Other Classroom Policies

Attendance and Participation

Attendance: 

It is your responsibility to be in class and ready to learn. I will not take attendance in lecture, however, you will miss pop quizzes if you are absent. Attendance in lab is required. Barring an emergency or illness, 7 points will be deducted from your overall course score for missing lab. 

Late Assignments: 

Late assignments will be docked 10% per day late up to three days.  After three days, late assignments will no longer be accepted.

Absences: 

If you are going to miss an exam or a due date, you must provide verification of your reasoning (i.e., doctor’s note, police report, etc.). If you miss an exam without prior notification or verification, you will not be able to make it up.  You MUST notify me ahead of time that you will not be in class. Missing class due to illness or family emergency will be handled on a case-by-case basis.  I do not give make-up exams without prior scheduling except in cases of emergency. All issues must be resolved prior to the scheduled event.

Out of Class Preparation

Per the university policy: Course instructors generally structure their courses so that the "average" student will need to devote two to three hours outside of class each week for each unite of course credit. In other words, students should expect to spend 6-9 hours outside of classe each week for a 3-unit class in completing assigned readings, performing library or internet searches, doing homework assignments, writing papers or reports, studying for quizzes/exams, etc.

You should be spending this much time studying and working on lab material each week! Please see the Study Suggestions page for more ideas on ways to study.

Technology: 

I understand that many students like to use technology in class for note-taking (as do I!).  I will allow this.  However, your cell phones should be turned off and put away.  If you are being disruptive to those around you, I will ask you to either put away your notebook/laptop, or leave class.  Please, be respectful of other students around you as well as me!  

Sharing of Course Content

Students are not permitted to make visual or audio recordings, including live streaming, of classroom lectures or any class related content, using any type of recording devices (e.g., smart phone, computer, digital recorder, etc.), unless prior permission from the instructor is obtained, and there are no objections from any of the students in the class. If permission is granted, personal use and sharing of recordings and any electronic copies of course materials (e.g., PowerPoints, formulas, lecture notes and any classroom discussions online or otherwise) is limited to the personal use of students registered in the course and for educational purposes only, even after the end of the course.


To supplement the classroom experience, lectures may be audio or video recorded by faculty and made available to students registered for this class. Faculty may record classroom lectures or discussions for pedagogical use, future student reference, or to meet the accommodation needs of students with a documented disability. These recordings are limited to personal use and may not be distributed (file share), sold, or posted or shared on social media outlets or any other outlets without the written permission of faculty. Unauthorized downloading, file sharing, distribution of any part of a recorded lecture or course materials, or using information for purposes other than the student’s own learning may be deemed an academic violation and subject to disciplinary action.

Language and Respect



I believe that diversity is critical to an enriched learning environment. As such, mutual respect is critical, and hateful or discriminatory language will NOT be tolerated in this class. This includes derogatory comments against a person’s race, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, political affiliation, etc. 

While I encourage discussions about differences, these must be conducted respectfully! I believe that the university should be a safe place for all to learn without feeling threatened, and that diversity is important and should be valued. These are my beliefs, and you don't have to hold them, but I do expect that you will act respectfully to one another! 

Academic Integrity Policy

The CSU Academic Integrity Policy:

Academic Integrity: Certain forms of conduct violate the university’s policy of academic integrity and the student conduct code. Academic dishonesty (cheating) is a broad category of actions that use fraud and deception to improve a grade or obtain course credit. Academic dishonesty is not limited to exams alone but arises whenever students attempt to gain an unearned academic advantage. Plagiarism is claiming the published or unpublished work of someone else as your own. This includes handing in someone else’s work; turning in copied or purchased compositions; using paragraphs, sentences, phrases, words, or ideas, including paraphrasing, written by another writer; or using data and/or statistics compiled by someone else as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original writer. Plagiarism also includes using your work submitted in another class without permission of your current instructor.

When a faculty member discovers a violation of the university’s policy of academic integrity, the faculty member will meet with the student(s) involved and is required to notify the Dean of Students’ office and detail the alleged violation, including the name(s) of the student(s) suspected, the class in which the alleged violation occurred, the circumstances of the alleged violation, and the evidence (including witnesses) supporting the allegation. The faculty member will also formally notify the student(s) suspected of violating the university’s policy of academic integrity, the department chair for the course involved in the incident, and the appropriate school dean. The Dean of Students or designee will investigate; confer with the faculty member, student(s), and any witnesses identified; and review all evidence submitted by the faculty member and student(s) to impose an administrative sanction, beyond the academic penalty already placed by the faculty member. Students who perform dishonestly in this course may earn zero credit on the assignment/exam or a failing grade in the course, depending on the level of severity of the offense.

Students are expected to uphold the standards of academic integrity. Cheating in any form will not be tolerated and will result in a formal report to the University Dean of Students. You are always expected to follow the student conduct code and uphold the CSUB Guiding Principles while learning on this campus.

Make sure to follow all of these policies and use the Writing Standards in Biology to format any citations!!!

Students with Disabilities

To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) as soon as possible. You can visit their webpage by clicking the button below. Their office is located in SA 140, and they may be reached at (661) 654-3360. If you have a letter from the SSD office documenting that you have a disability, please present the letter to me during my office hours as soon as possible so we can discuss the specific accommodations that you might need in class.

Online Etiquette

Online etiquette is often referred to as "netiquette".  As we'll still have a fair amount of online communication, here is a gentle reminder of the interaction practices and rules we'll follow in all our interactions in this course.

If you ever feel that someone is not following these rules, please send an email or Slack DM to me and describe your concerns.