Instructor: Paul Williams, Ph.D.

e-mail: pwill@austin.cc.tx.us url: http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/nrgpsc

Office: NRG 2217 Phone: 223-4871

Office Hours: I will hold office hours according to the following schedule. I hold office hours in order to aid students. Please feel free to come and visit, get help, whatever.

MW  8:40 - 9:10 AM
MW  1:15 - 1:45 PM
MW  3:15 - 4:00 PM
TH 8:20 - 9:05 PM

Or by appointment.

Tests: There will be five unit tests. The tests will be closed notes and books and will be spaced at approximately three to four week intervals. You may drop your lowest test grade with the exception that you may not drop the grade for the final test. The first and last test will be given in class and the remaining three will be given in the testing center. No make up exams will be given.

Grade: Your grade will be determined as follows:

Tests 80%
Homework 20%

Based on the following scale:

A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F 0-59

Decimals will be rounded according to the usual rules.

Withdrawals and Incompletes: After the withdrawal date each semester, neither the student nor the instructor may initiate a withdrawal. It is the student's responsibility to initiate all withdrawals in this course. The instructor may withdraw students for excessive absences (4) or failure to meet course objectives but makes no commitment to do this for the student. Attendance is important in this course and expected. Incomplete grades (I) will be given only in rare circumstances. Generally, to receive a grade of I, a student must have taken all examinations, be passing, and have a personal tragedy occur after the last date to withdraw which prevents course completion.

Problems: If some problem arises causing you to miss an assignment, please see me in advance if at all possible and I will try and make accommodations.

Help: If you need help, get it. I hold office hours to help students and you should view me as a primary source of aid. Also free tutoring exists in the parallel studies tutoring lab, and I highly recommend this service. Feel free to work on homework assignments with classmates. However, regardless of the source of help you receive, you are responsible for your own work. If you copy someone else's homework without doing it yourself, you will not understand the material and despite having a good homework grade will not do well in the course.

Calculator: Students need either a scientific or business calculator. (Has log or ln key.) If a student cannot purchase one, calculators are available from the library. Graphing calculators are NOT required, but you will use graphing technology in some sections of the book.

Time: An important part of learning math is homework. I believe whole-heartedly in homework. Math requires a different type of thinking than other classes and this thought process needs to be developed through practice. I will assign a large number of problems weekly, which I consider a minimum amount of work to learn the material. It is my fervent belief that unless a student is a math prodigy, he/she will not do well in this class without keeping up with the homework.

Grading: Homework will be picked up each day unless otherwise directed. The homework grade will be based on your homework average. When homework is picked up, it will be assigned a grade from 0-10. Five of the points depend on effort, and completeness. The other 5 points will be based on the correctness of two problems I will chose from the assigned homework to grade for correctness.

Review: I have found that students retain material better if they review frequently, and so each homework assignment will contain several review problems.

Due Date: Homework is due on my desk without my asking for it at the end of the class period every class day, unless otherwise directed.

Organization: Please keep all your assignments so that any possible errors in my grading records can be rectified. It is a good idea to keep your assignments in a loose-leaf binder for reference.

Late Homework: I realize that it is not always possible to complete assignments on time. In order to allow for unusual circumstances, I will accept up to four late homeworks without penalty from each student. A homework will not be accepted more than one week late. Also no assignments will be accepted after Monday of the last week of class.

Text: Larson, Hostetler, Hodgkins, College Algebra, 3^rd ed.

Course Purpose: This course is designed to teach students the functional approach to mathematical relationships that they will need for the business calculus sequence. For students who did not take, or were weak in, Intermediate Algebra (MATD 0390), College Algebra is a good preparation for Trigonometry (MATH 1316). Other courses, such as MATH 1332, or MATH 1342 are more appropriate to meet a general mathematics requirement, if calculus is not required. Check with your degree plan as to what math course your college requires.

Course Prerequisite: Intermediate Algebra (MATD 0390) or current knowledge of high school algebra as measured by the Assessment Test. The sections marked (*) in the syllabus/calendar cover material from the prerequisite course. All the techniques and at least 80% of the problems in them should be review. The rest of the problems use familiar techniques in more sophisticated ways than before. Students who have a great deal of difficulty with the material in chapters P and 1 and have not had Intermediate Algebra or its equivalent recently should consider withdrawing and taking Intermediate Algebra.

Videotapes: There is a set of videotapes keyed to the text by section in the Learning Resource Center of each campus. Students who miss class or who need extra review may find these useful.