WELCOME: This three semester hours course is designed to introduce you to the principles and processes in biology and human body. May not be used to meet graduation requirements of students majoring in the College of Sciences and Mathematics. Corequisite: BIOL 1108 – Biology for Non-Science Majors I(Lab). Lecture + Lab = 4 credit hours (an amount of student work per credit hour = one hour of class or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week). General Education Core Curriculum Objectives/Outcomes: This course is included in the general education core curriculum.

The course schedule, including lecture topics, exam dates, and project presentation dates, is tentative and subject to change. Unforeseen circumstances — including but not limited to inclement weather, campus closures, institutional emergencies, or changes in the pace of coverage of course material — may require adjustments to the timing of course activities. Changes will be either announced in class or/and posted to the course management system (D2L/Brightspace) as far in advance as possible. Students are responsible for staying informed of announced changes.
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: There are no specific program learning outcomes for this major addressed in this course. It is a general education core curriculum course and / or a service course.

EDUCATION CORE CURRICULUM: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has identified six core learning objectives: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Empirical and Quantitative Skills, Teamwork, Personal Responsibility, and Social Responsibility. SFA is committed to the improvement of its general education core curriculum by regular assessment of student performance on these six objectives. By enrolling in BIOL 1308 - Biology For Non- Science Majors I (Lecture) - you are also enrolling in a Core Curriculum Course that fulfills the CRITICAL THINKING and COMMUNICATION SKILLS.

Student Learning Outcomes: Who complete BIOL 1308 will be able to:
1. Explain the scientific method and critically evaluate scientific information.
2. Identify the chemical basis for life and the characteristics that distinguish living things from inanimate matter.
3. Illustrate how genetic information is passed from parents to offspring, how this genetic information is expressed by cells, and how humans are utilizing this information for the benefit of society.
4. Classify the diversity of life forms from the species to kingdom level.
5. Analyze biological interactions that occur from the sub-cellular to the ecosystem level of organization.
6. Discuss the role of evolution in the history of life on Earth.

ATTENDANCE:You are expected to attend all lectures according to the schedule– attendance will be monitored. Sign in with your full first name and last name as listed on the class roster. Students who do not provide their full name will be marked as absent. Missing lecture classes will result in points subtraction from your Final grade. In contrast perfect attendance will give you extra points to your Final grade. Also, please note: 1. "students with accepted excuses may be permitted to make up work for absences equaling no more than 15% ( ~ 6 lectures of 50min, 4 lectures of 75min, or 2 of 150min) of the scheduled course meeting time for the term" (see the university attendance policy); 2. if you miss 2 or more lectures without accepted exuse explained previously you may appear in the university ALERT system. Stay focused: turn off your cellphone and pack it away, be respectful to your classmates and the professor. Using a phone during the class without permission will be equal to an absence. Missing an exam will be permitted only by prior arrangement. If the exam was missed without prior arrangement as an after the fact make-up will be allowed only by Faculty Notification Requests. (The information is located on the Dean of Student’s website: https://www.sfasu.edu/thehub/sos/notification-request ) Please note, that Requests for Absence (Faculty Notification Requests) submitted to the Dean of Students Office will only be reviewed for emergency situations such as a death in the family, military orders, court order, or admission to a hospital. Absences for illness, oversleeping, doctor’s appointment, emergency room visits (non-admittance to hospital) are up to the discretion of the professor only. Please remember that even if the Dean of Students Office approves a Faculty Notification Request, the professor is not obligated to approve the absence or required to allow student to make up missed work.
University attendance policy: https://www.sfasu.edu/docs/hops/02-102.pdf
CLASS DISRUPTION: Class disruptions will not be tolerated because they detract from other students’ learning. As adults, students should be able to sit through class without disturbing others.
The professor does NOT necessarily give you a warning or make an announcement that you are disrupting class. Instead, points will simply be deducted in the grade book. Students are free to inquire at any time whether they have had points deducted during office hours.
Tardiness to lecture will not be tolerated; it disrupts the lesson and the concentration of fellow students. Reasonable accommodations will be made in cases of emergency situations if documentation is provided. It is the student’s responsibility to provide the instructor with documentation of emergencies. Sleeping during class can be distracting to other students and the instructor. If a student is so tired that they cannot stay awake for a lecture, as boring as it may be, the student should not be in class. Cell phones must be turned off during lecture and packed away. In cases of family emergency the student must inform the instructor of the situation BEFORE class begins. There should be no texting in class. Texting may distract other students and the instructor. Leaving class is disruptive to other students who are trying to pay attention. Leaving the class for any reason will count against you. Hence, be sure to use the restroom before coming to class (a 5 minute break is given during lecture during the long summer lectures). If a student knows they will need to leave class early, notify the instructor well ahead of time. Points will not be deducted if the student has a legitimate excuse for leaving early. Talking/Disruptive Behaviors: the professor is highly encourages students to ask questions or make relevant comments during a lecture. However, talking to a neighbor or other disruptive behaviors will not be tolerated because, again, it disrupts the learning environment of other students. Laptop computers are not allowed in lecture. In the past, too many students have used them for surfing the internet or working on other projects during lecture, which distracts other students.

