Course Policies
Lecture – You are expected to attend every lecture. Attendance and participation will contribute to your grade. In addition, it is very difficult to succeed in this course without regular attendance in lecture. If you must miss lecture, be sure to get help with the notes from a classmate; online lecture notes are not a substitute for attending lecture! All students are encouraged to meet with instructors during office hours to ask questions. We’re always willing to take time to help you to better understand the course material!
Recitation – During recitation you will conduct two main projects and a mini-project. Some of the work on these projects will be completed in pairs or small groups, and some will be completed outside of class. Part of your grade will be based on working effectively within your group, including peer evaluations of your work. However, you will complete most assignments individually, and most of your grade will be based on your own work, for which you alone are responsible. A detailed recitation schedule will provided by your recitation instructor at the first meeting of recitation during the first week of classes.
You are required to attend every 3-hour recitation for its duration. You will lose 1/3 of attendance points for part of any hour that you miss, including coming late. You are expected to arrive on time and to be prepared to carry out the days’ work. Because you will be working in pairs or groups, it is impossible to entirely “make up” missed work.
Participation and conduct – Discussions during lecture and recitation are interactive. Your participation is expected and will contribute to your grade. During class, you are expected to be respectful of your instructors, your classmates and the learning environment. This means giving your full attention to whomever has the floor and staying on topic during discussions. Please do not disrupt class by allowing cell phones to ring, arriving late or leaving early, viewing or sending text messages or eating or drinking in class.
Discussions articles and DQs – Over the semester you will read several articles that will be the basis for class discussions, both in lecture and recitation. Your grade for these discussions will be based on attendance, active participation, and completion of discussion question (DQ) assignments. Articles and DQ assignments will be available on the course website, as will detailed guidelines on how to prepare for discussions.
Exams – You will be tested on lecture material and assigned readings. Study guides will be provided before each of the three midterm exams. You are encouraged to study in groups – you will learn more if you quiz each other to test the depth of your understanding of terms and concepts.
Exams cannot be made up except in the case of a true medical emergency suffered on the day of the exam. Excusing other legitimate, unavoidable conflicts (e.g., med school interviews) is at the instructors’ discretion and must be approved well in advance. Extracurricular activities and travel plans do not qualify – please plan accordingly. Any make-up exams must be taken before the exam is handed back to the class and no more than three days after the scheduled exam time. SNAP students are requested to make arrangements with the instructors well in advance of exams.
Assignments – Assignments must be turned in on time for full credit. Late assignments will lose 5% of the total possible points per day, including weekends. Zero points will be recorded for any work turned in after the assignment has been discussed in class or handed back. If you are unable to turn in an assignment during class, please turn it in to the instructor in person or give it to the department secretary in the Biology office and ask that the date and time be recorded (214 RHSC, typically open between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., weekdays). Please do not put assignments under any office door.
Electronic resources – Course information – including details of assignments, assigned articles, and lecture notes – will be posted at the course website. For any protected material, the username is "biol211" and the password is listed on your syllabus. Lecture notes will be available at least 24 hours before lecture. Many students get more out of lecture by printing the lecture notes from the website (please double-side if possible) and bringing them to lecture. We will use email to communicate with you regularly; be sure to check your g.cofc.edu email account frequently. Written assignments must be word-processed, and other computer software (Excel, Powerpoint) will be necessary. Addlestone library has computers available with the necessary software.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is important to the College of Charleston community. In addition, this course asks you to perform tasks like a professional biologist, and you will be required to uphold the standards of integrity expected in the profession. Plagiarism, lying, cheating or attempted cheating are violations of the College’s honor code and will be dealt with accordingly. Please be absolutely sure that you understand what the honor code requires of you (refer to pages 10-12 of the student handbook, http://cofc.edu/generaldocuments/handbook.pdf). If you have any questions or concerns about honor code expectations or about how to avoid violations, please consult with your instructor.
Any honor code violations that occur will be handled as outlined in the student handbook.
(a) For lesser or unintentional offenses, the student will be asked to sign a form acknowledging an understanding of the mistake. This form will be kept on file by the Dean of Students, and a second such violation will automatically result in an honor court hearing.
(b) More serious cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students and forwarded to the honor board. Severe punishments are mandatory if found in violation of the honor code, including an XF for the course, a mark that indicates failure due to academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is any use of words or ideas produced by another person without proper attribution, and includes failing to paraphrase adequately or to cite sources properly. Whether intentional and unintentional, plagiarism is forbidden by the honor code. Additional guidelines for avoiding plagiarism are on the course website. It is your responsibility to read and understand those guidelines. Please consult your instructor if you have any questions or concerns about how to use and cite sources.
Collaboration: Many of your recitation projects will involve working with other students. Nevertheless, the work you submit must be completed independently. Please be sure that you understand the distinction between collaborating and copying; ask your instructor if you have any doubts. Suspicions of copying will be dealt with according to the honor code.
Re-using work: Please be aware that re-submitting work that you or anyone else has done for this or any other class or project is a violation of the honor code, even if the work is revised. Biology 211 instructors keep copies of assignments submitted by students in previous semesters, and the reuse or modification of such will result in reporting to the Dean of Students. It has happened before.
Biology 211 home
CofC Biology home