INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

GRADING CRITERIA

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

Practice Homework: Homework problems on MyLabs consists of exercises to practice skills and reinforce concepts learned in class.  Homework may be completed at any time.  The homework score is not included in the grade directly, but may be considered for borderline students.  It is available to assist students be successful in course. 

Quizzes: Students will have up to 3 attempts on online quizzes.  Online quizzes will be due no later than Thursday 11:59 pm and are based on the sections from the previous week. It is recommended that students review and attempt online quizzes in advance and complete practice homework to prepare and/or remediation. Students may freely ask questions about material in online quizzes during class or in the Math Lab. I will keep the highest scores for each online quiz.  A penalty of 30% will be applied to quizzes completed after they are due.

Exams: There will be 4 unit exams and a final exam. The exams will be mostly short answer, where students must show their work on the test.  Partial credit will be awarded as deemed appropriate by the instructor and scratch paper will be provided.  Students that notify the instructor prior to the exam, may be allowed to make alternate arrangements at the instructor’s discretion. All exams are paper and pencil, in-person exams. Students may not leave and return to the classroom during a test period.

• Graphing calculator use may be restricted for some portions of the exams. 
• Final Exam: The final exam is required and comprehensive. 

Policies

Make-up policy:  Make-ups are only offered to students who experience a formally documented medical emergency or military service requirement. Make-ups are not offered due to missing class for celebrations, extracurricular activities, changes in work schedules, relationship issues, or undocumented medical issues. Students who experience an emergency which interferes with an assignment must contact me within three days of that documented emergency so we can determine how to proceed.

• Medical Emergencies: Students need to attach an image of the hospital documentation along with their initial email. I do not need to know the specifics of any diagnosis (that can remain confidential). The portion of the discharge instruction sheet that hospitals must provide patients--the section showing the name of the patient and date(s) of service--will usually suffice.
• Funerals: Unfortunately, it's not unheard of that stories are fabricated of death/illness in the family. As such, I require documentation if you miss an assignment/exam and seek a make-up for this reason. As above, students must contact me within three days of the death so we can determine how to proceed. Death is a serious matter and to protect students who sadly do experience such an event, I do not tolerate fabrications in this area. I consider fabricating a family sickness/death for personal gain to be a form of scholastic dishonesty, which will result in an automatic zero for the work in question.
• Military Service: The military service stipulation is offered only to the military personnel himself/herself since their access to a computer may be temporarily disrupted. Students who need to meet a military service requirement during the semester should contact me in advance of leaving for service so we can determine how to proceed with schoolwork. If a student is unexpectedly called into service to assist with a crisis/disaster (e.g. as occurred during Hurricane Harvey a few years ago), please notify me via email as soon as the word comes down so I can anticipate any necessary adjustments. Usually, there is not a problem making adjustments, so do not worry. However, feel free to email me any questions on this matter.  Albeit a stressful time for the family of the service person, extensions for assignments do not extend to significant others of the service person.
• If other circumstances outside of the student’s control cause the student to miss a unit test or perform poorly on an exam, students may complete a corrections assignment on one exam for partial credit.

Attendance and Participation

• Attendance may be taken by in class assignment, roll sheet, or roll call.   The student is responsible for signing in, answering roll correctly, or clearly writing names on pages to be used for this purpose.  Students that are not present and fully participating may not earn credit for attendance.  Students that leave early or arrive late may miss participation assignments.
• On exam days: Students should be on time with a pencil and a calculator at the beginning of each exam. Students entering late on exam days, should enter as quietly as possible, leave belongings at the front of the class, take their seat, and submit their exam at the regularly scheduled time.   Students may not leave and return to the classroom during an exam period

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Tentative Test schedule)

The instructor reserves the right to amend the syllabus and schedule.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog)

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)

Last day to withdraw from a 16-week course with a “W” is Friday, April 3, 2020.

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 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  

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)________     

o         Communication

x        Mathematics              

o         Life and Physical Science

o         Language, Philosophy & Culture

o         Creative Arts

o         American History

o         Government/Political Science

o         Social and Behavioral Sciences

o         Component Area Option

x          Critical Thinking

x          Communication

x          Empirical and Quantitative

o           Teamwork

o           Personal Responsibility

o           Social Responsibility