About Your Course

Instructional Methodology:

Classroom Section: This course is taught in the classroom primarily as a lecture/discussion course.  However, during at least the first two weeks of the semester, the course will be taught as a DLS course with Synchronous Virtual Class Meetings Required.  During this initial online phase of the semester, Instruction is fully online with required online meetings (using Blackboard Collaborate) during the specified days and times listed. Any changes to the instructional methodology will be communicated to the students well in advance, and in Announcements accompanied by emails.

MATD 0444: Synonym: 40863           Section: 001

MATH 1414: Synonym: 40864           Section: 020

Meeting location: HLC1 2102             Meeting times: MTWTh 1:30pm- 3:25pm

Prerequisites: NCBM 0270 with a grade of C or higher. Or appropriate score on math TSI Assessment test. Corequisite(s): MATH 1414.

Paired Course Policy: This is a paired course.  Students who withdraw from MATD 0444 will automatically be withdrawn from MATH 1414.

Required Materials 

Calculator: Students need either a scientific or business calculator. (Has log or ln key.) If a student cannot purchase one, calculators are available from the library.  Graphing calculators are not required, but you will use graphing technology in most sections of the book.  Graphing calculators are also available in the library.  Most ACC faculty are familiar with the TI family of graphing calculators. Hence, TI calculators are highly recommended for student use.  Other calculator brands can also be used.  Your instructor will determine the extent of calculator use in your class section.

Other Technology: Access to a webcam and microphone are required for this course. Eligible students can check out required technology at https://www.austincc.edu/students/student-technology-services.

Making Time to Learn

We learn math by thinking about and working on mathematical problems, which takes time. Practice is crucial in a math course. To ensure that you have adequate time, set aside 8-12 hours per week outside of class time to practice and study for this course.  Ask for help immediately when something isn’t clear. 

Getting Help

ACC provides several free resources for students who need help; descriptions and links are below: 

Office hours: Another name for office hours is “student hours.” This is the time your instructor has set aside to answer student questions, so feel free to drop by if you have questions. Office hours may be virtual or on campus; see information above.

Instructional Associates: Instructional Associates specific to the course you are taking are available for tutoring. To make an appointment, go to https://sites.google.com/a/austincc.edu/math-students/meet/list and then click on your course.

Learning Labs: The ACC Learning Labs provide tutoring in math and other subjects. To schedule an appointment, go to https://www.austincc.edu/students/learning-lab. This site includes information about in person and virtual tutoring options.

Academic Coaching: Academic coaches offer extra support to students with study strategies; they want to help you learn to be an active participant in your own learning process. For more information or to make an appointment with an academic coach, go to https://www.austincc.edu/students/academic-coaching.

ACC Student Services: Services are offered in many areas, including Academic, Financial, Personal, and Technology Support.  For more information, go to https://www.austincc.edu/student-support.

Grades

Grade Components

Tests 1-7: 70%

Test 8: 15%

ALEKS Homework: 7.5%

Quizzes: 7.5%

Grading Scale

A: 90 - 100

B: 80 – 89

C: 70 – 79

D: 60 – 69

F: < 60

MATD 0444 and MATH 1414 Grades

Students receive the same grade for both MATD 0444 and MATH 1414, with the following exceptions:

Students who may not pass the college credit portion of the course may earn credit for the developmental portion of the course (and therefore be TSI complete) in any of the following ways:

• If a student's grade average on Tests 1 - 5 is higher than the overall grade average, the instructor may assign the letter grade based on Tests 1 - 5 for MATD 0444 only.  

                                                     or

• A student who does not have a passing average on tests 1 - 5 and has chosen not to attempt to successfully complete MATH 1414 may make arrangements with the instructors to work on Independent Study for developmental content. The student may then take an alternate MATD 0444 final exam covering only the content supporting tests 1 - 5 instead of the MATH 1414 final exam. A grade for MATD 0444 may be given at the instructor’s discretion solely on the basis of this final exam.

A grade of C or higher in MATD 0444 is sufficient for a student to be declared TSI complete (college ready) in math and satisfies the prerequisite for College Algebra for Precalculus (MATH 1414). That means that a student who earns a C in MATD 0444 but does not successfully complete College Algebra may register for College Algebra the next semester without a co-requisite.

What will we do in this class?

