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MAT 125 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview Throughout this course, you have learned how to apply quantitative reasoning and problem-solving strategies to a variety of staged, but real-world contexts. You have built upon the skills you already had to advance the range of contexts to which you can apply mathematical thinking and problem-solving strategies effectively.

Your final project for this course will focus on real-world financial, statistical, and measurement-related contexts to assess your mastery of quantitative reasoning and problem solving in these areas. Specifically, you will be working your way through opportunities for employment, selecting the one that best fits your needs and wants, establishing a budget to manage your expenses, selecting the best options for managing debt, and planning for the future. You will then take the strategies you have learned in this course and apply them to your own problem, and walk your instructor through your process for solving the problem. For your problem, you can choose anything such as deciding what credit card to get, determining how much and what type of insulation to purchase, or planning your garden, but you must run your selection by your instructor for approval.

Mastery of the skills and strategies covered in this course will help set the foundation for future coursework, future career opportunities, as well as problem solving and decision making in your personal life.

This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:

 Analyze real-world scenarios for the key aspects that can inform the selection of quantitative problem-solving strategies  Determine appropriate problem-solving strategies for approaching solutions to various real-world problems  Solve real-world problems through application of appropriate mathematical calculations  Articulate logical interpretations of quantitative information for informing personal real-world decisions

Prompt Congratulations on graduating with your bachelor’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University! A new array of opportunities is open to you, but which will you choose, and how will it impact your life? Select your discipline area of interest and examine the set of jobs you have applied to and received offer letters for to determine which one best fits your needs and wants. Once you have selected the opportunity you wish to pursue, discuss the impact your choice will have on your life, establish your budget, plan to pay down your debt, and then determine a decision or issue from your personal life you want to solve, and solve it.

If you are uncomfortable solving a problem from your own life, select one of the problems provided in the Selected Problem Examples document.

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Refer to the following critical elements to complete your final project:

I. Employment Opportunity Analysis: In this section of your final project, you will focus on the opportunities presented in the discipline area of interest to you. Compare the opportunities as instructed below:

A. Outline the characteristics that are most important to you in a job search, and explain why. B. Comparison

1. Location: Compare the jobs in terms of distance and commute, and explain the impact each would have on your day-to-day life. Discuss the impact of a commute on your life. Would you be willing to commute or relocate for any of these positions? Explain the considerations and show your calculations. From your consideration of commuting and relocating, discuss the questions you would need to consider before your final determination.

2. Salary: Find the occupational area on BLS.gov and compare the salary ranges for each job. Specifically, answer the following in your comparison:

i. Calculate what a reasonable salary would be for each job opportunity using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website, and explain how you determined each figure.

ii. Calculate the starting income each position will provide you after taxes using an estimated flat tax rate of 30%, as well as the annual income you would make at the 5-year mark after taxes using a flat tax rate of 32%.

iii. Were you to have information about the salaries of various levels of employees in each company, what (mean, median, or mode) would you use to calculate your expected salary? Why?

3. Benefits: Compare the benefits and retirement packages of each opportunity, calculating theoretical retirement savings if applicable. Consider the following:

i. How much retirement savings will you have in 5, 10, and 20 years considering the retirement options provided by each employer in the job opportunity letters? If your employer matches your contributions, assume you will put aside the maximum that the employer will match; if the employer does not have a retirement option, assume you will put aside 5% of your pre-tax salary each year. Explain how you got your results.

ii. Compare the insurance plans offered by each employer and how much you would be expected to cover. Be sure to consider your personal situation, such as children who need coverage and how much the family plans will save/cost you.

C. Employment Opportunity Selection: Select an employment opportunity and defend your selection using your calculations and personal criteria. How do you know this will be the best for your life and finances?

II. Living Expenses and Debt: Using your selected employment opportunity, analyze your monthly expenses and income, and prepare a plan for paying down your debt. You can use your actual amounts of expenses and debt if you prefer, or, if you are uncomfortable using real numbers, or if you do not

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have any debt, you can make up a principal amount, interest rate, payoff period, and minimum payment to cover at least one student loan, one credit card, and one personal or auto loan. You can utilize as many loans as you like, but you must have at least three.

A. Budget Creation: Create a monthly budget using your new income, real-life expense categories, and the expenses associated with travel based on your selected employment opportunity.

