Disclaimer: These policies are effective Fall 2018. There may be instances in which we may be updating this page. Please refer to your course instructor regarding current course policies for MATH 13xx courses.  Your course syllabus and any policies specific to your course are on your teacher’s web site.

Academic Adjustments/Auxiliary Aids:  The University of Houston System complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, pertaining to the provision of reasonable academic adjustments/auxiliary aids for students who have a disability. In accordance with Section 504 and ADA guidelines, University of Houston strives to provide reasonable academic adjustments/auxiliary aids to students who request and require them. If you believe that you have a disability requiring an academic adjustments/auxiliary aid, please visit The  Center for Students with DisABILITIES (CSD) website at  http://www.uh.edu/csd/    for more information.

Accommodation Forms: Students seeking academic adjustments/auxiliary aids must, in a timely manner (usually at the beginning of the semester), provide their instructor with an approved current Student Accommodation Form (paper copy or online version, as appropriate) before an approved accommodation can be implemented.

Details of this policy, and the corresponding responsibilities of the student are outlined in The Student Academic Adjustments/Auxiliary Aids Policy (01.D.09) document under [STEP 4: Student Submission (5.4.1 & 5.4.2), Page 6]. For more information please visit the Center for Students with Disabilities Student Resources page .

Additionally, if a student is requesting a (CSD approved) testing accommodation, then the student will also complete a Request for Individualized Testing Accommodations (RITA) paper form to arrange for tests to be administered at the CSD office. CSD suggests that the student meet with their instructor during office hours and/or make an appointment to complete the RITA form to ensure confidentiality.  Students should bring a copy of their approved SAF form when meeting with the instructor to complete a RITA form.

*Note: RITA forms must be completed at least 48 hours in advance of the original test date. Please consult your counselor ahead of time to ensure that your tests are scheduled in a timely manner. Please keep in mind that if you run over the allotted time indicated on your RITA form, then your exam score will be reduced 1 percentage point for each minute over.

UH CAPS

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) can help students who are having difficulties managing stress, adjusting to college, or feeling sad and hopeless. You can reach (CAPS) by calling 713-743-5454 during and after business hours for routine appointments or if you or someone you know is in crisis. No appointment is necessary for the "Let's Talk" program, a drop-in consultation service at convenient locations and hours around campus.

UH Academic Honesty Policy

University of Houston students are expected to adhere to the Academic Honesty Policy as described in the UH Undergraduate Catalog. “Academic dishonesty” means employing a method or technique or engaging in conduct in an academic endeavor that contravenes the standards of ethical integrity expected at the University of Houston or by a course instructor to fulfill any and all academic requirements. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: Plagiarism; Cheating and Unauthorized Group Work; Fabrication, Falsification, and Misrepresentation; Stealing and Abuse of Academic Materials; Complicity in Academic Dishonesty; Academic Misconduct. 

Refer to UH Academic Honesty website (http://www.uh.edu/provost/policies/honesty/) and the UH Student Catalog for the definition of these terms and university’s policy on Academic Dishonesty. Anyone caught cheating will be reported to the department for further disciplinary actions, receive sanctions as explained on these documents, and will have an academic dishonesty record at the Provosts office. The sanctions for confirmed violations of this policy shall be commensurate with the nature of the offense and with the record of the student regarding any previous infractions. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to: a lowered grade, failure on the examination or assignment in question, failure in the course, probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University of Houston, or a combination of these. Students may not receive a W for courses in which they have been found in violation of the Academic Honesty Policy. If a W is received prior to a finding of policy violation, the student will become liable for the Academic Honesty penalty, including F grades.

Announcements will be made at the beginning of lecture, on your teacher’s website, via email, and on the CourseWare site.  Your teacher reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus/policies of the course and to announce such information as needed.  You are responsible for knowing the content of any announcements concerning changes.

Calculators are not permitted, except in MATH 1311, MATH 1312, MATH 1313 or MATH 1314.  For these courses, see your teacher’s website for information about what type of calculator will be allowed. *Exceptions may be made per the Student Academic Adjustments/Auxiliary Aids Policy for students with approved CSD accommodations (see above).

