Mohawk Valley Community College
Life Science
Richard Thomas
General Biology I
BI 141 Spring 2017
Email mail address: rthomas@mvcc.edu
388 Payne Hall in Utica
792-5364 (voice mail active)
Cengage MindTap:
An important component of this course is participation in an online program called MindTap-Cengage Learning. Cengage Learning provides on-line activities and graded exercises to help you master the material in General Biology I. Access to the program comes packaged with the text that you bought for the course from the bookstore. You may also buy an access code on line if you have purchased a used book. Go to https://login.cengagebrain.com/course/MTPN-W5BP-804S to get started with registration.
The Course I.D. that you will be using to register for my section will be:
MTPN-W5BP-804S
You can copy and paste this I.D. number into the appropriate line of the Cengage Learning sign-in templates if you don’t use the above URL link.
Attendance:
Attendance and success go hand in hand. This is a very difficult course, so your presence and participation is desirable. You are responsible for all material covered and for all announcements made during class or lab whether you are present or not. You may obtain any materials that I hand out during my office hours or have a friend pick up an extra set for your use. I will not use attendance as a basis for grading, but repeated absence may result in dismissal from class and have an impact on your financial aid. If there is an in-class quiz or homework assignment that is due and you miss the class, a grade of zero will be assigned to that missed assignment.
DGV statement
MVCC has developed a program titled “Diversity-Global View” (DGV), which
gives each of our graduates a chance to participate in educational experiences
designed to increase awareness of intercultural perspectives. Our goal is
to enhance our students’ understanding of the realities faced by individuals as
a result of their race, ethnicity, cultural background, gender, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic status, academic abilities and interests, age,
religious beliefs, and physical ability. To that end, all graduates who
matriculated into programs in the fall 2008 or more recently, or who have
changed their major since 2008, are now required to complete the DGV components
associated with the degree or certificate program in which they are enrolled.
For more information please visit http://www.mvcc.edu/students/registration/dvgrequirement.cfm
Disability Services Statement:
I would appreciate hearing from anyone in class who has any type of disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) which may require some special accommodation. Please see me during my office hours so that we can discuss your needs. Before services can begin, you must also contact the Office of Accessibility Resources, 792-5702, in Room 104 H in Payne Hall on the Utica Campus. Staff members will review your documentation, determine your eligibility for accommodations, and decide what those accommodations will be.
Civility Statement:
Mohawk Valley Community College is committed to civility in and out of the classroom. MVCC believes everyone has the right to an environment that creates a safe opportunity for educational, professional, and social development. MVCC recognizes its responsibility to model and encourage a culture of civil behavior.
Office Hours:
Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00 IT Building Learning Commons
Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:15 Payne Hall 388
Last date to withdraw:
April 10th is the last day that you may officially withdraw from this course with a grade of "W".
Grading:
Lecture counts as two-thirds of your final course grade and is based on four
hourly exams. The hourly exams will be
worth 100 points. You will receive a
fifth lecture grade based upon the score earned with the Cengage MindTap application. Information on how to access the
Cengage MindTap program comes with your
textbook. Do not throw away the card on
the inside cover of your text as this possesses the information necessary to
access the program. There will be exercises on every chapter
that we cover. These exercises will be
completed during the time allotted with
no extensions granted. You are encouraged to complete these assignments
well before the deadline as you may become locked out of the exercise by
mistake. It is not my responsibility
that you complete the exercises by the deadline. Although the material discussed in class will
be emphasized in testing, you will be held responsible for all assigned
reading. Testing dates and materials covered for each exam as listed on the
course syllabus are tentative and may change with prior warning. I will try to stay on schedule, but conflicts
with other courses or the pace at which material is covered may necessitate
alteration of planned events.
Anyone seen cheating or copying from
another person during an exam or a quiz will earn a zero for that evaluation.
The penalty will be more severe for a second occurrence.
Laboratory counts as one-third of your final course grade. Laboratory performance will be measured with a weekly quiz, laboratory report, or assignment to be handed in at the beginning of the next lab. Points will be deducted for material handed in late. Be sure that you know what is coming in the form of an evaluation for the next week. If you are confused about how you will be evaluated, be sure and ask for clarification. Laboratory reports will be worth twenty points each with quizzes worth ten points each. Do not “blow-off” laboratory. Your laboratory grade is a very important part of your course grade.
Even though laboratory exercises are to be completed with laboratory partners, each student will be expected to hand in their own unique laboratory report. Cooperation is encouraged, but each student will submit an individual laboratory report when assigned.
Absence from an exam or quiz:
There are no lecture exam make-ups given. If you need to miss an exam for a good reason, contact me before the exam is administered at 792-5364. This extension is connected to voice-mail. If the reason for the absence is valid in my judgment, some alternative arrangement will be made. Documentation of your absence may be required. The opportunity for a make-up exam is not guaranteed. If you do not follow the above policy, a grade of zero will be assigned.
If you miss a lab, you are able to make up the work during an alternative laboratory session. It is preferable to make up the lab with your own instructor, but if not possible please attend another laboratory session with a different instructor. You may make up the lab quiz during the week the laboratory is running, but after the laboratory is completed the opportunity to make up the missed material is gone. The alternative lab times are posted on the door to the lab (Academic Building 207)
Classroom use of electronic media
including cell phones:
"College policy prohibits student use of technologies not relevant to classroom, laboratory, library, studio, or clinical settings. This includes, but is not limited to, electronic communicating devices, MP3 players, and video/photo capture devices. Instructor discretion may be exercised if the technology is a component of the learning environment or by prior student notification." I do not want to hear ring tones or vibrations as this is disruptive in class. I also do not want to see anyone “texting” during lecture or lab time.