Course details

There are three sections of the lecture (two are taught by me and one by Cody Jones). My sections are MW 9 to 10:05 and MW 12:45 to 13:50.
You also need to be enrolled in one of the six lab sections.

Purpose of the Course

This course is a survey of the breadth of environmental sciences. Students will be exposed to a wide range of topics that will set the foundation for the study of environmental science. The laboratory will introduce students several approaches to learning about the environment; from the literature and from field study.

Your commitment

There are at least 6 categories of activities for this course.

1. attending lecture sessions
2. reading the textbook and class notes on the web
3. studying and doing the assignments for class
4. attending labs
5. field trips (see below)
6. group work; meeting with a group or communication with your group

Lecture session assignments

There will be two midterm quizzes and a final exam that will pick vocabulary, concepts and application type questions from the entire course. There will also be 3 case study assignments. Finally, there are two graded assignments that are related to advising (environmental problems and careers, and the advising forecast).

Late work penalty

All work is due at the beginning of class on the day it is assigned. You can turn them in early to my mailbox. There is a graded late penalty.

-1 points: If you or your paper are late the morning that they are due
-2 points: Turned in anytime during the next 24 hours
-5 points: More than 24 hours late

Laboratory and field trips

Please see the laboratory syllabus for details but be aware that there will be several field trips that will require you to spend either the assigned lab period or and alternate time (of your own choosing) traveling to a field site and collecting samples or making observations.

When you are on these field trips, even though you are off campus with a group or on your own, you are a student in this class and must act appropriately.

Grading

The grade that you get for this course is meant to represent your mastery of the subject material, your presentation skills and your professionalism (assignments due on time, etc).

lecture - total of 125 - points will count for three quarters of your grade in the class

see the home page for the list and due dates

lab -the lab will count toward a quarter of your grade in the course.

Your letter grade will be derived from this 175 points on roughly a 90,80,70% scale. For example if you get 90% or better you will get an A- or an A.

The letter grade is not meant to represent all of the learning. I hope that you might learn some valuable material in this class that will help prepare you for subsequent ESR classes, but might not be covered by the graded work.

Student conduct and academic Honesty

All students will conduct themselves in an a manner that is socially acceptable for adults in our society, and more narrowly, for academic and professional activities. You will be courteous, sensitive, honest and professional. You will treat each other and the instructors with respect, including respect for time, attention and effort.

We will discuss the importantance of collaboration in interdisciplinary sciences. You are encouraged to collaborate in all aspects of your preparation and study for the class. All work that you submit for grading however, has to be an accurate represenation of your own personal skills and knowledge. If you have any questions about this, please don't hestitate to ask.

I expect all work of all students to meet the University's Academic Honesty code. Please see this page for more details.