (slip under the door of your office, if necessary). If you prefer arrangements other than (i)-(ii) please communicate with the UG Advisor before they submit the room assignment. One person only can submit this form and you are welcome to do so yourself, but this would require you to find a room for the student on campus on your own.
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When handing exams to proctor, instructors must communicate to the proctor
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what the student is allowed to use on the exam (notes, books, calculators, tables, etc.). The easiest: include this information on the exam paper.
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what to do if a student has questions. Provide a cell phone number — yours, or your TA.
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Note: Please do not leave your test in the department office. We are not responsible for delivering tests and instructions to proctors.
Please include the following in your syllabii, Canvas and announce it in class to the students:
Students with disabilities may request academic accommodations for exams online through the UCSB Disabled Students Program at http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/. Please make your requests for exam accommodations through the online system as early in the quarter as possible to ensure arrangement. Students are required to submit the proctor request to DSP online at least 10 days prior to the exam in order to be guaranteed their accommodation(s). Non-DSP students cannot be proctored by DSP.
Transfer Student Center
The Transfer Student Center connects transfer students to resources that will help them survive and thrive academically and socially, and to prepare for life beyond UCSB — whether in a graduate school, a professional school, or a career.
Honors Contracts
You might receive requests from honors students enrolled in your classes to participate in an honors contract. You may opt not to do this supplemental instruction, and simply inform the student that you are not doing honors contracts this term. Faculty that are interested should visit Honors Program, but most of the essential information is included in Honors Contract Questions and Answers for Faculty.
In combined courses (PSTAT 131/231, 174/274, 132/232) students should take graduate level course to receive honors units. Graduate courses automatically give honors units to undergraduates. Enrollment into graduate level course by undergraduates is requires the completion of Petition to take Graduate Courses. Instructors should sign such a petition only after approval by the UG Advisor.
Visiting Instructors Check-out Procedure
After finishing your time at UCSB, you need to follow our department record protocols.
Please submit to the Staff Undergraduate Program Advisor:
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All student final exams (originals). These need to be stored by the department for at least one year.
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A spreadsheet of the instructor's GauchoSpace grading records for each course taught. The spreadsheet should include homework, quiz, and exam grades along with information regarding the weights used in computing the final averages.
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PDF versions of the course syllabus and final exams.
Finally, all office and building keys should be returned to the department main office.
Important Contacts
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Department Chair
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Undergraduate Vice Chair
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PSTAT 5A, 5LS, 10 Coordinator
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Staff Undergraduate Program Advisor
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Staff Graduate Advisor
Additional Departmental Resources