Kevin Milans (milans@illinois.edu)
Office: 223 Illini Hall
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 4-5pm, and by appointment
Course Webpage | Section Webpage | Section Policies and Information | Grades
Section Policies and Information
Welcome to sections AD2 and AD4 of Math234: Calculus for Business I. Mathematics can be a difficult subject to learn; the good news is that you don't have to (and should not) go it alone. I am more than happy to answer your questions during office hours and via email. If you are unable to attend office hours, please feel free to email me to schedule an appointment. Additionally, the math department maintains a list of other sources of help, including free group tutoring and paid private tutoring.
Policies and information that are relevant to students in all sections are available on the course webpage.
Homework and Quizzes
Each week, homework problems are assigned from the text and listed on the section webpage. Homework will not be collected or graded, but the homework problems form the basis for the quizzes.
We will have weekly quizzes on Thursdays. Each quiz consists of problems selected from the corresponding homework assignment, with small modifications. For example, if a problem involves specific numbers, the numbers may be changed. If you conscientiously complete and understand the homework problems, then you should have no trouble on the quiz.
Grading
Quizzes will be graded and returned in discussion section the following Tuesday. Your two (2) lowest scores are dropped from your quiz average. Your quiz average is worth 10% of your final grade; the course webpage describes how the remaining 90% is determined.
Excused and Unexcused Absences
In exceptional circumstances, a student may be excused from one or more of the quizzes. To be excused from a quiz, you must contact me via email as soon as you know of your need to be excused; in some cases, this is well before the quiz takes place. Documentation (for example, a doctor's note in the case of illness) is generally required.
If you miss a quiz due to an unexcused absence, you will receive a score of zero. No makeup quizzes are offered. This strict policy is one of the reasons that your two lowest quiz scores are dropped.
A Word of Advice
It is very easy to trick yourself into thinking that you understand a concept in math when you really don't. I see it happen to students every semester. As the semester gets busy, you may find yourself tempted to merely glance over the assigned homework problems and argue that because you've understood the corresponding material in lecture and in discussion section, you don't really need to work the homework problems. Don't let this happen to you! Following along as someone else works a problem and actually doing it yourself under pressure, with a blank piece of paper in front of you, are two very different things.
milans@uiuc.edu