Please read this syllabus carefully. You will be responsible for all the information given here, and for any modifications to it that may be announced in class.
Instructor: Christian Remling
Office: PHSC 817
Phone: 325-5409
E-mail: cremling....math.ou.edu
Office hours: M 2:30 - 3:30, W 2 - 3, and by appointment.
Class Homepage: www.math.ou.edu/~cremling/teaching/alg1f15.html
Text: I will prepare lecture notes, available here.
Attendance: I strongly recommend that you come to class; however, I will not formally check attendance. Please also keep in mind that you are responsible for all information given out during the lectures.
Quizzes: There will be (at least) ten pop-quizzes, which will be graded on a rather coarse scale (0, 1, 2, or 3 points of credit). No special preparation is required for these, but, obviously, it is extremely important that you stay caught up and get into the habit of regularly thinking about the material. You can't make up a quiz in case you didn't come to class or were late.
Homework: Weekly homework assignments will be announced in class, and they will be posted on the course web page. Please start working on the problems by yourself or together with other students immediately when they are assigned. We will then meet to exchange ideas on the current assignment and address questions. You should be sufficiently well prepared to make meaningful contributions to the discussion of any of the problems. After this meeting, please write up solutions in final form.
Please use a separate notebook for your homework or collect your solutions in a folder. I will collect your accumulated homework three times during the semester (simultaneously with the midterms and at the end of the semester) and evaluate it on a 4 point scale (0, 10, 20, or 30 points). The criteria are completeness, carefulness of work, clarity of presentation, and I will also check your solutions to a few selected problems in detail. I'll award an additional 60 points for adequate participation in the discussion sections.
Please take the homework very seriously. Doing problems is an essential part of the learning process.
Exams: We will do two midterms and a (comprehensive) final. The midterms will be held
on September 24 and November 3. The final is scheduled for December 16, 1:30 - 3:30 pm.
All tests must be taken at the scheduled times, except in extraordinary
circumstances. Please do not arrange travel plans that prevent you from
taking any of the exams at the scheduled time.
Grading system: Your total score is computed by adding the scores from the individual categories. The maximum scores available in each category are:
| Quizzes | 150 |
| Homework | 150 |
| Midterms | 200 each |
| Final Examination | 300 |
Then the following scale is used: A 1000 - 875, B 874 - 750, C 749 - 625, D 624 - 500.
I will use D2L for the book-keeping, so you can check
your current standing at
learn.ou.edu at any time during the semester.
Note that the percentages displayed on D2L are not necessarily relevant, especially if there
should be bonus items.
This grading scheme is tentative; it provides you with a guarantee on what your grade will be in a worst case scenario. Depending on how things develop, I may very well lower the requirements or give opportunities for additional credit. However, under no circumstances will I apply special regulations for individual students, as this would be extremely unfair to the other students in class and it would also upset the whole grading process.
Withdrawal Policy: Click here for important dates.
Grade of Incomplete: The grade of I is a special-purpose grade given when a specific task needs to be completed to finish the coursework. This is typically a term paper or other special assignment, so rarely makes sense in a mathematics course. An I cannot be given to avoid receiving a low grade.
Academic Misconduct: See here for University policies on academic misconduct.
Students with Disabilities: The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accomodation for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may interfere with the demonstration of your abilities, please contact me as soon as possible to arrange accomodations necessary to ensure your full participation in the course. You will also need to register with the Office of Disability Services.