Data 100

Frequently Asked Questions for Fall 2022 Data 100

Table of Contents

  1. Where is the course website?
  2. What are the official prerequisites for this course?
  3. Will the official prerequisites be enforced?
  4. I am a graduate student but the system won’t let me enroll in Data 100 due to missing prerequsites, what can I do?
  5. I can’t enroll yet for reason X (waitlist, concurrent enrollment, etc) but expect/hope to, what should I do?
  6. I am waitlisted, what should I do? What are my chances of getting into this class?
  7. I have a Concurrent Enrollment Request that hasn’t been approved yet, what should I do? What are my chances of getting into this class?
  8. I am a campus student and would like to audit the course, what can I do?
  9. I have another enrollment issue - can the instructors assist me, make an exception for my case or provide me with an “enrollment code”?
  10. What aspects of the course will be offered online?
  11. What is the proctoring policy for exams?
  12. What is the conflict policy for the course?
  13. I have a time conflict for the final, what can I do?
  14. When will the full schedule of labs and discussions be announced?
  15. Where can I find links to the class schedule, optional textbook, and other additional relevant resources?
  16. Where is the Class EdStem?
  17. I can’t find any information on bCourses, why?
  18. I have added the course later in the semester. Can I catch up? Can I be excused for all late work?
  19. I didn’t turn in a Lab/HW/etc in time because I had X (illness, etc.). Can I have an extension?
  20. I would like to make a class-wide announcement about my project/group/initiative/etc.
  21. I would like to apply for a (u)GSI position for this course. What should I do?
  22. Who do I contact if I have further questions? How do I email the instruction team?

Where is the course website?

Here.

What are the official prerequisites for this course?

The official list of prerequisites is:

  • Data 8.

  • CS 61A or CS88 or Engineering 7. We strongly recommend either CS 61A or CS 88.

  • EE 16A or Math 54 or Stat 89A. This may be satisfied concurrently with Data 100, but we strongly recommend that you finish a linear algebra course before taking Data 100.

Will the official prerequisites be enforced?

The official prerequisites are being strictly enforced by CDSS. Decisions on any requests for exceptions to this policy are being made by the CDSS advisors. To request an exception see https://data.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/courses/fall-2022-classes - do not email instructors about this as we are not making these decisions at all.

I am a graduate student but the system won’t let me enroll in Data 100 due to missing prerequsites, what can I do?

Graduate students should use the C200 class code, not C100: C200 has a proper graduate code so you don’t have undergraduate prerequisite issues. There will be some differences in grading and homework, but the main content is the same.

I can’t enroll yet for reason X (waitlist, concurrent enrollment, etc) but expect/hope to, what should I do?

We encourage you to not fall behind: you should complete all work when it is assigned.

To be added to the relevant resources (Ed, bCourses, etc.), please email data100.instructors@berkeley.edu with the subject line Interim access to class resources, providing your name, email and student ID.

I am waitlisted, what should I do? What are my chances of getting into this class?

Historically we’ve been able to accomodate students who wish to enroll, so we do not expect any issues allowing waitlisted students once the usual early-semester shuffle takes place. We will update this page if conditions change.

We recommend that you sign up for the class EdStem and follow the class assuming you’ll have a slot soon. See above for how to get added to any other required resources.

I have a Concurrent Enrollment Request that hasn’t been approved yet, what should I do? What are my chances of getting into this class?

By campus policy, we must first process the waitlist in its entirety before we can admit you. We will do all we can to ensure all waitlisted students are promptly admitted, so that you can also enroll in the course, though we can not provide 100% guarantee that will be the case. But we strongly suggest you start working on the course, following lectures and turning in assignments, from the start. This will prevent you from falling behind and will give you the best chance of success in the class.

Note that once all CE requests are processed (in the first few weeks of classes), we will remove all temporarily added students who do not end up with a permanent enrollment in the course.

See above for how to get added to any other required resources.

I am a campus student and would like to audit the course, what can I do?

Most class materials are available online to all campus students, and you can access the lecture videos, slides, etc. without limit, as well as use the online Data 100 DataHub (our JupyterHub instance for this class).

Note however that the class EdStem, our only other class resource, is reserved for enrolled students and faculty auditors, as homework details and solutions are discussed in that environment.

I have another enrollment issue - can the instructors assist me, make an exception for my case or provide me with an “enrollment code”?

No. The instructors do not handle any enrollment issues. If you need assistance with enrollment or think your circumstances warrant exceptional consideration, you must discuss those with an enrollment advisor. They are the only ones authorized to handle such situations and enroll you.

What aspects of the course will be offered online?

We will offer:

  • Recordings of all lectures, available for online viewing shortly after the lecture is delivered. Note these will not be live hybrid lectures where remote students could participate, only a static recordings, available post-lecture.
  • Discussions will be mostly in-person, but we will offer a small number of online discussion sections.
  • There will be no direct lab sessions: labs will be due on Tuesdays and a video walk-through of the lab content will be released after the lab is due for you to watch on your own. There will be online help available for labs through office hours and dedicated Ed channels.

