LECTURES: MWF, 10:00-10:50 AM, Lewis Science Center (LSC) 102

LABS: Section 6218: W, 8:00-9:50, LSC 126
Section 6219: Th, 8:00-9:50, LSC 132

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Ben Waggoner
020 Lewis Science Center
Office phone: 450-5037
Department phone: 450-3146
Department FAX: 450-5914
E-mail: benw@mail.uca.edu
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00-4:00 PM; or by appointment
Note: E-mail is the best way to reach me -- but if you e-mail me, make sure you mention Biology 1400 in the subject heading of the message. I receive a huge amount of junk e-mail, and if your e-mail's subject is something non-specific, like "Please help!" or "Important", I may accidentally throw it out.

GRADUATE ASSISTANT:Mr. John Frank
134 Lewis Science Center
E-mail: ucabio1402@yahoo.com (for the Wednesday section) or ucabio1403@yahoo.com (for the Thursday section).
Office hours: Tesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10:00-11:00

TEXTS
Lecture: Johnson, G. B. 2002. The Living World. Third Edition. McGraw-Hill, Boston. xx + 796 pp.
Lab: Ruehle, J., McDonald, K. S., Waggoner, B. M., Shostell, J. M., Keteles, K. A., and Culwell, D. E. 2002. Biology 1400: Biology for General Education: Laboratory Manual. Hayden-McNeil, Plymouth, Michigan. xii + 188 pp.
World Wide Web: http://faculty.uca.edu/~benw/biol1400/. If you're reading this, then you're probably already there. Here you can access lecture notes, old exams, schedules, and other course materials (including this syllabus).

UNIVERSITY POLICIES

You are encouraged to familiarize yourselves thoroughly with all policies listed in the Student Handbook, including but not limited to:

Sexual harassment policy: Sexual harassment by any faculty member, staff member, or student is a violation of both law and university policy and will not be tolerated at the University of Central Arkansas.  Sexual harassment of employees is prohibited under Section 703 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and sexual harassment of students may constitute discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Disabled students: The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, contact the UCA Disability Support Services office in rm. 01A of the Student Center, by phone at 450-3135, by FAX at 450-5664, or on the Web at http://www.uca.edu/divisions/student/disability/

Statement on academic misconduct: The University defines academic misconduct as follows:

1. In connection with the taking of, or in contemplation of the taking of any examination, any student who (a) knowingly discovers or attempts to discover the contents of an examination before the contents are revealed by the instructor; (b) obtains, uses, attempts to obtain or use any material or device dishonestly; or (c) supplies or attempts to supply to any other person any material or device dishonestly; or (d) during the course of an examination obtains or attempts to obtain unauthorized information from another student or from another student's test materials.
2. Any misrepresentation of academic work by a student as the product of their own study and efforts.
3. The unauthorized possession, taking, or copying of solutions manuals or computerized solutions for homework or research problems assigned by a professor and/or instructor.

COURSE GRADING POLICY

Grades will be calculated on the following basis.

Lecture midterm exams: 2 x 100 = 200
Lecture final exam: 1 x 200 = 200
Lecture quizzes: 10 x 10 = 100
Lab quizzes: 10 x 10 = 100
Critical thinking: 4 x 25 = 100
Total: 700 points

There will be no curve and no extra credit given; please do not ask. Grades will be assigned as follows:

700-630 pts. (90-100%) A
629-560 pts. (80-89%) B
559-490 pts. (70-79%) C
489-420 pts. (60-69%) D
419-0 pts. (0-59%) F

Lecture tests and quizzes: There will be two midterm exams, as well as a final exam, based on the material covered in lecture. The final will be cumulative, although it will emphasize material covered after the second midterm. All of these exams will be multiple-choice format and graded by Scantron. There will also be thirteen quizzes in lecture; these will be worth 10 points each, and will be given at unpredictable times and dates. Usually there will be one each week, but I reserve the right to give more than one a week, or else to skip a week. I will drop the lowest three lecture quiz grades when figuring your grade.

All tests and quizzes will be based on the material covered in lecture. Anything not covered in lecture will not be covered on tests, even if it is in the textbook. The textbook should be used to reinforce the lecture material-not to replace it! The on-line lecture notes will follow the lectures closely, but they cannot and should not substitute for attending class and taking notes.

Lab tests and quizzes: Each lab will require a 10-point assignment. Often, but not always, this will be a 10-point written quiz, to be taken before the actual lab work is begin. These quizzes may focus on both the previous week's material and the current lab material. (This makes it a really good idea to read the lab manual before the lab meeting. . . ) The assignment for some labs will be a 10-point homework assignment or in-lab assignment, as I see fit. There will be thirteen of these assignments, and again, I will drop the lowest three when calculating your grade.