B. Debt: In this section, you will compare your lines of credit to determine the best payoff method for you. 1. Comparison: Compare monthly minimum payments, principal totals, interest rates, and payoff period. 2. Process: Determine how you will pay off your debt over time, considering your budget and your new income. Explain your process. 3. Plan: Establish a debt payoff plan that fits your budget, lifestyle, and the demands of the debt to be paid, explaining your reasoning.

III. Self-Selected Problem: Thus far you have shown your mastery of quantitative reasoning and problem solving using mathematical calculations as applied to financial contexts. For this section of your assessment, select a problem that you are currently facing that would benefit from mathematical or quantitative reasoning. If you are uncomfortable using a personal problem, select one from the Selected Problem Examples document. Explain the issue, the factors involved, and your plan for solving it, and explain the quantitative methodologies you used.

A. Context: Explain the context of the problem. What is the problem? What factors are involved? B. Analysis: Break the problem down into its key pieces. Is this a multistep problem? Are there multiple considerations that will require different

approaches? C. Approach: Explain how you will approach each step or aspect of the situation to solve the problem. What process or method will you use and

why? D. Implementation: Solve the problem. Perform any necessary calculations, showing your work and explaining your process. E. Results: Articulate a logical interpretation of the calculations you performed and the results of your solution approach. What do the results

mean in relation to your particular problem? Discuss the results of the calculations. What do the results mean in terms of the overall situation?

Milestones Milestone One: Job Offer Comparison In Week 3, you will submit a comparison of the different job offers within a chosen track. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Financial Plan and Budget In Week 5, you will submit a job offer selection and financial plan/budget. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

Final Submission: Guided Problem-Solving Report In Week 7, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.

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Final Project Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your Guided Problem-Solving Report should be submitted in the form of a Word document, separated into three sections. The text should be in Times New Roman 12-point font.

Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Outline

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and outline shows thorough consideration of a personal situation informing decision- making (100%)

Outlines the job characteristics of personal importance, explaining reasoning (85%)

Outlines the job characteristics of personal importance but lacks reasoning or detail (55%)

Does not outline the job characteristics of personal importance (0%)

5.5

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison:

Location

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and comparison shows keen insight into identifying important considerations of problems regarding location (100%)

Compares the jobs in terms of distance, commute, and impact each would have on day-to-day life and explains considerations, showing calculations (85%)

Compares the jobs in terms of distance, commute, and impact each would have on day-to-day life and explains considerations, showing calculations, but comparison or considerations are cursory or calculations contain inaccuracies (55%)

Does not compare the jobs in terms of distance, commute, and impact each would have on day- to-day life (0%)

4.75

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison: Salary:

Reasonable

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation shows keen ability to apply appropriate calculations to determine results within the context of salary (100%)

Calculates a reasonable salary for each job using data from BLS.gov and explains how each figure was determined (85%)

Calculates a salary for each job but does not use the data from BLS.gov, salary figures are not reasonable given the explanation, or no explanation for how figures were reached is provided (55%)

Does not calculate a salary for each job (0%)

5.95

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison: Salary:

Taxes

Correctly calculates income after taxes for starting year and year five using provided tax rates (100%)

Calculates income after taxes for starting year and year five using provided tax rates, but incorrectly (55%)

Does not calculate income after taxes for starting year and year five using provided tax rates (0%)

5.95

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Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison: Salary:

Expected

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation shows keen ability to select appropriate strategies for solving problems with a statistical lens (100%)

Determines what calculation would be used to determine an expected salary for each position if salary levels of others within the organization were known, providing a reasonable explanation of choice (85%)

Determines what calculation would be used to determine an expected salary for each position if salary levels of others within the organization were known, but does not provide a reasonable explanation of choice (55%)

Does not determine what calculation would be used to determine an expected salary for each position if salary levels of others within the organization were known (0%)

5.95

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison:

Benefits: Retirement

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows mastery of solving discrete problems through application of appropriate calculations (100%)

Correctly determines the amount of retirement savings at 5, 10, and 20 years using the information from job offer letters and assumptions from the prompt, providing an explanation of the results (85%)

Determines the amount of retirement savings at 5, 10, and 20 years, but incorrectly, not using the information from job offer letters, or not following assumptions in prompt, or does not provide a reasonable explanation of results (55%)

Does not determine the amount of retirement savings at 5, 10, and 20 years (0%)

5.95

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison:

Benefits: Insurance

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows keen ability to identify key elements for comparison to inform solutions with consideration of personal situation (100%)

Logically compares the costs of insurance provided by each employer in conjunction with considerations of personal situation (85%)

Compares the costs of insurance provided by each employer in conjunction with considerations of personal situation, but with gaps in logic or consideration of personal situation (55%)

