NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Title:		College Algebra			Course Modality:	IN PERSON
Course Prefix & Number:		MATH 1314	Section Number:	0970	Class Day/Time:	TUES/THURS @ 8am Bowie RM 117
Semester Credit Hours:		3	Lecture Hours:	48	Semester/Year:	Fall 2021
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): In-depth study and applications of polynomial, rational, radical, exponential and logarithmic functions, and systems of equations using matrices. Additional topics such as sequences, series, probability, and conics may be included.
Course Prerequisite(s): Meet TSI college-readiness standard for College Algebra; or equivalent
Recommended Course Materials: College Algebra, Lial/Hornsby/Schneider/Daniels, 13th edition, Pearson, 2021 (hardcopy of text not required) REQUIRED COURSE MATERIAL: *MyMathLab access code (e-text included in MML) -- purchase a Pearson access code subscription through the bookstore or once your Canvas course opens. (more details under HOMEWORK) *Scientific calculator, TI-30X IIS is recommended -- NO GRAPHING CALCULATORS or APPS Graphing calculators and phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Cammy Boaz (she/her/hers)
Campus/Office Location:	Bowie Campus - Office #131
Student Office Hours:   available IN PERSON (Bowie campus) or WEBEX by Appointment	Monday: by appointment only Tuesday: 9:30-11:30 AM Wednesday: by appointment only Thursday: 9:30-11:30 AM Friday: by appointment only -- availability may vary based on other NCTC responsibilities.
Telephone Number:	(940) 498 - 5231
E-mail Address:	cboaz@nctc.edu Your communication is important to me.  I strive to answer your emails within 12-24 hours during the regular business week and within 48 hours during weekends.

 

STUDENT HOURS (OFFICE HOURS)

Each week instructors have time set aside to meet with students outside of class. (Traditionally these times have been called “office hours”.) This is a time when a student may ask questions regarding the class, or discuss a particular problem/topic with an instructor one-on-one.  Student hours may be held in-person or online.  See below for instructions on where/when/how instructors will offer student hours in this class.

 

In person and WebEx appointments are available based on the schedule listed above in Student Office Hours.  If you need a time or day not listed above, please make your request by email to the instructor.

 

For both In Person appointments on the Bowie campus and WebEx virtual appointments, please follow the Canvas Calendar Scheduler instructions provided in this syllabus. 

General Rules:

• When reserving time on the calendar, please provide details on the Reason we are meeting, i.e.,Help with graphing by hand.
• Once you schedule an appointment, be on time and be prepared with your current work and a pencil.  If we are meeting using WebEx, be prepared to share your screen and have a microphone/earbuds to communicate effectively. 
• If you must cancel or reschedule an appointment, do so IN ADVANCE.  Please be respectful of your peers and the instructor's time.

 

How to Schedule an Appointment using Canvas Calendar:

1. Log in to your Canvas account.
2. From the left Navigation bar, click CALENDAR.
3. Click FIND AN APPOINTMENT.
4. Select the Course associated with the appointment request.
5. View Appointments.
6. Confirm Appointment and CLOSE the scheduler.

Detailed instructions on Canvas Scheduler can be found towards the end (Quick Reference) of the syllabus.

 

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
approx 38	MyMathLab Homework in Pearson	15%
13	Quizzes in Pearson	25%
3	Tests in Class (required by every student)	45%
1	Final Exam in Class (required by every student)	15%

Grade Scale:   90 – 100% = A;   80 – 89% = B; 70 – 79% = C;  60 – 69% = D;  Below 60% = F

• The final exam is a departmental comprehensive algebra exam and must be taken by all students. The final exam may also be used to replace the midterm exam score.
• There is no extra credit available in this course.  Take full advantage of maximizing assignments throughout the semester.
• Late homework will be accepted but a penalty may be applied, and NO make-up exams will be given.
• The grading policy may be amended during the semester at the instructor’s discretion.
• Students have 48 hours, after the return of an exam, to contact the instructor with questions on grading.  After that point, the student forfeits the opportunity to contest an exam grade.
• Any dishonesty witnessed during testing will earn an automatic zero on the exam.

