J111 Course Description

Text: Algebra for College Students,2nd. Ed. by Dugopolski. We will cover most of the first six chapters. Although most of the material should be review, you will find that the course moves very quickly. The attached syllabus tells which section(s) will be covered in class each day. You should read each section before it is discussed in class.

Attendance:Daily attendance is required in J111. To avoid being marked absent, you should be in your assigned seat on time and stay for the entire class period. There may be times when you are unable to attend class due to sickness or other personal problems. For that reason you are allowed to miss five classes without penalty. If you miss more than five classes, for any reason, your grade will be reduced one third (for example from a B to a B - ) for each additional class missed, with a maximum deduction of one full letter grade.

Assignments:There will be daily homework assignments that should take you approximately one to two hours each to complete. If you find that it is taking you more than two hours of concentrated work to finish an assignment, see your instructor or Linda McKinley right away. Your homework will be collected every day and selected problems will be graded. (Some instructors may choose to give homework quizzes rather than grade homework papers.) Your homework grade will represent 20 % of your grade in J111.

Exams and Grading: There will be three exams during the semester, with two versions of each. All students are required to take the first version of each exam. If you score below 80 % on the first version of an exam you will be required to take the second version. If you score 80 % or more on the first version, you may take the second version to try to improve your grade. Your instructor will count only the higher of the scores on the two versions.

Failure to take any required version of an exam will result in a grade of zero on that version. Exceptions will be made only in the case of extreme medical or personal emergencies.

Your final grade in J111 will be determined by:

Homework and quizzes 20%
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 30%
Exam 3 30%

The approximate grading scale will be:
90 - 100% A
80 - 89% B
75 - 79% C
65 - 74% D
below 64 % F

You must receive a grade of C or better in J111 in order to move on to J112.

Extra Help: In college mathematics classes there is rarely enough time to answer everyone's questions during class time. Your instructor will hold regular office hours, and you should plan to use them often. There is also drop - in help available at both Briscoe Quad and Ashton Center every Monday through Thursday night from 7:00 - midnight, and at the Swain East Learning Center (Swain East 340) during the day. If you think that you will need more consistent help in J111, go to Maxwell Hall 221 right away to sign up for a regular tutoring session.