Colleagues,
The Vice-Chancellor (=President) of a certain University has asked the
statisticians to come up with compelling reasons why statisticians should
be the ones to teach the first year business statistics course.
The reason for the question appears to be entirely driven by money. The
University is going through a "repositioning" exercise due to falling
enrolments (the latter driven by demographic changes). The
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (=Dean) of the College of Business wishes to shield his
staff and college from some of the drop in demand for its courses, and has
therefore proposed that the first-year Business Statistics course no longer
be taught by Statisticians from the College of Sciences who have taught it
for many years. Instead the paper would be taught by contract staff bought
in through the department of accountancy.
The result would lead to the forced redundancy of several extremely capable
academic statisticians who teach this course as well as others throughout
the University at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and who also act
as statistical consultants to staff and students throughout the university
and beyond.
So could anyone pass on to me particularly cogent arguments, or else
"horror stories" of mistakes made when inexperienced teachers or
researchers misapply statistical methods because they haven't been taught
or advised properly.
Also is there a web site with such material?
Thanks,
Barry
Dr. Barry McDonald, Statistics Section,
Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences,
Massey University at Albany, Private Bag 102-904
North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
[log in to unmask] Ph(64-9-)441-8161 fax 441-8181.
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