WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO SUCCEED IN A MATH CLASS?

1. Attend classes: You are expected to be present for all class meetings. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to copy another student’s notes and be informed of any announcements made during class.
2. Keep notes during class and save graded exams for later review.
3. Ask questions during class to make the learning process customized to your class needs. It is up to you to make sure that your instructor explains everything in detail, at a pace that suits the best the entire group.
4. Review your notes and the textbook examples, attempting to understand the main points of what was presented in class, before trying to solve the assigned homework problems.
5. Work all homework problems the same day they are assigned and check your answers in the back of the book. Homework is an essential activity for you to achieve success in a mathematics class. If you have difficulties solving some of them, consult a classmate, a math lab tutor or visit your professor during office hours. It is extremely important that you clarify all concepts before the next class meeting.
6. Organize your time as you should expect to spend at least ten hours per week outside the class working on this material.
7. Before each exam you should at a minimum review your class notes, the text material covered, problem solving techniques, the assigned homework exercises and all recent quizzes.
8. Don’t forget to get a good night’s rest before each exam.
9. When you receive the exam questions, read quickly through all of the questions, and begin by doing first the problems you feel most confident about. This may settle your nerves! The more challenging questions should be left for later. Try to save a few minutes at the end to proofread your work before handing in the exam.

WHAT CLASS SHOULD YOU TAKE? All incoming students should take the Mathematics Placement Test in HH108.  Please call 219-980-6601 to schedule an appointment. The test helps to determine whether a student is ready to take a math refresher course, a developmental course M007 or M014, or some other course offered by the Department of Mathematics and Actuarial Sciences at 100 level or higher. The order in which the courses should be taken is shown in the chart to the right. More details, as well as information about textbooks, material covered, practice tests and their solutions may be found at department web page http://www.iun.edu/~math/PREPARE.shtml .

OFFICE HOURS: When seeking instructor’s help during office hours, it would be helpful if you would organize your questions in advance as much as possible, and be prepared to show your own homework attempts.

MATH LAB: IUN provides free math tutoring services on a walk-in basis at HH 446. All Math Tutors are students majoring in Mathematics, a math-related field or are graduates with a degree in a math related field. In order to accommodate students with varying schedules, we offer evening and Saturday hours. For more information, please call the Math Lab at (219) 980-6979 or check web page http://www.iun.edu/~math/mlab.shtml . Before visiting the Math Lab remember to organize your questions in advance, and be prepared to show your own homework attempts.

THE GRADE OF INCOMPLETE: The grade ‘I’ indicates that the student's work in a course is satisfactory thus far but has not been completed as of the end of the semester. It may be given only when

1. the course work is substantially completed
2. the completed portion of a student's work in a course is of passing quality
3. there is documented proof that it is unjust to hold the student to the original time limit for course completion

It is the responsibility of the student who has incurred a grade of Incomplete to fulfill the requirements of that course within a maximum of one calendar year from the date on which the ‘I’ grade is recorded. After one calendar year, a grade of Incomplete automatically changes to a grade of F on the student's record.

OTHER GRADES: Effective for the Fall of 2006 there were 2 new grades; I* & F*. These grades are given for academic dishonesty/plagiarism/cheating. When a student has either an I* or a F* that grade can never be changed to a grade of W or FX. Effective with the Spring 2005 grades of FNN is to be entered for a student who has never attended.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: It is the responsibility of the student to know of the prohibited actions such as cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, academic, and personal misconduct, and thus, to avoid them. All students are held to the standards outlined in the code. Please reference the http://dsa.indiana.edu/Code/ for a complete listing. Any violation may result in serious academic penalty, ranging from receiving a warning, to failing the assignment, to failing the course, to expulsion from the University.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Visit Student Support Services at HH 239 (980-6798) or go to web page http://www.iun.edu/~supportn/contactus.shtml for more information.

ELECTRONIC COURTESY: So as not to disturb others please make sure all electronic devices are either turned off or in the silent mode when coming into the classroom. Use of cell phone is prohibited during exams.