Course Information

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore for textbook information: http://rodp.bkstr.com.

Supplementary Materials:

None Required but useful: A and P Microbiology Laboratory Study Disc by Earle Rowe et al.

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include.

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Additional Requirements include: Microsoft Office Word, Acrobat Reader, Shockwave and PowerPoint.

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

Grading Procedure:

A student's grade will be determined from a total of points obtained from 5 sources: (1) laboratory tests; (2) lecture tests; (3) laboratory quizzes; (4) weekly laboratory work; (5) final examination. Points will be distributed as follows:

6 Lecture tests & 1 Comprehensive final examination = 700 points
Laboratory tests = 300 points
6 Laboratory quizzes = 120 points
Assignments = 70 points
Total = 1190 points

Grading Scale:

FINAL GRADE = 90% of 1190 = A = 1071 – 1190 points
80% of 1190 = B = 952 – 1070 points
70% of 1190 = C = 833 – 951 points
60% of 1190 = D = 714 - 832 points
Below 60% = F = less than 714 points

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Class Participation:

To prevent a feeling of isolation students are encouraged to monitor discussions and to respond to appeals for help and information from other students. In addition, regular contact with the instructor regarding questions, etc. is necessary.

Punctuality:

The student is expected to do and self grade but not submit homework assignments for each unit. Since completing all work in a timely manner is essential to success in the course, all tests and quizzes must be taken in the time period specified on the calendar. Failure to take a test or quiz or submit an assignment on time will result in a 10 point penalty for each calendar day that the work is overdue. Final Exams will not be accepted late. A student who expects to miss a deadline through illness, death in family etc. must contact the instructor before the deadline to determine if an exception to the rule is possible.

Course Ground Rules

Exam Policy:

1. ALL exams are to be taken at times scheduled by the instructor. Exact dates for each assignment are posted on the course calendar.
It is essential that you do all assignments, quizzes, tests, etc in a timely manner.

2. ALL tests, exams and quizzes scheduled in the course by the instructor must be taken in order for the student to receive a passing grade.

3. Make-up exams will be given for excused absences only (excused absences include illness, death in family, and military or jury duty). Makeup exams will be different from exams taken at scheduled times.

4. Should a make up be allowed, tests must be taken before the next scheduled test.

5. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures that pertain to Academic and Classroom Misconduct. These policies include plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

• Always include a subject line.
• Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
• Use standard fonts.
• Do not send large attachments without permission.
• Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
• Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:

• Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
• Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
• Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
• Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
• Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
• Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
• Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:

• Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
• Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
• Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
• Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
• Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Web Resources:

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org