BIL 151 - Course Policies and Requirements

You may not change your laboratory section after the second week of laboratories. Within that time span, however, you may change lab sections by going through "Drop and Add" via the Registrar. Note that NO OVERRIDES will be given for laboratories that are full to capacity.

LAB MANUAL
The laboratory manual for this course, Go Figure, is available free online.

WHETHER ON YOUR LAPTOP OR VIA HARD COPY, YOU MUST BRING THE APPROPRIATE LAB MANUAL CHAPTER AND APPENDICES WITH YOU TO EVERY LAB. We recommend bringing your laptop, if you have one, as this makes the research aspect of the lab much easier to do with your teammates.

RESEARCH SYMPOSIA
The culmination of the experiments you design and perform in some of the laboratories for this course will be a PowerPoint or Poster presentation that you and your teammates will create and present to your classmates/colleagues during laboratory.

There is a lab manual chapter in Go Figure that will explain how to make an effective presentation, but remember that since this is a scientific presentation, it should be constructed as you would construct a scientific paper, with

INTRODUCTION, in which you will explain the reason for the experiment and all background information

METHODS, in which you will explain precisely how you performed the experiment and what statistics you will use to analyze your data

RESULTS, in which you will present your data and findings in neat, interpretable form

DISCUSSION, in which you will explain your observations.

LITERATURE CITED, a listing of all the sources you used to obtain background information on your topic.

ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS
Attendance in laboratory is MANDATORY. On the first day of labs, your Laboratory Instructor will be explaining very important lab policies, his/her own grading scale, and other information that you will need for the rest of the semester. DO NOT MISS YOUR FIRST LABORATORY. You alone are responsible for understanding your instructor's requirements, due dates for assignments, and all course policies.

Equipment and supplies for any given lab are completely dismantled every Friday. Therefore, if you miss a lab (even for medical or religious reasons), you must make it up the same week. Please be sure to plan ahead and let your instructor know if you will need to make up a lab at any time in the semester. Before missing and making up a lab, you must

contact your own lab instructor
contact the lab instructor of the section you hope to attend for make-up work
obtain approval from both instructors for the make up
arrange with your own instructor how you will interface with your own team, if you missed performing an experiment with them.

Obviously, it's difficult for you to create a presentation with your team if you didn't do the experiment with them. For this reason, among others, it is very important that you make every effort to never miss a laboratory class.

Make up exams/quizzes must be arranged between you and your Laboratory Instructor.

GRADING
Your grade in this course will be based upon the assignments, quizzes, and exams listed on your syllabus. Be sure to read the syllabus and be aware of all quizzes, exams, and due dates.

Your Laboratory Instructor will give you a detailed overview of his/her grading policies. It is your responsibility to know your instructor's policies and rules, and abide by them throughout the semester.