Course Objectives.
Among the many objectives of this course, some of the most important
are
Software.
I will be using
OCTAVE, a powerful software package for
numerical computation, for most classroom demonstrations and
programs that I disseminate for student use. OCTAVE is
patterned quite closely after MATLAB, an industry standard
package—many programs written for one will run seamlessly in
the other—but (contrary to MATLAB) is open-source (so
available for free under the GNU public license)
and available for the three major
platforms: Mac OS, Linux and Microsoft Windows. Nevertheless,
Calvin has MATLAB available both in the mathematics and
engineering computer labs, and you are welcome to use it unless
an assignment explicitly excludes it as an option. Should you
prefer it, despite the preference expressed in the title of the
textbook, you may also carry out computing exercises using
C/C++, again except in cases where the assignment specifically
excludes it.
Evaluations.
Each of the following will be components of your overall grade:
assignments (graded for correctness), exams (probably three—dates
to be determined), and a cumulative final.
Homework will be assigned on a daily basis and usually collected
twice per week. I will try to get it marked in a timely
fashion, at which time I will place it in a folder marked
“graded homework” in the box outside my office where
you may pick it up at your convenience. There is a corresponding
“new homework” folder, in which you may place homework
that is to be collected that day. I consider it late, and will
not accept it, if I have graded those sets which were submitted
on time and made them available for pickup.
At semester's end, I will compare your grade on the final exam
with what you have received on the in-class exams. If the final
is better, then I will replace the worst of these with the final
exam grade.
Academic Integrity.
Concerning homework,
you may borrow someone's idea for solving a problem, but cite your
source (a classmate, peer, book—provide the usual bibliographic
information, website—provide the url, etc.). All assignments (except
for projects specifically assigned in groups) are to be written up
separately on your own, using your own words. Give as much attention
to presenting your solutions in a coherent manner (using mathematical
symbols as part of your sentence structure) as you give to actually
solving problems, as it is the explanation of each problem that is graded
(not simply the answer itself). Handing in another's writeup of any part
of an assignment will be considered an instance of academic
dishonesty (See Section
4.2.8 of the Faculty Handbook.), resulting in a zero for the
entire assignment.
If any part of an exam write-up is not your own,
or is the result of unauthorized access to information stored anywhere
in any form, the result on the first instance will be a score of zero.
A second occurrence will result in automatic failure of the course.
Contacting me.
My office is NH 281. If you are having trouble in the course —
if you do not understand something important or have some special
circumstance that impedes your performance — see me about it
right away. Do not put things off. The hours
I am intentionally in my office for
meeting with students are posted on my
homepage, as they are subject to change during the semester.
If we cannot hook up at one of these times, feel free to
talk with me about an appointed time to meet, or swing
by my office and see if I am available to help.
I may be reached by phone at x66856, but a better way
to reach me for a non-technical question is by email.
If you require my approval for something, do
not consider having left a message for me
as equivalent to having obtained that approval.
Accommodations.
Reasonable academic accomodations will be made for individuals with
documented disabilities. Any student who this concerns should
notify one of the Coordinators for Services for Students with
Disabilities located in the Student Academic Services office, HH 455.
That student should also meet with me during the first two weeks of
the semester to discuss academic accomodations.
Exceptions.
I reserve the right to make changes or exceptions to course policies —
including those described in this document — either for the entire
class or for specific individuals. The ultimate goal in this course is
learning, and formal requirements should not unnecessarily stand in
the way of that. Thus, if you think that any of the conditions of the
course are interfering with learning, please speak with me about this,
and we will see what can be done.
This page maintained by:
Thomas L. Scofield
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Calvin College