Syllabus

=**Syllabus & Policies**=

= Course Learning Goals=


 * Students will learn to apply principles of biology and scientific thought for real world applications, wherever possible. **


 * Students will apply fundamental concepts in cellular/molecular biology, genetics, and evolution to new a novel situations.
 * Students will learn to work in collaborative groups.
 * Students will formulate hypothesis, critique experiments, analyze and data while using the scientific method to solve new problems and generate predictions.
 * Students will learn to communicate science using a variety of digital mediums.

[[image:a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short2.gif width="129" height="97"]]Attendance and Late Work Policy
Please consult your Gmail daily and do not hesitate to ask questions! Being 'present' in an online course is quite different from attending class. It is up to you to set a reasonable schedule to log in and participate in class activities, and you should do this as quickly as possible. **Make a schedule for attending to class requirements** and keep to it! The best way to succeed in an online course is to be like the mongoose, and go and find out. Do not wait for someone else to notice you have questions or do not understand how to participate. It is up to you! Late work will receive a grade of zero unless you have worked out an alternate plan with the instructor beforehand. Be proactive, and don't wait if you know you will be late!

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Your work should be well written and free of grammar and spelling mistakes. If you would like extra help with your writing, please use the WVU Writing Center's services. I strongly encourage you to use these services if English is not your first language. Another valuable resource is Strunck and White's The Elements of Style. It is a classic reference for writing well, and it is available for free online. The OWL also provides some great resources on how to cite digital media .======

[[image:Honesty.jpg width="200" height="63"]]Academic Honesty
The integrity of the classes offered by any academic institution solidifies the foundation of its mission and cannot be sacrificed to expediency, ignorance, or blatant fraud. Therefore, I will enforce rigorous standards of academic integrity in all aspects and assignments of this course. For the detailed policy of West Virginia University regarding the definitions of acts considered to fall under academic dishonesty and possible ensuing sanctions, please see the Student Conduct Code at []. Should you have any questions about possibly improper research citations or references, or any other activity that may be interpreted as an attempt at academic dishonesty, please see me before the assignment is due to discuss the matter.

[[image:diversity4.gif width="79" height="79"]] Diversity
West Virginia University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, color or national origin. Any suggestions how to further a positive and open environment in this class is welcome, and will be given serious consideration. The College of Human Resources regularly convenes a Cultural Diversity Committee to increase awareness of its students to cultural issues. President's Office of Social Justice

[[image:computers_health_194022.jpg width="146" height="114"]] Disability
If you have a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please advise me and make appropriate arrangements withDisability Services (293-6700 or Voice/TDD 304-293-7740).

[[image:privacy.jpg width="112" height="121"]] Protecting Your Privacy
Social networking media such as wikis, facebook, twitter, and other such media were created with the idea that the people using them want to share information and ideas. It is also true that there are real problems when sharing information in social networking media includes crossing over between your social life, your academic life, and your professional life. Be proactive, and make sure you only share information that you feel is appropriate for an academic setting.

The course wiki is private, by invitation only, and it is the responsibility of the entire class to keep it that way. Do not share your user name or password for the class wiki, just as you do not share your user name and password for eCampus or your Mix email.

All course grades are kept in eCampus, and can be seen by the student and instructor only. No course grades will be sent by email, or posted anywhere other than the Grading Page in eCampus.

Do not respond to emails that ask for your user name, password or other private information. The instructor, Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, and the University will not ask for such information by email.

If you are participating in MySpace, or Facebook, Twitter, or other such media, you are welcome to include that information in your wiki profile page that you will complete as part of your first week class assignment. However, you should check your privacy settings beforehand, and make sure that you use the grouping and privacy tools to share only the information you want to share with the class. If you have not checked your privacy settings on FaceBook lately, please make sure you do so.