Agribusiness Data Literacy
Ag Business 260
Instructor: / Dr. Sean HurleyOffice: / 22-208
Phone: / 756-5050
e-mail: /
Web Page: /
Class Meeting Time: / Section 1: MW2:10 – 4:00 in 10-215
Office Hours: / MW 11:10 – 12:00 in 22-208, 4:10 – 5:00 in 10-215, and T 2:10 – 3:00 in 22-208, or by appointment
Course Description:Using data and analysis in making decisions related to agribusiness. Developing basic and intermediate spreadsheet skills necessary to organize, analyze, and summarize information. Development of data management and analysis as tools to assist in agribusiness problem-solving. 4 lectures.
Prerequisite: AGB 101 or junior standing
Suggested Textbook:
Excel 2016Bibleby Walkenbach (The University Library has an electronic version of the book available:
Course Learning Objectives:
- Synthesize data using spreadsheet tools
- Utilize basic and advanced functions and formulas for Excel
- Develop an intermediate level of mastery for using Excel
- Develop professional looking documents summarizing data
- Develop logical skills for analyzing data
- Develop a base understanding of Excel that can be built upon
Grading Component: / Weight
Three Data Analysis Papers (Due Dates: 5/4/17, 5/19/17 and 6/2/17) / 30%
Class Participation, Activities, and Other Effort / ε
Midterm (5/8/17 tentatively) / 30%
Cumulative Final: (6/12/17; 12:10 – 4:00 p.m.) / 40%
There is one midterm and a cumulative final. The midterm is worth 30% of your overall final grade. The final is worth 40% of your total grade. You should expect that the final will be much harder than the midterm due to the nature of the course, so it is recommended that you be very diligent learning the material well early in the course. Anything presented in the notes is fair game for exams even if you did not see it in an activity.
There will be approximately four to fivegraded activities. While these activities do not affect your weighted grade, you are highly encouraged to hand them in to get feedback on whether you have mastered the tools of the activity. You can expect that they should take on average at least three to five hours of work. You are allowed and encouraged to work on the activities in groups. If you work in groups, make sure that you personally know how to do each problem in the activities. These activities will be related to the in-class non-graded activities, but some aspects of the activities may require you to utilize some aspect of Excel that was not directly covered in class. There are past exams posted on the professor’s website. You are highly encouraged to work through all the exams!!! Anything presented in a past exam is fair game for any future exams!!!
Since a main aspect of this course is about data literacy, you will need to write threeone-page papers on a data set you will be given or asked to find. You are not allowed to use more than one side of an 8.5” by 11” piece of paper. If you use more than this amount, you will get a 25% deduction from the maximum amount the paper is worth. You will be required to take the data that is given to you and analyze it with the tools that have been presented in class, as well as, any other Excel tools you would like to use for the analysis, i.e., you are not constrained to only using tools presented in the course and are encouraged to seek out the best tool possible for examining the data. These papers are meant to be individual work so you are not allowed to work with other people or share your analysis with others. To do so will be considered an act of cheating and you will be given a failing grade in the course.
There are three main aspects that will be graded for each of the papers. The first aspect is regarding the analysis you did on the data. This aspect requires you to submit your Excel spreadsheet that you used to analyze the data. Your analysis in the spreadsheet should be greater than what you present in the one-page paper. You should thoroughly investigate the data and attempt to make stories about what it is telling you. You should expect that this analysis will take you two to three hours. You are strongly encouraged to write comments inside your spreadsheet regarding the analysis you are conducting. This portion of your paper grade will be worth 35 points. You should think of this analysis as giving you practice on using the functions and tools in Excel.
The second aspect of the paper grade will be what you presented in the actual one-page paper along with the story you are trying to tell about the data. This part of the paper grade is worth 35 points. The paper will be examined relative to the analysis you did. It will be looked at for proper interpretation of the data and how well you presented it in tabular or graphical form. It will be examined for how well you brought up the key findings from your analysis. Due to the one-page constraint, you will be graded on how well you chose the items from your spreadsheet analysis to incorporate into the paper. Your paper should look professional. If your paper is not professional looking, you will receive a 10 point deduction. If you try to cram too much into the one page, you will lose up to 20 points. You must use no more than one table or figure. If you use more than one of either of these items, you will get a 15 point deduction. Each table and graph should have a title and that table should be directly referenced in the text. If a title is missing, you will lose 5 points and if a reference of the figure or table is missing from the actual text, you will lose 5 points. If you do not know what a professional report looks like, please check the internet or bring the professor your paper before you hand it in for feedback on the professionalism portion. You are encouraged to examine the Wall Street Journal and other national newspapers to get a feel for how to incorporate data into a story format.
