Biology 330: Evolutionary biology
https://www.ncsu.edu/project/evoresources/evo on line/index for 330online.html
Dr. Marianne Niedzlek-Feaver
Office: 136 David Clark lab
E-mail: mnfeaver@ncsu.edu
If you are having problems mastering any part of the course, do not hesitate to email your concerns with me. I will do all I can to help you. Please, do not wait to try to reverse poor performance until the end of the course.
Make sure to include your full name in the body of all emails you send to me. In the subject heading, please write Bio 330 and your last name. If you are attaching a document, include your name in the document and use your name and course number for the file name. Also Include your full name in the attached document. If you’re replying to an email, please include any previous exchanges in the email reply.
Please never simply hit reply to an email I send to the class. Our client will tile these among the original emails I sent to all students. That means all I know is that someone replied to my email and I must search though 60 plus emails to find yours. You must change the subject to remove your email from the tile. So please at least add your initials and some random number to the subject heading.
Please allow 24 hours (48 hours on weekends) for me to answer emails. I try to check my email twice a day, but there may be meetings, etc. that sometimes prevent me from checking my email till late at night. I have also had my home service fail.
The schedule will be updated with regard to readings every week. If the exam schedule is to be changed, you will be receiving an email from me, and the class schedule on the web site will be revised well in advance of any change.
No textbook is used. All reading material will be available via links or downloads on the course website.
You will be required to download and upload doc files to Moodle.
Exams: 400 points consisting of timed Moodle quizzes, two comprehensive exams and the final.. Exam may have a "take home portion" or doc that you will have time to complete and turn in. A portion of each exam and the final may be online, and available via Moodle. Exams cover readings, lecture guides, and any homework assigned.
Attendance, homework and other classroom activities.
Only two hundred points of attendance, homework or class activity can be counted toward your grade. Most exercises will earn 20 to 30 points. You will be given ample opportunity throughout the term to earn the 200 points of those available that can be counted toward your grade. More points will be available to be earned than 200 to allow you to miss an assignment, or answer incorrectly some of the questions on the homework, and still earn all the points you can count toward your grade.
You need to submit your assignments through Moodle Always include in the body of any documented submitted, your full name as it appears on your Id and the names of all students involved in any group activity. Your assignments for grading will be downloaded as docs, striped of any containing folder. Therefore if there is no name on the document, there is no way to assign a grade to that effort.
A gradebook can also be found in Moodle. So you always will know where you stand in the course. Please pay attention to total points. Grades will be assigned on a point system.
Grading
Unless students are taking the course on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis, letter grading (A, B, C, D, or F with plus/minus grading) will be used. Grades will be based on homework, quizzes, two midterms and one final exam. You will not be able to count more than 200 points of attendance, and/or homework toward your grade.
A grade of Incomplete (IN) may be assigned at the discretion of your instructors. This grade will only be considered for situations that the student could not have reasonably avoided.
I do not grade on a strict point basis. An excellent performance on homework and class discussion can for example be used as justification for assigning a higher grade than simple points dictate. One "bad" performance on an exam may be overlooked if all other work is excellent. More than 200 points may be available for homework and classroom participation to allow for an absence. Be advised that homework and class participation however, will count for only 40% of your grade, no matter how many homework and class participation points are available. Sixty percent of your grade will be earned through testing via Moodle quizzes, exams and the final.
Rules of Conduct
From the preamble Code of Student Conduct http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
"1.1 Universities are unique communities committed to creating and transmitting knowledge. They depend on freedom - individuals' freedom to explore ideas and to explore and further their own capabilities. Those freedoms depend on the good will and responsible behavior of all the members of the community, who must treat each other with tolerance and respect. They must allow each other to develop the full range of their capabilities and take full advantage of the institution's resources."
Submitting homework for others or having someone submit an assignment sheet for you is considered a breach of the Honor Code. Offenders will be reported. Both the "helper" and the individual behaving fraudulently will be reported and neither will receive any of the points assigned to the activity. To read more about the policies concerning student conduct, go to:
http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
Using online resources during timed Moodle quizzes, and any assistance from others and/or websites not linked to on the class schedule during quizzes, or for take home portion of exams, is considered cheating.
Disability Services for Students ((DSS): Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with the Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS) at Suite 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509. Telephone: 515-7653 (Main) or 515-8830 (TTY). Information on services and procedures can be found at the Office of DSS’ web site: http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/
Students who wish to take advantage of disability accommodations must contact Dr. Feaver before any quizzing or exams, so that these accommodations can be arranged. Every attempt will be made to provide equivalent testing and non-evasive alternatives. I do not believe in subjecting students to on line monitoring via software that requires they record their surroundings.