MATH 103     (INTERNET)  INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA

On-Campus Office Hours: June 14th through July 23rd
Tuesdays 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Wednesdays 12:00 - 2:00 pm

Online Hours:
I will be online on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with times varying according to my schedule.

Offline:
I will be offline on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This means that I will not respond to any school emails on these days.

Web Master:  
The College of Marin's Information Technology group oversees the servers and software that run and support some aspects of this course.  They can be contacted at (415) 883-2211 x8181.
Any technical difficulties associated with the ALEKS web site can be answered through their web site at this location.

Prerequisites:
Introductory Algebra.  This is equivalent to high school algebra (first year).  This prerequisite cannot be waived, although you may test out of it.  Contact the College of Marin's Testing Center to arrange for a placement test.  Students not meeting the prerequisite will not be allowed to continue in this course.  In addition, the instructional component of this class (done through ALEKS) will assess your knowledge of the basic and essential mathematical skills necessary for this intermediate  algebra class.  If you do not have mastery of these selected prerequisite topics, you will be directed to a review section of the course.  This review must be successfully completed before you can begin the algebra portion of the class.  In other words, proof alone will not be enough--you must also remember some of what you knew.

Textbook:
The materials in this course are primarily online, and consist of the ALEKS learning system.  You must purchase a standalone User's guide for ALEKS, which contains the twenty-digit ALEKS Student Access Code (information and instructions contained in an email from me) you will need to enter the instructional web site.  Enter here to see if the style of the course may be of interest to you.The College of Marin Bookstore has the ALEKS User Guide available,  as may other online textbook sites.
Your coursework is integrated with an online textbook (Miller/O'Neill/Hyde: Intermediate Alebra, 2nd Ed.). ALEKS will automatically place chapter and section references, and additional resources (when applicable) on the ALEKS explanation pages. This way, you can easily look up parallel material in the textbook to expand on what you are doing in ALEKS. If you think that it may be valuable to have a hard copy of an intermediate algebra textbook as a reference and additional source of explanation, you may use any intermediate algebra text you might have. The on-campus classes use the following textbook:  Intermediate Algebra, by Marvin L. Bittenger, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc.  

Course Work:
Most parts of this class are self-paced, but must be completed within the time frame of the current single semester. Everyone is expected to start on the first day and everyone will be graded on the work they have completed by the last day of instruction in the semester.  It is possible to finish the course before the end of the semester, but you may not extend beyond the semester.  Students have some option in the order in which they move through. Certain concepts may be restricted if one concept has another as a prerequisite.  For example, you cannot learn about solving equations until you learn the properties of algebra.  Your assessments will occur based on when you have completed a certain amount of material corresponding to your selected topics, and this could be at different times for each and every student. The ALEKS system makes the determination of when you are ready to be assessed.  Consequently, this course involves considerable reading and writing.

The ability to clearly communicate your ideas in a concisely written form is essential to success in this class.  In addition, how much time you will need to spend on the material will also vary with your abilities.  In a regular semester, assuming you have had no previous Intermediate Algebra course, you should expect to spend at least 10 to 15 hours per week (as would be the case if you were taking an on campus class, including homework). In a summer semester course, you should expect to spend at least 30 to 45 hours per week.

The majority of learning for this class takes place in ALEKS.  Take the short guided tour to get an idea of how ALEKS works.  Testing, or "assessment" as it is called in ALEKS, happens at different times for each student.  here is how it is described in the User's Guide:

The ALEKS assessment uses an adaptive assessment; that is, problem types are selected based on all the previous answers the student has given.  It is impossible to predict which types of problems will appear, or in what order.  Moreover, the problems themselves are generated algorithmically, with randomly selected numerical values.  ...  There is no benefit for a student who has begun using ALEKS to cheat on a "progress" assessment, as this will simply cause the system to suggest problems that are too difficult, and thus hinder the student's own work.

THE FOLLOWING ARE MANDATORY ON-CAMPUS EXAMS FOR THIS COURSE. The dates, times, and place for the exams will be communicated once they have been scheduled.

Midterm: "Pie" Topics included
-- Real Numbers and Linear Equations
-- Graphs and Linear Functions
-- Systems of Linear Equations
-- Exponents and Polynomials
-- Rational Expressions and Functions
Final Exam: Cumulative (all "Pie" Topics)

Note: The on-campus exams will be written exams--not using ALEKS. We will not use calculators for the Midterm. However, calculators will be used for the Final Exam. You will be provided with study material in preparation for the exams. There will be scheduled group study sessions throughout the semester.

On-campus group study sessions are not mandatory, but are scheduled as an additional resource.

Grading Policy:

Your final course grade will be weighted as follows:

40% -- Percentage of the topics completed and assessed through the ALEKS system by the end of the semester.
(This does not include the topics in the mandatory review/prerequisitie material.)
30% -- On-campus Midterm
30% -- On-campus Final Exam.

Grading Schedule for our course is as follows:
"A"   90% - 100% overall percentage and at least 85% on the Final Exam
"B"    80% - 89% overall percentage and at least 75% on the Final Exam
"C"    70% - 79% overall percentage and at least 65% on the Final Exam
"D"    60% - 69% overall percentage and at least 55% on the Final Exam
"F"    less than 60%

Note: The course may be taken for pass/no pass (P/NP), with a pass grade being the equivalent of "C" or better. If you want this option, you must select it through your CoM Student Portal by the deadline. It is no longer processed through your instructors.

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