Tests:

There will be 7 unit tests, each of which will count equally towards your grade, worth a total of 70% of your overall course grade. Test 8 is a cumulative final and is worth 15% of your overall course grade.  The dates of the exams are noted on the schedule. All tests will be administered in class.  During the first two weeks when we are online, the first test and the first quiz will be administered in Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom, or Google Meet, at the discretion of the instructors. When we are in-person, then the tests and quizzes will be administered in the classroom.  Partial credit is given on exams when the answer is wrong but the methods used are partially correct.  However, the amount of partial credit given on exams is at the discretion of the instructors.

Homework:

Homework will be assigned every class period in ALEKS (the online homework system for our textbook), and is due before the next class period (usually the next day).  Instructions on how to access the ALEKS system will be given in Blackboard and discussed on the first day of class.

It is vital that students NOT get behind on homework. Make use of tutoring resources and office hours if you have questions about the homework.  You may work in groups on homework, but the homework you submit must represent your own work. Get help when you need it, but don’t abuse tutors, professors, or others.  You need to learn how to set up and solve the problems yourself.  If you don’t, then you will not do well on the tests and quizzes.

Quizzes: A short quiz will be given at the end of each review session, usually every two weeks, on the day before the test. Quizzes cannot be made up.  One quiz grade will be dropped in case of an absence.

Group work: Students may occasionally be assigned to groups in class to work on problems. If you are assigned to a group, you should participate in that group to the best of your ability.  Group work is undertaken to help students learn and improve their reasoning and problem-solving skills.

What happens if I miss something?

Dropped Grade Policy: The lowest four ALEKS homework section grades will be dropped for computing the final grade.  One quiz grade will be dropped.  No test grades will be dropped or replaced.

Late Homework Policy: No late ALEKS homework assignments will be accepted under any circumstances.

Missed Quiz Policy: Missed quizzes cannot be made up under any circumstances.

Missed Exam Policy: Missing an exam is very serious and should be avoided if possible. A makeup exam will only be given in the case of a genuine emergency or extreme illness (with appropriate documentation), and at the discretion of the instructors. Makeup exams are disruptive and inconvenient to both the student and the instructors. If you know that you must miss an exam, contact the instructors well in advance of the exam date to determine the best course of action.

Attendance Policy: Daily attendance is mandatory.  Any student who has six or more absences may be withdrawn by the instructors, but we make no promise to do so. During the first two weeks (or any time we are conducting class online) attendance and absences will be determined by Blackboard attendance report or other technology (such as Blackboard “Quickly Attendance”).  Also, if you are called upon to answer a question during the online class, you must respond (even if just with a chat), or else you may be marked absent for that day.

When we are “in-person” in the classroom, attendance will be determined using a sign-in sheet.  Signing in and then leaving without permission may be viewed as Academic Dishonesty.  Sleeping, excessive coming and going from the classroom, or other forms of distracted behavior may be counted as an absence.

Any absences will be recorded in the Blackboard gradebook under “Absence Count”.  The Absence Count is not used in any way to compute the final grade. Note: if the Absence Count is zero, it means that you have zero absences. If your attendance or compliance with other course policies is unsatisfactory, the instructors may withdraw you from the class.

This corequisite option covers material from three courses and may involves group activities on a daily basis. Your partners depend on you for group work, and your own success in the course depends on your full commitment.

There is no such thing as an “excused absence”. The result of missing a class is the same regardless of the reason. You miss instruction. Your partners are let down. You miss an opportunity to turn in homework. The goal is to minimize these disruptions, and to take personal responsibility to make up for any missed class on your own time.

Expectations:

1. Attend all sessions
2. Arrive on time to the virtual session and stay for the duration of the session
3. Participate during that time and spend time outside of class working on homework
4. Make use of the raise your hand tool when in a large Blackboard Collaborate session so we are not all speaking at once.
5. Keep chat (whether via text or microphone) appropriate and course focused.

Class Participation Policy: Students are expected to be present in the online classroom sessions, and the in-person classroom (when we return to campus), and to participate actively.  Occasionally, instructors may call upon students in class to answer questions or to help work problems. Students are required to participate in any group work in class.

Course Content

Course Description

Credit Hours: 8, Contact Hours: 8

MATH 1414 – College Algebra for Precalculus (4-4-0). A course for students planning to take Precalculus (MATH 2412) and Calculus (MATH 2413). Content includes the rational, real, and complex number systems; the study of functions including polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions and related equations; inequalities; sequences and series; systems of linear equations using matrices.

