Lecture examinations: There will be two lecture examinations administered during regularly-scheduled lecture sessions in BIO 343 this semester.  Each lecture examination will be worth 100 possible points, for a total of 200 possible points.  The dates for these examinations are: Exam 1, October 3, 2007 (Wednesday), and Exam 2, TBA (during Finals Week).

Lecture examinations require the student to bring a #2 lead pencil with them to the classroom, in order to properly mark Scantron® answer sheets provided by the instructor.  Electronic devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, organizers, digital music players, etc. will not be allowed in the classroom during examinations.  Hats, caps, helmets, etc. of any type will not be permitted to be worn during an examination.

Your instructor recognizes that university-excused absences may sometimes fall on dates in the course in which an examination is scheduled.  Please inform your instructor at the earliest possible date so that accommodations can be made to resolve this conflict.

Students who arrive to take an examination after any other students have already completed the same examination will not be issued a test and an answer sheet, and will receive a grade of "0" for the exam.

Laboratory examinations: Two laboratory practical examinations will be given during regularly-scheduled laboratory sessions in BIO 343 this semester.  Each laboratory examination will be worth 100 possible points, for a total of 200 possible points.  The dates for these examinations are: Laboratory Exam 1, October 10, 2007, and Laboratory Exam 2, November 28, 2007.

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A reminder to all majors in the Division of Biological and Physical Sciences: Department policy requires biology majors to maintain good academic standing after "full admission" status is attained.  Whenever an undergraduate student receives a grade below "C" in an upper division course, the student must retake the course.  If the grade in the course is not improved to "C" or better within 2 semesters, the student will be placed on probationary status and will not be permitted to advance in their Biological Sciences course work until the deficiency has been corrected.  Delta State University requires undergraduate students to maintain a 2.0 quality point average for all major course work.  See the Delta State University Undergraduate Bulletin for further explanation of the undergraduate academic requirements of the Division of Biological and Physical Sciences.  Graduate students must earn a grade of "B" or higher in all course work attempted at DSU.  Graduate students should consult the Delta State University Graduate Bulletin for more details about graduate degree requirements.

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Class attendance policy: The following statement concerning course attendance is taken from the Undergraduate Bulletin of Delta State University.

"Class Attendance

Regular and punctual attendance at all scheduled classes and activities is expected of all students and is regarded as integral to course credit. University policy holds that students must attend a minimum of 75 percent of all scheduled classes and activities.  When a student accumulates absences for any reason greater than 25 percent of the scheduled meetings of class, the student receives a grade of F in the class.

Particular policies and procedures on absences and makeup work are established for each class and are announced in writing at the beginning of the term.  Each student is directly responsible to the individual professor for absences and for making up work missed.  A student absent from class when a test is scheduled is entitled to a makeup test if evidence is presented to the instructor that absence was due to illness or death in the immediate family.

Official absences are granted to students required by the University to miss class for events such as athletics, performing groups, and student government groups.  Commuting students are excused from classes during periods of time when the Weather Bureau has issued a weather advisory of hazardous driving conditions.  For these absences which are authorized by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, students are entitled to make up any work missed.

A student who has been reported as having excessive absences has the right to appeal the Attendance Committee and may continue to meet class with the permission of the Committee during the period of appeal.  For more information about the appeal process, contact the Vice President for Academic Affairs."

The above policy will be adhered to by your instructor in BIO 343 this semester.  Makeup examinations are offered only when the student's absence is excused, due to documented illness, death in the immediate family, and/or any official absence granted to the student by the Vice President for Academic Affairs of Delta State University.  The student should contact the Vice President for Academic Affairs office for the proper procedures in documenting illness or death in the immediate family.  When a student becomes aware that a circumstance may interfere with the student's ability to attend any course examination, the student should inform the instructor of the situation as soon as possible, via telephone, FAX, e-mail, or in person.  Course materials (such as handouts) may be provided occasionally by the instructor during class meetings, on a one-time-only basis, and the instructor will not provide to students these materials that were not obtained as a consequence of an unexcused class absence.  Punctuality is encouraged; if late arrival to class is unavoidable, the student should enter the classroom in a manner that creates as little disruption as possible.  Students who are chronically late, or whose late arrival disrupts the class, will be asked to meet with the instructor outside of regular class hours to discuss the situation.

Students with perfect attendance in lecture and laboratory sessions this semester will have an additional 3 percentage points added to their final point percentage total.  The student's presence in class will be recorded through the passing around class of a sign-in sheet; it is the student's responsibility to sign this sheet each and every class session, in order to be noted as "present" for lectures and labs.  A student who arrives either 10 minutes late to class, or later than the instructor (in those rare instances when the instructor is late to class), will be considered "absent" for that class session.

