Syllabus for STAT 304 (SAS Programming)

Instructor’s Contact

E-Mail: szhang@stcloudstate.edu Office: CH366AF

Lectures & Office Hours

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines provided in the “Announcement” section on D2L. In order to facilitate your learning experience, relevant links have been established, including access to this syllabus, course lecture notes, and potentially other supplementary materials.

Students can seek assistance from the instructor via Zoom using the following link: https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/96907848410 (Passcode: 3.14). Whenever assistance is required, it is recommended that students schedule an appointment with the instructor by sending an email. The instructor’s availability is flexible to accommodate various time slots.

Course Description

SAS statistical package; basic data manipulations and procedures; formatting, if-then-else, merge, arrays, do-loops, macros, functions, table look-up, custom reports.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Identify and use the structures of a SAS program.
• Write typical SAS programs made up of DATA and PROC steps.
• Use the SAS programming environment and employ various tools therein for writing, and debugging SAS programs.
• Produce, critically examine, and interpret output of a SAS program.
• Manipulate raw data internally in SAS and manipulate raw data from external files into SAS to create SAS data sets.
• Read data into SAS using various INFORMATS and INPUT styles.
• Write SAS variables using various FORMATS.
• Manipulate (i.e. subset) SAS data sets at different stages using various programming tools such as logical expressions in the DATA step.
• Manipulate data properly in the DATA STEP which includes DATA manipulations using SAS functions and the DROP or KEEP options.
• Identify proper overall syntactic calls for various SAS procedures as well as options and ancillary statements within their syntaxes.
• Use ARRAYS in SAS to perform table-look-ups, rotate data sets and perform repeated iterations using indexed variables.
• Export SAS data sets as external data useful to other applications.
• Import data from other applications using dynamic data exchange. (Outdated and skipped)
• Join and merge SAS data sets under different conditions.
• Perform basic statistical analysis and produce reports using various SAS procedures.
• Manage data with SAS by creating permanent libraries and moving data from one library to another.

Assessments & Grading

The assessment breakdown for this course comprises a series of 6 quizzes (each 10 points) and 4 assignments (each 10 points). Quizzes are on D2L under Assessments -> Quizzes and Assignments on SAS Studio. Due dates are at the end of this syllabus. Submit your code and report of each assignment to D2L under the appropriate dropbox available under Assessments -> Assignments.

The grading scale is as follows:

A = 90% B = 80% C = 70% D = 60% F = below 60%

Policies and Rules

Makeup Policy: Makeup opportunities will not be provided for any assignment or quiz, unless valid and legitimate reasons are presented.

Incorporating AI: The integration of AI to enhance learning within this course is encouraged. It is important to transparently outline your utilization of AI tools. It is imperative that your work genuinely reflects your effort and understanding. Delve into discerning when the use of AI is appropriate versus when it might serve as a shortcut. Don’t hesitate to engage in discussions with both your peers and myself. Given that AI’s impact on society is continually evolving, part of your educational journey is to expand your comprehension of potential innovations, rather than being bound by the past. Moreover, please consult the Academic Integrity policies that are applicable to all courses within our institution. If there’s any uncertainty regarding how Academic Integrity intersects with the use of AI in this course, please seek my guidance. (Excerpt sourced from SCSU)

For further insight, refer to the SCSU guidelines concerning AI utilization: SCSU AI Guidelines https://services.stcloudstate.edu/TDClient/1919/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=24236

Tips for Success in This Course

Kindly print a copy of this syllabus and affix it to your bedside wall for reference.

It is advised to prepare for the required assignments at least 24 hours prior to their respective due times.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the instructor with any queries you may have; your questions are welcome.

Utilize our tutoring service available at: https://www.stcloudstate.edu/cose/resources/tutoring/iself-332.aspx. Additionally, you are entitled to 15 hours of free service on tutor.com, accessible via the “Resources” section after logging into D2L.

Remember, thinking is a demanding process, yet engaging in critical thinking requires even more effort.

Policy on Academic Honesty

Instances of academic integrity violations, in any form, by a student warrant potential disciplinary measures from the instructor, college, or university. It’s important to note that I uphold a strict stance against cheating, and any breach of academic integrity will incur significant penalties. Should you require clarification on the parameters of academic misconduct, please feel free to reach out to me without hesitation.

Textbook & Course Schedule

Optional textbook: The Little SAS Book (6th ed).

• Weeks 1-4: Chapters 1&2. (2 Quizzes on D2L under Assessments -> Quizzes, Quiz#1 due on 9/15. Quiz #2 on 10/10.)
• Weeks 5-7: Chapter 3 (1 quiz on D2L. Assignments 1&2 on SAS Studio, available from my shared folder, due 1O/10/2024)
• Weeks 8-10: Chapters 4&5. (2 quizzes on D2L, 1 Assignment on SAS Studio, available from my shared folder, due 11/10/2024)
• Weeks 11-12: Chapters 6. (1 quiz on D2L, due on 11/30.)
• Weeks 13-15: Chapters 8&9 (1 Assignment on SAS Studio, available from my shared folder)