MATD 0444 – Developmental Algebra for Precalculus (4-4-0). A course designed to develop the skills and understanding contained in secondary school algebra. Topics include review of operations and properties of real numbers, negative exponents, functions, graphing linear equations, solving linear and quadratic equations and systems of linear equations, solving linear inequalities, operations on polynomials and factoring, and introduction to rational, radical, and exponential functions.

The Details

Distance Education Information: This class was originally scheduled as an “in-person” class.  However, for at least the first two weeks, this class is fully online. Successful online students actively participate in class on a regular basis just like in an on-campus class and avoid putting off classwork until the last minute. This includes reading assignments, taking quizzes and tests, and any other activities assigned by your professors. You will need to stay motivated and routinely log in to your classes in order to keep on top of your assignments.

Students will use the Blackboard learning management system for attending lecture (for at least the first two weeks).  In addition, even when we are back in the “in-person” classroom, we will use Blackboard for announcements, class notes, assignment instructions, and posting grades. Students are encouraged to read ACC Distance Education General Information available at https://online.austincc.edu/faq/.

First Day Access: To enhance your learning experience and provide affordable access to the right course material, this course is part of an inclusive access model called First Day™. You can easily access the required materials for this course through Blackboard, at a discounted price, and benefit from single sign-on access.  Austin Community College includes the discounted price as a course fee in your registration fees for this course.

It is NOT recommended that you Opt Out, as these materials are required to complete the course. You can choose to Opt Out on the first day of class, but you will be responsible for purchasing your course materials at the full retail price and access to your materials may be suspended. See your course in Blackboard for details.

Importance of Completing Developmental Course Requirements:  The first steps to achieving any college academic goal are completing developmental course requirements and TSI requirements. The first priority for students who are required to take developmental courses must be the developmental courses. TSI rules state that students are allowed to take college credit courses, if they are fulfilling their developmental requirements. Because successful completion of developmental courses is so important, ACC will intervene with any student who is not successfully completing developmental requirements. This intervention can mean a hold on records, requiring developmental lab classes, working with the Instructional Associate, and monitoring during the semester.

Withdrawal Policy: It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the roll should he or she decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is submitted before the Final Withdrawal Date. The student is also strongly encouraged to retain their copy of the withdrawal form for their records.

Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall 2002 may be charged a higher tuition rate for that course.  State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at Texas public colleges or universities. With certain exceptions, all course withdrawals automatically count towards this limit. Details regarding this policy can be found in the ACC college catalog.

Reinstatement Policy: Students who withdrew or were withdrawn will not be reinstated unless they have completed all coursework, projects, and exams necessary to place them at the same level of course completion as the rest of the class. Reinstatement is up to the instructor’s approval.

Incomplete Grade Policy: Incomplete grades (I) will be given only in very rare circumstances. Generally, to receive a grade of "I", a student must be up to date on coursework and have a passing grade, and after the last date to withdraw, have a legitimate reason that prevents course completion. An incomplete grade cannot be carried beyond the established date in the following semester. The completion date is determined by the instructor but may not be later than the final deadline for withdrawal in the subsequent semester.

Communication with Your Instructor: All e-mail communication to students will be sent solely to the student’s ACCmail account or math software if applicable, with the expectation that such communications will be read in a timely fashion.  Likewise, students should use their ACCmail account or math software when communicating with instructors.  Instructors will respond to student emails within 3 business days, if no response has been received by the student at the end of that time, then the student should send a reminder to the instructor.

Name Change Information: If you want to change how your name appears online at ACC, go to https://www.austincc.edu/admissions/update-student-information/chosen-name.

General College Policies: Policies that apply to all courses at ACC can be found here: https://www.austincc.edu/offices/academic-outcomes-assessment/master-syllabi/college-policies.

This is a First Day™ class. The cost of required course materials, including an online version of the textbook and ALEKS, has been added to your tuition and fees bill.   Use of ALEKS for homework is required in this course.

Textbook: College Algebra with Corequisite Support, 1st Edition by Miller & Gerken. McGraw-Hill (ALEKS software) ISBN: 9781260867275  

Course Calendar

Note: Schedule changes may occur during the semester. Any changes will be announced in class and posted as a Blackboard Announcement. 

Important Dates

Last day for 70% refund: January 27 (Thursday)

Last day to withdraw: April 25 (Monday)

Holidays: MLK Day, January 17 (Monday); Spring Break, Mar 14 – Mar 20

(Please note these are the ONLY holidays this semester.)