“ CASA”  The word CASA may refer to the tutoring center (222 GAR), the testing center (221-A GAR), or the CourseWare website ( www.casa.uh.edu) depending on the context.

CourseWare Access Codes/Textbooks: are purchased at the Bookstore, at the register. Once purchased, students can log into  www.casa.uh.edu, by the deadline. Students who have not entered a valid access code by the deadline will be denied access to their course account and will not be able to submit coursework or take exams until they enter a valid access code. *Note: If you misplace/lose your code, you will need to purchase another. There is no exception to this.

CourseWare site  is located at www.casa.uh.edu. This site will contain all the learning materials for your course: including textbook, discussion board help, quizzes, test reservation and gradebook. Full semester access to your course materials on CourseWare requires the purchase of an access code. 

Cell phones must be turned off before class begins.  Cell phones may not be taken to the testing carrels in CASA Testing Center.  Text-messaging during class is not permitted.

Course Completion Forms: If you are using financial aid you need to provide this form to your instructor at the end of the semester.

Course Policies Quiz will be available at the beginning of the semester and will remain open throughout the semester.  You must take this quiz and score 100 on it BEFORE you will be allowed to use CourseWare for your online assignments, including quizzes, practice tests, and any online tests.  MATH 1300, 1310, 1311, 1312, 1313, 1314, and MATH 1330 students:  This means you have to score 100 on this quiz BEFORE you can take Test 1. 

Poppers: Starting the 3rd week of classes, you will be asked to complete in-class multiple choice questions called “Poppers.” Your instructor will pose these questions periodically during each lecture to test your understanding of current or recent topics covered in class.

You will need to purchase a section-specific packet of bubbling forms (i.e. popper forms) from the Bookstore. These forms will be used to record your Popper answers, and will be submitted before the end of each class. If you change sections, you must buy the forms for your new section. You may NOT use the forms from your former section or any leftover forms from a previous semester.

Popper forms WILL NOT be returned to students and will be shredded after scoring, so you should keep a record of your popper answers separate from the bubbling form. Popper grades will be posted to your gradebook periodically, and your teacher will post popper solutions at regular intervals so you can check how you're doing.

15% of the number of popper questions given during the semester will be dropped - your teacher will pick your lowest scores for this purpose. Due to this policy, there will be no make-ups on poppers. *Possible exceptions are noted below. 

Popper Rules and Instructions: Each popper form has the course and section already filled in at the top. You have to bubble in your PeopleSoft ID and popper number on each form. Please bubble these items carefully and completely. Incomplete, improperly bubbled, or illegible forms will not be graded. If you have any question about the correct format for bubbling, please consult your instructor.

Use a #2 pencil to fill out the forms. It is important to fill in bubbles darkly and completely. Lightly shaded or partially shaded bubbles may result in an invalid popper form that cannot be properly graded by the mark reader. Poorly erased marks or marks made using anything other than a #2 pencil can also cause grading errors.

Do not submit popper forms that are wet, torn, or damaged in some other way as that will likely result in an invalid form as well.

Do not submit popper forms for a classmate. If a student turns in a popper for a classmate who is not in class, the poppers for both students will not be accepted. Repeated offenses will be reported to the departmental hearing officer (see UH Academic Honesty Policy).

There will be no make-up points awarded for invalid poppers. It is the student's responsibility to follow the bubbling instructions correctly.

Keep in mind that popper forms are shredded soon after they are scanned and graded, so there is no way to inspect past popper forms for errors and re-grade them.

Students should monitor their popper grades often and consult with their instructor at the earliest sign of irregularities so that poor bubbling habits can be corrected in a timely manner.

Dropping the course:  You are responsible for making arrangements to drop the course if you wish to. If you wish to drop the course, complete the online "form" before the deadline. Your teacher will not drop you for any reason. You need to complete this process online at my.uh.edu. Pay attention to the deadline; check your course enrollment in your account to make sure your drop has been processed.

