Instructor Info	Office	Office Hours
Prof. Girardi girardi@math.sc.edu	LC 339	See Prof. Girardi's Weekly Schedule for her office office hours as well as weekly schedule.

See our handy (linked, one page) Semester Calendar, which contains this semester's important dates: holidays, final. Note: an exam might be just before/after a holiday so make your plans accordingly.

Since homework due dates may depend upon where the lecture stopped, sometimes due dates are not known until the end of a lecture. (I do not like to give HW before you are ready for it.) Thus due dates are as announced in class and/or emailed to your UofSC email (so check your email regularly). Sometimes due dates are posted on the course homepage under the "Homework" link. If in doubt of what is due when, just ask Prof. Girardi at the end of class.

The homework that you submit must be your own. You are welcome to work together on homeworks, sharing ideas. However, you may not share solutions (developed by you or online websites like Chegg.com) Remember, you will have to take the exams individually so do not become too dependent upon one another. According to the USC Student Handbook code of student academic responsibility, the first law of academic life is intellectual honesty. This is expected of all of you.

Grounds for an F in the course include: inappropriate sharing of homework solutions, inappropriate use of social media, and inappropiate use of the internet (eg. solution sites as Chegg.com). If class members chooses to utilize site/link/platform for communication (e.g., GroupMe, Discord) other than our class Blackboard page, then Prof. Girardi must be made aware and invited. If you ever have any uncertainty about the ground rules then just ask for clarification from Prof. Girardi, who encourages collaboration.

Attendance and class participation expectations are as stated in the following USC policy (source: https://academicbulletins.sc.edu/undergraduate/ →Undergraduate Policy and Regulations→Undergraduate Academic Regulations→Grading Policies).

Enrollment in a course obligates the student not only for prompt completion of all work assigned but also for punctual and regular attendance and for participation in whatever class discussion may occur. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed concerning all assignments made. Absences, whether excused or unexcused, do not absolve the student from this responsibility.

For excused absences, we will follow the University’s attendance policy, which is at: https://academicbulletins.sc.edu/undergraduate/policies-regulations/undergraduate-academic-regulations/ → Attendance Policy. Beware of the regulations on arranging for an excused absence that can be anticipated at the start of a term.

Make-up work is provided only for an approved excused absence.
The University allows for students to petition for an excused absence due to any of the following circumstances:

• medical conditions or illness or injury,
• death or severe illness of an immediate/dependent family member,
• military duty,
• legal obligation,
• religious holiday a Interfaith Calendar, or
• participation in an authorized university activity.

• To petition for an excused absence, you need to fill out the proper form at Office of Student Advocacy.
  Good news: this Office will contact all your professors. Bad News: approval takes time (properly filling out petition helps speeds things up).
• If you petition for an excused absence, you need to personally contact Prof. Girardi (ASAP, email is fine) to arrange for reasonable makeup work (to be due in a timely fashion). A reasonable amount of time for personally contacting Prof. Girardi is:
  • within 12 hours of the missed assignment (except in extreme circumstances), for excused absences that cannot be anticipated at the start of a term
  • the day after the W date, for an excused absences that can be anticipated at the start of a term.

Your course grade is based soley on your exams and progress checks.

Each progress check (e.g.: one problem on a homework exercise set, a group work, an announced-or-unannounded quiz) is worth 5 points. Since the goal of the progress checks is to master the material by learning from mistakes as so to do well on the exams, the numerical scores of the progress checks will not be posted as to encourage you to read (and learn from) the feedback written on the progress checks.

Since progress checks are your place to learn and we hopefully learn from our mistakes, the lowest (approx./at least) 10% of your collected progress checks assignment scores will be dropped. If you miss a progress checks assignment then the zero you receive on that work will be part of your dropped lowest 10%. A late progress check is not accepted and no progress check make-ups (without an approved excused absence). Exercise (problem) Homeworks are your place to show that you have mastered the material; thus, they will be graded on accuracy.

There will be 2 hourly (really 75 minutes) exams along with a cummulative final exam. All exams are closed books/notes. Calculators are not allowed (nor needed). No exam grade is dropped. There will be no make-up exams (except with an approved excused absence).

