Syllabus

Instructor : James W. Brown 4558A Gardner Addition (office) 4554 Gardner Addition (lab) james_brown@ncsu.edu 515-8803 (calling this number is futile - use email) 919/749-3172 (cell - it'd better be important) www.microbiology.ncsu.edu/JWB/JWB.html Office Hours : 2:20-4:00 Wednesdays, or by appointment

Class time and place

Classes are each Wednesday at 1:30 in 2207 Gardner Hall.

Course Description

Introductory Topics in Microbiology is for freshmen and transfer microbiology majors in their first year at North Carolina State University. The course provides basic instruction in computing, academic policies, and study skills related to reading, comprehending, and discussing scientific information in general and microbiology in particular.

Objectives

Students will be able to...

1. Use e-mail, web pages and word processing from the campus computer labs.
2. Describe curriculum requirements in Microbiology and in one other major and to describe the requirements for  minors
3. Search the web for information on Microbiology organizations, companies, employment, and research topics
4. Discuss current research areas, as presented in journals such as Scientific American
5. Describe their learning style and other major types of learning styles
6. Apply critical thinking skills to current topics in Microbiology

Textbook

There is no textbook for this course, but all students will need either a planner or calendar (electronic is fine). The course web site is at :

http://www.mbio.ncsu.edu/MB103/

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course other than being a Microbiology major. Micro majors should take this course in their first year instead of ALS 103.

Attendence

Attendance is required and will be taken promptly at the beginning of each class period. Each unexcused absence from class will result in a deduction of 20 points from your total points for the course. Arriving late will result in a deduction of 10 points. All excused absences must be documented in writing. The University's attendance regulations can be found at :

http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/pols_regs/REG205.00.4.php

Grading

Assignment 1: 25 points
Assignment 2: 25 points
Assignment 3: 50 points
Assignment 3.1: 50 points (added 10/30/07)
Assignment 4: 50 points
Team Project, part 1: 50 points
Team Project, part 2: 50 points
Team Project, part 3: 50 points
Team Project, part 4: 50 points
Final exam: 50 points
Total: 450 points

Late assignments, including late final exam, will lose 5 points/day late. No extra credit will be awarded.

Grades will be awarded according to the following scale : (revised 10/30/07)

     450-441 A+     404-396 B+     359-351 C+     314-306 D+
     440-414 A      395-369 B      350-324 C      305-279 D      269-0 F
     413-405 A-     368-360 B-     323-315 C-     278-270 D-  

Final Exam

The Final (and only!) exam will be a "take-home" exam covering basic information on computing, academic policies, and the topics covered in the team project oral and MicrobeWiki reports. The exam will be distributed on December 5th and will be due at the scheduled final exam time, 1:00pm December 12th.

Class Evaluation

Online class evaluations will be available for students to complete during the last two weeks of class (November 26-December 9). Students will receive an email message directing them to a website where they can login using their Unity ID and complete evaluations. All evaluations are confidential; instructors will never know how any one student responded to any question, and students will never know the ratings for any particular instructors.

Evaluation website: https://classeval.ncsu.edu
Student help desk: classeval@ncsu.edu
More information about ClassEval: http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/classeval/index.htm

Academic Integrity

Cheating in any form is not acceptable, and any apparent case of dishonesty will be turned directly over to the Office of Student Conduct with the harshest recommended punishment. Students are expected to abide by the North Carolina State University Code of Student Conduct :

http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_conduct/POL445.00.1.htm

All members of the university community (students, faculty, and staff) share the responsibility and authority to challenge and make known to the appropriate authority acts of apparent academic dishonesty.

Disability Statement

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653, or at :

http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/

For more information on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation at :

http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.1.php