OTHER COURSE POLICIES

Academic honesty: Anyone caught cheating on a test or quiz will automatically receive a grade of zero for that test or quiz. This includes the copying of homework assignments from a fellow student or from an outside source. If you are in doubt of how "cheating" is defined, see the above section on "Statement on Academic Misconduct" for the official definition of cheating.

Attendance: After the first few meetings, attendance will not be taken. You are presumed to be adults, responsible for the consequences of your own actions, and able to cope with the consequences of missing class. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for learning all material that you missed. For your own benefit, please make every effort to attend all class meetings.

Under normal circumstances, you must attend only the lab section that you are registered for. Barring extraordinary circumstances, you may not "drop in" on the other lab section, unless you have cleared this ahead of time with the lab instructors. If for some reason you wish to switch to the other lab section permanently, you will have to go through the standard drop/add procedure.<

Inclement Weather Policy: If the weather is bad on a scheduled class day, check the UCA main website (http://www.uca.edu/), KCON (1230 AM) or KUCA (91.3 FM) radio, or local TV for announcements. If the campus is officially closed, classes will of course be canceled, and we'll make up what we can later. If the campus isn't closed, then classes will be held as normal, but use your own judgment in deciding whether to attend. Some students have to commute a long way and may not be able to reach campus safely. I expect everyone to make a reasonable effort to show up-but don't risk your life, health, or property to get here! Severe weather counts as an excusable reason for absence; assignments that you miss due to bad weather may be prorated, postponed, or canceled at the instructor's discretion (see below).

Missed assignments: Make-up exams and quizzes will not be given, either in lecture or lab. However, your grade will be prorated if you miss a test or quiz due to: personal illness; death or illness in your family; participation in a sanctioned intervarsity athletic event; participation in an activity sponsored by a sanctioned student organization; or an unforeseen emergency. For example, if you break your leg on the day of a 100-point lecture exam, I would calculate your grade on the basis of 500 possible earned points, rather than 600. However, you will still be held responsible for the material covered on the day(s) that you missed.

To be excused, absences must be documented, if at all possible, with a dated note or other written evidence on official paper from an official source -- your doctor, coach, auto mechanic, arresting officer, parole board, the aliens who abducted you, etc. You have three days after returning to class to present your documentation; no extensions will be given. Do not count on having your absence excused if you cannot present documentation. An unexcused absence for an exam or quiz will result in a grade of zero for that assignment.

There are some instructors at UCA who assign students a WF grade (withdraw, failing) for excessive absences. I don't do this. If you are absent for a long period of time, you will receive zeros on everything that you miss, which could well result in an F in the course. If you have serious problems that are keeping you from attending class, consider dropping; it's much easier on your GPA.

Classroom etiquette: It's my job to provide, to the best of my and the university's abilities, a place where you can learn about biology. Even if you are not particularly interested in learning biology, you are paying for the opportunity to attend this class-both directly, through your tuition and fees, and indirectly, through state taxes. Therefore, in this class, I expect you to act in ways that do not interfere with anyone else's opportunity to learn. In other words, do not distract, disturb, or interfere with other students during a lecture or lab. Distracting other students effectively robs them of the money they have paid to be here. Interfering with the instructor also interferes with other students' learning: it is very difficult for me or the lab instructor to teach effectively if a student is distracting, interrupting, or being openly disrespectful. Treat everyone in this class with the same courtesy that you would like to have extended to yourself.

• If you must come to class late, please enter quietly and seat yourself towards the side of the room. Walking in front of the instructor is very distracting, as is walking in front of other students. If you know in advance that you will have to leave a lecture early, please sit near an exit, so that you can leave with a minimum of disturbance.
  
• If you have a cell phone, beeper, or other such device, turn it off before coming to class-unless you have a very good reason for keeping it on (e.g. you have a sick relative and must stay in contact with the caregivers in case of a medical emergency, or you are a parent whose children or their caregiver must stay in contact with you). If you absolutely must receive a cell phone call or pager summons in class, please set your phone or pager to notify you silently, if this is possible. If you think you might receive a critical call, please sit near an exit so that you can take the call outside quickly.
  
• Chatting with your neighbors should be done outside the classroom. Please keep comments to yourself during a lecture. Sleeping during class will not be penalized, but please do not snore.
• There are few things more annoying than a group of students gathering up their books and preparing to leave before the instructor has finished speaking. Please wait until the instructor has signaled that the lecture is over before you prepare to leave.
• You will be asked to leave the class if you exhibit repeated disruptive behavior or any type of threatening or violent behavior. If you do not leave, the UCA police will be called in to assist you. Fighting, vandalism, or threats made to any student or instructor will be handled by standard disciplinary procedures as outlined in the student handbook. Such acts could result in expulsion from the University, or at least expulsion from the course with a grade of WF (withdraw, failing) which counts as a permanent grade of F on your transcript and GPA.