Policies

Grading. Your grade will be based on the following:

1. Homework (20%). You must complete assignments on  MathZone to earn homework points (see “About” for information on how to get started). Homework will be assigned for each topic through the MathZone website and must be completed by their due date. Over the course of the semester, you may ask for a 2 day extension for only one assignment. You will only need to complete 80% of the assigned problems to earn the required points (the total required points will be provided near the end of the semester, when all assignments have been created).  Any additional points earned will count as bonus credit (50% value of required points).
   NOTE: The first two weeks and last two weeks of the course consist of geometry, and the MathZone website does not have good problems for these topics.  We will assign some problems from the book or other sources so that you can practice this material, but these additional assignments will NOT be collected or graded.  However, we strongly encourage you to complete them!
2. Project (20%). Over the course of the semester you will collaborate with fellow students to complete a project with online, hands-on, and presentation components.
   
3. Field Trip (5%). We will be taking a class trip to the Brooklyn Bridge to explore some of the connections between mathematics, science, and the real world. You will be asked to do a small write-up after the field trip.
   
4. OpenLab participation (5%). You will be participating in the OpenLab (the course website) by posting and making comments each week.  More details will be provided in a separate document.
5. In-Class Exams (30%). There will be four exams over the course of the semester.  Students with good attendance will have the lowest exam grade dropped (see “Attendance” below).  No makeup exams will be given – if you are forced to miss an exam with a valid reason, that will count as your dropped exam grade.
6. Final Exam (20%). The final exam will be given on the last day of class and will cover all topics for the semester.  The final exam must be taken to pass the class. The exam is created by the department; sample questions are available as hard-copies in N-711 as well as online.

Attendance. Anything in excess of 10% of the total number of class meetings is considered excessive absence (more than 3 absences). A student who is excessively absent will have all 4 exam grades count towards the class average.

Lateness. Two latenessess count as one absence.

Academic Integrity. The New York City College of Technology Policy on Academic Integrity:  Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. More detail of the College policy on Academic Integrity may be found here as well as on p. 64 of the catalog.