Each paper should be well written. With this in mind, you will be graded for spelling and grammar as the third aspect of your paper grade. This portion of the paper grade is worth 30 points. For every spelling and grammatical error that is found written in the paper, 5 points will be deducted for each error up to 30 points. If you have more than five grammatical errors, you will need to resubmit the paper corrected for all mistakes and you will receive three-fourths of the original points given.
The paperand accompanying spreadsheet should be sent to the professor by emailand a paper copy must be submitted before 5:00 pm on the due date. Failure to send the professor an emailed copy of both the paper and the excel analysis will get you a zero for the assignment. Failure to submit a written hard copy will get you a zero for the paper. I would encourage you to write it well the first time. I will discuss more about the paper in class. I encourage you to come to my office hours to discuss your paper. The paper due dates are listed above. Late papers will receive at most half credit. It is your responsibility to make sure that I have the paper by the deadline. If you submit the spreadsheet analysis late, you will receive up to a 15 point deduction. It is recommended that you submit the paper a day early to ensure that it is not late.
While this course is activity oriented, class participation is strongly encouraged. It is a minimum expectation of the professor that you will ask questions when you are confused on a topic being covered in the course.[1] To motivate class participation and give you incentive to help others in the class, a value of ε is being used. The term ε in mathematics is often used to mean a small number. In the case of this course, ε is being used as the professor’s subjective measure that he will assign to each student for his/her participation and effort in the course. The value of ε will be nonnegative and worth no more than 3%, i.e., 3% ≥ ε ≥ 0.It will only be given a positive value for extraordinary class participation and/or effort. Please note that ε can take a student above 100% making this measure similar to extra credit. Also, you should expect the percentage of students getting a positive ε will be no larger than 20% of the class. Please note that ε is non-negotiable and any attempt to do so will guarantee that a zero for this value is assigned to the person that attempts to negotiate.
Final Grade
Your final grade will be based on the weighted average of the grading components of the course that are listed above. Guaranteed grades will be issued on the following scale:
- 90% of weighted average guarantees an A-
- 80% of weighted average guarantees a B-
- 70% of weighted average guarantees a C-
- 60% of weighted average guarantees a D-
- Below 60% of weighted average guarantees an F
Straight grades and pluses, e.g., A, B, B+, etc., will be determined by natural breaks in the distribution.
Since the final is cumulative for this course, if you do considerably better on the final than on the midterm, i.e., greater than 10%, then I will shift your activities percentage worth of your midterm weighting to your final. For example, if you get 50% on your midterm, 100% on your final, 100% on your papers, and a 90% on your homework, your weighted final grade would be 98.5% rather than 82.5%.
Professor’s Expectation
It is the expectation of the professor that you will spend approximately TWO hours outside of class for every hour you are supposed to spend in class working on activities, your papers, and studying. These hours may not be distributed uniformly. Please budget your time wisely.
Course Policies
Right to Syllabus Change Policy
The instructor reserves the right to make any changes to this syllabus at anytime during the course. If a change is made, a new syllabus will be handed out.
Students with Learning and/or Physical Disability Policy
Any student with a learning and/or physical disability who needs accommodations or assistance in this course should make an appointment to speak with the instructor as soon as possible. You are also encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center (located in Building 124) by phone at (805) 756-1395 as early as possible in the term to discuss your needs for the quarter.
Cheating Policy
Cheating/academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in the course. If you are discovered cheating or are an accomplice in helping someone cheat on an exam, paper, or activity you will receive a zero on the respective item. You will also be reported to the dean’s office for disciplinary matters. For a description on Cal Poly’s cheating policy please go to the following web page:
Cell Phone and Texting
Cell phones are strictly prohibited on exam days. If you are caught with one, you will receive a zero on the exam. During class time cell phones must be turned to silent mode. If you have a call, you must take it outside the classroom. If the instructor hears your cell phoneand is able to identify you in class, he has the option of deducting up to 5% off your final grade for each occurrence. If the professor catches you texting in class, you will receive a 3% deduction from your final weighted grade for each occurrence. If you do not wish to havethe deductions from your grade for either your cell phone “ringing” or you texting, you will need to purchase a slice of pizza or its equivalent for each student in the class for the next class meeting.
