INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

GRADING CRITERIA

Grade Scale:   90 – 100% = A;   80 – 89% = B; 70 – 79% = C;     Below 70% = F

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

TSI COMPLIANCE

At North Central Texas College, students who test but do not meet the passing scores in ALL sections of the TSI Assessment or any other THECB approved testing measurements are required by state law to obtain TSI advising and continuously enroll in a formal college preparatory studies (developmental) program every semester until all TSI requirements are satisfied. TSI program attendance is MANDATORY. Non-compliance with the rules of attendance will result in a student being WITHDRAWN from the college preparatory course and possibly from North Central Texas College. Withdrawals are subject to college policies as set forth in the college catalog.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all College Prep classes for which they have registered. There are NO excused absences. The Department of College Preparatory Studies will notify students of absences reported by instructors and one courtesy warning e-mail notification (Lion Pride email) will be sent to the students’ current NCTC student e-mail address (Lion Pride) when the student accrues 1 week absence in a course. Failure to read and/or receive NCTC e-mail (Lion Pride) is no excuse for not complying with the Attendance Policy. It is the student's responsibility to maintain correct and current e-mail and local and permanent addresses with the college.

After a student has been absent from class 2 weeks (not necessarily consecutive), the student may be dropped. If the student is dropped from the only College Prep class in which he/she is enrolled and is TSI liable, the student may be DROPPED from all remaining courses for that semester. Inform the instructor in writing during the first week of class of any religious holidays observed this semester. Documentation must be given to the instructor at the class following the holiday.

HOMEWORK, QUIZZES, AND TESTS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

All homework, quizzes, and tests are completed online in MyLabPlus (MLP). You will need an access code that can be purchased in the bookstore or online after you log into MyLabsPlus. Read the announcements in Canvas for all instructions. The Attendance Policy Notification must be ‘signed’ and submitted no later than AUGUST 29, 2016.

For Technical Help:

MyLabsPlus (MLP) tech support phone 888-883-1299 or online http://247support.custhelp.com for live chat.

Homework:

All assignments are due at 11:59 pm on the date of the associated test. Due dates are listed in MLP.  In order to increase your homework grade, the homework may be attempted multiple times. HINT: You are expected to watch all section video presentations in the MyLabsPlus classroom. These videos can be accessed from the Chapter Contents menu and/or the Multimedia Tools menu. These take the place of going to class in a traditional course. If you do not have a high-speed Internet connection, it may be difficult to view the videos. In addition to a high-speed internet connection, please be advised that Internet Explorer is not 100% compatible with MyLabsPlus; use Firefox or Chrome. If necessary, pop-up blockers should allow the following two exceptions:

http://openvellum.ecollege.com   (For MyLabsPlus)

https://nctc.instructure.com          (For Canvas)

The videos contain instruction on each objective that is to be covered in the course. If you don’t watch the videos it is equivalent to not coming to class, and will make the HW difficult to complete. You can also access a power point presentation for each section.

Quizzes:

There will be quizzes after every two-to-three sections. These must be completed by 11:59 pm on the day of the associated chapter test.  All due dates are listed in MLP.  Quizzes may be attempted five times; however, only the highest score will be counted. Students should attempt the quiz multiple times in order to be prepared for the chapter test.

Tests:

Four unit/chapter tests and a comprehensive final exam are scheduled during the semester. Make sure to follow the deadline dates listed in MLP, and watch for the test announcements.  The tests will be given on MLP, but you will take the test in a proctored setting. You will have only one attempt. Each test will have a time limit of 60-80 minutes. Students will be allowed to use a non-graphing calculator on the tests. No make-up exams will be given, but the final exam can replace your lowest test grade.

The final exam will be comprehensive and is required of all students. The final exam will also be given on MLP and may be used to replace your lowest regular exam grade. The final exam must be completed by Sat Dec 3^rd.  No exceptions.

The test dates for this semester are listed below:

Exam #1 – Saturday Sept 17^th

Exam #2 – Saturday Oct 8^th

Exam #3 – Saturday Oct 29^th

Exam #4 – Saturday Nov 19^th

FINAL EXAM – Saturday Dec 3^rd

**If you are unable to take a test on the Corinth campus on the above dates, you are welcome to take a test in a campus Testing Center that is closer to you or in an alternate proctored setting. The dates above are the LAST DAY to take the test, so any Testing Center or alternate testing must happen prior to the dates listed for each unit test. Please contact me ASAP if you have concerns about the testing dates.

Testing times are scheduled by availability; please plan accordingly.  A link will be sent to you so that you will be able to sign up. Students may use a non-graphing calculator on the tests PROVIDED by the proctor at the testing site. No make-up exams will be given, but the final exam can replace your lowest test grade.

Gradebook:

The grade book in MLP keeps a running average of your grade. I review all quizzes and tests in order to assign partial credit where possible.  I look for answers that are technically correct, but have not been submitted in ‘good form’. An example would be an answer of 14/16 that has not been simplified to 7/8. Your answers will be more complicated than this example, but you get the idea that I will be looking for answers that are technically correct.

CLASS RULES

1. Attendance is VERY IMPORTANT in this class! An absence in this online course is defined as the following:
2. Our ‘week’ will run from Sunday to Saturday every week beginning with the first day of class, which is August 22, 2016. All assignments are available from day 1 of class (August 22) to 11:59 pm on the day of the associated test.
3. You must log in and complete a minimum of one assignment every week (at any time during the week) or you will be considered absent for the week. Optional activities such as study plan, or videos do not satisfy the attendance requirement. To be counted present, you must log in and complete at least ONE graded assignment (e.g., homework, quiz, practice test, or test) with a score greater than 50%. If needed, seek help so that you can re-take quizzes or re-try homework in order to get your grade up.
4. To be clear: from the first day of the semester, even if you are ahead of the due dates, you must log in every week and work on assignments until you have completed all the assignments and taken the final. Do not ask me to extend the due dates. Work ahead on the assignments instead (remember… if something can go wrong, it will).
5. If you live by one of the NCTC campuses you may go to the Math Lab during their posted hours for additional help.

LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW from a course with a “W” is Thursday, November 3, 2016.

DISABILITY SERVICES (OSD)

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-498-6207. North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112).   http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices/Disabilityservices.aspx

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook. http://nctc.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2014-2015/Catalog/North-Central-Texas-College-Student-Handbook

Tobacco-Free Campus NCTC restricts the use of all tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco, on campus property.