Mat101/Applied Liberal Arts Mathematics
Grading Policy (Spring 2007)
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Course Title: Mat101/Applied Liberal Arts Mathematics
Instructor: Dr. Edward Conjura
Text: For All Practical Purposes:Mathematical Literacy in Today's World
by- COMAP (Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications)
Syllabus: Topics to be covered will be selected from the text based on
the class interest and general ability
Course Syllabus
Meeting Times & Places : Spring 2007 Semester
Section 04 -T/F 10:00AM-11:20AM
Room SC-P222
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Mat101:Applied Liberal Arts Mathematics
Attendance and Grading
This course is graded on a "letter grade" basis and your
grade will primarily be determined by tests and homework. However,
factors such class participation and work ethic may also be used
at my discretion to improve a grade.
I personally believe that it is impossible to do well, or
even pass this course, without attending class lectures.
I also realize that sometimes events occur that may result in you
missing or being late for a class. We all get sick, and sometimes
things come up that require a change in schedule. If you provide
me with an acceptable reason for missed time, I will accept it.
However, as the following policy makes clear, I do reserve the
right to lower your final grade for excessive unexcused absenses
or tardiness.
Three or more unexcused absences could result in a drop in grade
by as much as one letter. The same is true for five or more times
being late to class without a valid excuse. An unexcused absence
implies that you are late. For example, if you are late three times
and absent twice without acceptable excuse, your course grade could
be lowered. However. if you are absent twice and late only once without
acceptable excuse, it would not be.
Late or Missed Work:
Work missed because of an unexcused absence will be marked late,
with a percentage of the total credit deducted.
Assignments must be submitted in class unless other arrangements
have been established, such as submission through a computer
interface.
Work left in a mailbox (electronic or otherwise) or slipped
under a door, etc will not be accepted and will be considered
late until submitted in the required manner.
If you miss the beginning of class and walk in at any time during
class to hand in work, it will be considered late unless a valid excuse
is provided. If you are not in class to hand in work, but give it to
someone else to submit, the same applies.
Responsibility For Knowing About Assignments:
Each student is responsible for assignments made by the professor
whether or not he/she is present during the class period
when assignments are made. Assignments will generally be made through
the web. However, there may be assignments made during lectures that
do not appear on the web.
Work Submitted and Grading
Standards for Work Submitted
Your work will be graded on the basis of content (correctness) and other
academic and professional standards (academic honesty, timeliness,
neatness, organization, presentation style and completeness).
For example, paper assignments submitted should be stapled, with no rough edges.
Also, there should be nothing crossed out and it should be readable.
In general, work should be done in pencil or on a computer so that
minor errors can be corrected neatly. Credit will be deducted for
failure to do any of the above and/or the work will be returned
as unacceptable, depending on the extent and/or frequency of the problem.
Acadmeic Dishonesty
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Any case of academic
dishonesty will be dealt with according to college policy, with
minimal recommended punishment generally being a grade of "F"
for the course.
Reference to any outside source must be provided with each
assignment. Failure to do so will be considered as plagiarism.
Teamwork
In this course you will not be required to work in teams.
However, I suggest you work in teams on the homework. You will
find that working together will improve your learning ability
and it will develop interpersonal skills that are essential for
success in the "real world".
Course Requirements and Grading
Grades will primarily be based on:
Three exams (two scheduled exams and a final exam)
Homework Portfolio
Class participation and board work may contribute toward
improving your grade.
The point weight toward the final grade of each of the above
will be approximately as follows:
Test #1 100 pts / 22% (1hr 20min)
Test #2 100 pts / 22% (1hr 20min)
Final Exam 150 pts / 33% (3hrs)
Homework 100 pts / 22%
Homework:
Homework will be assigned for each topic covered in the course.
In general, it will serve as a basis for exams, and by doing
homework you are reinforcing your learning and preparing for tests.
A portfolio of your homework will be collected and graded. You must
maintain an individual notebook that will contain all of your homework
efforts. This notebook will be collected three times in the course
of the semester. Your work work on individual problems will not be
graded, but on the first two collections a brief note will be made
indicating how well you are doing and suggestions for improvement.
The third and last time it is collected, a letter grade will be
assigned.
It is suggested that you maintain your notebook in a three-ringed
binder so that it will be easy to remove and replace work that
you redo and to reorder work if needed.
In all cases exam questions will be based on material found in the
homework assignments, class notes, and the text.
The Required Nature of Your Answers:
A VERY important thing to remember in this course is that final
answers are of no value without supporting work. Simply stating
a final answer, without supporting evidence, will generally be
graded as a failing effort.
Your work must include the logic used and the process followed in
arriving at the final answer in order to be considered for full credit.
Please note that some correct final answers can be found in the back of
the text. Please also remember that sometimes the answers you see in your
text will not include the missing details that demonstrate logic
and process. On a test and in your homework portfolio you should not
in general submit answers like those found in the answer key. If you do,
it will generally not result in full credit when your work effort is graded.
Any paper assignments (including the homework portfolio) must contain
the following information at the top of the first page or on a cover page:
your name(s)
course prefix, course number and course name
course meeting days/times (including semester)
instructors name
course meeting location
assignment description
date due and date submitted
In the case of paper homework, the following must appear with
the answer to each question:
chapter/section number
the page number
problem number
problem statement (at least enough of the problem
statement so a grader can make sense out of it)
Also, problems must be answered in the order assigned.
REMEMBER: Neatness is a virtue. Don't use pen unless you plan to do
perfect work and not make mistakes that need to be corrected!
Rubric that will be used to grade homework
How Final Grades are Assigned
Final grades will be based on a 'curve' but cutoffs will not exceed straight
percentage (eg cutoff for an A will be no more than 90% of total points,
no more than 80% for a B, 70% for a C, and 60% for a D). Homeworks
will generally be graded on a straight percentage basis and in-class
tests will be graded on a curve which is <= straight percentage.
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Last updated 1-14-2007