[OT] - Embedded Controls Class in Portland, OR

Hi, Tim. That's a bit of a drive. Time in class is about 3 hours, I see. I have a profoundly autistic daughter and this may be more refresher than anything, so it may not be in the cards, but what's the actual cost here and what day does it start? Do I read things correctly to see that there are 2 students currently signed up?

Jon

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It's going to be quite a drive for me, too. Normally it'll be from Oregon City, but on the first day I'm going to be coming off of giving

There's a fee schedule at:

You'll need to fill out a "Non-Admit" application form,

I've updated the syllabus with the information you need to register, including a registration form that's pre-filled for the class so you can just print them out, fill them in, and fax them to the Metro campus.

Thanks. I note that you say "Class calander will follow the OIT schedule of classes." However, I'm still unaware of that schedule and didn't see an 'easy' click to get it from the other OIT page you mentioned. You mentioned the embedded conference, and I suppose I could go research that and take your other comment to infer the right data here, but it's easier for me to just ask you. What's the schedule? And what's the cost for 3 credits to a non-admitted student living in Oregon? (I can figure the book cost.) It's not clear from your response or OIT's page you mentioned. Since you are selling this class, I hope you don't mind me just asking you directly what you know on that score.

Jon

Jon:

Thank you for your patience. I am laboring under the dual burden of trying to get this up in a hurry, and doing so while still recovering from a weird cold/flue thing. When your core temperature is 102, details can slip by more easily than normal.

Once again, I have updated the Syllabus to reflect your comments. I've explicitly stated the start and end dates, I've included a link to the academic calendar that may even still be good 10 minutes from now (it's _long_), and I've included the price that the Admin at the Metro campus quoted me.

This quote from the fee schedule is pretty interesting: "Per-credit hour: no charge. Senior citizens are persons age 65 or older. Such persons are authorized to attend classes on a space-available basis. Charges for special materials, if any, are additional. Incidental fee privileges are not provided. The senior-citizen privilege is extended to persons auditing classes (not seeking credit or working toward a degree)."

Especially the last sentence. Does that really mean no fees if people don't need the credit?

Wow! That sounds interesting. The problem is, I'm sure Tim needs PAYING customers to keep the class open. Audits, if non-paying, won't help.

Jon

I wish such courses were available in online lecture format. I'd take them if they were.

Few people have the time to go miles and miles here and there when they are holding down a day job.

And I am very certain Tim's class will be worth the money. Almost everyone could use a refresher in control theory. It's just way too far away from here.

Maybe I am wrong but I don't think the remuneration at a place like OIT is dependent on the number of "full fare" participants. It's usually just that the whole class is cancelled if there aren't enough takers. That's how it was in Europe. Haven't held any classes here so I am not sure.

That's the deal here -- if fewer than six sign up, then the class gets canceled. I haven't been told so, yet I'm sure they mean paying customers.

But hey! I just noticed that I'm up to three -- that's half of what I need, and the class has only been posted for a little over a week. At this rate I'll squeak by.

Just an idea for future classes: Post direct links to some of your articles like "PID without a Ph.D.". That waters their mouths and then they realize that "this guy knows what he's talking about". Academians often long for lectures with lots of down-to-earth practical advice. At least I did, but at our university that was hard to come by. We were mostly pelted with theory about the Luenberger observer, the umpteenth pole-zero study, Maxwell and all that.