MTH 141- Course Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Tara Hudson
Office: Zoom Meeting
                  (Access through UBLearns)
Email: [email protected]
Virtual Office Hours:
MWR: 12:00pm-12:50pm (EST)
Location: Zoom Meeting
                   (Link Posted on UBLearns)

Course: MTH 141LR Section P

Course Title: College Calculus I

Delivery Mode: Online

Class Day/Time: MTWRF: 10:00 am – 12:50 pm (EST)

Location: Remote (no in-person meetings)

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisites: NYS Regents Course III, or ULC 148, or MTH 115.

Textbook: J. Stewart, Calculus, Early Transcendental MTH 141, 142, 8th custom UB ed.

          (8th custom UB edition consists of Chapters 1-11 of the standard 8th edition of J. Stewart, Calculus: Early Transcendentals.)

Homework Platform: WebAssign online homework - note that purchasing access to WebAssign includes access to an electronic copy of the textbook for the Winter Term

                              (information on how to gain access to WebAssign will be emailed to students)

Recitation: P1: MTWRF 1:00pm-1:50pm (EST)

Lecture Videos: Course content will be delivered through pre-recorded lecture videos. These lecture videos have been created by Professor Michael Casper. Students should not distribute these videos to others.

Course Description: Beginning of a three-semester sequence in calculus for students of mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering. Covers differentiation and integration with applications. To help students achieve greater success, all new UB students are required to complete the ALEKS math assessment tool. New and continuing UB students seeking to enroll in MTH 141 must complete the ALEKS assessment tool within the last 12 months and achieve a required score of 76 as a prerequisite. (ALEKS is not required in Summer/Winter).

Controlled Enrollment: This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade other than W may repeat the course in the summer or winter; or only in the fall or spring semester with a petition to the College of Arts and Sciences Deans' Office.

Student Learning Outcomes: Detailed information regarding Academic Content, Learning Outcomes and Learning Objectives of the undergraduate program can also be found on the department sample syllabus, available at http://www.buffalo.edu/cas/math/ug/ug-courses/syllabi.html

Students Will Require:

    Textbook (hardcopy or digital version).

    Internet access, a functional web camera and microphone.

    WebAssign access. Instructions on how to register to WebAssign will be sent to students via email.

    Scanner (or ability to scan documents to pdf using phone or tablet).

    A Zoom account associated with the student’s UB email address.

    Two electronic devices to take the exams. Students will view the exam on one device (computer), and will be proctored via Zoom (with video on) on the second (phone, tablet, etc.). The second device should not be a computer.

Daily Schedule: For non-exam class days, the following schedule will be followed.

    Before the scheduled class time, students should watch the assigned pre-recorded lecture videos (video created and delivered by Professor Michael Casper).

    During 10:00am-11:30am (EST), there will be a “Problem Session”. The instructor will be in a Zoom meeting (access the Zoom meeting through UBLearns), explaining examples based on the content in the pre-recorded lecture videos. The examples that are covered will be from a worksheet that will be posted on UBLearns. Students are expected to attend; these “Problem Sessions” will be recorded, but students will only be able to access the recordings with a justifiable reason for missing the live session.

    During Recitation, students will work problems with their peers over Zoom. The TA and instructor will be available to help when questions arise. Students are expected to attend recitation. The recitations will not be recorded.

Student Resources: Students will have access to the following resources.

Course Calendar:

    A tentative course calendar can be found on UBLearns under “Course Calendar”.

Course Guide and Suggested Textbook Problems:

    The Course Guide provides lesson objectives for each section of the textbook that we will cover. The Suggested Textbook Problems are textbook problems that can be worked for extra practice. These documents are on UBLearns under “Additional Resources”.

Lecture Videos:

    A set of lecture videos will be posted before each class day. These videos can be found in UBLearns. Students are expected to watch these videos before the scheduled class meeting. It is expected that students take notes during the video as they would during class. These videos were created by Professor Michael Casper.

Lecture Notes “Worksheets”:

    Blank worksheets can be found on UBLearns under “Lecture Worksheets”. These worksheets will be worked on during the “Problem Sessions”. Students should not distribute these worksheets (or pictures of the worksheets) to others.

Virtual Office Hours:

    During office hours, the instructor will be on Zoom to answer student questions. Please come to office hours prepared (for example, if you want to ask about a homework problem, be sure to have work showing your attempts). If applicable, please have a plan on how you are going to show the instructor your work.

Piazza Discussion Board:

    Students will be able to communicate with their instructor and classmates on Piazza. In Piazza, students can post a question for everyone to see, or they can post a question for only the instructor to view. Students can also add a picture of their work to their post. While posting on Piazza, remember to be professional and respectful. Rudeness will not be tolerated. Please note that while students can post anonymously to the class, the instructor can still see their identities.

Course Requirements: Final grades will be calculated from scores on homework, quizzes and two exams. All quizzes and exams will be administered remotely.

Homework:

There will be at least one graded homework assignment for each section of the textbook that is covered. The homework assignments will be on WebAssign (online homework). The instructor reserves the right to supplement these problems with problems from the textbook. An assignment will be available to complete until the homework deadline (as posted on WebAssign). Typically, the homework assignment will be available to complete for 3 days. In most cases there will be 10 attempts for each problem, but multiple-choice questions may have fewer.

Late Homework Policy: Within 24 hours after a homework due date has passed, an extension may be requested to complete the assignment. The penalty for this extension is a reduction of grade of 25% on the remaining points. The extended due date will be 24 hours after the original due date. Other than this extension opportunity, no late work will be accepted.

Quizzes:

There will be several quizzes throughout this Winter Term.

Tentative Quiz Schedule
Quiz 1	Wednesday, January 6th
Quiz 2	Friday, January 8th
Quiz 3	Tuesday, January 12th
Quiz 4	Tuesday, January 19th
Quiz 5	Thursday, January 21st

The topic of the quiz and the date/time of the quiz will be announced on UBLearns at least two days in advance. The quiz will be administered through WebAssign. The lowest quiz score will be dropped when your course grade is calculated. A make-up quiz will only be offered for an excused absence (e.g. family emergencies, documented illness); please refer to the “Make-Up Quiz and Midterm Exam Policy”. No late quizzes will be accepted.

Exams: There will two online exams. Online exams will be administered using a two-device proctoring system - students will view the exam on one device, and will be proctored via Zoom on the second device (with the video on). More information on this procedure can be found at the following link: https://exams.ubmath.info/. Students should contact their instructor as soon as possible if there are issues adhering to this procedure. No calculators will be permitted.

                            Tentative Exam Schedule

Exam 1 (online)        Thursday, January 14th – 10:00am-11:45am EST (tentative)

Exam 2 (online)        Friday, January 22nd – 10:00am-11:45am EST (tentative)

The topics included in each exam will be announced on UBLearns at least 3 days in advance. Students must take the exam during the announced time. If a student does not take the exam at the scheduled date and time, a score of 0 will be recorded. A make-up exam will only be offered for a justified and verifiable absence (e.g., absent due to an illness); please refer to the “Make-Up Quiz and Exam Policy”.

Make-Up Quiz and Exam Policy:

A make-up quiz or exam will only be offered for a justified and verifiable absence. The make-up assessment should be requested no later than 24 hours after the time of the missed quiz or exam. If a make-up is approved, the student then has three days to take the make-up assessment. Please note that make-up assessments will NOT be given for not knowing the exam or quiz took place, or forgetting the date of the assessment.

Grading Plan:

A breakdown of the course points is given below:

Event	Percentage
Homework Average (average the scores from each assignment)	20%
Quiz Average (after dropping one score)	20%
Exam 1	30%
Exam 2	30%
TOTAL	100%

Letter grades will be assigned based on the following percentages:

Letter Grade	Percentage Range
A	93-100
A-	90-92.9
B+	87-89.9
B	83-86.9
B-	80-82.9
C+	77-79.9
C	73-76.9
C-	70-72.9
D+	67-69.9
D	63-66.9
F	< 63

The instructor reserves the right to lower the grade ranges. The grade ranges will not be raised.

After final grades have been released, please inform the instructor if you believe an error was made in the grade calculation. Do not ask to be given a higher letter grade.

UBLearns will be used to record student grades, however, it will not be programmed to calculate your “overall” grade. Any overall grade it gives is not guaranteed to be correct.

Attendance Policy:

You are expected to review the textbook before class, watch the lecture videos in a timely manner, and participate in the lecture by attending Problem Sessions, asking questions on Piazza and writing solutions to problems from the notes.

Accessibility Resources:

If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 716-645-2608 and also the instructor of this course during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web at: http://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/accessibility.html

Academic Integrity:

Students must be familiar with and abide by the university’s policies and procedures on Academic Integrity, available at the following link: https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/integrity.html. Examples of cheating on an exam or quiz include but are not limited to: use of unauthorized materials, use of unauthorized sources (including internet resources or unauthorized calculators) and collaborating with other persons. If you are caught cheating on an exam or quiz, a sanction will be imposed and you will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity.

Important Dates:

1.    Last day to drop/add a winter 2021 course without financial obligation: January 5, 2021

2.    Last day to resign from a winter 2021 course: January 15, 2021.

Classroom Conduct:

    You are expected to watch the video lectures, and participate in the Piazza discussions.

    Be professional when communicating with others (email, Piazza, Zoom etc.), as well as when taking exams.

    Respect your classmates and work cooperatively. I will not tolerate rudeness.

    Please refer to the following link for the University’s policy on Obstruction or Disruption in the Classroom: https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/obstruction.html

    Take responsibility for your learning. Work on the homework a little bit each day. Do not “cram” for midterms.

Critical Campus Resources

Sexual Violence

UB is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.

Mental Health

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other issues you may experience. You can learn more about these programs and services by contacting: