NorthWest Arkansas Community College Course Syllabus Spring 2012 MATH 1204 College Algebra Hybrid CRN 22190 9:30-10:45 MW Instructor: Melissa Jordan Please address me with your preference of either Ms. Jordan or Professor Jordan or Melissa. Office: SC 325 Work Phone and Voicemail: 479-986-6915 Fax: 479-986-6928 Email: mjordan@nwacc.edu Please use a non-spam subject line and include your name within the email. My policy is to respond to email in 36 hours or less excluding weekends and holidays, so resend or call if your email is not returned within that time frame. Website: http://faculty.nwacc.edu/mjordan Optional lecture notes for the course are posted at this website as well as the syllabus and any other relevant materials. You can also access this website by clicking on Current Students from the main NWACC homepage and then clicking on Faculty Websites and choosing mine. Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 9:00-9:30am, 10:45am-12:30pm Please use office hours to obtain Tuesday 9:00-9:30am, 10:45am-2:00pm help from me or to discuss any Thursday 9:00-9:30am, 10:45am-12:00pm matters of achievement, Other times by appointment accommodation, or concern you may have. Prerequisites Intermediate Algebra with a grade of C or better or an appropriate placement score Course Objectives A student who is successful in College Algebra should be able to: 1. Define, recognize, graph, transform, and perform various operations on functions. 2. Write, solve, and graph linear, quadratic, and other types of equations and inequalities. 3. Identify, solve, graph, and apply polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions. 4. Find zeros of polynomial functions, including by using synthetic division. 5. Solve systems of equations and inequalities graphically, algebraically, and with matrices. 6. Use a graphing calculator to perform algebraic operations and to graph functions. 7. Find the nth term and sum of an arithmetic or geometric sequence. 8. Solve application problems related to the first seven objectives. Hybrid Format A hybrid class is a cross between an online course and a traditional lecture course, designed for students who do not need a full lecture over the material. Since these courses meet approximately one-half to two-thirds of the class time of a traditional course, students must be prepared to complete much of the course independently on their own time. It is a great option for students who can work autonomously, but who also desire some face-to-face contact with their instructor and some lecture over certain topics in the course. This course is not designed for students who typically struggle with math or who need a full lecture such students should seek to be transferred to a traditional course immediately. Required Materials Access Code: The access code for MyMathLab can be purchased either at the bookstore (book voucher can be used) or online with a credit card at www.pearsonmylab.com as you register with MyMathLab, or can come packaged with a new text. Students can now request temporary access to MML when they go in to register. The temporary account lasts for 17 days and then an email reminder is sent when five days are left with a link to redeem the account with a permanent code. Then another email reminder is sent the day before the temporary account expires. THIS ACCESS CODE IS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF PURCHASED MATERIALS. Access codes are unique to the textbook, so if you have never purchased an access code for this particular text you will need to do so for this class. If you have already purchased an access code for this particular text, then you can log in to MML and choose the link to Enroll in a New Course. The textbook is available as an ebook in MyMathLab so you do not have to purchase a hard copy of the text if you do not wish to. 1
Calculator: A graphing calculator is required for this course. TI-82, TI-83, or TI-84 calculators are recommended. Any calculator with a CAS (Computer Algebra System) such as a TI-89 or TI-92 are not allowed in any NWACC math course. Graphing calculators can be rented semester-long from NWACC by paying the rental fee at the cashier s window. You must then bring your receipt and driver s license to Jill Witt in SC 351 where she will assign a calculator to you. Email Correspondence I will use your NWACC email account to correspond with you prior to your registration with MyMathLab. After that, I will contact you using the email address that you register with MML. However, I can only email grade information to your NWACC email account. In the subject line of all e-mails you send me, please include your name and the name of your course. Although I do not expect your grammar/punctuation/spelling to be perfect, I would appreciate your taking the time to proofread and use capitalization and punctuation appropriately to send email