NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Course title:  Contemporary Mathematics

Course prefix, number, and section number:  MATH 1332 0310

Semester/Year of course:  Spring 2024

Semester start and end dates: 1/16/2024 – 5/11/2024

Modality: Asynchronous online

Class meeting location, days, and times: N/A

Support course (if needed):  N/A

Semester credit hours:  3 (Lecture hours: 48)

Course description:  Intended for Non STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors. Topics include introductory treatments of sets and logic, financial mathematics, probability and statistics with appropriate applications. Number sense, proportional reasoning, estimation, technology, and communication should be embedded throughout the course. Additional topics may be covered.

Course prerequisites:  Meet TSI college-readiness standard for Contemporary Mathematics; or equivalent.

Required course materials:

Registration in the course automatically adds a textbook fee to your NCTC tuition and fees which gives you access to the online learning platform and e-book needed for MATH 1332 (MyLab Math).  You do not need to purchase a separate access code.  Instructions on how to get your access code can be found in a document on the Course Homepage or in the course Modules. (see * Inclusive Access below for more information)

Scientific calculator, TI-30X IIS is recommended

Phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.

Optional course materials:  Thinking Mathematically, Robert F. Blitzer, 8^th edition, Pearson, 2023

Name of instructor: Judy Keller

Office location: COR203

Telephone number:  940-498-6425

E-mail address: jkeller@nctc.edu

Office hours for students:

Monday & Wednesday           7:30am-8:00am

                                                       10:00am-12:00pm

Tuesday & Thursday                7:30am-10:30am

              Friday and evening times by appointment only

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.

I will be am on the Corinth campus every morning (see times above). Any other times, you may contact me by email. If needed, we can set up individual or group meetings through Conferencing or Webex. I am available throughout the week, if the times above don’t work for you. Please email me if you have any questions.

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 every campus and online.  This service is free for all students enrolled in an NCTC math class. Sign up for an appointment or see the most current tutoring hours for all campuses at https://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: 

Assignment Type                Number of graded element                              Percentage Value

Attendance and Participation              15                                                                              5%

Homework (in MML)                              Approx. 30                                                              15%

Quizzes (in MML)                                    14                                                                              20%

Chapter Reviews                                      4                                                                                10%

Projects                                                     5                                                                                50%

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

Late work policy:

Students can complete work after the due date with a penalty. Avoid asking for special consideration at the end of the semester.

Students can complete work after the due date with a penalty. Avoid asking for special consideration at the end of the semester.

MyMathLab is an online system where you will be spending most of your time in this course doing your homework, quizzes and reviews. You will access MSL through the Canvas course page using the MyLab and Mastering tab.  It has video lectures, podcasts of lectures, PowerPoint notes, and other means of helping you learn the material.  It also gives you access to the ebook, so you don’t need to purchase a textbook.  MSL is where you will work on homework and quizzes.  These assignments are due on Sundays at 11:59 pm (unless otherwise noted).

Homework

Homework is 15% of your grade.  It will be divided into sections based on the sections of the textbook.  There will be anywhere from 2 to 4 homework sections due in a week.  They will be due every Sunday at 11:59 pm.

For most of the homework problems, except some multiple choice problems, you will have 3 chances to get the problem correct.  If you are not correct on the third try, it is marked wrong.  However, you can click on the button at the bottom of the homework window that says “try again”.  You will get a whole new problem (similar to the original), that you can have another 3 chances at (and if you get this one correct, then it is not marked wrong anymore). 

Quizzes

Quizzes are 20% of your grade.  You will have 1-3 quizzes each week, over the same sections as the homework.  You cannot check each problem separately in the quizzes as you can in the homework.  You must complete the entire quiz and submit it.  Then you will be told your grade, and you can review problems you missed.  You may take each quiz five times, and your highest grade will be the one recorded.  These will also be due Sundays at 11:59pm.

Chapter Reviews

Quizzes are 10% of your grade.  You will have 4 reviews, over the chapters (see course calendar).  You must complete the entire quiz and submit it.  Then you will be told your grade, and you can review problems you missed.  You may take each review five times, and your highest grade will be the one recorded.  These will also be due Sundays at 11:59pm.

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 ([FLB(LOCAL)]”.  

Consequences for academic dishonesty may include:

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

Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance is expected and necessary for student success in this course. For more information on attendance regulations please see the 2022-2023 NCTC Catalog.  (https://www.nctc.edu/catalog; Click on 2022-2023 CATALOG and go to page 138 to see Attendance Regulations)

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 the course with a “W” is: Monday, April 1, 2024

Student Learning Outcomes:  At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. Apply the language and notation of sets.
2. Determine the validity of an argument or statement and provide mathematical evidence.
3. Solve problems in mathematics of finance.
4. Demonstrate fundamental probability/counting techniques and apply those techniques to solve problems.
5. Interpret and analyze various representations of data.
6. Demonstrate the ability to choose and analyze mathematical models to solve problems from real-world settings, including, but not limited to, personal finance, health literacy, and civic engagement.

Core Objectives:

X           Critical Thinking

X           Communication

X           Empirical and Quantitative

Teamwork

Personal Responsibility

Social Responsibility

COLLEGE POLICIES

STUDENT HANDBOOK

Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook. To access Student Handbook go to NCTC homepage (www.nctc.edu), scroll to bottom and click “Student Handbook”.

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.

STUDENT SERVICES

NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students.  See the Student Services Syllabus Addendum for a listing of those departments and links to their sites.

* Inclusive Access

The NCTC Bookstore and Pearson Education have partnered to provide the best learning resources on the first day of class so that students can gain access to Pearson’s adaptive online platform with the latest version of the eBook at a discount. If students would like to purchase a physical copy of the textbook, they can purchase it through the bookstore.

Students who drop before the add/drop date will have their book fees credited back to their student account, and students who remain in the course will be charged a materials fee by the school to have continued access of the online platforms.  If you remain enrolled in the course but wish to opt-out of access to the book please email the NCTC Bookstore within the first two weeks of class with your name and student number.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS