MATH 115/BUS 105

Orientation Information

     Welcome to the online math 115/ business 105 class, section F05.  This document contains important information about the structure of the course.  Please read the document carefully.

     I am an adjunct instructor here at Muskegon Community College.  That means that I am only employed on a part time basis.  This semester, I work Monday through Thursday mornings from 7:30-10:00.  Those are the times and days I will be available to respond to e-mail and answer questions posted on the discussion board.  I do not have internet access at home, so I can’t read or respond to e-mail or access the discussion board on other days or at other times.

     If you have questions on the material, post them on the discussion board first.  Another student may answer your question before I have a chance to see it.  If it hasn’t been answered when I check the discussion board, I will post an answer.  All students should check the discussion board regularly and help other students if they can.  You may also send me questions by e-mail if you need a quicker response.

     Note that students will be required to take the final exam on campus in the testing center during the week of December 15^th.  I will post an announcement with the exact dates and times for the final exam at a later date.  The testing center does have evening hours, so if you work you still will be able to get in to take your final exam.  If you do not live in the Muskegon area, you will have to make arrangements at a college close to you to proctor the final exam for you.  I will need the name and fax number of the person who is proctoring the exam for you 2 weeks prior to the time of the final.

     Statistics can be a difficult course for some students.  You should not attempt the course online unless you have fairly proficient skills in mathematics and logical reasoning.  Usually only half of the students who start the class finish successfully.  You will need to be able to read the textbook and lecture notes and work out how to solve the problems.  The lecture notes contain calculator instructions and examples.  Most of the calculations involved in statistics are done on computers these days, and I recommend that you use your calculator for the calculations required in this course.  Note that a graphing calculator is required for the course, not optional.  I highly recommend a TI-83, 83 plus, 84, or 84 plus.  These calculators are designed to be used for statistics and have the best packages.  The TI-89 also has a good statistical package, but it is harder to use than that on the other calculators.  The TI-86 does not have most of the statistical functions discussed in chapters 6 through 13, and I do not recommend its use for this course. 

A note on software:  When you submit projects or other assignments, they must be in Microsoft Word or Excel format.  Microsoft works is usually OK also.  I cannot read files in Wordperfect or Minitab formats, so please do not submit them that way.  Also, if you have Word 2007, it usually compresses the files and then I am unable to read them.  You will need to request that they be saved in an earlier version of Word so they do not get compressed.