Your goal is to gain a working knowledge of the course material; you have some personal freedom in this pursuit. By the end of the semester, demonstrate that you have mastered the material and your grade will be agreeable. With this in mind, your course grade (tentatively) will be based on your (personal) higher percentage in the below 2 schemes.

	scheme 1	scheme 2
Progress Checks	20 %	20 %
Hourly Exams	60% = 2 * 30%	40% = 2* 20 %
Cummulative Final Exam	20%	40 %
total	100 %	100 %

The baseline score is indicated below. These thresholds may be lowered (at the end of the semester) if appropriate.

A	B	C	D	F
90 - 100 %	80 - 89 %	70 - 79 %	60 - 69 %	below 60 %

Students taking this course as Math 703i are required to complete additional work and are evaluated on a more rigorous basis than the students taking the course as Math 554. Math 703i students must speak with Prof. Girardi for further details the first week of classes.

Prof. Girardi is glad to answer your questions over graded work but you must ask within 6 days from the date the graded work is returned in class. You will be given your class PIN shortly after the last day to drop without a W. Your PIN is a three digit number that helps Prof. Girardi correctly record your scores (the first digit indicates your course/section number and the last two digits indicates your place on the roster within your section). In order to receive credit for an assignment, your PIN must be on the paper. So please note your PIN somewhere you can find it when needed. Bring a photo ID to each exam.

Academic Honesty. According to the UofSC Student Handbook code of student academic responsibility, the first law of academic life is intellectual honesty. We expect this of all of you. If you ever have the least bit of uncertainty about the ground rules, just ask Prof. Girardi for clarification. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated (such are grounds for a F in this course). Other than on our class Blackboard page, no electronic posting of the course class notes nor other course material without prior written permission from Prof. Girardi. No improper emailing of students. Violations of this policy will be dealt with according to University guidelines. Cheating on any assignment (or exam) is grounds for a F in this course. A Statement of Academic Integrity can be found at http://www.sc.edu/academicintegrity.

Attendance/Timeliness/CellPhones. UofSC policy states:

Enrollment in a course obligates the student not only for prompt completion of all work assigned but also for punctual and regular attendance and for participation in whatever class discussion may occur. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed concerning all assignments made. Absences, whether excused or unexcused, do not absolve the student from this responsibility.

1. Students are expected to attend the entire class meeting: late arrivals and early depatures disrupt the class. Repeated late arrivals and/or early departures will not be tolerated. If you must leave class early, inform the instructor before the class begins, sit near the door, and gracefully exit. If you must arrive late, discretely find an open seat (and inform the instructor before hand if you know this will happen).
2. During class, cell phones (as well as other electronic devices such as smart watches) are to be turned off and stored in a closed (e.g., zipped or buttoned) bag (e.g., backpack or purse); they may not be stored in the person's clothing (e.g., jacket pocket). If you do not have proper storage with you, you may give the device to the instructor to babysit it during class. Improper use or storage of cell phones could result in the device being confiscated (and not returned).

Electronic Tablets. If you use an electronic tablet to take class notes during class, then your tablet must remain flat on your desk (as one does when writing). Otherwise you will lose the privilege of using a tablet in class.

Tutor. UofSC's Student Success Center (SSC) offers (peer) tutoring for several math classes. Even if this class is not on their official Supported Courses list, if you fill out a Request a Tutor Form, then the SSC will try to find you a tutor. You may visit the SSC page or phone them at (803) 777-1000. In the Fall 2021, Prof. Girardi made a short video showing a student how to fill out a Request a Tutor Form.

ADA. If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Dissabilities Act and you have registered with the UofSC Office of Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), you need to speak with Prof. Girardi before using an approved accommodation. We will discuss how to best handle your SDRC accommodations as so to meet your needs. We will not discuss of your specific disability.

Recording of Class. Recording (of any type, including but not limited to: audio, visual) of any part of the class is prohibited without the prior written permission the Prof. Girardi.

* This syllabus is subject to change.