1. Where am I?
2. Is the laboratory portion required?
3. Do you have lab assignment problems?
4. What is the grading policy?
5. What is the policy on attendance?
6. What are the exams like?
7. Where can I get additional help?
8. How will exams be returned?
9. What if I notice an error in the exam/quiz grading?
10. What about labs in ESRM/Fish 162?
11.  Academic Integrity
12. What if I need accommodation due to a disability?

1.    Where am I?
You are enrolled in ESRM/Fish 162, an introductory Biology class. This class introduces you to the vast the building blocks of biology and how they work together. If you continue into Biology 180, you will learn about and see the marvelous diversity of living organisms on the planet, how they function, how they arose, how they interact, and how human activities are influencing living systems.
2.    Is the laboratory portion required?
Yes!!! Your attendance at lab, a full three hours per week, is required. Not only is your lab graded, but your regular examinations will draw from material covered in the labs. NOTE: If you earn less than 60% of the lab points in ESRM/Fish 162, you will receive a failing grade (0.0) for the course.
3.    Do you have lab assignment problems?
The first week of the quarter can be confusing if you are signed up for a lab that you no longer can attend, or if you are trying to get into the course. In both of these cases, you must go to some lab for the full three hours during the first week. If you need to switch to a lab at a different time, you may check availability of lab space through on-line registration
4.    What is the grading policy?
There are 3 exams, each worth 100 points; all exam scores will count toward your grade. The labs together are worth an additional 100 points, making a total of 400 points possible. If you earn less than 60% of the lab points in ESRM/Fish 162, you will receive a failing grade (0.0) for the course.
5.    What is the policy on attendance?
Exams: Attendance at exams is required. NO early exams will be given. If you must miss an exam because of (1) a documented illness, (2) required participation in a University sponsored event, or (3) a documented emergency, please contact the professor or lab coordinator BEFORE the exam at the phone numbers or email addresses given in the course schedule. We will figure out how to proceed on an individual basis. Excuses that will NOT be considered include: personal travel arrangements, non-University sponsored events, weddings and other family celebrations, conflicts with other exams. Look at the schedule for exams; if you have a conflict with one of the exams, resolve it now or drop this course and take it another time
Labs: Attendance in labs is required. There are no make-up labs. If you know in advance that you will miss a lab, contact your TA or the lab coordinator to make arrangements to attend another lab section in the same week. An excused absence from a lab (see the list above under exams ) requires a written note from a medical professional or a coach. If you earn less than 60% of the lab points in ESRM/Fish 162, you will receive a failing grade (0.0) for the course.
6.    What are the exams like?
Exams will include material covered in lectures, laboratories and assigned readings. Exams are a mixture of multiple choice, fill-in-the blank, short essays, labeling, and true/false.
7.    Where can I get additional help?
During the weeks in which exams are scheduled Dr. Doty and Dr. Naish will have study sessions at times to be announced in class; there will also be TA study sessions scheduled during these weeks. If you need additional help, please email your TA or Dr. Doty or Dr. Naish to arrange a time to meet.
8.    How will exams be returned?
You will receive your graded exams in lecture (usually at the end of lecture). If you are absent when exams are returned, please see your TA.
The answers to exams will be posted in the display case located in the hall outside the labs, FTR113. Compare your exam to the posted key and check your exam for accuracy of score additions.
We routinely photocopy a number of exams before returning them to you. Altering answers in any way will be regarded as cheating and the whole exam will be given a grade of 0.0 if any answer is changed. Cheating of any type will routinely be referred to the University Disciplinary Committee.
Exams not picked by the student will be kept in the Aquatic and Fishery Sciences office (116 FISH) until the end following quarter; after that they will be recycled.