Make-Up or Early Exam Policy
No make-up exams will be given in the course except for the final. If you miss a midterm for a valid reason, then the weighting for that midterm will be placed on the final. If you miss a final for a valid reason, you will receive an Incomplete grade in the course and will be required to take a make-up exam within the first four weeks of the next quarter you attend. There are only two valid reasons for missing an exam: 1) a family member dies, or 2) you are unexpectedly sick or injured to the point that you need to see a medical doctor the day of the exam. If a family member passes away, you will need to bring to the make-up exam the death certificate or some other corroborating information that the individual who died was close to you to be able to take it. Please note that the family pet is not considered a family member under this policy. If you are unexpectedly sick or injured to the point that you need to see a medical doctor the day of the exam, you will need to bring a note from the doctor that explains that the illness or injury was so bad that there would have been no way you could have taken the exam the day it was scheduled. Family vacations or any other type of vacations are not an acceptable reason for obtaining a make-up exam. No early exams will be given.
Classroom Civility Policy
It is expected that you will be respectful to both the professor and other classmates. If you choose to be disrespectful, you will either 1) be asked to leave and your total grade will be adjusted down by three percentage points, or 2) you will be required to come to the board and lecture on the concept being presented, and your total grade will be affected by zero to three percent dependent upon how well you present the material. Anything that is disruptive to the class is deemed disrespectful including the following behavior:
Listening to your music player when lecture is in session
Playing games on your mobile device/computer
Talking loudly during lecture that is not related to the course
Packing your bag before class is finished
Consistently arriving late to class without providing a valid reason to the professor
Verbally attacking a person rather than attacking the person’s ideas
Leaving early without telling the professor beforehand (The only exception to this is if you become ill during class. In this case, please email the professor afterwards.)
Showing-up to class intoxicated
Chewing tobacco
Bringing your pet to class
FERPA Policies
The professor of this course respects your FERPA rights. As a policy, the professor will only discuss your grades with you in person. No grades will be given over the phone or through email unless the exam or activity was submitted by email. No student other than yourself will be allowed to pick up your homework or exams. To facilitate the class, the professor may call on you by name. If you would prefer your name not to be used in the course, it is your responsibility to notify the professor in writing by the end of the first week.
Dr. Hurley’s Keys to Success:
Attend ALL classes!!!
Do all activities
Understandall activities
Utilize all resources available to you
Work on all previous midterms and finals posted on Dr. Hurley’s website!!!
Start all activities on the day they are distributed
Utilize Dr. Hurley’s office hours
Ask questions in class
Attend ALL classes!!!
You should practice EVERY function presented in class multiple times on your own
You should understand every function presented in class
Topics for Ag Bus 260
Main Topics / Sub-TopicsExcel Basics: / Workbook, Worksheets, Cells, Cell References, Formula Bar, Naming Cells, Shortcut Keys, Absolute and Relative References, Help, Ribbons, Formatting, Conditional Formatting, Adding/Deleting (Rows, Columns, and Cells), Copying, Pasting, Moving Data, Excel Options, Freeze Panes, Sorting
Basic Operators and Functions: / +, -, /, *, =, >, <, >=, <=, >, ^, Sum, Count,Counta, Countblank, Max, Min, Average, Median, Mod, Concatenate (&), Sqrt, Month, Day, Year, Date, Weekday, Networkdays, Len, Round,Rounddown, Roundup, Trim, Rank, Small, Large, Text, Today, Sumproduct, Value, Left, Right, Row, Column, Choose, Address
Advanced Functions and Logic: / Or, And, Not, If, Aggregate, Offset, Countif, Countifs, Sumif,Sumifs,Averageif,AverageifsHlookup, Vlookup, Index, Match,Iferror, Convert, Find, Iserror, Search, Mid, Proper, Upper, Lower, Indirect
Tables: / Defining, Formatting, Referencing, Sorting, Filtering
Graphing and Sparklines: / Column, Bar, Line, Pie, Scatter (XY), Area, Radar, Surface, Bubble, Stock, Formatting Charts
Importing Data, Managing and Transforming Data, Data Validation and Handling Errors: / Text to Columns, Remove Duplicates, Data Validation, #N/A, #VALUE!, #REF!, #DIV/0!, #NUM!, #NAME?, #NULL, Auditing Tool, Formula Auditing, Circular References,
Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts: / Filters, Columns, Rows, Values, Slicers, Grouping, Calculated Field
Arrays and Array Formulas: / Mmult, Minverse, Mdeterm, Frequency, Transpose, Linest
Business Modeling and Analysis: / Solver, What-if Analysis, Financial Functions, Simulation Functions, Data Analysis
SmartArt, Equation Editor: / This is a potpourri of stuff if there is enough time at the end of the quarter
Please note that the topics listed above are not all inclusive of what will be covered in the course.
A Philosophy to live by: Some of the things I understand were taught to me. Most of the things I understand I taught myself.
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Revised 10/15/2018
[1] It is highly likely that the question you have is the same as many other students in class. Please do not hesitate to ask questions.