BIO 111: FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGY Fall 2018

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance Policy:

BIO 111-01 and 111-02 will have the following attendance policy. You are expected to attend every class and lab, and to be ON TIME. You MUST come to our section of lecture and lab. See me at least two weeks in advance if a conflict is foreseen. Unless otherwise stated, assume that the university's attendance requirement is in effect. This is stated in the Catalog as:

"Freshman will be withdrawn from a course if absent, for any reason, 15 percent of the class meetings. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be withdrawn from a course if absent 25 percent of the class meetings. In both cases, a failing (F) grade will be recorded unless the absences were due to providential reasons, in which cases a withdrawal (W) grade may be assigned after consultation with the Associate Academic Dean."

For our purposes, this means no more than 7 class periods for first-year students and 12 for other students. This limit includes "excused" absences for university-related travel (performances or athletic events) and illness.

Tests,exams, and labs must be taken on the day presented, unless I am given notification of an authorized university event or am notified of absence due to illness by the assistant dean. In the event of an authorized absence, you will make-up the tests and exams at the first convenience (the day you return to class). In the event of a missed lab due to an authorized absence, you will take the lab at another time, if possible, or your grade will be pro-rated by labs completed. In the event of a missed lab due to an unauthorized absence, a grade of '0' for that lab--or the questions pertaining to that lab on lab assignments--will be awarded.

The Use of Electronic Devices:

Cell phones should be muted during lecture and lab periods. Laptops and tablets are only permitted for note taking. Really. Surfing the web and doing e-mail is a VERY BAD USE of lecture time. Recent research suggests that, while people CAN multitask, their efficiency on simultaneous tasks drops dramatically. We are together for three hours of lecture A WEEK. I am giving YOU my full attention, and I am trying to help you learn Biology. Give YOURSELF the best chance to use this time effectively by focusing INTENTLY on both what information I am discussing and how I am discussing it. Take written notes, and ask questions if you don't understand!

Accessibility Accommodations:

If you have an accessibility issue and you need academic accommodations, you should contact the Student Office for Accessibility Resources in the basement of Earle Infirmary (294-2320). Do this in a timely manner, early in the term, so that we can implement this accomodation before the first test.

Grading Policy:

There are 700 available points, and letter grades will be assigned such that grades of 90% or above earn at least an "A range" grade, 80%-89% at least a "B range" grade, and so forth. Determination of these letter grade cutoffs will be at the sole discretion of the professor; "curving", if warranted, will be on total points accumulated and not individual assignments. +/- grades will be assigned based on total percentage of points earned, as well as more subjective criteria such as improvement through the term and performance on the cumulative final. The final exam will have 100 pts from unit 3, 50 pts from units 1, and 50 pts from unit 2.