Email:  Students are responsible for information about the course that is emailed to them using the email address that the students provide to the My UH site. Your teacher cannot update your profile for you; you are responsible for having a good email address on file as the forwarding email.  We have untold amounts of returned email from hotmail and gmail - if you are forwarding your UH email account to these, note that email rejection by these sites does NOT excuse you from finding out what your teacher has sent.

EMCF forms are online in your CourseWare account. "EMCF" stands for Electronic Multiple Choice Form.  You use these to turn in multiple choice homework. They are numbered and have deadlines. Your teacher will direct you to use them.

Evaluations: At the end of the semester are very important. You cannot choose to opt out of taking the final if you have not completed your Course Evaluation on CourseWare. If you take the final, you can earn 5 points extra credit on your grade (stated as a percent) by submitting the evaluation.  Be sure to submit the evaluation during the last week of the semester. The link to the evaluation is on the CourseWare home page.

Extra Credit:  A practice test will be available online on CourseWare prior to each test.  You may take it up to 20 times, and up to 5% of your highest score will be added to your test grade.   Please note the date that the practice test expires, and complete the practice test well before that date.  There will be a practice final that will be extra credit on the final, as well.  Note that extra credit will be added in your teacher's gradebook at the end of the semester and NOT to your test grades posted in your gradebook during the semester. 

Do not wait until the end of the time period to begin a practice test. CourseWare has limits on the number of logins available per hour. There will be no extensions or make-ups allowed for these practice tests. *Possible exceptions are noted below.

You may print out the practice tests and get help on baffling questions at the CASA Tutoring Center. Tutors are glad to help with questions off printed copies but are not allowed to help you if you're actually taking the practice test on the Tutoring Center computers or on your laptop.  
 
Final Exam Schedule: For all Math 13xx courses, the final will be taken in CASA Testing. Keep this schedule in mind when making end-of-the-semester travel plans. The Math Department does NOT give finals at any time except during the days scheduled for finals.  

Grading:   If x is your semester numerical score*:

*In Math 1300, you must have a cumulative score of 70% to get an S; below that your grade will be a U.

Grades are NOT rounded up.  So, for example, in order to earn an A as a letter grade, you must have an average that is 93.0% or better.  92.999999% is an A–.

Final Exam: The final exam is compulsory and comprehensive in Math 1310 and 1330 and in most online courses.  In other classes you may exempt the final by having a high enough average after the last semester test. Check with your teacher to see if your course has exemption. See the section on Exemption later in this document for the details on it.

Students will take their final exam by appointment in CASA.  

Exemption from the Final:  If your final numerical score for the course is 80.0 or higher - calculated by the official Math Department Grade Calculator, then you may CHOOSE to be exempt from the final if your course allows exemptions. This process is called "opt out". Your grade will be the grade calculated by the grade calculator at the time of the deadline.  The deadline for choosing exemption will be announced by your teacher shortly after mid-semester.  If you are eligible for exemption and do NOT select it by the deadline, then you must take the final.  If you choose to exempt, you may not change your mind after the deadline has passed.  If you do not have a semester numerical average that starts with an "8" or higher by the exemption deadline, then you MUST take the final.

Grading ID Number: You will use your seven digit My UH number (PeopleSoft ID number) as your Grading ID number on all the forms for grading:  poppers, and the free response portion of any test, and the final, if the final is a paper exam.  Please fill in both the number boxes and the number bubbles.  If you mis-bubble your ID on any form, your work will not be graded and you will receive a zero for your efforts.  Note that the first row of bubbles is for zeros and the SECOND row of bubbles is for ones.

Help for the course is available at CASA Tutoring Center (222 Garrison). A Cougar ID card is required to check in. Please check the department website for hours.  Peer tutors will respond to raised hands as promptly as possible.  Tutoring is also available at Cougar Village seven days a week.   Streaming lectures are available for 1310, 1313, 1314, and 1330 as a part of the textbook.

