There is no attendance requirement for the lecture portion of this class. Most students are more successful when they regularly attend class. However, you are adults and are free to decide how to best invest your time. All lectures will be recorded and can be accessed via Brightspace at any time along with lecture slides.

There is an attendance requirement for the lab portion of this class. You will lose the participation points of each lab that you miss. If you need to miss lab for a legitimate reason (including illness, see below), email Dr. Fisher to arrange a way to make up the participation points.

Attendance and lit discussions:

We will read a handful of papers every unit that correspond to the topics we are covering. A complete schedule of assigned readings can be found on Brightspace and our course syllabus. All papers are posted to Brightspace. A short in-person paper quiz based on each paper will be distributed before each paper is discussed. If you miss class, you can request to make up the quiz during office hours to earn these points. Literature quizzes are worth 5.5% of your total grade. In addition, questions based on readings will appear on all exams.

Attendance and chalk talks:

Each lecture that does not begin with a paper discussion will end with a 10-15 minute chalk-talk discussion. This is an informal session where we expand on a topic and apply what we've learned to a scientific problem. Chalk-talk discussion points are automatically earned by attending that day's lecture. Attendance will be evaluated with a Qwickly check-in on Brightspace. If you miss a class, you cannot make these points up (with exceptions for illness). These discussion points are worth 5.5% of your grade. In addition, questions based on chalk-talk topics may appear on exams. 

Communicable diseases and attendance: 

A biology class would be a poor setting to disregard to lessons learned in the past four years. What is a mild illness for some may be life-threatening or disabling for others. If you experiencing symptoms of any illness, please do not come to class. If you test positive for COVID-19, please follow SUNY Oswego's guidance and do not return until your isolation period has elapsed. If you are feeling ill, simply email me and let me know. 

Keeping an eye on community levels of SARS-Cov2 and other pathogens can help you calibrate infection risk. 

Textbook - NOT REQUIRED

21st Century Guidebook to Fungi 

I will use this textbook for some lectures, however, much content will come from the peer-reviewed literature and other sources. I will not follow this book closely, I will not assign reading from it, and I will not use it for exam questions. 

There is an open-access online version. If you'd like the link, please ask me. 

Laboratory Materials

I will distribute laboratory materials online or in person as handouts. You do not need to buy a manual. You do need to supply a 3-ring binder to archive lab handouts. I will collect and grade this at the end of the semester.