NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

 

Course title:  College Algebra

Course prefix, number, and section number:  MATH 1314.502

Semester/Year of course: Spring  2026

Semester start and end dates: 1/12/2026 – 5/9/2026 (16-week)

Modality: Face to face

Class meeting location, days, and times:  MW 9:30 - 10:50 am, Flower Mound room 209

Semester credit hours: 3 (Lecture hours: 48)

 

Course Description:  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 prerequisites:  Meet TSI college-readiness standard for College Algebra or equivalent

 

Required course materials: 

MyMathLab(MML) access code (e-text included in MML)

Scientific calculator, TI-30X IIS is recommended

Graphing calculators and phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.

 

Optional course materials:  College Algebra with Integrated Review, Lial/Hornsby/Schneider/Daniels, 13^th edition, Pearson, 2021 (updated 2024)

 

Name of instructor:  Robert Erger

Office location:  Flower Mound Campus, room 107 (faculty offices)

Email address:  rerger@nctc.edu

 

E-mail me directly, use your nctc student email.  I will generally check e-mail at least once a day.  I am checking Canvas also.

Required course materials:

Included in Lion Book Bundle 

MyMathLab access (courseware and e-text included in MML)

 

Not included in Lion Book Bundle

Scientific calculator, TI-30X IIS is recommended

Note: Graphing calculators and phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.

 

Optional course materials:  College Algebra with Integrated Review (physical textbook) Lial/Hornsby/Schneider/Daniels, 13^th edition, Pearson, 2021 (updated 2024)

 

Purchasing Course Materials

Starting in Spring 2026 NCTC is partnering with Barnes & Noble College (BNC) to make purchasing course materials easy and affordable.  When students register for classes, they are automatically opted in to the Lion Book Bundle which will provide students first day access to course materials.  In this program students are charged $24 per credit hour ($72 for a 3-hour class) as a fee on their NCTC student account. (These are labeled as “Book Fees” on NCTC invoice). Students may choose to opt out of this program, but would then be expected to purchase needed class materials on their own. If opting out, students would receive a refund on their NCTC student account. Students may choose to opt out starting one month prior to classes beginning through the first week of class. Students might benefit from opting out if they are enrolled in classes that use OER (free course materials).  Note: The Lion Book Bundle applies to all classes a student is registered for in a given semester (both 16-week and 8-week). A student must either opt in or out for all classes—not each class individually.  If you want to take advantage of the Lion Book Bundle, no action is needed as students are automatically opted in.  If you would like to opt out of the program, you must go to the Opt-out page (click link below).

Click here for more information: Lion Book Bundle information

 

Lion Book Bundle for OER Courses

The Lion Book Bundle is a program NCTC has in partnership with Barnes and Noble College (BNC) where students are charged $24 per credit hour ($72 for a 3-hour course) for first day access to all required digital materials. This course uses OER (Open Educational Resources) which means there is no cost for students for course materials. Because you are enrolled in an OER course, you might be able to save money by opting out of the Lion Book Bundle program and purchasing required materials for each course individually. Note: A student must either opt in or out for all classes—not each class individually.  Click here for more information and for a link to the Opt-out page: Lion Book Bundle information

STUDENT HOURS (OFFICE HOURS)

Each week instructors have time set aside to meet with students outside of class. (Traditionally these times are 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 student hours:  MW 8:30 to 9:30  or by appointment as well via email.  I will stay later after class as necessary. 

Online student hours:  I am available most evenings by appointment via Webex.  We will all be utilizing the Webex Office Hour tool for students to make schedule appointments for online meetings via Webex.  Example:  Appointments for virtual meetings can be made by clicking this Cisco Webex Link in Canvas and selecting the “Office Hours” option at the top.  Please make appointments at least a day in advance.

 

MATH TUTORING LAB

Students who need help with any math class can visit the NCTC Mathematics Lab to receive assistance.  There are math tutors available on most campuses and online.  This service is free for all students enrolled in an NCTC math class. For on-campus tutoring no appointment is needed. For online tutoring, go to UpSwing tutoring in OneLogin to make an appointment.
Tutor schedules and more information: www.nctc.edu/math-lab.

 

SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER

 

The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class. Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or writing.

 

SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

List of graded assignments: 

 

34 Mymathlab Homeworks: 10%

8 Mymathlab quizzes and 4 offline graphing assignments: 15%

4 in person regular exams and a cumulative final: 75%

Bonus awarded for successful completions of First Five minute review quiz at 9:00 - 9:05. Up to ten points awarded on the exam grade for that section.  

