BI230:
Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
The delivery is strictly in person
If the college is required to transition to online learning at any point during the semester, the course will move to an online synchronous format for both lecture and lab.
If we must shift to virtual instruction:
- The lectures will be taught synchronously at the regularly scheduled class time via Zoom
- Timed exams and quizzes will be given on Blackboard
- Any assignments will be assigned and submitted through Blackboard
- Alternative virtual lab activities will be assigned through Blackboard if in-person labs cannot be safely conducted
Contact Information
Textbook
Name: Campbell Biology
Edition: 11
ISBN: 13: 9780135188743
Author: Urray, Lisa A., Urry, Jane B. Reece, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, and Robert B. Jackson
Publisher: Pearson
By the end of this course:
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of science as a way of knowing about the physical world and recognize the types of questions that science, by its very nature, can and cannot answer.
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method by generating hypotheses, analyzing raw data after conducting an experiment, drawing appropriate conclusions, and through oral and written communication of the experimental process.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of concepts in cell and molecular biology. This will be demonstrated by student performance on written examinations. Precise learning objectives for examinations will be provided.
- Students will demonstrate a working vocabulary in cell and molecular biology by recognizing definitions (multiple choice and matching questions), recalling definitions (writing definitions), and using terms appropriately in essays.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to answer a scientific question by designing an experiment, performing the experiment, analyzing results, drawing appropriate conclusions, and effectively communicating this process. Achievement of this goal will be the production of a written report in the format of a scientific paper and a presentation.
Tentative Schedule
Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given.
Assignments turned in late for any reason will have points deducted from them. The more days late, the higher the deduction. Late assignments will have points deducted from them according to the following schedule (no exceptions without a valid excuse):
Days Late Percent of Grade Deducted
1Day @ 1 minute after stated deadline 10%
Day 2 20%
Day 3 30%
Day 4 40%
Day 5 50%
Day 6 60%
Day 7 70%
Day 8 80%
Day 9 90%
Day 10 100%
The grading scale will be as follows:
Grading:
Item | Point Value |
| Exam 1 | 100 |
| Exam 2 | 100 |
| Exam 3 | 100 |
| Exam 4 | 100 |
| Online lab exam | 75 |
| Lab | 325 (25 pts/lab) |
| Lecture Assignments | 70 |
| Finals Week Group Discussion | 30 |
| Attendance and Participation | 100 |
| Total | 1000 pts |
Points earned will be added and grades will be assigned based on the scale below. Do not expect any "curving" of grades in this course.
Letter grade and points: Meaning of grade (from WC Handbook):
A = 1000-925, A- = 924-900 Range of outstanding achievement
B+ = 899-865, B = 864-825, B- = 824-800 Range of good achievement
C+ = 799-765, C = 764-725, C- = 724-700 Range of average achievement
D+ = 699-665, D = 664-625, D- = 624-600 Range of below average achievement
F = < 600 Inadequate achievements
Plus/Minus grading will be used in this course. Guaranteed grade cutoffs are as follows:
100-92.5%: A; 92.4-90.0%: A-; 89.9-86.5%: B+; 86.4-82.5%: B, 82.4-80.0%: B-.
Cutoffs for grades in the C and D ranges follow the pattern established for the grades in the B range. Final grade cutoff points are sometimes lowered to better fit the grade distribution curve. Final letter grade cutoffs will be at the discretion of the instructor.
From the Wilmington College Faculty Handbook: “It is the policy of Wilmington College to strive for fairness in grading and avoid grade inflation. Faculty are encouraged to regard a "C-" as a satisfactory grade, which means the student is meeting College standards and will treat it as such in talking with students unless otherwise noted in the College Catalog. The grade "A", on the other hand, should mean outstanding achievement, with a grade of "B" in between. The grade "D" represents minimally acceptable achievement, and the grade "F" indicates failure.”
Instructor Course Policies
Attendance will be recorded and students who regularly skip class should not expect to do well in the course. Attendance as well as participation is 10% of the grade. Attendance will be taken at every lecture session and points will be given for attending lectures.
Students are expected to actively participate in lecture activities and will be graded on their level of participation and preparation for each class. Students are expected to exhibit appropriate classroom etiquette, including, but not limited to, listening attentively when the professor or another student is speaking, arriving to class on time, and turning off cell phones.
