NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Course title: Contemporary Mathematics
Course prefix, number, and section number: MATH 1332 0101
Semester/Year of course: Fall 2025
Semester start and end dates: 8/25/2025 – 12/13/2025
Modality: Face to face on the Gainesville campus.
Class meeting location, days, and times: Class meets Tuesday and Thursday starting at 12:30 and ending at 1:50 in room 808.
Support course (if needed) meeting location, days, and times: NCBM 0132 0101 will meet on Tuesday and Thursday starting at 1:55 to 2:20 in room 808. There is a 5-minute break between these classes.
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:
MyLab Math Access (e-text included in MyLab Math)
Scientific calculator, TI-30X IIS is recommended
Phone calculators will not be allowed on exams.
Optional course materials: Thinking Mathematically, Robert F. Blitzer, 8th edition, Pearson, 2023
Name of instructor: Kathryn Fritz
Office location: Room 821
Telephone number: 940-668-4214
Email address: kfritz@nctc.edu
During the semester, please use Canvas email. After the semester, please use the Lion Pride email kfritz@nctc.edu.
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: On MTWR before class starts, I will be setting up classes in room 808 starting at 7:30 to 8 am. You are welcome to come and ask questions.
I will be in 809 as a math tutor on the following days and times.
Students may log into Pearson and work on assignments or bring printed homework questions to work. If you bring a lunch, no food or drinks by the computers.
- Monday and Wednesday: Starting around 10 am to 11 am. Recall I may be meeting with students in my last class, and I maybe a little late.
- Monday and Wednesday: Starting around 12:30 to 1:30. Recall I may be meeting with students in my last class, and I maybe a little late.
- Tuesday and Thursday: Starting around 11 am to 12:30. I will need to leave a few minutes early to prepare for my 12:30 class.
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. Sign up for an appointment or see the most current tutoring hours for all campuses at 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:
Pearson Assignments: 15%
Quizzes/Attendance/Projects: 10%
Chapter Tests: 55%
Final 20%
Final grade scale: 90 – 100% = A; 80 – 89% = B; 70 – 79% = C; 60 – 69% = D; Below 60% = F
Late work policy: The attendance, weekly reviews, and discussion board: no late work accepted.
Pearson homework has two due dates.
- Soft due dates: Pearson homework runs Monday to Sunday of each week, but the final week (week 16). All Pearson assignments are open on the first day of class, but will due on Sunday of each week. You are expected to have each week’s assignments completed by Sunday.
- Set-in-Stone due dates: As we all know sometimes life gets in the way of students being able to complete their homework by any given Sunday. The work past the due date is set for the day of each chapter test. This means you may work an assignment late without penalty, as long as you do not fall too far behind in class.
See canvas modules, and Pearson 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:
- Zero on the assignment
- Failing grade for the course
Artificial Intelligence Policy: It is considered a very bad idea to use AI to complete all your homework. When students use AI to do their homework, most of them fail the chapter tests. Part of the process of learning math, is what to do, when to do, and where to do. If you do not struggle learning math, you may not retain the concepts you are trying to learn.
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 Fall2025 course with a “W” is: Monday, November 3, 2025
Student Learning Outcomes: At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
- Apply the language and notation of sets.
- Determine the validity of an argument or statement and provide mathematical evidence.
- Solve problems in mathematics of finance.
- Demonstrate fundamental probability/counting techniques and apply those techniques to solve problems.
- Interpret and analyze various representations of data.
- 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
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 Student Services Syllabus Addendum for a listing of those departments 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: Kathryn Fritz
Office location: Room 821
Telephone number: 940-668-4214
Email address: During the semester, please use Canvas email. After the semester, please use the Lion Pride email kfritz@nctc.edu.
Name of Chair/Coordinator: 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