MATERIALS: Textbook: Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, 6th ed. by Simon et al; © 2019.( ISBN-13: 978-0134711751) link. PowerPoint presentations for each lecture will be online along with the activities, according to the provided schedule of the course. REMEMBER: draw it to know it! Handwritten lecture notes from face-to-face lectures, online lecture slides and activities can be made and used during the exam. I recommend to use GOOGLE CHROME to browse our course page.

Lecture Exams (midterm - 50min & final - 80min) - 50%
Weekly quizzes - 30%
Attendance/class activity - 20%
Bonus points – up to 2 points to the Final course grade will be assigned to each student according to perfect attendance, participation, SI meetings.
Students with poor attendance / tardiness will lose up to 20 pts of the Final course grade.
In details:
• Examinations: Context will include any material covered during lectures and activities prior that particular exam. There will be two cumulative exams (Midterm, and Final) as scheduled. These exams are equally weighted and are worth 100 points all together.
• Independent activities: Students are expected to complete weekly activities which are posted in the “activities” column under the Lecture & Schedule tab on the appropriate week. Print and complete them, collect in a designated folder and bring it to class. It will be a time when you will be asked to pull a certain one from your folder for various in class exercises or discussions. "Activities" are supplemental and help you self-check your understanding of the course material — they can be a tremendous help during exams. While grades are not assigned for activities in general, I will periodically select some at random to review and grade, so I encourage you to complete them consistently.
• You will be expected to study all prior material available on class web-page under the “Lecture & Schedule” tab before attending the lecture.

SI is Trynn Creamer , SI meetings are TR 18:00-19:00 at Library 1st floor in room 107A.

W 10:00-15:00am, or by appointment @S236

Communication with the professor is over an e-mail avankley@sfasu.edu (please DO NOT email through D2L ).

E-mail rules:
When emailing use your OFFICIAL SFA E-MAIL ADDRESS
Check your e-mail REGULARY and, if you have your SFA account forwarded to some secondary account, to be certain this is not full and can receive messages.
Always indicate BOTH class & section # and your CID in a subject line.
When ATTACHING a file, filename should be “First_LastName.ext”, it must also include your name in the document itself.
Emails lacking any of the information listed above WILL BE IGNORED.
BE courteous: Begin your email with a greeting that addresses your instructor respectfully and professionally, such as "Dear Dr. Smith" or "Hi Dr. Jones."
E-mail should be considered a professional form of communication – you should use proper grammar and spelling.
CLOSE with your full name: After your message, end with a closing and signature, such as "Sincerely, Jane Doe" or "Thanks, John Doe.”
A RESPONSE may take time: I will try to get back quickly, but don’t expect a response within a few minutes. It can take up to 24 hours for an instructor to respond. If you need a response ON THE SAME DAY, your best option is to attend the office hours.
NO emails will be answered after 5 p.m. and/or during weekends or holidays.
NO GRADE DISCUSSION over an e-mail, only during one on one meetings. Grades cannot be discussed via e-mail at any time due to federal law. I will speak to you in person instead during my office hours. DO NOT involve a third-party who is not affiliated in an official capacity with SFASU (e.g., friend, roommate) in any matters pertaining to your enrollment in this course. Your instructor is legally prohibited from discussing most course/grade-related issues with third parties according to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

MENTAL HEALTH: SFASU values students’ mental health and the role it plays in academic and overall student success. SFA provides a variety of resources to support students mental health and wellness. Many of these resources are free, and all of them are confidential.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic integrity (4.1) is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism. Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/student-academic-dishonesty-4.1.pdf.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.

WITHHELD GRADES SEMESTER GRADES POLICY (5.5): Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.

COVID-19 mask policy: As you know, according to the recent message from the Office of the President, we are encouraged to wear masks in public indoor settings.
On-campus Resources:
SFA Counseling Services www.sfasu.edu/counselingservices

Rusk Building, 3rd Floor 936.468.2401
SFA Human Services Counseling Clinic
www.sfasu.edu/humanservices/139.asp
Human Services, Room 202 936.468.1041
Crisis Resources: Burke 24-hour crisis line: 1.800.392.8343
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1.800.273.TALK (8255) Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741-741