Instructor Information: MAC1105 College Algebra COURSE SYLLABUS ONLINE COURSE (Spring 2018) CRN 20271, 20295, 20311 Name: Joel M. Berman Office: East Campus 4-240 Phone: 407-299-5000 x-2130 E-mail: jberman@valenciacollege.edu Engagement/Office Hours (Times I am to help you!) Monday: 8:30-9:30am, 1:00pm-3:00pm (in East 4-240 and via email / telephone) Tuesday: 10:00am-12:30pm (in East 4-240 and via email / telephone) Wednesday: 8:30-9:30am, 1:00pm-3:00pm (in East 4-240 and via email / telephone) Thursday: 10:00am-12:30pm (in East 4-240 and via email / telephone) Friday: 11:00am 12:00pm (via email) Math Department Contact Information Office: East 7-142 Phone:407-299-5000 x-2366 General Course Information This syllabus is a contract between the student and the instructor. By enrolling in and attending this course, the student agrees to and accepts the terms and conditions of this contract. It is the responsibility of the student to carefully read this syllabus/contract, and to adhere to all policies and procedures within the syllabus. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C in either MAT 0025C or MAT 1033C or appropriate score on an approved assessment. Course based on the study of functions and their role in problem solving. Topics include graphing, the linear, quadratic, and exponential families of functions, and inverse functions. Students will be required to solve applied problems and communicate their findings effectively. Technology tools will be utilized in addition to analytical methods. Gordon Rule course. Minimum grade of C required if MAC 1105 is used to satisfy Gordon Rule. VALENCIA CORE COMPETENCIES: Valencia s Student Core Competencies are complex abilities that are essential to lifelong success. 1
This course will help you to develop and demonstrate the abilities to: 1. Think clearly, critically and creatively. 2. Communicate with others in written and verbal form. 3. Make reasoned value judgments and responsible commitments. 4. Act purposefully, reflectively and responsibly. Due to the nature of these global competencies many problems and activities will be presented in the context of an application. These applications will require students to select appropriate information from the problem and communicate effectively how to arrive at an appropriate solution for the problem MAJOR LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this course, you should be able to: Use processes, procedures, data, or evidence to solve problems and make effective decisions Use functions and function concepts to analyze and model realistic situations Use appropriate technological tools to analyze and model realistic situations REQUIRED MATERIALS: TEXT: College Algebra with Current Interesting Applications and Facts, by Acosta and Karwowski. ISBN: 978-1-4652-3943-3 The textbook is at the East Campus bookstore. You may also purchase through the publisher site at https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/college-algebra-current-interesting-applications-and-facts Note that we will not need the WebAssign access for this course. CALCULATORS: o Each test will have two parts. On the first part, you will only be allowed the use of a simple 4- function calculator. The Texas Instruments 503, Canon LS-82Z and Sharp EL-334MB are calculator models that fit this type. You will not be allowed the use of a smartphone or tablet device during testing. o A graphing calculator is required for this course and will be allowed on the second part of each test. The TI-84 graphing calculator will be used for any demonstrations. Conduct in the Classroom: Even though this is an online course, you are expected to follow the Valencia Student Code of Conduct in all classroom activities. For this course, the code of conduct will mainly pertain to all electronic communication that you may have with the instructor and other students in the course. http://valenciacollege.edu/generalcounsel/policy/documents/volume8/8-03-student-code-of-conduct.pdf TIME COMMITMENT: Note that an online course may need more time commitment than an onsite course. Since this is an online course, the three hours a week that you would normally use to attend lectures should be spent online viewing the resources, watching lecture videos, working through practice exercises and taking tests. Any college course also requires at least two hours of study time for every lecture hour. Thus, you should allocate at least 9 hours per week just for this course. This course will likely take more time than you expect. COMMUNICATION: This is an online course; therefore, we will communicate mainly electronically, via email and through Blackboard. You must check your ATLAS email regularly as to not miss any important messages from the instructor. All communications should follow appropriate etiquette. Email should be used in a professional way. Always put identifying information in the subject line and include your name and course (MAC1105) so that I know who you are. 2
