IMPORTANT NOTICE: Late Add/Drop or Changes in the Basis of Grading
Enrollments recorded by
the end of the third week of instruction are considered official and
unalterable. Unless unforeseeable events occur which in the University's
judgment justify an adjustment, students are expected to complete all courses
in their academic programs. Students should note that a deficient academic
performance is not a sufficient reason for dropping a class or changing the
basis of grading.
The above excerpt appeared on page 13 of the Spring 2005 Schedule of Classes,
marking a significant change in practice.
Prior to 2005, the department chair had the power to approve drops
beyond the deadline; that is no longer the case.
If you are unsure of your continued enrollment
in any class, please read the entire page at Schedule of Classes
Adjustment Chart. More information on this and other topics may be found in the…
UNIVERSITY CATALOG: http://www.csun.edu/catalog/
Additional University policy regarding
incompletes, etc. Memorandum
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE is a
DRUG-FREE CAMPUS Read
this
1.
Responsibility: You are ultimately
responsible for how well you will do in this class.
2.
Class attendance: Attend class regularly, pay attention and take notes.
3.
Study: College courses
generally require 2-3 hours of studying for each course unit. That translates to at least 6-9 hours per
week for a 3-unit class such as Math 102.
Math classes sometimes require even more time. Most importantly: Do not save up the study time to just before a
test. It will not work. Preparing for a test should be a review– not
learning new material.
4.
Preparation: If you do not remember
certain prerequisite material you should take steps to review the necessary
topics. Some of this you can do on your
own or you may want to seek help by going to the Developmental
Mathematics Lab. Lab Hours: Monday – Thursday, 8:30 am–7 pm, and Friday 8:30 am–2 pm.
5.
Resources: Take advantage of the
support services available.
A)
Use your instructor's
office hours efficiently. The time and place of the office hours should be on the course
syllabus.
B) Tutoring help is
available in the Learning Resource Center Lab and Math Tutorial
SH274.
6.
Ask questions: Don't be afraid to ask
questions in class or when going to your instructor's office. Questions that
indicate that you have already worked on a problem and you are uncertain on how
to proceed are better than questions such as "can you do problem #7 on
page 133?"
7.
Study groups: Try to form study
groups with your classmates. Effective
group work is collaborative work and different from simply copying work from a
friend.
8.
Time management: Learn to balance the
time spent on your studies, family/friends and work. It is a challenge if you work 20 or more hours per week, but you
must learn how to prioritize, and not let your studying come in last.
The following contains thoughts gathered from
"100 Things Every College Freshman Ought to Know",
by William Disbro.
1. College is NOT high school.
In high school almost everything you did was planned by someone else: your schedule of classes, your reading, your
meals etc. In college you’re on your
own. You have the freedom to become
successful in your life— or you can fail— all by yourself. For better or for worse, in college and work
and life, it's all up to you.
2. Parties, drinking/drugs, and late hours (whether socializing or working)
will put stress on your body no matter how young and healthy you are. Sooner or later they will take their toll,
and you will find yourself without the necessary time, energy, or focus to do the required coursework, which will affect
your learning (& your grades). Some
fun is good, even necessary, but keep in mind Ben Franklin’s advice: moderation
in all things….
3. Education is not entertainment.
Sometimes education is fun and exciting, but a lot of time it is just
hard work. Textbooks and lectures can
be boring. There will be no exciting
change of scenery every few seconds as in most TV programs. Keep busy taking good notes. If college degrees were automatic, everyone
would have one. One thing a college
degree says about you is that you can persevere.
4. Study skills are vital to success.
The students who seem to have it easy have already learned good study
skills. Good students have the ability
to make good use of their memory, and rely on their ability to figure out
solutions. They look for the
important ideas, and try to make sense of them, rather than memorizing a lot of
meaningless rules. [Oh so vital in
mathematics!] They take good notes,
and work exercises in an organized way that will help them study for
exams. They know how to predict test
questions and they know how to study for any particular kind of test. Good students plan ahead to allow for the
time necessary to get ready for an exam.
They also know how not to waste energy worrying about exams (when they
should be reviewing notes and exercises that will actually help).
5. Forming a study group with your fellow students, or just finding a
study partner, is a good way to master the material. You need a serious group— not a gab-fest. Select study partners carefully. All members should be willing to work— if
not, dump them. Ask your instructor, or
just write a note on the board for interested people to decide when and where
to meet.
6. You must be willing to ask for help as soon as you think you need
it. The first person to ask— and not at
the 11th hour— is the instructor.
Most faculty want students to succeed. Don't be embarrassed about
discussing any problems affecting your achievement. Let the instructor know why you miss a class, or if you have
difficulties seeing or hearing. Ask for
advice at the beginning— You cannot
make up an entire term's worth of material in the last week of classes.
7. Time management is part of the plan! Students who organize their time and stick to a schedule normally
do better than those who don't. There
are a wide variety of time management approaches from which to choose. You may need to change the form you used in
high school to operate effectively in college.
Be prepared! It's a natural
evolution to the college process. Try
an approach. Take your academic calendar
and break it down into weeks. List
major events first, (i.e. midterms, finals, due dates for papers, etc.). Next, take the first week and schedule
everything you think will happen: sleeping, eating, work, classes, play time,
and the one thing a lot of students forget to build into their schedule, STUDY
TIME. Two-three hours of study time
(i.e., reading, reviewing notes, etc.) should be scheduled for each hour in
class although some classes will not require all that time and some will
require much more. Keep adjusting
until you find the approach that works best for you. Keep this motto in mind along the way:
Plan Your Work, Then Work Your Plan.
To Your Success!!
RETURN TO …
Copyright © 2008 all rights reserved C.
A. Spengel, Mathematics Department, California State University, Northridge
91330 USA
Photo of Cereus
Peruvianus, grown by Prof. L.L.Foster, photo by RCS.