Penn State Eberly

Bridge English & AlgebraFall Session

January 11th through April 27th 2016

Instructor: Matt Weightman

matthew.weightman@iu1.org
724-550-4555

Monday & Wednesday

1 PM to 3:30PM
Note: This syllabus is subject to change.
Attendance: This course is designed as a refresher course of basic & intermediate skills in mathematics and
English grammar & writing. Attendance is required every day, but you will be permitted 5 absences throughout the
course. Any absence on a test day will need a written excuse unless given my prior approval. If you are absent for a sixth
class during the course, speak to me after class to discuss your enrollment. Please explain to your employers the
importance of your attendance; I do not excuse absences for conflicts in work schedules, and these absences will count
against your balance of 5.
Please inform me in advance by e-mail if you are going to miss class for any reason. If you miss class you are still
responsible for any missed material, homework, or tests from that day. You will have two class days to make up any
missed test. It is your responsibility to ask for any work you may have missed.
For students whos attendance records show little to no absence, I will award bonus points as follows:
Bonus points:

0 Absences: 6 points

1 Absence: 3 points

2 Absence: 1 point

Check the e-mail account that you give me on a regular basis in case I need to contact you or cancel class.
In case of bad winter weather, check www.fe.psu.edu, www.wpxi.com, or another news source to see if Penn State Fayette
Eberly campus is closed that day. If the campus is closed, we will not have class.
- If the campus is operating on a two hour delay, we will have class at normal time.
Grading:
- Math: Your grade will be determined by an average of your tests. I will drop your lowest test score, excluding
the final. To pass the course, you will need an average of 70% or higher on both, your overall grade and your
final. An overall score of 70% or higher with a Final Exam score less than 70% will not pass the course.
o Test corrections: All regular tests will be able to be corrected for half credit of the missed problems. To
complete a quiz correction, rework the problems missed on a separate sheet of paper; do not erase or
rework any problems on your quiz itself. Turn in both, the original test and the separate page youre
your corrections. The Final Exam is not eligible for test corrections.
- English: Your grade will be determined by an average of your tests, graded assignments, and final project. To
pass the course, you will need an average of 70% and provide a presentation to the class at the end of the course.
o Test corrections: All regular tests will be able to be corrected for half credit of missed problems. Follow
the instructions for the math test corrections. Because of their due dates, the presentation and last writing
assignment will not be eligible for test corrections.
Textbook:
The books are reused in future classes. DO NOT WRITE IN THE BOOKS. You need to take notes and do all
homework on separate paper. You will need to turn in your book in good condition at the end of the class. You will
need to sign a contract agreeing to return the books, and if you do not return the book in a similar condition,
you will be responsible for paying for a replacement book; an outstanding book will affect your approval for
completing the course.
All students will take a TABE Post-Test at the end of the course. For some, this may be a second post-test.
After completing the Bridge classes, all students will need to take Penn States placement tests.
These are very important in scheduling PSU classes (regardless of your grades in the Bridge classes).
If successful in the program, you will need to see Apryl within a week after classs end.