 

 

 

 

TENTATIVE COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

 

Week	Date	Topic
1	August 24	Introduction Linear Equations
		Applications and Modeling with Linear Equation (Mixture and Motion only)
2	August 31	1.3 Complex Numbers
		1.4 Quadratic Equations
3	September 7	MON SEPTEMBER 6– Labor Day holiday
		1.5 Applications and Modeling with Quadratic Equations
4	September 14	1.6 Other Types of Equations and Applications
		TEST #1   in Class and required of every student
5	September 21	1.7 Inequalities –
		1.8 Absolute value equations and inequalities 2.1 Rectangular Coordinates and Graphs
6	September 28	2.2 Circles
		2.3 Functions 2.4 Linear Functions
7	October 5	2.5 Equations of lines
		2.6 Graphs of Basic functions   2.7 Graphing Techniques
8	October 12	2.8 Function Operations on Functions and Composition
		TEST #2   in Class and required of every student
9	October 19	3.1 Quadratic functions and Models
		3.2 Synthetic division 3.3 Zeros of Polynomial Functions
10	October 26	3.4 Polynomial functions and graphs
		3.5 Rational Graphs 3.7 Variation **Last Day to Drop with a W is Monday 11/1***
11	November 2	4.1 Inverse functions 4.2 Exponential Functions
		4.3 Logarithmic Functions 4.4 Evaluating Logarithms and the Change-of-Base Theorem
12	November 9	4.5 Exponential and Logarithmic Equations
		TEST #3   in Class and required of every student
13	November 16	4.6 Applications of Exponential Growth and Decay 5.1 Systems of Linear Equations
		5.3 Determinants solutions of Linear equations
14	November 23	5.5 Non-linear systems of Equations
		NO CLASSES FOR Thanksgiving Holiday Break - Campuses closed Wed., Nov 24 – 28
15	November 30	5.7 Properties of Matrices 7.1 Sequences & Series Review for Final Exam
16	December 7	Final Exam Dec 7 in Class and required of every student

 

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1	Demonstrate and apply knowledge of properties of functions, including domain and range, operations, compositions, and inverses.
2	Recognize and apply polynomial, rational, radical, exponential and logarithmic functions and solve related equations.
3	Apply graphing techniques.
4	Evaluate all roots of higher degree polynomial and rational functions.
5	Recognize, solve, and apply systems of linear equations using matrices.

 

All students at NCTC are assigned a student email address, also known as Lion Pride email. Lion Pride email can be accessed on the NCTC home page by clicking on MyNCTC, then the link “Lion Pride Email” to the left. After clicking the Lion Pride Email link, the Microsoft Office 365 window will open.
1. Enter your NCTC student e-mail address. (for example, Smithj123456@student.nctc.edu)

2. Enter your password (your NCTC Student ID Number, either 7 or 9 numbers).

3. From the list of Microsoft icons, choose MAIL.

4. You will be asked to set your language and local time zone (Central Time). Your account is now activated.

 

**It is the student’s responsibility to activate and regularly monitor the assigned NCTC (Lion Pride) e-mail account. Important announcements and notifications from the Admissions office, Financial Aid, or other college staff will be sent via the Lion Pride student email system.

 

For communicating with classmates and instructors, students also have an option to communicate through Canvas. Canvas messaging is NOT the same as Lion Pride e-mail. Failure to read and/or receive NCTC e-mails (either in Lion Pride or in Canvas) is no excuse for not complying with any school policy. Be sure to regularly check BOTH the Lion Pride email as well as the Canvas inbox for important messages and information.

