EC 285 - Course overview
EC 285 - Introductory Statistics - Fall 2026
Section B · Tue & Thu 4:00-5:20 p.m. · SB 106 · Zara Liaqat
Tutorial 2 · Fri 10:00-11:20 a.m. · LH 1011
Source: the syllabus in Course Info/
Assessment
| Component | Weight | When |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm 1 | 20% | Sun Oct 4, 12:00-1:00 p.m. |
| Midterm 2 | 20% | Sat Nov 21, 3:00-4:00 p.m. |
| Assignments (2 × 7.5%) | 15% | dates on MyLS |
| Tutorial participation | 10% | weekly |
| Final exam (cumulative) | 35% | exam period |
Both midterms are on a weekend, not in class time. Put them in your calendar now.
The final can absorb a bad midterm. If you drop the lower midterm, the final
becomes 55% instead of 35%. That is automatic in the better-of calculation —
but a missed midterm is a zero unless you file an Illness Self-Declaration
within 2 days, which shifts its weight to the final.
Rules worth remembering
- Assignments: submitted on the MyLS Dropbox. 10% per day late, up to 3 days, then the Dropbox closes.
- Tutorials: problems are handed in and graded — 0.5 for submitting, 1 for correct. The two lowest are dropped. No tutorials during midterm weeks (Fri Oct 2 and Fri Nov 20).
- Email: put
EC285Bin the subject line, with your full name and student ID. Administrative matters only — course content goes to office hours. - Office hours: virtual, Mondays 12:00-2:00 p.m. (LH 2019; other times by appointment).
- A formula sheet and statistical tables are provided in exams.
- Lecture slides go on MyLS, but some material covered in lectures is not on the slides.
Materials
- Introductory Business Statistics 2e (OpenStax) — required, free e-book, digital ISBN 9781961584334. Print ~$41. The copy in
Textbook/is the 2e; the syllabus still cites the earlier edition (ISBN 9781680920970). - OpenIntro Statistics, 4th ed. + OpenIntro Labs — optional, free.
- Stata — required for some assignments. Free through the campus Virtual Computer Labs with your WLU login; Stata/BE recommended if buying.
- An AI Tutor (a custom GPT built for this course) is linked in the syllabus.
Schedule
| Wk | Topic | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course Introduction & Sampling and Data | Ch. 1 |
| 2 | Descriptive Statistics | Ch. 2 |
| 3 | Probability Topics | Ch. 3 |
| 4 | Discrete Random Variables · Midterm 1 | Ch. 4 |
| 5 | Continuous Random Variables | Ch. 5 |
| 6 | Reading week | — |
| 7 | The Normal Distribution | Ch. 6 |
| 8 | The Central Limit Theorem | Ch. 7 |
| 9 | Confidence Intervals | Ch. 8 |
| 10 | Introduction to Hypothesis Testing | Ch. 9 |
| 11 | Hypothesis Testing · Midterm 2 | Ch. 9 |
| 12 | Linear Regressions | Ch. 13 |
| 13 | Linear Regressions | Ch. 13 |
| 14 | Course Review | — |
Tentative per the syllabus; changes come by email or MyLS announcement.
Week numbers here are the syllabus's own, which count reading week as week 6.
The lecture notes' week: field skips it, so they read one lower after October.