Homework:  Assigned homework is generally due at midnight of the day after the lecture on the material. Homework must be submitted prior to the deadline in an online EMCF in your CourseWare account. Please check your course calendar on Courseware frequently for due dates. Your teacher will explain how to use the EMCF at the beginning of the semester. Some courses may have written/free response homework in addition to EMCF homework. Please review your syllabus for the specific requirements for your course.

Some of your lowest homework scores (the lowest 15%, approximately) will be dropped before calculating your average for the semester to allow for illnesses or other emergencies. Due to this policy, there are no make-ups for homework assignments. *Possible exceptions are noted below.

“Incomplete”  An incomplete (“I”) may be awarded to you by your teacher if the following criteria are met:

• The reason is a compelling NON-ACADEMIC reason.
• You have completed virtually all the course assignments.
• You have a passing grade on this work.

Incompletes are NOT available to students who have done little of the coursework nor for students who have failing grades on what they have done.  See your teacher to fill out and sign the "Incomplete contract" this is also required and must be signed in advance of an I being posted. Imminent failure is not an acceptable reason to be awarded an incomplete.

Online Textbooks: Many textbooks are available through your CourseWare account. Check your homepage for your textbook. Two exceptions are 1311 and 1312; they have printed textbooks available at the Bookstore.

Prerequisites:  Students in every class but Math 1300 must demonstrate mastery of the prerequisite material needed for academic success.  Passing Test 1 with a score of 70% or higher is the easiest way to do this.  If a student scores below 70% on Test 1, then the student is encouraged to drop the course in favor of taking the prerequisite course.  All students MUST take Test 1 as part of the course requirements.  

Section Number: The section number for your course is the five digit number assigned to your course by the University.  It may be called Course Number on your fee bill. You need this number to buy the correct bubbling forms packet and access code. 

Technical problems on quizzes or EMCF:  Technical questions can be resolved by sending email to technical support by using the link on the CourseWare homepage. Your teacher does NOT have any authority to fix or change anything on the CourseWare site; you must contact CourseWare tech support if there is a problem. Note that this is NOT Blackboard, a separate and different system.

Weekly quizzes:  Soon after school starts there will be weekly online quizzes on the "Online Assignments" tab of your course site on CourseWare. You may take each quiz up to 20 times; your highest score for the period will be the grade recorded for the quiz. You must wait 10 minutes between attempts. 

Please note the schedule for the quizzes. Each 13xx course has a different length of time that any particular quiz is available to students in that course. You are responsible for knowing the expiration date on each quiz. See the calendar in your CourseWare account for these.   

Do not wait until the last afternoon to begin working on an online quiz! CourseWare has a finite number of "logins" that can be accommodated per hour and being unable to log on is not an excuse for missing a quiz, neither are viruses or hardware failures. There are no make-ups for online quizzes.*Possible exceptions are noted below.

You may print out the quizzes and then get help on questions in the CASA Tutoring Center. Tutors are glad to help on these questions off printed copies, but are not allowed to help you if you are actually taking a quiz in the CASA Tutoring Center

You must score 100 on the Course Policies Quiz before you can take any online quizzes. Any quizzes that you miss while you haven't finished the Course Policies Quiz will have a grade of zero.  

There will NOT be an Amnesty Period at the end of the semester on quizzes.  Once a quiz is expired it is over for the semester. Please make sure you complete each quiz before the expiration deadline.

Test Information:

Testing time: Tests during the semester are, in general, 50 minutes long.  Please make sure to attend to the time while you're testing: do not spend too much time on any one question.  You are expected to finish the whole test in 50 minutes.  Do not spend time writing stuff down before you start your test - you must finish the test within the testing period - you are expected to begin the test promptly on the hour so you can leave promptly at the end of the 50 minute testing period (there's someone else scheduled to use that carrel next and you may NOT overstay). Do NOT "submit" your test BEFORE you've worked on the free response questions and are ready to leave the center; push the submit button when you are DONE with the WHOLE test. If you press submit and continue to work on your test, a CASA Testing Center employee will take your test from you and escort you out of the Testing Center.  

Reservations are required for most tests. The reservations site is at CourseWare: http://casa.uh.edu. See your teacher's website for a list of which tests are given online, which are given in class, and which are given by reservation in the CASA Testing Center.

You will be able to make reservations online about two weeks before each testing period begins. Please take advantage of this to get a convenient time and day. You may reschedule a test time subject to availability. There is NO STANDBY waiting at the Testing Center for an open slot. All reservations must be made through CourseWare. For information on rescheduling and missed tests, see the  Rescheduling and Make-ups section below. 

The Testing Center is also known as CASA Testing. There are three locations for testing. Please visit this link for the specified locations. Each time you schedule a test, make sure to double-check your testing location. You will be required to show your official UH Student ID card to check in and take an exam in CASA (a drivers license will NOT be accepted). You need to have your photograph and fingerprints on file at CASA; there will be time at the beginning of the semester to get this done.  You will not be permitted to take personal belongings (including but not limited to purses, fanny packs, and backpacks) to your testing cubicle; you will be required to check them. You may not have a cell phone or a calculator with you in the testing cubicle.  Neither the Department of Mathematics nor the University of Houston is liable for misplaced, lost, or stolen personal belongings. CASA generally begins seating students 20 minutes before a test begins.

Students who are tardy will NOT be seated.  If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the test has begun (by CASA's clock, not your watch), then you will not be seated.  You may reschedule the test into another time if one is available.  

Once you enter the testing facility you will not be able to leave for any reason without submitting your test for grading. This includes breaks to go to the restroom - make sure you are comfortable BEFORE entering the testing facility.

Testing at CASA: Please read the FAQs on the CASA webpage for the registration process and testing procedures. Your photo and fingerprints need to be on file for you to check in. There will be a registration time at the beginning of the semester for you to get this done. You will be required to show your official UH Student ID card for admission to the Testing Center; no other form of ID is permissible. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please arrive at the Testing Center at least 10 minutes BEFORE the test is scheduled to begin.  Students arriving late at CASA for a reservation will NOT be seated (so be sure to leave freeway foul-up time and time to find parking when you leave to go to your appointment).  

Rescheduling and Make-ups: It may be possible to reschedule a test appointment during the testing period (depending on space availability) by using the online scheduler. Do not assume that you will be able to reschedule - check first for availability.

Your final exam score will replace your lowest midterm exam score if the former is higher. (This replacement, if applicable, will occur at the end of the semester after the Letter Grade Calculator (LGC) is turned off. A missed test will result in a score of zero. If you miss two or more exams, only one of those scores will be replaced.)

The primary reason for this policy is to offset the impact of zero/low test scores due to emergencies (medical, personal, or otherwise) on a student’s final course grade. Therefore, students should not expect to have the option for a make-up test when such an emergency arises. Generally, there will be no make-up tests or "re-tests". *Possible exceptions are noted below.

Free Response questions: Most tests taken in CASA will have a free response part that is individually graded with partial credit. A PDF of your free response paper will be posted to your CourseWare grade book about 10 days after the end of the testing period. Test papers without names will not be graded and the recorded grade for the anonymous work will be a zero. Also, note that the work included on your scratch paper WILL NOT be graded. Please do NOT push the "submit" key before finishing this portion of the test.

Petitioning a test grade (Free Response portion): If you believe a mistake was made in the grading of your test paper, you should contact your teacher within five days after the grade is posted to your grade book. Print the test form out and give it to your teacher with your comments.

Key codes: Free response questions on tests taken in CASA will be worked on a special answer sheet that will be handed to you in CASA. DO NOT write in the key code; a proctor will handle getting your key codes on your test sheet. Verify that you have the correct free response form for your course by checking the heading before starting your test.

Identification on tests: You must carefully and accurately fill in the identifying information. Free response test papers without names or which are mis-bubbled will not be graded. The recorded grade will, necessarily, be a zero.
 

*Note: *Exceptions may be made per the Student Academic Adjustments/Auxiliary Aids Policy for students with approved CSD accommodations (see above), as well as for students with an official excused absence as recognized by University of Houston in accordance with federal and state law.