Does not compare the cost of insurance provided by each employer in conjunction with considerations of personal situation (0%)

4.75

Employment Opportunity

Analysis: Comparison:

Selection

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows advanced ability to synthesize key information and calculation results into logical and meaningful real- world decisions (100%)

Selects and logically defends an employment opportunity based on the integration of personal criteria and comparison calculations (85%)

Selects and defends an employment opportunity based on the integration of personal criteria and comparison calculations, but with gaps in logic or detail (55%)

Does not select and defend an employment opportunity based on the integration of personal criteria and comparison calculations (0%)

5.95

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Living Expenses and Debt: Budget

Creation

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and organization and categories of budget created indicate keen ability to reduce problem situations to key considerations to inform future decisions (100%)

Creates a monthly budget using the new income, real- life expense categories, and expenses associated with travel to the new work opportunity (85%)

Creates a monthly budget using the new income, real-life expense categories, and expenses associated with travel to the new work opportunity, but is missing key expense categories or is otherwise incomplete or contains inaccuracies (55%)

Does not create a monthly budget with new income and expense categories (0%)

4.75

Living Expenses and Debt: Debt: Comparison

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows advanced ability to differentiate loan characteristics to determine payments (100%)

Accurately compares key characteristics of at least 3 loans to get a clear picture of the requirements of each (85%)

Compares characteristics of at least 3 loans to get a clear picture of the requirements of each, but lacks accuracy or key characteristic detail (55%)

Does not compare characteristics of at least 3 loans (0%)

4.75

Living Expenses and Debt: Debt: Process

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation shows advanced grasp of solution approach selection for solving real-world problems related to loan payoff (100%)

Determines a process for figuring out how to pay off debt over time, considering budget and new income, explaining process (85%)

Determines a process for figuring out how to pay off debt over time but lacks consideration of budget and new income or lacks details (55%)

Does not determine a process for figuring out how to pay off debt over time (0%)

5.95

Living Expenses and Debt: Debt: Plan

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows keen ability to structure the results of analysis into a model for solving real-world problems related to debt (100%)

Establishes a reasonable payoff plan with explanation of how it fits budget, lifestyle, and requirements of debt (85%)

Establishes a payoff plan with explanation of how it fits budget, lifestyle, and requirements of debt, but lacks reasoning or is incomplete (55%)

Does not establish a payoff plan with explanation of how it fits budget, lifestyle, and requirements of debt (0%)

5.95

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Self-Selected Problem: Context

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows keen ability to articulate factors and contexts in their larger importance to problem solving (100%)

Thoroughly and logically explains the context and factors involved in the self- selected problem to set the context for the solution (85%)

Explains the context and factors involved in the self-selected problem but with gaps in detail or logic (55%)

Does not explain the context and factors involved in the self- selected problem (0%)

5.5

Self-Selected Problem: Analysis

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows mastery of context analysis to determine key considerations that inform the selection of solution approaches (100%)

Logically analyzes the problem for key pieces and considerations that could inform approaches to solutions (85%)

Analyzes the problem for pieces and considerations that could inform approaches to solutions but with gaps in logic or inclusion of key pieces (55%)

Does not analyze the problem for pieces and considerations that could inform approaches to solutions (0%)

4.75

Self-Selected Problem: Approach

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows keen ability to determine the appropriate approach for solving real- world problems (100%)

Explains in detail how the problem will be approached and why that approach was chosen (85%)

Explains how the problem will be approached and why that approach was chosen but with gaps in detail (55%)

Does not explain how the problem will be approached and why that approach was chosen (0%)

5.95

Self-Selected Problem:

Implementation

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation shows keen ability to apply appropriate strategies for solving problems (100%)

Solves the problem, showing all work and explaining calculations (85%)

Solves the problem, but solution contains inaccuracies or has gaps in work shown or explanation is cursory (55%)

Does not solve the problem (0%)

5.95

Self-Selected Problem: Results

Meets “Proficient” criteria and shows advanced ability to articulate logical interpretations of calculation and extend those interpretations to inform personal real-world decisions (100%)

Articulates a logical interpretation of the solution and what it means for the overall situation (85%)

Articulates an interpretation of the solution and what it means for the overall situation (55%)

Does not articulate an interpretation of the solution and what it means for the overall situation (0%)

5.95

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Articulation of Response

Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to- read format (100%)

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization (85%)

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas (55%)

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas (0%)

5.75

Total 100%

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