All emails will receive my response in a timely fashion. You should expect my reply within a 24-hr period, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. On the other hand, when you receive any email from me that requires your response, I expect you to reply in a timely fashion as well. I will be communicating with you on a regular basis; therefore, it is crucial that you check your emails and log in to Blackboard frequently. I also use the Remind app to communicate with my students. Remind is basically a system that allows students and instructors to communicate via text without knowing each other s phone numbers. I will use Remind to broadcast reminders out to all students that register for the service. By registering for the service, you will also be able to text me back. To register for Remind, text @berman1105 to the number 81010 For more information about Remind, including privacy and data usage, please visit: https://help.remind.com/hc/enus/categories/200098245-about-remind COURSE WEBSITES: BlackBoard (on Valencia s servers) will be used throughout the course. The site is http://learn.valenciacollege.edu. The course in BlackBoard will be beginning on the first official day of class. You should already be registered in BlackBoard. Login name and password are the same as for your ATLAS account. Within Blackboard you will find The course syllabus Links to various resources you will use during the course Communication tools including discussion boards Assignments A gradebook 3
Course Evaluation Check-in Assignments There will be regular Check-in assignments. These will be due at 11:59pm on the specified dates noted later in this document. The Check-in assignments will consist of several exercises which should reinforce some of the basic concepts and skills that have been presented in the recent sections. They will be completed using an assessment system called IMathAS. Direct links to the assignments are provided through Blackboard. No additional sign-in will be required of you. Please be sure to turn-off any pop-up blockers while accessing these assignments. Once the deadline has passed, you will not be able to access the Check-in Assignment, and you will receive a grade of zero. There will be no extensions provided for the Check-in Assignments. The lowest check-in assignment grade will be dropped. Check-in assignments will count for 15% of your grade for the course. HOMEWORK: Suggested homework lists will be provided for each topic during the course. If you are having trouble with an exercise, you should use the appropriate Homework Q&A discussion board to post a question. If there is no response after a reasonable amount of time, please contact your instructor. The suggested homework exercises will not count toward your grade for the course. They are, however, critical in developing your understanding of the concepts and skills necessary for successful completion of the course. Do the homework! If you don t understand how to do one of the suggested exercises, then ask a question! QUIZZES: Most weeks, there will be a quiz assignment through Blackboard. The quiz will become two days before the due date. You should download/print the quiz, complete the quiz exercises, and submit your quiz assignment through the appropriate link in Blackboard as a.pdf file. If you do not know how to produce a.pdf file, I will provide links in Blackboard with a couple different methods. The quizzes will be due in Blackboard by 11:59pm on the date listed in the schedule. After the due date, I will grade your quiz through Blackboard and update your grade in the gradebook. Quizzes not submitted following the stated specifications will be penalized. Late quiz submissions will not be accepted and you will receive a grade of zero for the assignment! Please note that the quizzes are not comprehensive. They are a sampling of some of the material. In other words, you should not expect to do well on the tests if you have only done the quizzes. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Quizzes will count for 20% of your grade for the course. TESTS: There will be three unit tests that must be taken in a proctored setting during the testing window shown in the schedule later in this document. These tests will be paper-and pencil, free-response (not multiple-choice) tests. You will be expected to show work for full credit on test exercises. Each test will have a three-hour time limit. There will be no extensions granted for Tests. If you do not take a test by the deadline, a grade of zero (0) will be assigned for the test. Tests may be taken in any of the Valencia College Testing Centers free of charge. For Valencia Testing Center hours, please visit: East Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/east/academicsuccess/testing/hours.cfm Lake Nona Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/lakenona/testingcenter.cfm 4
