Math 220 AL1 - Calculus
Prof. Robert G. Muncaster (Dr. Bob)

Math 220 AL1 Course Information Page - Spring 2007

Meeting Times and Locations

Lectures (Section AL1): MWF 1-2, 314 Altgeld Hall

Discussion Sections and Instructors (Sections AD1 - AD8):

Office Hours (open to all)

Contact information

Course Policies

Attendance: According to University policy (see here for the relevant section in the Student Code), "regular class attendance is expected of all students at the University of Illinois". This applies to both the lectures and the discussion/recitation sections. While attendance will not be checked and will not directly be factored into the grade, if you do skip class you do so at your own risk; any quizzes you miss as a result of skipping class will count as 0 points and hurt your grade. (Of course, an absence due to illness or other legitimate excuses, including religious observances, is a different matter; see below for policies that apply in those cases.)

Aleks Assessment: All students must undergo a precalculus assessment using the software system called ALEKS. Details on the ALEKS Assessment System can be found on the course schedule page.

Homework: Homework assignments for this course will be conducted on a web-based system called MathZone. Assignments will be due twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays at 11:59 pm. Information about and access to MathZone can be found on the course schedule page.

Quizzes: Quizzes will be given once a week in those weeks when a midterm exam is not scheduled (see the class schedule). The quizzes will cover material from the past 2 - 3 lecture hours. The problems on the quizzes will be similar or identical to problems worked out in the discussion sections or assigned as HW problems. If you attend the lectures and discussion sections and keep up with the homework assignments, you should have no problems with the quizzes. The quizzes will be given during the last 15 minutes of the Thursday discussion sections.

Midterm Exams: There will be four Midterm Exams, given during the regular class hour. See the class schedule for exam dates. Detailed exam syllabi will be posted about one week before each exam date.

Final Exam: The Final Exam will be cumulative. See the class scheduel for time and place. (There is no conflict or combined final for this class.)

Policy on missed quizzes: There will be no make-up quizzes. A missed quiz will count as 0 points unless you have a legitimate excuse, such as illness, or a field trip for another class, and can show appropriate documentation for it, such as a doctor's note in case of illness, or an instructor's note in case of a field trip. With a valid excuse, a missed quiz will be marked as "excused". This simply means that your quiz average will be based on the remaining quizzes (with the lowest score dropped), i.e., it will be just as if the "excused" quiz had never taken place.

If you think you qualify for an excused quiz, get in touch with your TA as soon as possible, but no later than a week after the quiz was given, and provide him/her with appropriate documentation. In case of illness, make sure to get a note from your doctor or hospital personnel.

Policy on missed hour exams: Missed hour exams are treated similarly, i.e., marked as "excused" if a valid excuse is presented (no make-ups), but with one significant difference: The absence from an hour exam has to be documented by a letter from the Dean. (For quizzes, other documentation - such as a note from McKinley - is sufficient, though a letter from the Dean would, of course, also be acceptable.) To get such a letter issued, go to the Dean's Office at 300 Student Services Building, 610 East John St., phone 333-0050, explain your case, and ask to send a letter to the instructor. The people there deal with these situations all the time and have form letters that they are happy to send to instructors if they believe you have a valid excuse (e.g., illness, but not, for example, oversleeping). One major advantage of going through the Dean's Office is that you can take care of any other missed classes at the same time by having letters sent to all of your instructors.

Calculator policy: Calculators of the level TI-84 or lower will be permitted on each quiz and examination.

Academic Integrity (Cheating): I maintain a zero tolerance policy on cheating. Any student found cheating on an exam, quiz, or indeed any aspect of the course will receive a failing grade for the course. This includes, in particular, the appearance of stored study aids on calculators used during exams.

Grading policy

Computation of course grade: The course grade will be the average of your ALEKS Assessment, homework, quiz, hour exams, and final exam grades, weighted as follows: 10% ALEKS Assessment, 15% Homework, 5% Quizzes; 40% Hour Exams (10% per exam); 30% Final Exam.

Curving: Exams and quizzes will be graded "on a curve"; the curve will be a function of the difficulty of the exam and the overall performance of the class and will be announced after grading is complete. There will be no additional curving at the end of the semester.

More information

The web page for this course is http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~muncast/math220 You should bookmark this page and visit it on a regular basis. On this web page you will find: