Syllabus for MAT-119
QUANTITATIVE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
This is an applications-based course that continues with the mathematical inquiry that began in high school and intermediate algebra. This course prepares students for further study in business, finance, and management science. The underlying teaching philosophy is that students who study mathematics should develop alternate means of critical thinking and apply those means to the applications in the everyday business world. To this end, active participation is fostered by means of a variety of assignments. This provides the student with sophisticated computational skills while stressing the ability to think critically and objectively. These computational and thinking skills will be applied to a wide variety of business applications. Students are encouraged to explore and solve realistic applications in business, finance, and management science.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN-13: 9780321931061
ISBN-13: 9780321986320
Quantitative Business Analysis is a three-credit online course, consisting of seven modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, activities, and quizzes. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take quizzes, and a proctored online final examination. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
You will have seven discussion forum assignments in this course. One per module. You are required to enter an initial response to the Discussion Question. In addition, you must post at least two responses to the initial response of other students and these two responses must be on different days during the module. This standard is a minimum requirement. It is suggested that you participate on a daily basis during the course.
Participation consists primarily of discussion the topic under consideration or other topics of interest regarding mathematics and its business applications. Participation is measured by a student’s meaningful contribution to the virtual classroom discussion. Only substantive contributions will be considered for grading. Notes such as “me too” and “I agree” and other notes not related to the course are not considered substantive notes for participation. A note is determined to be of substance by containing information that supplements, contradicts, questions, or furthers discussion on a subject area contained in the course.
Submitting assignments through the Assignment links, logging on and reading messages, posting messages in the “Lounge” or in the “Introduction,” and emails do not count towards participation.
Participation grading will, by necessity, be a combination of objective grading (number of postings) and subjectivity (quality of postings).
You are required to complete seven written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.
Assignments must be prepared electronically with a word processor (e.g., Microsoft Word) and, preferably, whatever equation editor integrates with your word processing software. Since this is a course in mathematics, you are recommended to use an equation editor to place mathematical symbols in your work. (Important: Use the equation editor only to insert equations into your word-processed document and not to create the document itself.) However, if your word processor is not compatible with your mentor's word processor, you will need to save your document as a rich-text format (.rtf) file before submitting it. Check with your mentor first to determine file compatibility.
When preparing your answers, please identify each exercise clearly by textbook section and exercise number. Be sure to include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled. To receive full credit for your answers, you must show all work and include complete solutions. If you choose not to use an equation editor to write mathematical symbols, you'll need to use the Insert > Symbols menu of your word processor to find the appropriate symbols. Exponents can be inserted as superscripts using the Format > Font menu.
There will be a quiz for each of the seven modules. The quizzes should be taken after you complete the practice exercises and the written assignment. There will be five multiple-choice problems on each of the quizzes. You have up to 30 minutes in which to complete the quiz and may take it only once.
The proctored, online final exam covers all reading and assignments from the course. The exam is three hours long. The final exam includes 50 multiple choice questions.
You may use your textbook as long as it doesn't have any loose inserts. You are not allowed to bring or consult a solutions manual, notebook or notes of any kind, any practice or written assignment problems, or any other reference sources or sources of information.
Note: You are permitted to use a calculator (scientific, graphing, or financial) but may not use a calculator on a phone, PDA, or any similar device.
For the final, you are required to use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course Web site. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.
You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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