Biology 20
Course Procedures
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Biology 20
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Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, but since most of the course material will be covered in lectures, you will want to come anyway. Besides, if you miss lectures you will be unable to discuss the silly slides and crude attempts at humor that are commonplace in lecture. You may record lectures on tape with your own equipment if you like. Please come on time to class. We will begin promptly at 11:00 and will finish promptly at 11:50. Despite the size of the class, questions are encouraged and we will try to develop an occasional discussion where topics are appropriate.
Grades will be based on written work and participation in
discussion sections. The overall course grade will be derived as follows:
| Best Hour Exam | 20 % |
| Second-Best Hour Exam | 20 % |
| Laboratory | 20 % |
| Final Exam | 40 % |
We will have 3 hour exams during the course of the semester. These will be written, in-class exams containing a mix of objective and essay questions on course reading, discussions, and lectures. For each student, we will drop the lowest hour exam score in figuring grades at the end of the semester. The final exam will be a comprehensive written exam similar in format to the hour exams. Lab section work will be evaluated in terms of attendance, participation in discussions, and written class assignments.
Each student will be assigned to a two-hour lab/section meeting led by a Teaching Assistant. The sections will discuss topics which deal with lecture and reading material, and they are intended to give class members a chance to discuss topics in depth. About half of the section meetings will be devoted to lab work and experimentation. Section work will sometimes include written assignments which teaching assistants will evaluate and hand back to students.
Lab section attendance is required. Teaching Assistants will take attendance, and your section grade will be reduced for any unexcused absence. If you have three or more unexcused absences during the course of the semester, you will receive a failing grade for your section work (the equivalent of a zero on an hour exam).
Lab assignments before the semester began were made by the Registrar. Beginning with January 22, 1997, the day that classes begin, please do not go to the Registrar to change a lab assignment! See Jody Hall in room 131 of the Biomed Center. Her office hours for this purpose will be 9 AM - 12 noon, Mon through Fri.
Important: If you do not attend your first assigned lab meeting we will assume that you have dropped the course, and may assign your place to someone else. It may then be impossible to find an open spot in a section that meets at a convenient time. Therefore, be sure to solve any conflicts regarding lab meetings before the sections begin to meet during the week of February 1st.
Lab sections will meet in rooms 115A, 115B, 112B, and 112D of the Biomed Center.
Written exams will be based on material from the lectures and assigned readings and lab section material. The final exam will be comprehensive in scope, and will require you to integrate material from different portions of the course.
Please check the course syllabus for the dates of the three hour exams and the final exam, and plan ahead. The size of the class will require us to use other rooms during exams, and we will be sure to announce any such change in class well ahead of time. There will be no provisions for making up a missed hour exam, and makeups on the final exam will only be allowed in cases of written medical excuses approved by the Dean's office.
If you find that a mistake has been made in grading an hour exam, or if you disagree about what the correct answer for an exam question should be, write up an explanation of the contested question(s) and hand it back to the course secretary. Simple errors of arithmetic can be corrected immediately by the course secretary. This must be done within 1 week of the return of the exam. Dr. Miller or Dr. Rothman will read your comments and regrade the exam.
Special Note: The Bio 20 final exam this year is scheduled for Tuesday May 13th. There is no way to provide extensions for students with exams in other courses near that date. Therefore, please plan now to be prepared for the final exam.
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