Attendance
According to college and departmental policies, students are entitled to a maximum number of absences equal to 10% of the number of lectures in a given course. This means that BIO1101 students will be entitled to a maximum of 3 absences. If a student misses more than 3 classes, he/she will receive a WU (for Unofficial Withdrawal) grade at the end of the semester, corresponding to a failing grade. Note that no exceptions will be made. Lateness to class will also count against you. Lateness adds up to Absences. Please show up to class on time. If you have difficulty getting class on time because of a previous class in a different building, bring this to my attention and I will keep that in consideration. If you are absent more than 2 times in your lab, your instructor will notify me and you will also receive an overall WU for the course.
Courtesy
Do not use your mobile devices (computers) in class unless you are using them to take notes. There will be absolutely no use of mobile phones for the purpose of texting, instant messaging or calls during class time. Phone may not be used for their cameras during class. There will be times when I will state that mobile phones may be used. These times will be the exception to the rule. Do not have separate conversations from the rest of the class. Arriving late to class is disruptive –please note the attendance policy. Attendance is not the mere act of being physically present. You will be penalized for overt mental absences.
Office Hours
My office hours are Monday 11-12, Tuesday 10-11, or by appointment in room Pearl 313. Come to the office prepared. Do not expect me to perform an entire lecture for you. Come with directed questions regarding specific concepts that elude you or require additional clarification. Sometimes students are intimidated or concerned with looking “stupid” and will avoid coming to the office. In this case, it might be useful for a group to approach me about the same topic. There will be a certain number of office hour visits required for the learning community in order to assess progress on the project.
Grading
Lecture
Lecture grade corresponds to 60% of your overall grade for the course. There will be 4 quarterly exams which will account for 60% of your lecture grade. 10% of your grade will come from Blackboard Quizzes. 7.5% of your grade will come from posting and participating in the surveying project. 7.5% of your grade will be derived from group lecture summaries. 7.5% of your grade will come from writing assignments which will be submitted to the Openlab site. This is public and viewable by others. Finally 7.5% from the actual project and presentation.
Lab
The remaining 40% is derived from your Laboratory grade. The lab grade comprises of 5 quizzes, 4 lab reports, weekly pre-lab assignments and class participation.
