MATH 95     (INTERNET)  BASIC MATHEMATICS

On-Campus Office Hours:
Mondays 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Wednesdays 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Thursdays 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

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

Offline:
I will be offline on Tuesdays, 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: None

Textbook:
The materials in this course are primarily online, and consist of the ALEKS learning system.  You must buy a standalone User's guide for ALEKS (one semester version).  This contains the twenty-digit ALEKS Student Access Code 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.
In addition, it is valuable to have a basic mathematics textbook as a reference and additional source of explanation.  You may use any basic mathematics text you might have, but the College of Marin campus Book Store sells, and the oncampus classes use the following:  Basic Mathematics, 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.  Assuming you have had no previous Introductory Algebra course, you should expect to spend a minimum of 10 to 15 hours per week (as would be the case if you were taking an on campus class, including homework).

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 open-ended problems (no multiple choice).  It is 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 reason 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 1: Topics included -- Whole numbers/Fractions/Decimals, Proportion and Percent
Midterm 2: Topics included -- Measurement and Data Analysis/Geometry
Final Exam: Cumulative -- All content from Midterms 1 and 2/Signed Numbers and Introduction to Algebra

Note: The on-campus exams will be written exams--not using ALEKS, and not using calculators. You will be provided with study material in preparation for the exams. There will be a schedule of workshops prior to each exam.

On-campus workshops will be scheduled as an additional resource.

Grading Policy:

Your final course grade will be based on and weighted as follows:

30% -- 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.)
20% -- Midterm 1
20% -- Midterm 2
30% -- On-campus final exam

Grading Schedule for our course is as follows:
"A"    95% - 100% of the topics completed and assessed
"B"    88% - 94%  of the topics completed and assessed
"C"    80% - 87% of the topics completed and assessed
"D"    71% - 79% of the topics completed and assessed
"F"     less than 71% of the topics completed and assessed

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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