correspondence to me that is more in line with a business letter rather than a text message. Please be as specific as possible when asking questions so that I can be of the most help to you. The occasional please and/or thank you is much appreciated as well! Technical Support THE STUDENT SUPPORT PHONE NUMBER FOR MYMATHLAB IS 1-800-677-6337. Please be sure to let me know immediately if you are having any technological trouble, but to get help for the trouble call the support line. Registration To register with MyMathLab, you will go to the website www.pearsonmylab.com and click on the Register button for Students. You need three items to register: a valid email address, the access code for the course, and the course ID which is jordan05775. Once you are registered and are within the course, be sure to run the Browser Check whose link is located in the MML home page. Grading Homework 75 points A = 360-400 points Quizzes 25 points B = 320-359 points Tests 200 points C = 280-319 points Final exam 100 points D = 240-279 points Total points 400 points possible F = 0-239 points Note: There are some situations in which the terms of this syllabus, including grading, might be changed. If this occurs you will be notified in writing by your instructor. Please be aware that I do not use percentages in my grading system even though percentages will show up in the MyMathLab grade book. The grade ranges above are definitive. I do not round or curve. For example, 279 total points earns a grade of D, 359 points earns a B, etc. To receive full credit on a test problem, the supporting work as well as the solution must be present and correct. Homework Each online homework assignment will be turned in electronically and graded automatically through the MyMathLab program. If you do not work a homework problem correctly after the given number of attempts, there is a button called Similar Exercise at the bottom of the exercise. Click on this button to generate a new homework problem. How will homework be graded? Example: If an individual homework assignment is worth 3 points and you get 80% of the problems correct, then you will receive 3(.80) points or 2.4 points for that assignment. Be aware that as soon as you open a homework assignment those points count. So if the assignment is worth 3 points and you do not do any problems to get any correct, then you have a 0 score for that assignment until you improve your score. All homework assignments have a permanent closing date usually corresponding to the test deadline even though each assignment has a suggested earlier unofficial deadline designed to keep you on track. These deadlines are published in the schedule at the end of this syllabus, listed beside each online assignment, and will be posted in the online Announcements. You may submit homework assignments as many times as you wish and all will be available for resubmission until the evening of the permanent closure even after the individual unofficial homework deadline has passed. Even though you may resubmit homework until the evening of the permanent closure, procrastination in this course is deadly so please stay on track with the suggested published unofficial deadlines. To access the homework, click on the Homework link on the left side of the screen. You do not have to complete a homework assignment at one sitting. The problems that you get correct will be saved if you click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen. When you work on the homework again and resubmit it, the homework average will change automatically. Quizzes There will be random quizzes worth 25 points total. I guarantee that altogether there will be at least 35 points available during the semester from which to gain the 25 points total. However, each student will only be allowed a maximum of 25 quiz points with any quiz points over 25 being dropped. 2
You may not leave the room during a quiz and return to work on your paper. Please be aware that if you arrive late and a quiz is being conducted, you will not necessarily be given any extra time to complete the quiz. There will be no make-up quizzes given for any reason. This is why I will make at least 35 points available, but only count 25 points total. Exams There will be three regular exams and a comprehensive final exam all worth 100 points each. The best two of the regular exams will be used to calculate your test grade. If you take all three regular exams, then your lowest test score will be dropped from the grade book. If you miss taking a regular exam that 0 score will be dropped from the grade book. If you miss more than two regular exams, one of the 0 test scores will be dropped and any remaining 0 test scores will be replaced by the final exam score. The final exam score cannot be dropped. All exams may be a combination of online testing and paper/pencil testing or may be exclusively online