Osceola Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/osceola/testing/ Poinciana Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/poinciana/testing.cfm West Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/learning-support/testing/ Winter Park Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/library/wp/testing.cfm If you cannot take the tests at Valencia, you will be responsible for arranging for testing at a College or University Testing Center. Any additional costs for testing will be your responsibility. Please see the last page for details. The tests will count as 45% of your final grade. FINAL EXAM: There will be a comprehensive Final exam that must be taken in a proctored setting during the testing window shown in the schedule later in this document. The Final exam will be a paper-and-pencil, free-response (not multiple-choice) test. You will be expected to show work for full credit on test exercises. The exam will have a three-hour time limit. There will be no extensions granted for the Final exam. If you do not take the Final exam by the deadline, you will receive a grade of zero (0) for the Final exam. If you earn a grade of 70% or better on the final exam, then your final exam grade will be used to replace your lowest test grade, if beneficial. The Final exam may be taken in any of the Valencia College Testing Centers free of charge. For Valencia Testing Center hours, please visit the appropriate site mentioned in the Tests section. If you cannot take the Final exam at Valencia, you will be responsible for arranging for testing at a College or University Testing Center. Any additional costs for testing will be your responsibility. Please see the last page for details. The Final exam will count as 20% of your final grade. GRADES: Your final grade in MAC1105 will be determined from the weighted average of the engagement grade, quizzes, tests and the final exam. The grading scale is as follows: A: 90-100%, B: 80-89.99%, C: 70-79.99%, D: 60-69.99%, F: below 60% EXTRA CREDIT: There will not be any extra credit in this course. Please do not ask for special treatment. Your final grade for the course will be by Friday April 27 in Blackboard and should be by Wednesday May 2 in ATLAS. 5
Learning Assistance Resources: Tutoring Free tutoring services are provided on all Valencia College campuses. For more information see the link for the appropriate campus: East Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/east/academicsuccess/ Lake Nona Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/lakenona/lnctutoring.cfm Osceola Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/osceola/learningcenter/tutoring.cfm Poinciana Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/labs/poinciana.cfm West Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/learning-support/tutoring/ Winter Park Campus: http://valenciacollege.edu/wp/mathcenter/ Valencia's Math Help 24/7: Valencia Math professors have created pen-casts and videos of common lessons to help you learn the concepts being presented in class. This resource is located at: www.valenciacollege.edu/math/livescribe.cfm Click on your course to view your lessons. Some lessons have more than one professor's perspective; watch more than one! Smart Thinking (Online Tutoring): Smarthinking is a FREE online tutoring tool to all of Valencia s students, and math tutors are 24/7. Students can access Smarthinking through the Courses tab in Atlas. Students have an eight hour limit of usage per semester, and therefore Smarthinking is best used as a back up to on-campus services and support, not as a replacement. There are Smarthinking phone applications for both ios and Android devices. http://valenciacollege.edu/east/academicsuccess/onlinetutoring.cfm GENERAL IDEAS TO HELP YOU SUCCEED WITH THE COURSE Be proactive. Try to work ahead of the required schedule. This will allow you more time to work on sections that you find more difficult. Take the time to read the sections of material each week. When you read the sections, you should have paper and pencil with you. If you do not want to read the textbook, you must spend a reasonable amount of time watching the videos in Blackboard and working through the practice problems. If you do not do any Prep work (reading the text, practice problems, videos) before attempting the check-in assignments and quizzes, you are going to have a bad time. Take the time to prep for the assignments! There are many resources online that will help you get the right answer to an exercise. Among them are MathWay, WolframAlpha and Symbolab. Be careful with your use of these resources. They will not be to you on any of the tests or the final exam. Use the homework and the quizzes to help you learn the appropriate techniques that will be necessary on the tests and final exam. Evidence of the use of these resources for quiz submissions will be considered a violation of Academic Honesty and may result in you receiving a grade of zero for the quiz submission. When you take the quizzes: For the first draft, try it without any notes. This will help you assess what you actually learned (and remembered) from the topics. Then, go back and fix any errors before you actually submit your work through Blackboard. 6