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered. All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies. It is the student’s responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval by the faculty member. Approved college-sponsored activities are also excused absences. The instructor is responsible for judging the validity of any reason given for an absence. Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work. Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless the absence is documented and excused by the instructor. Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives. Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

IN THIS COURSE ATTENDANCE WILL BE TAKEN EACH CLASS DAY AND A SEATING CHART WILL BE ESTABLISHED.

Testing may be administered in a variety of ways and the mode of testing may change during the semester as deemed appropriate by the instructor.   THIS COURSE WILL TEST IN THE CLASSROOM DURING SCHEDULED CLASS TIME.

This schedule is tentative and will most likely change as the semester progresses.  It is provided so that you have a general idea of the order and speed with which we will be covering the material.

 

Assessment name	Tentative Date
Test 1	9/16/2021
Test 2	10/14/2021
Test 3	11/11/2021
Final Exam	12/07/2021

 

 

STEPS TO REGISTER FOR MyLab Math

1. On a laptop or desktop computer (Do Not use a phone or tablet) use the Google Chrome browser or Firefox browser to get to Canvas. (Browsers other than Chrome and Firefox often have difficulties with our homework system. Quite often, if you’re having an issue with the homework, simply switching to Chrome will fix the issue.)

2. In Canvas, select the tab on the left that says Courses, and select our course MATH 1324.0350

3. Select the tab in the left menu of our course that says MyLab & Mastering

4. Click on the YELLOW highlighted bar “Open MyLab & Mastering” beside the textbook icon.

5. You should see an "End-User License Agreement and Privacy Policy", scroll down and select "I Agree" (This page may be missing if you've already agreed to the policy.)

6. This should be a page with two options, "Sign in with a Pearson account" or "Create a Pearson account". If you do not already have an account, you should create a new account using your NCTC email address and your NCTC username. Also, do not use your full email address as your username, just the beginning of it (the same one you would use to login to a computer on campus)…your username should not have @student.nctc.edu in it.

7. What you should see next are a few options to purchase access into the course.

OPTION 1: Enter a purchased access code (if you have already purchased from the NCTC Bookstore or from an outside source.

OPTION 2: Purchase an instant access using a credit card, with two different options for just access to the homework, or access to the homework and an electronic copy of the textbook.

OPTION 3: Use a 14-day FREE Trial towards the bottom (in small print).  If you choose this option, make note of the date in which your free usage will expire – you will need to purchase to return to your saved course work.  This option is not advisable if you are using financial aid.

** If you are utilizing Financial Aid, you can purchase directly from the NCTC Bookstore and use Financial Aid at checkout BEFORE Sept 1, 2021.  After Sept 1 this option is no longer available.  Please make certain you understand the Instructions to retrieve your Pearson Access code when purchasing from the NCTC Bookstore. **

 

If for some reason any of this doesn't work, please tell me which steps you were able to complete, which steps you got stuck on, and tell me the error message you received when you got stuck (you can even take a screen shot).

Last day to withdraw from a 16-week course with a “W” is Monday, November 1, 2021.

Students who need help with any math class can visit the NCTC Mathematics Lab to receive assistance. Sign up for an appointment or see the most current tutoring hours for all campuses at http://www.nctc.edu/student-services/student-success/tutoring/mathematics-lab.html. 

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 160 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 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).    https://www.nctc.edu/catalog/student-services/office-students-with-disabilities.html 

 

           Communication

X            Mathematics                  

           Life and Physical Science

           Language, Philosophy & Culture

           Creative Arts

           American History

           Government/Political Science

           Social and Behavioral Sciences

           Component Area Option

 

X            Critical Thinking

X            Communication

X            Empirical and Quantitative

           Teamwork

           Personal Responsibility

           Social Responsibility

 

           Academic General Education Course (from ACGM but not in NCTC Core)

X            Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course

           WECM Course

 

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook. https://www.nctc.edu/_documents/academics/student-handbook.pdf. 

Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion.  The use of online math solvers with submitted work is considered academic dishonesty.  Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty.  See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”. 