See the current Student Handbook for the college Attendance Policy especially as it pertains to excused absences. No makeup exams will be allowed unless the student has contacted either the instructor and/or the Office of Academic Affairs prior to the time of the exam. All excused absences must be documented. The College accepts these four categories of excused absences:
- Activities in which the student serves as an official representative of the College (e.g., musical performances, athletic contests, field trips)
- Personal illness, with documentation by the College nurse or a physician
- Family or personal emergencies
- When severe weather makes travel to campus dangerous
Promptness is very important because announcements will be given at the start of the lecture period. 50% of the attendance grade will be deducted if you are more than 15 minutes late to lecture. After 30 minutes, it will be considered an absence. Even if you know you are going to be very late, however, you should still show up to receive the information necessary to do your lab assignments and exams.
Students are responsible for getting information from other students or from the professor on what material they have missed from a lecture, whether the absence is excused or unexcused.
All work (essays, test answers, homework answers, etc.) that you submit in this course must be originally produced by you and not by artificial intelligence,
All submitted works will be compared against AI detectors
Failure to comply with this policy will result in penalties for academic dishonesty!!!
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: SP26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Academic Misconduct - Examples [10/24]
ACADEMIC CODE OF CONDUCT
This policy is directly related to the first Testimony, which is part of the Student Code of Conduct. “I will practice personal and academic integrity.” The initial responsibility for dealing with academic misconduct lies with the individual faculty member in whose classroom or course of study the offense occurs. The responsibility includes determination of the consequences for the offense. The goal is for faculty to confront cheating and plagiarism, to teach ethical behavior, and to provide an appropriate consequence based on the nature of the incident. Faculty are encouraged to explicitly address academic misconduct and its consequences in the course syllabus.
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
A. Examination offenses include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.Taking unauthorized materials into or out of the examination room.
2.Leaving the examination room without authorization before completing an examination.
3.Talking in the examination room without authorization.
4.Discussing the examination outside the examination room during the course of the examination.
5.Attempting to observe the work of another student.
6.Taking an examination for another person or permitting someone else to do so.
7.Collaborating improperly by discussion, joint research, or joint effort in any way expressly prohibited by the instructor. This includes using a cell phone or other device to access information from another source or another student.
8.Improper knowledge of contents of an examination - No student shall knowingly acquire unauthorized knowledge of an examination or any part of an examination, or solicit, offer, or give information about any part of an examination.
B. Student work offenses include, but are not limited to, the following, which are expressly prohibited in the absence of prior written approval of the instructor or instructors involved:
1.Resubmission of work - Submitting work which has been previously submitted for credit.
2. Plagiarism - Submitting work done wholly or partly by another, including the unattributed copying of all or parts of a published work or internet document. Using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources to produce work (when not expressly permitted) is also a form of plagiarism. Some instances of plagiarism are the result of ignorance rather than dishonesty. When plagiarism is encountered, the instructor should be sure that the student knows proper procedures for attributing content.
3.Prohibited sources - Consulting material or persons contrary to the directions of the instructor.
4.Improper collaboration - Engaging in any discussion, joint research, or joint effort of any kind expressly prohibited by the instructor.
5.Deception - Misrepresenting the authenticity of sources, citations, or principles in any written work.
6. Sharing work – Students who share their work with others are responsible for how that work is used. For example, if a student shares a paper with another student to help him or her understand an assignment, and that student submits the work as their own, the author of the paper shares responsibility for the plagiarism committed by the other student.
D. Other misconduct - Engaging in any other improper conduct as specified by the instructor.
E. Lying – deliberately providing false information relevant to academic matters, such as misrepresenting the inability to take an examination because of illness.
F. Disruptive or disrespectful classroom behavior – causing a disturbance in the classroom, interrupting instruction, speaking rudely or threatening students or faculty.
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |
ADA and Students with Disabilities
Wilmington College and the Office of Compliance and Integrity are committed to ensuring equal access to students with disabilities, including physical, medical, and psychiatric disabilities. If you are a student with a disability and feel you may need a reasonable accommodation to fulfill the essential functions of this course, you are encouraged to connect with Nathan Flack, Academic Resource Center Manager/ADA Coordinator by visiting the Academic Resource Center located in Robinson Communication Center, Room 103 or connecting via email/phone at nathan.flack@wilmington.edu or 937-481-2208 (TTY: Ohio Relay 711 for deaf/hard of hearing). Please understand that formal eligibility communication from the Office of Compliance and Integrity must be presented prior to the coordination of accommodations for this course.