WHAT TO DO IF YOU NEED HELP! Don t wait, Don t wait, Don t wait!!! Use the resources that are to you! Talk to other students in the course via the HELP! forum in Blackboard. Maybe they had the same problem. Ask and answer questions in the forum! Contact the instructor. Joel is to help you via email, by telephone or in person during the engagement hours. If you are having a specific problem with a math exercise, ask him for help! He will reply (within a reasonable time). Other Information ACADEMIC HONESTY: You are expected to do your own work on tests and exams. Providing information to another student or receiving information concerning exam content is considered cheating. The professor reserves the right to determine the appropriate penalties within Valencia College's academic honesty policies. http://valenciacollege.edu/generalcounsel/policy/documents/8-11-nf-nn-academic-dishonesty.pdf If you use an electronic device other than a calculator on a test or the final exam, you will receive a grade of F for the course and you will be referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary actions per the Student Code of Conduct (Valencia Policy 6Hx28:8-03) WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE: The withdraw deadline for a grade of W is March 30, 2018. If you decide to withdraw, you must do so through ATLAS. If you do not withdraw from the class by this date, you will receive a letter grade of A, B, C, D or F for the course. For a complete policy and procedure overview on Valencia Policy 4-07 please go to: http://valenciacollege.edu/generalcounsel/policydetail.cfm?recordid=75 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a notification from the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with the instructor, preferably during the first week of class. The Office for Students with Disabilities determines accommodations based on appropriate documentation of disabilities. There is an Office for Students with Disabilities on each Valencia Campus. Further information can be found at http://valenciacollege.edu/osd/default.cfm NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS (F-1 OR J-1 VISA) Please be advised that withdrawal from this course due to attendance may result in the termination of your visa status if you fall below the full-time enrollment requirement of 12 credit hours. Contact Valencia s International Student Services office for more information. STUDENT FEEDBACK ON INSTRUCTION: Near the end of the term, students will receive an invitation through their Valencia ATLAS email account asking them to complete the Student Feedback on Instruction (SFI). This survey provides Valencia College professors with feedback on students experiences in courses and helps them to continually improve their courses. The results are released only after grades are submitted and students names are not included in the results - all responses will be anonymous. 7
STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: Valencia College has contracted with a private and confidential counseling service (Bay Care Behavioral Health Student Assistance Program [SAP]) to provide FREE short-term assistance to students who need to resolve problems that are affecting their college performance. Examples might include: stress, relationship/family issues, alcohol/drug problems, eating disorders, depression, and gender issues. Students who are experiencing any of these issues and who are enrolled in credit classes at Valencia should call the tollfree number 1-800-878-5470 to speak to a professional counselor. If needed, the counselor may refer the student to appropriate resources or to speak face-to-face with a licensed counselor. For more information, call or visit a Counselor in Student Services on any campus. FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) FERPA is a Federal law that is administered by the Family Policy Compliance Office (Office) in the U.S. Department of Education (Department). 