Laboratory Policies in Biology 1102 (Sections 1-11 and 15-24)
Lab Meeting Times and TA Contact Information
Because lab seating space is limited by the University Fire Code, you must attend your regularly scheduled lab section. If you wish to change lab sections, you must do it through the Student Admin. Add/Drop system; your instructor and TAs have no control over the availability of seats in lab and cannot add you to a full lab section.
If you have taken the Biology 1102 lab previously, you cannot use a lab manual from a previous semester and you cannot receive credit for assignments turned in during the previous semester; all such work will receive zero credit.
Because of the significance of the laboratory experience to the General Education Requirements, you cannot pass this course without passing the laboratory portion. You cannot miss more than 2 labs, excused or not, or you will fail Biology 1102. You must earn at least 60% of the points in lab in order to pass the lab and the course. Your TAs will determine when the laboratory exercises are finished. You are expected to complete all graphs, charts, and tables in your lab manual because your TAs may collect assignments from the lab manual without telling you in advance. If you leave the lab before your TA determines that you are finished or you do not do the lab exercises during lab, you will be counted as absent for that day.
IMPORTANT If you do anything in lab that your TA finds distracting to the learning environment in any way, your final lab point total will be reduced by 1.5 points for each instance with no limits. Examples include, but are not limited to: texting or other phone use, unnecessary talking or comments, excessive absences from lab in the hallway or the bathroom, inappropriate language before, during, or after lab, interfering with another student in your lab or a different lab, or harassing a TA about grades or anything else. TAs are not required to discuss distraction penalties with offending students during lab period. In addition, to ensure a reasonable learning environment, your TAs may assign lab seats to students. You are required to sit in the seat that your TA assigns to you will receive distraction penalties.
If you have legitimate documentation for an absence you can receive a makeup assignment or attend a different lab section the same week. To do this, you MUST complete a permission form (Permission form) and submit it your TA. Your TA will decide how you will make up the lab. If you do NOT have a legitimate reason for missing a lab, expect your TA to deny your petition for a makeup. If you have missed a lab, you have no more than one week to petition for a makeup assignment. After one week, you will receive a zero for the missed assignments (homework and quiz). All makeup assignments must be returned to YOUR TAs within one week. Remember, If you miss lab one week and return the following week, you are still responsible to take the quiz and hand in the homework from the last lab you attended so you don't lose those points.
Lab Grading: The laboratory section of Biology 1102 accounts for 30% of your final Biology 1102 course grade. Your grade in lab will be based on criteria described below. Lab grades will be posted to your HuskyCT lab pages on a weekly basis. Check your lab grades often and discuss any potential errors with your TAs. You have only one week to contest any grading discrepancies with your TA. After that time, all grades stand, and will not be changed. Your TAs will not accept assignments more than one week after their original due date unless specific permission is granted in advance from your TA. The total of all lab assignments is 205 points. The criteria for determining laboratory grades is as follows:
Quizzes
(12)Homework
(11)
Greenhouse Assignment (1) Genetics Terms Quiz
(1)Last Lab
(in-class work)Lab Total
(Semester)
Item Pts. Criteria Quizzes A 10-point quiz covering the material from the previous lab will be given at the beginning of every lab period except the first. These quizzes also include one or two questions about the lab you will be doing that day. Be sure to read ahead before coming to lab. You cannot take a quiz if you are late for class so be sure to arrive ON TIME. In addition, the TAs reserve the right to collect completed pages of the lab manual for a portion of your quiz grade. The TAs will not announce this so complete the questions, tables, and diagrams in your your lab manuals for every lab. Homework Assignments
Every lab period except the last lab and the Plant Diversity lab will have 5-point homework assignment associated with it. Homework assignments must be turned in at the beginning of lab period to YOUR TA and cannot be left in a mailbox or given to another TA. If assignments are turned in late, there is a grade penalty of 10% off per day late (excluding Saturday and Sunday). A late assignment must be given to YOUR Biology 1102 laboratory TA to be accepted. No assignments will be accepted more than one week after their due date.
Genetics Terms Quiz There will be a 10 point lab quiz on the genetics terms we will be using often during the second half of the semester. Greenhouse Assignment There is a Greenhouse Tour assignment that you will complete on your own time and it will be assigned after the Plant Diversity lab. Last Lab There are in-class assignments due during the last lab. You have to be there! Total 205
In the event of an emergency closing and canceled lab, check your email as soon as possible or contact your TA within 24 hours for instructions regarding lab makeup activities. Failure to do this could result in a zero grade for that lab.