Ground Rules.pdf

1 MATH 15200 GROUND RULES FALL 2009 ? CLASS PERIOD Students are expected to attend every class meeting and to read the appropriate sections of the text before coming to class. Instructors may not have time to cover every topic in class. Refer to your textbook lessons for help. ? HOMEWORK/QUIZZES Most homework will be done online using MyMathLab (coursecompass). Doing your homework is your best way to be prepared for quizzes and exams. Homework is 50 points. There are a few problems in bolded print on the assignment sheet that are to be completed by students on their own (not on coursecompass), but these problems are not usually collected. However, students are responsible for these problems and instructors have the option of occasionally collecting them. There will be some worksheets of homework problems that will not be on coursecompass and will be found under other information on the course web page at www.math.purdue.edu/MA15200. It is extremely important that students complete these problems. Instructors have the option of collecting these problems for a daily score in place of or in addition to a quiz. A quiz will be given in class almost daily, starting with the third class period (Friday, 08/28). No make-ups will be allowed for the daily quizzes or online homework, for any reason. The three lowest scores for each will not be counted. To have a fourth score (or more) not counted at the end of the semester will require acceptable written justification for having missed all four (or more). ? EXAMS There are three multiple-choice, machine-graded evening exams scheduled for your class this semester. The dates are as follows. (Mark them on your calendar.) EXAM 1: Tuesday,September 22nd, 6:30 PM, Elliott Hall of Music EXAM 2: Monday, October 26th, 8:00 PM, Location to be Announced EXAM 3: Tuesday, December 1st, 8:00 PM, Location to be Announced Missing an Exam: If you miss an exam for any reason, contact the course coordinator immediately. Make-up exams can only be approved in writing by the course coordinator, Charlotte Bailey (MATH 802, baileycm@purdue.edu, 496-3145). Make-up exams will be allowed for valid reasons. For non-valid reasons, a make-up may be allowed with a grade penalty of 20 points deducted from the student?s earned score. Not knowing the right date, time or location of an exam is NOT a valid reason for missing it. Academic Conflict: If you have an academic conflict with any of the evening exams (e.g. another exam or class at the same time) you must let the course coordinator know no later than two business days before the exam takes place. Emergency: If you have an emergency situation that will prevent you from attending an evening exam, you must contact Charlotte Bailey as soon as the situation allows, preferably in person or, if necessary, by email (do not use voicemail). To aviod missing important information, the sooner you contact Charlotte, the better. 20-Minute Rule: No one will be allowed to leave the exam site for the first 20 minutes of the exam. After that time, no one will be allowed to enter the exam site and take the exam. Students arriving after 20 minutes will be allowed to take the make-up exam. If they arrived late for a non-valid reason, a grade penalty will be deducted from the make-up exam score. Make-ups will be given only once for each midterm exam, on the following dates and times: MAKE-UP EXAM 1: Friday, September 25th, 2009 MAKE-UP EXAM 2: Friday, October 30th, 2009 MAKE-UP EXAM 3: Friday, December 4th, 2009 If you miss an exam and the alternate you will have a score of 0 (zero) recorded for that exam. For each of these evening exams there will be one class period for which attendance is not required; however, it will not be cancelled: it will be a no-attendance-required help session for the exam. To prepare for the midterm exams, students should review all of the material covered by their homework assignments, quizzes and the review problems on the exam memo. Past exams (available online) are a source of additional review problems and can also give students a rough idea of the length and difficulty level of their own exams. However, many students have the mistaken impression that just by reviewing some past exams they will have seen all that is expected of them for their own exams. Past exams should absolutely not be used as a guide to the exact content and wording of the exams. The final exam is a 30-question, multiple-choice, machine-graded exam that is given during the sixteenth week of the semester. Students may get a copy of practice questions for the final online (posted later in semester on the course web page). The date, time, and location will be announced. 2 THE SEMESTER ENDS ON SATURDAY, December 19th AT 9:00 PM. NO ALTERNATE WILL BE ALLOWED IF YOU PLAN TO LEAVE EARLY. PLAN TO BE ON CAMPUS TO TAKE YOUR FINAL EXAM. ? CALCULATORS No calculators of any kind are allowed on quizzes or exams until after exam 2. However, you will need a calculator for some of the homework problems. After exam 2, is completed, a non-graphing, non-programmable, 1-line scientific calculator is required for many problems on the quizzes and exams. (A TI-30XA calculator is recommended, but other 1-line scientific calculators are also allowed.) Multiple line calculators are not allowed on quizzes and exams. Pictures of acceptable and unacceptable calculators are shown on the course web page. Students are not allowed to share calculators with other students during quizzes and exams. ? SUPPLIES Other than the textbook and MyMathLab Student Access Kit (purchased together), students will need to have the following for this course: a 1-line scientific calculator (see above); some loose-leaf paper and graph paper for homework and/or quizzes; a 3-ring binder to keep some homework, quizzes, notes, and exams stored in an organized manner; the usual pencils and erasers; a 3-hole punch (optional); and a straightedge (optional). ? OFFICE HOURS Any student can get help from the instructor during his/her office hours. You are strongly urged to go to office hours if you have questions. It is the best way to get individual help. Additionally, Room MATH 205 is ?The Math Help Room? and is open Monday-Thursday 10:30AM to 5:30PM & Friday from 10:30AM to 2:30PM. ? ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENTS Students who have been certified by the Office of the Dean of Students-Disability Resource Center as eligible for academic adjustments should go to MATH 242 with a copy of their certification letter and request an Information Sheet for this semester, that explains how to proceed this semester to get these adjustments made in Mathematics courses. It is not the same as last semester. This should be done during the first week of classes or as soon as the student receives their letter. Only students who have been certified by the ODOS-Disability Resource Center and who have requested ODOS to send their certification letter to their instructor are eligible for academic adjustments. Students, who are currently undergoing an evaluation process to determine whether they are eligible for academic adjustments, are encouraged to find out now what procedures they will have to follow when they are certified, by requesting the above mentioned Information Sheet from MATH 242. Large print copies of the Information Sheet are available from MATH 242 upon request. ? GRADES Daily quiz scores are worth 50 points, online homework is worth 50 points, each evening exam is worth 100 points, and the final is worth 200 points. At the end of the semester, each student?s final grade is calculated using his/her total points. The course letter grades at the end of the semester are calculated as follows: Course wide letter grade cut- offs are determined for the four common exams combined (500 possible points). Then, your instructor determines the number of each letter grade his/her students as a group earned, based on the individual totals of the four exam scores. Next, he/she lists all of the students? total points (out of the 600 total points available), in numerical order, highest first. (Those students who do not have grades on all 4 exams are not included in this list.) If ten of his/her students receive an A according to the four-exam cut-offs, the first 10 students on the list of total points will automatically receive an A as their final grade in the course, and so on down the list for the other grades. Students that are zero to six points below a grade cut-off (based on the 600 total points available) will automatically be raised to the higher grade. Students who are within 7 to18 points of the cut-off are considered borderline. A student who is 7 to 12 points away from a cut-off will receive the higher grade with a minus. A student who is 13 to 18 away from a cut-off will receive the earned grade with a plus. There is no F+ given. Exam grades will be available from your instructor and online. You can obtain your course grade by seeing your instructor or by checking MyPurdue. GRADES CANNOT BE OBTAINED OVER THE TELEPHONE. ? SECTION CHANGES AND DROPS First week of the semester: To add, drop, or change sections during the first week, go to MyPurdue or see your academic advisor. Starting the second week of the semester: Starting the second week, students can make course and section changes by getting a form from their Academic Advisor (or in MATH 242 or MATH 835), getting their Academic Advisor?s signature, and getting Charlotte Bailey?s signature (MATH 802). She has scheduled the following hours to see students concerning course and section changes: Monday through Wednesday, 1:30-2:30 or Thursday and Friday, 12:30-1:30 (or other times as available, cbailey@purdue.edu). The student then returns the form to the Registrar or the 3 Academic Advisor?s Office for processing. Make sure that you are registered in the section you attend. You will have zeros recorded as your quiz and exam grades if you do not. September 24th is the last day to add the class. If you want to drop (withdraw) a course during the first nine weeks of the semester, Charlotte Bailey (MATH 802) can sign your drop form. If she is not available, go to MATH 835. No drops (withdrawals) are allowed after Tuesday, October 27th. ? CHANGING TO A LOWER MATH COURSE Students who do poorly on the first exam are allowed to drop back into a lower level course THROUGH Thursday, September 24th. WE WILL ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN WITHOUT RESTRICTION. SUCH STUDENTS SHOULD GET SIGNATURES FROM THEIR ACADEMIC ADVISOR AND from Charlotte Bailey, MATH 802 (Monday through Wednesday, 1:30-2:30 or Thursday and Friday 12:30-1:30) for MA 11100. (If you have a conflict with these hours, leave a message in MATH 835.) You must obtain these signatures by September 24th at 4:00 PM. After September 24th, only under very extenuating circumstances will any student be allowed to register for MA 11100. They will also need the authorization of the Department Head, Professor Rodrigo Bañuelos. Such students should contact their academic advisors for possible alternatives, including dropping the course. ? CHEATING The Mathematics Department will not tolerate cheating of any sort. Grade penalties will always be imposed by the Department. All cheating cases may be reported to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action (notification, probation, suspension, or expulsion). ? WEB PAGE The course web page is www.math.purdue.edu/MA15200. You will find course information (including the class schedule, assignment list, and ground rules), exam information, office hour information, resources, and class coordinator information. ? COURSE/CLASS EVALUATIONS During the last two weeks of the semester, you will be provided an opportunity to evaluate this course and your instructor. To this end, Purdue has transitioned to online course evaluations. On Monday of the fifteenth week of classes, you will receive an official email from evaluation administrators with a link to the online evaluation site. You will have two weeks to complete this evaluation. Your participation in this evaluation is an integral part of this course. Your feedback is vital to improving education at Purdue University. You are strongly encouraged to participate in this evaluation process. ? CAMPUS EMERGENCY In the event of a major campus emergency; course requirements, deadlines, and grading are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor?s control. Here are ways to get information about changes in this course. o Course Web Page: www.math.purdue.edu/MA11100 o Course Coordinator?s email: baileycm@purdue.edu o Course Coordinator?s office phone: (765) 496-3145 o Instructor?s email: ____________________________ charlotb 152 fa09 ground rules