20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99. FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. Valencia College has a firm commitment to protecting the privacy rights of its students. For further information on FERPA see: http://valenciacollege.edu/ferpa/default.cfm#whatis TITLE IX Valencia College strives to be a place free from all forms of discrimination. Title IX protects students from discrimination based upon sex including protections against sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking. This also includes protections for students who are pregnant or may become pregnant. If you experience sexual violence, domestic violence or stalking and would like assistance there are several options to you. Valencia partners with the Victim Service Center of Central Florida which is a confidential resource 24/7. They can be reached by calling 407-497-6701. If you would like assistance on campus, you can go to valenciacollege.edu/eo or contact Valencia College s Title IX and Equal Opportunity Officer, Ryan Kane, by emailing rkane8@valenciacollege.edu. If you would like to report to law enforcement, you may visit Campus Security or call 911. Please note that there are no confidential resources on campus. As your professor, I am required to report any information mentioned in this statement to the appropriate campus resources. This will include your name, and detailed information shared with me. We take privacy very seriously at the College and only those who have a legitimate need to know the information will be provided with this information. If you have more questions about Title IX or the College s response, please visit valenciacollege.edu/eo. DISCLAIMER Changes in the syllabus, schedule, evaluation procedures, and/or homework assignments may be made at any time at the discretion of the professor. Any changes will be announced via Blackboard. It is your responsibility to find out what, if any, announcements or changes have been made. 8
Course Calendar The following is a schedule for the materials and assignments. Note that the check-ins, quizzes and tests have hard deadlines. The way I have created the schedule has each week starting on Monday and ending on Sunday. Sorry if that messes with your other calendars! Be aware that the testing centers may have limited (or no) open hours on certain days during the testing windows. Plan ahead. Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Syllabus Quiz Check-in 1.3 Check-in 1.4 1 Quiz 1 Review sections Section 1.3 Section 1.4 Jan 8-14 1.1 and 1.2 2 Jan 15-21 Section 1.5 Check-in 1.5 Section 1.6 Check-in 1.6 Section 3.1 Check-in 3.1 Quiz 2 3 Jan 22-28 4 Jan 29 - Feb 4 5 Feb 5-11 6 Feb 12-18 7 Feb 19-25 8 Feb 26-Mar 4 9 Mar 5-11 10 Mar 12-18 11 Mar 19-25 12 Mar 26-Apr 1 13 Apr 2-8 14 Apr 9-15 15 Apr 16-22 16 Apr 23-29 Section 3.4 Section 5.1 Section 3.2 Check-in 3.4 Section 4.1 Section 4.3 Section 4.5 Check-in 5.1 Check-in 3.2 Test 1 is Check-in 4.1 Check-in 4.3 Check-in 4.5 Test 2 is Section 5.2 Test 1 is Test 2 is Check-in 5.2 Section 3.3 Test 1 is Section 4.2 Section 4.4 Section 4.6 Test 2 is Section 5.3 Check-in 3.3 Quiz 3 Test 1 is Check-in 4.2 Quiz 4 Check-in 4.4 Quiz 5 Check-in 4.6 Quiz 6 Test 2 is Check-in 5.3 Quiz 7 Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Section 6.5 Section 7.1 Section 7.4 Section 6.1 Section 6.3 Check-in 6.5 Check-in 7.1 Check-in 7.4 Check-in 6.1 Check-in 6.3 Test 3 is Section 7.2 Final Exam is Test 3 is Check-in 7.2 Final Exam is Section 6.2 Section 6.4 Test 3 is Section 7.3 Final Exam is Check-in 6.2 Quiz 8 Check-in 6.4 Quiz 9 Test 3 is Check-in 7.3 Quiz 10 Final Exam is 9
Off-Campus Testing Site Request Form This form is only to be used by those taking the exams outside of Valencia s East, Lake Nona, Osceola, Poinciana, West, or Winter Park campuses. Students who live outside of commuting distance to Valencia College should use this form to arrange off-campus testing. This form must be completed and submitted to your instructor via email by Tuesday January 16 so that an appropriate site can be approved and arrangements made. Student Information: Name: VID number: Course name: MAC1105 College Algebra CRN: Valencia email: Off-Campus Site Criteria: The requested site must be a college, university or military facility. No other locations will be approved. The site must be able to receive exams via email that are in PDF format and be able to scan and return the exam to me via email. The proctor must be an employee affiliated with the school s assessment/testing office and authorized to administer exams on behalf of the appropriate institution. Proctors at military bases must be appointed to or assigned to the Educational Services Office (ESO). Student is responsible for any fees charged by the remote testing site. To find possible testing sites: Perform an internet search for colleges near your location and use the phrase testing center or assessment center Visit http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/find.php Requested Testing Site: College/Site name: Testing Center Website: Testing Center Phone Number: Proctor and/or Testing Center Administrator Name: Proctor s email: (Must be a college, university, or military email. Personal emails will not be approved.) 10