What is the proctoring policy for exams?

Exams will be in-person and subject to standard proctoring procedures, with appropriate accommodations for DSP students

What is the conflict policy for the course?

The basic policy is the following:

  • TIME CONFLICTS: This class will NOT allow time conflicts.

  • EXAM CONFLICTS: This class will NOT accommodate final exam conflicts.

With the following two caveats:

  • As long as you can attend discussions and labs in-person, lectures will be available for asynchronous watching (see relevant question above).

  • For specific courses, a final exam time conflict will be allowed (see next question for details).

I have a time conflict for the final, what can I do?

The course only allows for time conflicts for specifc courses that have been pre-approved for conflicts, after planning with course instructors of those courses and the Division.

As of Sept 1, 2022, the Division faculty have decided that CS 70 and CS 170 will both offer alternate finals. There is therefore no conflict for these two courses, and you can enroll in either of them and Data 100 without issue. You will take their alternate final.

Data 100 will NOT offer an alternate final. Therefore, any course other than CS 70/170 that may have a final exam conflict is incompatible with Data 100 for this term.

Note: the above is the final state of affairs for the fall 2022 term, as of Sept 1. This is an update from earlier information we had provided while course policies were being worked on across all the courses with finals conflicts.

When will the full schedule of labs and discussions be announced?

The schedule (which is always subject to change) is located on the course homepage.

Check out the course homepage and the resources page. Don’t hesitate to make suggestions by filing an issue on the class repository (or even better, propose a new pull request with your additions!).

Where is the Class EdStem?

Here. If that link doesn’t work for you, please email data100.instructors@berkeley.edu to be added. You will only be added if you are an enrolled student, or pending enrollment in the first few days. Note that we will purge the Ed roster once early-semester enrollment settles down.

If your question isn’t answered in this FAQ, please try EdStem next before emailing the instructors.

I can’t find any information on bCourses, why?

We will only be using bCourses for synchronizing access to Gradescope. As long as you are enrolled in the class right now, you don’t need anything. All class materials are available online through the website; communications happen on EdStem; and computational work is done on the DataHub.

I have added the course later in the semester. Can I catch up? Can I be excused for all late work?

The answer to the first question is impossible to give in general, as it depends both on how late you add the course, and what your own background is. But as a general rule, the course moves quite quickly and covers new ground from the start. We estimate most students will probably struggle to catch up effectively if they join any later than the first few days of the semester, unless they have a particularly strong background already in the initial topics (probability, SQL, Python and Pandas).

As for the second part of this question - we will make special considerations for late work based on the date you joined the course, and were added to relevant course platforms. Please email Data100Departmental data100.instructors@berkeley.edu if this applies to you, and we’ll communicate separately.

To get a section (discussion and lab) assignment, please contact Vasanth Madhavan.

I didn’t turn in a Lab/HW/etc in time because I had X (illness, etc.). Can I have an extension?

We have a generous slip days policy for assignments, plus two lab drops. This is meant to allow most students to manage delays that can occur due to illness, accidents, personal problems, etc. You must use your slip days first for any and all circumstances that cause you to be late with an assignment. You should not think of slip days as “free extra days to be late any time.”

Once you’ve exhausted your slip days, we will only provide an extension in case of a major and documented set of exceptional circumstances (death in the family, illness documented with medical paperwork, or similar). In such case, you can contact our Communications TA, Samantha Hing, providing documentation that supports your case. Given the already flexible slip days policy, these exceptions will only be granted sparingly.

If there’s a problem that affects the whole class (e.g. a hub outage), we’ll make announcements on Ed and will change the deadline for the whole class.

For more details, see our syllabus.

I would like to make a class-wide announcement about my project/group/initiative/etc.

We only allow posts made on EdStem and you must make it yourself, we do not make posts on your behalf. These are our guidelines for EdStem posts from student groups - they must be text-only posts (no videos) where the announcement:

  1. Has to do with teaching or tutoring in a non-commercial setting, or
  2. is directly related to the material in the course, or
  3. is seeking to recruit students to help with the public good in a non-financial way (no solicitations for donations!), and in a context explicitly connected to their work in the course.

I would like to apply for a (u)GSI position for this course. What should I do?

All applications for Academic Student Employee positions are managed centrally; you can find all the details here. Please do not email the instructors individually with your resume/etc, as they are not in a position to hire you.

Who do I contact if I have further questions? How do I email the instruction team?

Please e-mail data100.instructors@berkeley.edu and one of the instructors will get back to you. Note that to ensure more timely responses, this address is monitored by the team of the two lead instructors (Will Fithian and Fernando Pérez) the Head TAs (Kanu Grover and Dominic Liu), as well as several lead GSIs, to ensure more timely responses. You can contact Will and Fernando directly for matters that require strict privacy and their direct attention.

We’re excited to have you in the class this Spring!

Will, Fernando, and the rest of your Fall 2022 instructional team.