Course philosophy:

This course is a 3 credit hour, non-credit course designed to prepare students for further coursework in Algebra or related Mathematical topics at the collegiate level.

Students who are not able to place into Math 105, Math 106 or Math 175, after taking the university’s math placement test, are required to enroll in Math 095. Students who struggle significantly with the placement test may be better served enrolling in Math 090.

For information on all of the different types of Math 095 classes offered, click on the link below.

Topics Covered:

· Solving linear equations in one variable.

· Word problems involving linear equations in one variable.

· Graphing linear equations in two variables.

· Solving systems of linear equations in two variables.

· Word problems involving systems of linear equations.

· Rules of exponents operations involving polynomial expressions.

· Factoring second-order and third-order polynomial expressions.

· Solving quadratic equations by factoring.

· Operations involving rational expressions.

· Solving equations containing rational expressions.

· Manipulating radicals and fractional exponents.

· Solving radical equations.

Requirement for passing:

Students who take the traditional version of Math 095 must achieve a score of 80 percent on each 3 standardized Gateway tests, in addition to being at a passing level in the rest of the course, in order to achieve a grade of C or better for the course. Students who fail to pass all 3 Gateway tests cannot achieve a grade better than C-minus, which is not sufficient to move on to Math 105, Math 106, nor Math 175. Students who fail to maintain a passing grade in the rest of the course receive a failing grade, regardless of their performance on the Gateway tests.

Students who take Math 095 in a section using the ALEKS program must demonstrate mastery of at least 115 different problem types in the online course content in order to be at a C level of mastery. Students who meet this level of mastery or surpass it, along with meeting the work requirements for the course as explained in the ALEKS page of this website, are then eligible to move on to another math course at a higher level (105, 106, or 175). Students who do not master the minimum number of topics required for passing, and/or who do not meet the requirements for level of effort in the course, receive no better than a C-minus, making them ineligible to move on to their next required math course.