Bi 253 Principles of Biology

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Revised Spring 2011

  • What materials do I need for this course?

  • Can I take just the lecture part of the course? Sorry, but to enroll in the course you must take both the lecture and lab portions, and you must take them concurrently (in the same term).

  • Can I take Bi253 out of sequence (before Bi251 or Bi252)? In general, yes. As long as you are a good student and can go back and read earlier sections of the text as necessary you should have no problem. There are a few places in Bi253 where you are expected to know a bit about, for example, basic genetics, mitosis and meiosis.

  • Can I take Bi253 if I have previously taken the 100-series (Bi101, 102)? If you are a good student, then this should pose no problem. The majors series is more rigorous and more in-depth, so you may expect to work harder. It is also assumed that you know some basic math, physics and chemistry. So if you are not a science major and did not have a strong quantitative background in high school, some of the Bi253 material can hit pretty hard.

  • Can I get an instructor's approval to add the lab section I want if the computer says it is full? The limit on the number of students in each lab is strictly regulated based on Fire Marshall regulations, the availability of workstations and materials. Thus there are no special exceptions by which we can "over-enroll" a lab.

  • So what do I do if the computer won't let me enroll in the lab section I want? The best strategy is to sign up for any open lab so that you are registered for the course. Then go to the lab you want at the day and time it is offered. Frequently students who have claimed a spot in that lab will change their plans, and some extra spaces will be available. At the discretion of the teaching assistant a student who does not show up will forfeit her/his spot and you can get it. Of course there can be problems when you have, for example, two no-shows but eight new students wanting those two places. You may need to try two or three times with different second- or third-choice lab slots before you can be accommodated.

  • What happens if something comes up and I can't take a midterm or the final on the scheduled day? This is why we drop your lowest exam score, your lowest lab quiz score and your lowest lab report score. Under the following very special circumstances Zelick may allow you to take an exam a day early or late:

  • If things are not going well can I get an incomplete? You must provide documentation for some special circumstance that prevents you from completing the course material. It is at the instructors discretion if an incomplete is warranted. Some legitimate reasons are medical and occasionally employer related. By university policy you must be passing the course to qualify for an incomplete. Thus doing poorly and fearing that you will continue to do poorly is not a sufficient reason.

  • How do I make up an incomplete? If you must miss some portion of the course for reasons beyond your control, then you may qualify for receiving an I grade (see above). How the incomplete is to be made up is negotiated between you and the instructor. Each case is handled differently. Note that incompletes are never made up by having the instructor produce a special late exam. Please don't ask for this. If you can't complete the lecture portion of the course, but you do finish the lab, then a common arrangement is for you to re-take just the lecture portion of the exam the next time the course is offered. Bi 253 is offered every Summer term and every Spring term. According to university policy you have one year to make up an incomplete. If you don't make it up, the university grading computer will automatically convert the "I" into a "F".

    Please note a little "gotcha" --

    Suppose you are a senior and will graduate at the end of summer term instead of Spring term. The reason for graduating in summer is making up an incomplete in Bi253 from Spring and/or some other minor course requirement that was not finished. Meanwhile, you file for graduation. As soon as you file for graduation, the university computer automatically tries to reconcile all of your outstanding issues, and so will instantly convert your "I" into an "F", even though one year has not passed. This is a problem because your instructor can get on-line and instantly convert your "I" grade to an A-F grade, but cannot convert an A, B, C, D or F grade to any other A, B, C, D, F or I grade. To convert your new F grade to an A, B, C, or D grade requires some administrative processes that take time.

  • Can I take the night-section midterm if I am enrolled in the day section (and vice-versa)? Alas, the answer to this is a definitive NO. Although the material is the same, the lecture details vary and your score on the wrong exam would not reflect properly your standing in the lecture section where you are properly enrolled. Beyond this it is a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with moving scores around between instructors.