Policies

Grading

Homework and quiz grades will be automatically posted in your WileyPLUS account and Canvas as you complete assignments and quizzes there.

Final averages will be weighted as follows:

Homework – 25%

*Quizzes   – 35%

Final exam – 25%

**Project -10%

Participation -5%

 

*Quizzes = midterm exams (WileyPlus), we have seven of them to help you master the material in more efficient way. The lowest score will be dropped.

**The project is optional. Students are allows to opt out of the project, in which case the final exam will count for 35% of the final grade. This decision is left to the student.

 

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

A 90 %, A – 87%, B+ 83%, B 79 %, B- 75%, C+ 71%, C 67%, C- 63%, D+ 60%, D 55%

 

Structure of Course – the course is asynchronous , but we are on Zoom every day :office hours , problem solving sessions, reviews (optional , recorded)

  • Each Chapter has 5 parts: read the assigned reading, listen to a recorded lecture , practice via homework, use the forums to discuss topics, and assess yourself via a quiz (midterm tests)
  • All the graded components of the course except the final exam will be completed on-line through Wiley Plus.
  • You do not need to be present in Amherst at any point in the course, the course is asynchronous.
  • The course is designed to give you as much flexibility as possible, but it is not completely self-paced. You can do your work whenever you like, according to your own schedule, but you must complete your work according to the class due dates. Please contact the instructor if you need additional time.

Homework

  • Homework assignments will be assigned and completed through Wiley Plus. WileyPlus is an online homework and course study system. It also contains an e-book of our textbook.
  • You should read the assigned chapter before listening to the lecture for the unit. After reading and listening, then work through the homework assignments. You can attempt each question 5 times, until the due date and time of the assignment .
  • Penalty for missing deadlines -10% if you do within seven days and 25% after.You can ask for extra time. Due dates for homework will be posted on the Wiley PLUS page and Canvas. On homework, you may work with others, but you must each submit your work separately in Wiley PLUS. (Many questions are “parameterized” so that no two students will get the same form of a problem.) Representing somebody else’s work as your own is plagiarism, for which there can be severe penalties under university policy.
  • I strongly recommend starting homework early and not waiting until the night it is due. If you need help, post questions on Discussions, come to office hours on Zoom, problem solving sessions. If you can help others, please do, let’s work together

Quizzes

  • Quizzes (or midterm tests) (on Wiley Plus) – after finishing each chapter – can only be attempted once. Do the quizzes AFTER completing all the other work in the related chapter.
  • All quizzes are timed, one and a half hour, and the clock begins whenever you enter the quiz. Quizzes are not like homework and you will not have access to feedback during the time the quiz is up. Only after the quiz has expired can you see the feedback. These restrictions are meant to make quizzes more like exams in that they measure your knowledge and your readiness for the Final exam. Once the quiz has expired you can revisit them with the feedback turned on to practice for the exams, but you cannot change your quiz grade.
  • Your Wiley Plus quizzes will count toward 35% of your course grade. The lowest score will be dropped.

Discussions

  • Class discussions are set up so that we do not all have to be on-line at the same time. We have scheduled office hours – if you want to chat with me or your classmates.
  • You will want to come back to these discussions after the due dates to catch up on your classmate’s comments that were added after you added your own comments.
  • For full credit you will need to add a “quality” contribution — i.e. a response that expresses clear thinking, and that is relevant to the discussion. We will have office hours/working groups, study groups on Zoom.

Project

  • Project–– individual or group project. We will talk a lot more about the project as the semester proceeds.
  • The project constitutes 10% of your final grade. It is optional. If you don’t do a project, the final exam will count 35% (not 25%)

 

Final Exam:


The Mathematics and Statistics department, in accordance with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, continues to promote the integrity and security of its courses. To further secure its courses, the department will require a proctored final exam in this course. Because of the present circumstances I will offer proctoring online with the webcam on Zoom. All proctoring arrangements must be in place and approved by the instructor. More details will be available on the course website. You can contact the instructor for more information