or paper. Online testing will require a password which will be provided during the testing period. Each test may be taken only once. Partial credit is awarded on exams. To receive partial credit you must show your work in an organized, neat manner and each step, including your solution, needs to be present. There will be no make-up exams given for any reason. Bonus Point Bank You may bank up to 8 bonus points in this course. These bonus points can be earned by completing the online exam reviews with at least 85% overall accuracy on each review. To receive the bonus points the reviews must be completed PRIOR to the stated deadline. Each individual review is worth 1 bonus point. The completion (or non-completion) of these reviews will not affect your grade book score in MML as they have been set up to be omitted from the grade book. I will record any bonus points earned in my independent grade book. Your personal bonus point bank will not be added to your overall score in the MML grade book UNLESS its addition causes your letter grade to rise. You can think of this bonus point bank as insurance there if you need it. I strongly urge you to make this investment. Make-up & Exam Score Replacement Policy There are no make-up exams for any reason. If you do not take one of the three regular exams that 0 score will be dropped from the grade book. If you miss more than two regular exams, one of the 0 test scores will be dropped and any remaining 0 test scores will be replaced by the final exam score. The final exam score cannot be dropped. There are no make-up or deadline extensions for any homework assignments past their permanent closure dates nor are there make-up quizzes. Tutoring Resources In addition to getting help from me there is free tutoring available in the Academic Success Center (BH) and the Math Café (SC). The posted tutor schedules will indicate the courses each tutor is qualified to assist with. Please visit the Academic Success Center web page for more information by clicking on its link available under Current Students on the NWACC home page. Withdrawal Deadline If at some point in the semester you are having difficulty and are considering dropping the course, consulting with an academic advisor, your instructor, or a financial aid advisor can inform your decision. The last day to withdraw from the course with a grade of W on the transcript is Friday, March 30. Not attending or participating in class is not the same thing as withdrawing. Students with Disabilities If you have a disability or medical concern which you feel may impact your access to or progress in this course, please contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC works with students and faculty collaboratively to coordinate reasonable academic accommodations for students. Once your registration with the DRC is complete, you should contact me privately to discuss your Accommodation Letter. The DRC is located in Room 114 on the first floor of the Student Center. For more information, please email (preferred) disability@nwacc.edu or call the main office at (479) 986-4076. You must give me at least a week s notice for exam accommodations. Inclement Weather Policy Cancellation of classes will be posted on NWACC s web-site (http://www.nwacc.edu) and released to local T.V. and radio. Day classes are announced by 6:00 am and evening classes by 3:00 pm. You may also call the Student Information Line (479-619-4377) to find out. You can sign up for emergency texts through the ALERT:me link within My NWACC Connection. I may cancel my own classes if I feel that it is unsafe to drive even if the college is open. If I cancel class due to weather, I will do my best to email you an hour before class begins. At times, excessive snow days or other unexpected events may result in class cancellations. Be advised that these missed classes are not vacation days ; all students will be expected to continue with the assignments. You will be contacted via your established class communication channels with instructions. Online classes will continue to operate according to schedule. Exceptions and allowances may be made for exceptional circumstances. 3