9.    What if I notice an error in the exam/quiz grading?
If, after you have read the exam key, you notice a grading error, including mistakes in addition, please follow the procedure below. The deadline for requests is one week after the exam or quiz is returned in lecture.
        a)  Do not write on your original exam.
         b) Make a photocopy of your exam for yourself
         c) On a separate sheet of paper type the question that you would like to be regraded, or the pages that were incorrectly added, and state clearly what mistakes you feel were made in grading. Leave room after each request so that the grader may address your concern.
        d)  Staple your explanation to your original exam.
         e) Turn in this request to the ESRM/Fish 162 Regrade Envelope in the Front Office of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, 116 FISH. NOTE: Do not turn in your regrade request to a TA or to the Instructor!
10. What about labs in ESRM/Fish 162?
The laboratory exercises in ESRM/Fish 162  are an integral part of the course. They will give you first hand experience with the concepts and organisms presented in lectures and the text. The labs require patient, accurate and critical observations. They demand orderly and systematic recording of observations. A conscientious effort on your part in the performance of the laboratory work will provide training in making observations, collecting facts and drawing carefully considered conclusions about them.
Each laboratory exercise will be worth about 10 points, depending on the assignment; laboratory hand-ins will constitute about one-fourth of your final grade. In addition, questions relating to laboratory work will appear on the lecture exams. Therefore it is important that all in-lab activities be taken seriously; pay attention to being complete, accurate, well organized and neat in the work that you do in the laboratory. It is advisable to keep all laboratory materials together to facilitate studying for the lecture examinations.
Here are some general lab policies:
a.    You must attend your assigned laboratory section. Be on time for each laboratory session. There will be no make-up labs.
b.    The laboratory sessions are 2 hr and 50 min in duration. You will need to work efficiently to complete the exercise. Before coming to lab, please read the laboratory directions and the sections of your text that deal with each exercise. Complete the Pre-Lab exercise. Come to the lab with a clear idea of what you are going to do and the reasons for doing it. The laboratory work is of value to you only when it is done with a clear understanding of what you are trying to do.
c.    Use your lab manual, text, and lecture notes during the lab as an important source of information to answer questions as they arise. Get practice at finding out answers to questions yourself.
d.    All laboratory work should be completed in the laboratory session and turned in at the end of the session unless otherwise specified.
11.  Academic Integrity
The act of taking someone else’s ideas or writings and passing them on as your own is plagiarism, or cheating, and the academic community as a whole is very sensitive to this ethical issue.  It is the equivalent of stealing someone else’s work.  Since this is regarded as a very serious offense, we want to be sure that you understand the sometimes fine line between cooperative work and plagiarism.
Using someone else’s words verbatim or close to it, without attribution, is plagiarism.  Copying from another student’s exam or lab paper, from a book or other source, or from a Web site (yes, we know there are lots of them out there, and we have plagiarism search engines!) will result in a zero for that assignment or question. This usually will have serious consequences for your grade in the entire course and the offense will be reported to the University’s Disciplinary Committee. Repeated offenses can result in suspension or expulsion from the University of Washington.  If you use someone else’s work, cite your source!  Any good style manual will give the proper form for citations, or ask one of your instructors if you have questions. 
Group work and paraphrasing a source are two areas that sometimes inadvertently lead to trouble.  In lab and in studying for an exam, we strongly encourage you to work in groups.  Often you will share data, problem-solving strategies, and ideas with your fellow students.  That’s expected and absolutely fine.  But when it comes time to turn in a lab report or written assignment, be sure you have each written your reports or solutions independently and have put everything individually into your own words.  Your grade then reflects how well you understand the material, not how well someone in your group put it together.  Reports from different students should not contain sentences or even key phrases that are exactly the same, even if you are using the same data!  Sometimes students copy a passage and change a few words here and there, add or omit a phrase, and call it their own.  That isn’t sufficient to avoid a charge of plagiarism!  You can convey the same information as your source but must completely re-work it in your own way, making it totally different in structure, style, and words used.  And always give credit for another’s ideas and show where you found them—cite your sources!
More information, including definitions and examples of Academic Misconduct can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm
12. What if I need accommodation due to a disability?
To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for Students, 448 Schmitz, (206)543-8924 (V/TTY). If you have a letter from Disability Resources for Students indicating that you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to us at the beginning of the quarter so we can discuss the accommodations needed for this class.