 

*The final exam is a departmental comprehensive algebra exam and must be taken by all students.  The final exam grade may be used to replace your lowest regular exam grade.  So, the final exam grade will count twice – once as itself, and once as a replacement grade.  If your final exam grade is lower than your regular exam grades, it will just count once, and no regular exam grades will be dropped.

 

Late work policy:  Homework may be completed after the due date for 20% off.  No late quizzes will be accepted.  I will allow one makeup exam IF I AM NOTIFIED AHEAD OF TIME.  If you miss a test without notifying me, you will get a zero (which can be replaced by the final exam grade)

Final grade scale:  90 – 100% = A;   80 – 89% = B; 70 – 79% = C;  60 – 69% = D;  Below 60% = F

 

SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.

COURSE POLICIES

Academic Integrity Policy: 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 Code of Conduct” for more details.  

Consequences for academic dishonesty may include:

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

 

Canvas Access: All students must have complete access to Canvas and other online course materials for the entire semester. It is the student’s responsibility to have access to the internet, as well as all needed programs to complete both in-person and online courses.  Students are not to give any other person access to his/her Canvas or online course platforms. Students can be removed from the course immediately upon violating this rule.  Once a student his given another person access to his/her Canvas account, the credibility of any work completed becomes questionable.

 

Attendance Policy:  Regular attendance is expected and necessary for student success in this course. For more information on attendance regulations please see the 2024-2025 NCTC Catalog.  (Attendance Regulations – NCTC Catalog)

 

Withdrawal Policy: A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.

Last day to withdraw from a 16-week Spring 2026 course with a “W” is: Monday, March 30, 2025

 

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.

Core Objectives:

X          Critical Thinking

X          Communication

X          Empirical and Quantitative

Teamwork

Personal Responsibility

Social Responsibility

 

COLLEGE POLICIES

 

ADA STATEMENT

NCTC will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations.  See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.

AI STATEMENT

Absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other similar technologies shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person, agency, or entity. In particular, using generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment or exam is not permitted. Students should acknowledge the use of generative AI (other than incidental use) and default to disclosing such assistance when in doubt.

 

When students use generative AI to replace the rigorous demands of personal engagement with their coursework, it runs counter to the educational mission of the college and undermines the heart of education itself. Artificial Intelligence, large language models, and other such technologies hold promise for deploying knowledge in service to others and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge. However, such technology poses new challenges to pedagogy and to integrity. Within the context of the teaching mission of the college and consistent with the Student Code of Conduct, the authority to define the appropriate use, study, and deployment of these technologies rests with the faculty.

Individual course instructors, in coordination with their divisions, set policies regulating the use of generative AI tools in their courses, including allowing or disallowing some or all uses of such tools. Course instructors will set such policies in their course syllabi and clearly communicate such policies to students. Students who are unsure of policies regarding generative AI tools are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification.

AI MATH DIVISION STATEMENT

Many online calculators, equation solvers, and graphing tools exist that may aid students in computing and visualizing math problems. These tools are a great resource for helping better understand how to work problems and can be a huge help in studying. However, these tools can be misused/overused. Math classes require students to develop a certain level of skill that a student must be able to demonstrate without the aid of these tools. Often a student may become reliant on these tools or have false sense of confidence in their knowledge and skills. Generally, if a student is using tools or resources to help learn material, eventually they must take away those resources to ensure they are able to work problems with only the tools allowed in the class. In short, we encourage students to use whatever tools they find useful in developing their knowledge and skills. But, these tools must be used thoughtfully so that true understanding and proficiency are developed.  

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.

STUDENT SERVICES

NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students. 
See the NCTC Student Services page for those departments/programs and links to their sites.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS

 

The student should contact the instructor to deal with any questions, concerns, or complaints specific to the class.  If the student and faculty are not able to resolve the issue, the student may contact the chair or coordinator of the division.  If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may proceed to contact the instructional dean.

 

Name of Instructor:  Robert Erger

Office location:  Flower Mound campus, room 107

E-mail address:  rerger@nctc.edu

 

Name of Chair:  Ben Owens

Office location:  Corinth 174

Telephone number:  940.498.6209

E-mail address:  bowens@nctc.edu

 

Name of Instructional Dean:  Mary Martinson

Office location:  Gainesville 1403

Telephone number:  940.668.7731 ext. 4377

E-mail address:  mmartinson@nctc.edu

 

 

COURSE INFORMATION MODULE

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Read the Netiquette page to proceed with the Course Information Module requirement.