FERPA NWACC is committed to your right to privacy as outlined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This means that I can only communicate grades with you in person or on My NWACC Connection (http://my.nwacc.edu) or through the MML gradebook. Academic Dishonesty Plagiarism, cheating, and any other form of academic dishonesty as well as the intent to be academically dishonest will be dealt with according to college policy as stated in the catalog. For equality purposes, I reserve the right to clear your calculator of unapproved formulas and programs before each exam. Cell Phones, etc. Please turn off your cell phone and other electronic devices before class. If you must have your phone on due to possible childcare or work-related emergencies, set it on vibrate mode, and do not begin talking until after you are out of the room. Expectations I expect you to read this syllabus thoroughly and refer to it when you have a question about the structure of the course. In return I will follow the syllabus in regards to grading and other policies. I expect you to attend class and work on the course work on a consistent basis. Thought needs to be given as to the best way to juggle this expectation with other obligations on your time. In return I will not cancel class unless necessary and will grade papers in a timely manner. I expect you to follow the calendar of deadlines and not wait until the last minute to submit assignments. In return I will adhere to the deadlines in the calendar and will update assignments in the course in a timely manner. I expect you to follow along, take notes, and participate in class lectures/discussions. In return I will ask and answer questions you may have. If you regularly surf the web, text message on your phone, or participate in some other activity that draws your attention away from the classroom discussion, please do not ask for help from me or your classmates either during class or outside of class. I expect you to study for exams by working through all the problems available in the corresponding test reviews. In return I will make out the tests based on the problems in the test reviews. I expect you to take responsibility for your learning by doing all that you can to be successful with this class. In return I will provide every responsible learner with resources and help as needed. Rights and Responsibilities Every person in this class, whether student or teacher, has the right to be treated courteously and respectfully. Every person has the right to say I don t understand and to ask for help if that person has been diligently participating in the learning process. Every person has the right to feel relaxed and capable and to be successful. Every person has the right and responsibility to deter inappropriate behavior of others by contacting the teacher with his/her concerns and suggested solutions. In turn, every person has the responsibility to treat others with kindness, consideration, and respect and to do his/her assigned tasks diligently and to the best of his/her ability. Testing Policies You may not accept or make calls or text message during any exam. You may not use your phone or similar electronic device for a calculator (or for any other purpose) on any exam. You may not use any listening device, such as an ipod, during an exam. You may not leave the classroom and return during an exam. You may not use any resources during an exam. An approved calculator may or may not be allowed. You may not use any unapproved calculator nor use any unapproved programs in your calculator. You must start each exam in a timely manner. Extra testing time past the normal ending time of the class/test will not be granted if a student starts a test late even if there is still time remaining on an online exam. You may not copy from someone else s paper or allow someone to copy from your paper during an exam. Violation of any of the above will be considered academic dishonesty. The above list is not inclusive of all types of academic dishonesty. 4
Deadlines and Schedule (subject to change) Please be aware that technological problems you may encounter will NOT be an excuse for make-up work. Catch-up/Review/Weather days may be used for missed lectures due to class cancellations. This may result in homework deadlines and/or test days being rescheduled. I would suggest creating your own calendar from the information posted below. MONDAY WEDNESDAY SUNDAY Week 1 Jan 16 Jan 22 HOLIDAY Syllabus 1.1 1.1 HW due Week 2 Jan 23 Jan 29 1.2 Start 1.3 Finish 1.3 1.4 1.2-1.4 HW due Week 3 Jan 30-Feb 5 1.5 1.6 2.1 1.5-2.1 HW due Week 4 Feb 6-Feb 12 2.2 Start 2.3 Finish 2.3 2.4 2.2-2.4 HW due Week 5 Feb 13-Feb 19 Test 1: Chapters 1 & 2 Chapters 1 & 2 HW closes 3.1 Start 3.2 3.1 HW due Week 6 Feb 20-Feb 26 Finish 3.2 3.3 3.4 Start 4.1 3.2-3.4 HW due Week 7 Finish 4.1 Finish 4.3 Feb 27-Mar 4 4.2 Start 4.3 Start 4.4 4.1-4.3 HW due Week 8 Mar 5-Mar 11 Finish 4.4 Start 4.5 Finish 4.5 4.6 4.4-4.6 HW due Week 9 Mar 12-Mar 18 Test 2: Chapters 3 & 4 Chapters 3 & 4 HW closes 5.1 Start 5.2 5.1 HW due SPRING BREAK Week 10 Mar 26-Apr 1 Finish 5.2 Start 5.3 Finish 5.3 W day is Friday, Mar 30 5.2-5.3 HW due Week 11 Apr 2-Apr 8 5.4 Start 5.5 Finish 5.5 5.6 5.4-5.6 HW due Week 12 Apr 9-Apr 15 6.3 6.7 6.3-6.7 HW due Week 13 Apr 16-Apr 22 Catch-up/Review/Weather Day Test 3: Chapters 5 & 6 Chapters 5 & 6 HW closes Week 14 Apr 23-Apr 29 7.4 8.1 Start 8.2 7.4-8.1 HW due Week 15 Apr 30-May 6 Finish 8.2 8.3 Catch-up/Review/Weather Day Last class day 8.2-8.3 HW due Chapters 7 & 8 HW closes Finals Week May 7-May 11 Final Exam 9:00-11:00 am 5