Consequences for academic dishonesty may include:

1. Zero on the assignment
2. Failing grade for the course

 

Division Chair:	Ben Owens
Office Location:	Corinth 170
Telephone Number:	940-498-6209
E-mail Address:	bowens@nctc.edu
Instructional Dean:	Mary Martinson
Office Location:	Gainesville 1404
Telephone Number:	940.668.7731 ext. 4377
E-mail Address:	mmartinson@nctc.edu

 

Syllabi statement regarding potential Conversion of Onsite Classes to Online/Remote Format: North Central Texas College students should be aware that in the event of a college closure due to COVID-19 or other health related crisis, onsite classes will be converted to an online/remote format. Students should plan ahead to ensure they have access to the computer equipment (either PC, MAC, or tablet), webcam, and internet connectivity to continue their classes in an online/remote format. Please read all your official North Central Texas College student emails as the transition from onsite to online/remote might require a reorganization in your personal situation. Students will be granted a 72-hour transition and grace period. Online classes will continue as scheduled without disruption. Contact your Instructor as the situation arises. These policies and procedures were updated on July 27, 2021 and are subject to change as conditions change.

 

Syllabi Statement Regarding Face Coverings: Per the North Central Texas College guidance on face coverings on campus, in the instructional setting, faculty and students are not required to wear face coverings, such as masks or face shields. In May, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott released an Executive Order prohibiting Government entities from mandating the use of masks. As a political subdivision of the State of Texas, NCTC will follow the Governor’s Executive Order for Government entities and effective immediately NCTC is no longer mandating the use of masks while on campus. This order does not mean that you cannot choose to wear a mask, rather it is no longer allowed to be mandated. These policies and procedures were updated on May 19, 2021 and are subject to change.

 

Return to Standard Attendance Protocol for Face-to-Face Meetings: In spring 2020, we faced an unprecedented situation in which all of us had to be flexible and make prudent decisions in the best interest of our families, our campus, and our community. In light of this, North Central Texas College is temporarily establishing the requirement that faculty keep records of student attendance for face-to-face course meetings as well as a documented seating chart. In addition, students who are sick or need to quarantine should not attend classes. Students will not be required to provide formal documentation from a health care provider and will not be penalized for COVID-19 related absences when proper notification to campus health officials is made in accordance with the guidelines stated below.

 

 

Faculty will:

 

• Notify students about important course information and delivery changes through Canvas and campus email.

 

Students should:

• Provide notification to campus officials if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have to quarantine so we can confirm reported absence with instructors, monitor, and assist the campus community.
• Notify instructors in advance of the absence.
• Connect with that class through Webex if the class session is being transmitted in a hybrid fashion.
• Keep up with and/or make up missed classwork or assignments.
• Submit assignments digitally through Canvas or other means as announced by your instructor.
• Work with their instructors to reschedule exams, labs, and other critical academic activities described in the course syllabus.
• Check Canvas and campus email daily to receive important announcements pertaining to the course.

During the fall 2021 semester, faculty with face-to-face meetings will establish assigned seating/work stations to facilitate roll-taking, and, if necessary, contact tracing. Additionally, we ask all members of the College community to be attentive to their health, and safeguard others, by following the CDC’s guideline to “stay home when you are sick.” You should stay home if you have symptoms. More information on what to do if you are sick is available at the CDC’s website.

Additional NCTC information is available at http://www.nctc.edu/coronavirus/index.html

 

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

 

Campus Carry: Effective August 1, 2017, a license holder may carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder's person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state. For more information, see the website at https://www.nctc.edu/campus-safety/campus-carry.html.

 

Parking Permits: The North Central Texas Community College District has managed traffic and parking regulations in order to ensure the safety of the campus community related to the operation and parking of vehicles on campus. These regulations apply to all operators of motor vehicles on campus. For parking permits and more information, see the website at https://www.nctc.edu/campus-safety/transportation-parking.html.