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Official holidays recognized by Delta State University, during which class is regularly scheduled to meet, but will not, are: Labor Day Holiday (Monday, 9/3/2007); Fall Break (Thursday, 10/18- Friday, 10/19/2006); Thanksgiving Holiday (Thursday, 11/19 - Friday, 11/23/2007).

The Elliott-Nowell-White Science Symposium is scheduled for the afternoon of October 11, 2007 (Thursday), and the morning of October 12, 2007 (Friday).  Although there will be no lecture session in BIO 343 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy on 11/12/2007, BIO 343 students are expected to attend that day's Elliott-Nowell-White sessions if they wish to maintain perfect attendance in the course.

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A note to all graduating seniors: If you are a senior at DSU graduating at the end of Fall, 2007 semester, please inform the instructor of this situation as soon as possible.  Graduating seniors do not take final exams during Final Exam Week, and alternative dates must be scheduled for these individuals.  The sooner that you as a graduating senior inform your instructor of your impending graduation, the sooner that alternative dates for your final examinations can be established.  Failure to arrange alternative dates for your final examinations in BIO 343 could produce problems that might interfere with your graduation, so do not overlook this matter.  It is your responsibility to contact the instructor concerning your graduation.

Academic dishonesty: Academic dishonesty, in any form, will not be tolerated by your instructor, and any case of academic dishonesty that is detected will be dealt with according to Delta State University's regulations.  The official DSU policy concerning cheating and plagiarism is found in the Undergraduate Bulletin of Delta State University.

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Students with disabilities: If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires accommodation, he/she should contact the Academic Support Lab for information on appropriate policies and procedures.

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General comments related to the lecture portion of BIO 343: Student behavior, such as excessive talking in class, that disrupts lecture/discussion sessions will not be tolerated by the instructor.  You should insure that the volume of the incoming call signal of your cell phone does not disturb class.

Students may make audio recordings of lecture/discussion sessions for their personal use during the semester; the instructor assumes no responsibility for the student's personal equipment related to audio recording.

The student should bring sharpened #2 lead pencils to the scheduled lecture examinations in BIO 343 in order to mark answers on the Scantron® answer sheet provided by the instructor.

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General comments related to the laboratory portion of BIO 343: No food or drink will be permitted at any time in Caylor 109.  This regulation will be strictly enforced by your instructor, because it exists for your safety.  Consumption of food and beverages in the vicinity of biological and chemical hazards could be detrimental to your health.  If you develop an acute need to eat and/or drink, please do so outside of Caylor 109.

In Caylor 109, students will be working extensively with preserved chordate specimens.  Students are encouraged to wear goggles, such as the ones worn in chemistry laboratory, in BIO 343 laboratory sessions.  Gloves will be provided for students to wear during laboratory sessions, and disinfectant hand wash will also be available for students to use during/after lab sessions.  Students in BIO 343 are encouraged to wear clothing that covers body surfaces; expensive dress should not be worn to lab sessions due to the high likelihood of contact with chemicals that could damage such clothing.  Open-toed footwear should not be worn in the laboratory.  Keep in mind that some of the instruments used in performing the dissections in BIO 343 are sharp and are capable of serious injury.  Please work cooperatively with your classmates in the laboratory, in a cautious, mature, civilized manner.

Students will find it necessary to work in Caylor 109 outside of the regularly scheduled laboratory session hours.  During regular business hours at DSU (between 8:00 AM-4:30 PM), the student may enter Caylor 109 as long as another class is not meeting in this laboratory.  If the door to Caylor 109 is found to be locked by the student from 8:00 AM-4:30 PM, the student may obtain entry either by asking the Department of Biological Sciences administrative personnel for help in entering the room, or by requesting assistance from either myself or another DSU biology faculty member.  A list of the names of students enrolled in BIO 343 has been submitted to the DSU Police; if the student requires access to Caylor 109 outside of normal building hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-10:00 PM), the student must contact the DSU Police in order to obtain entry.  The student should be prepared to show identification to the DSU Police when requesting permission to enter Caylor 109.  Whenever the student departs Caylor 109 outside of normal building hours, the student is responsible for contacting the DSU Police to insure that the doors to this room are locked.  Students who enter Caylor 109 after normal building hours will sign the log sheet for the room, indicating the time of entry and departure.

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Internet Resources for BIO 343: Listed below are several Web sites that may be useful to students taking BIO 343. Click on the site's name to go there from here.

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