Course Rationale

This course is designed to teach students the functional approach to mathematical relationships that they will need for a calculus sequence. Other courses, such as MATH 1314, MATH 1332, or MATH 1342 are more appropriate to meet a general mathematics requirement.  Check with your degree plan as to what math course your college requires.

Note: Students who have a degree requirement for College Algebra but are not planning to take Precalculus should take College Algebra MATH 1314.

MATH 1414 Course Objectives

Functions: 

• Use and interpret functional notation. 
• Find the domain of polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions. 
• Find a symbolic representation of the sum, difference, product, quotient, and composition of two functions.
• Evaluate the sum, difference, product, quotient, and composition of two functions at a given value of the respective domain for functions represented symbolically, graphically, and numerically.
• Find the inverse of a function represented symbolically, graphically, or numerically. 
• Interpret the graphs of functions.
• Recognize and evaluate arithmetic/geometric sequences and series.

Graphing functions: 

• Sketch the graphs of the following functions: Lines, x2, x3, x1/2, 1/x, 1/x2, |x|, factored polynomials of degree 3 or more, ax, logax, and rigid transformations of these functions. 
• Describe the short run and end behavior of polynomial and rational functions.
• Approximate the zeros of a function from its graph.
• Solve an inequality involving a function from its graph.
• Graph a piece-wise defined function.

Symbolic Adeptness: 

• Solve polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic equations symbolically.
• Solve equations involving radicals symbolically.
• Solve equations with rational exponents symbolically.
• Solve equations with negative exponents symbolically.
• Solve polynomial and rational inequalities symbolically. 
• Use the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and the Conjugate Zeros Theorem to find zeros of polynomials of degree three or greater. 
• Find the vertex of a parabola written in standard form by using the formula h = -b/2a.
• Perform algebraic operations on complex numbers (addition, subtraction and multiplication (division?)).
• Convert an exponential equation to logarithmic form, and a logarithmic equation to exponential form.
• Solve Exponential and Logarithmic equations symbolically.
• Evaluate exponential and logarithmic functions using the change of base formula and a calculator.
• Use the properties of logarithms to expand a logarithmic expression, and to write an expanded logarithmic expression as a single logarithm.
• Solve a system of linear equations using Gaussian elimination.
• Perform algebraic operations on matrices, including addition, scalar multiplication, matrix multiplication.
• Find the determinant of a matrix and apply Cramer’s Rule.

Applications 

• Recognize and use applications of linear functions. 
• Recognize and use applications of quadratic functions, including falling object problems and extrema problems.
• Recognize and use applications of exponential and logarithmic functions, including exponential growth and decay, doubling time, and half-life problems.
• Recognize and use applications of systems of linear equations. 

MATH 1414 Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, a student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding and knowledge of properties of functions, which include domain and range, operations, compositions, and inverses.
2. Recognize and apply polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions and solve related equations.
3. Apply graphical, symbolic and numeric techniques.
4. Evaluate all roots of higher degree polynomial and rational functions.
5. Recognize, solve and apply systems of linear equations using matrices.
6. Perform algebraic operations on matrices, evaluate the determinant and apply Cramer’s Rule
7. Recognize and evaluate arithmetic/geometric sequences and series.

MATD 0444 Course Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

1. Perform operations involving integers, fractions, decimals, percents, signed exponents, scientific notation, ratios and proportions.
2. Evaluate and perform basic operations on functions, find the domain and range of functions, and solve equations involving functions.
3. Solve problems involving geometric figures.
4. Identify slope and intercepts from linear equations and graphs of lines. Find linear equations from given points and graphs of lines.
5. Graph linear equations and inequalities, systems of linear equations, and quadratic functions.
6. Simplify, factor, and perform basic operations on algebraic expressions, including polynomials, rational and radical expressions, and complex fractions.
7. Solve linear equations, linear inequalities, and quadratic equations. Solve introductory absolute value, rational, and radical equations.
8. Solve basic application problems using linear and quadratic models, direct and inverse variation, and 2x2 systems of linear equations.
9. Use mathematical language, symbols, and notation to communicate mathematical concepts, demonstrate reasoning, and solve problems.

General Education Competencies

1. Critical Thinking: gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information is covered in every SLO. 
2. Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning: applying mathematical, logical, and scientific principles and methods is covered in every SLO.
3. Technology Skills: using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information is covered in SLOs # 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
4. Written, Oral and Visual Communication: communicating effectively adapting to purpose, structure, audience and medium is covered in every SLO.