Grading

Points in BIOS 100 may be earned in the discussion section, laboratory, participation in iClicker exercises in lecture, and from lecture examinations. Each hourly examination is comprised of 40-50 multiple-choice questions and each is worth a total of 100 points. The final examination is optional - if you choose to take the final, we will drop the lowest exam score. If you do not take the final, all of your exam scores will count. Note that there is no penalty for taking the final examination - if this is your lowest score, we will drop the final examination score. If you miss one of the four hourly examinations, you must take the final examination. The final exam is cumulative and will contain all new questions, which could possibly kill me.

Points are also earned through the completion of discussion and laboratory exercises. There are 13 discussion exercises, each worth 5 points apiece, and 13 laboratory exercises, each worth 10 points. You will be allowed to drop your lowest discussion and laboratory grade. If you miss a lab, you will be allowed to make it up only during the week in which it is offered. You must inform your TA and your instructor if you are making up a discussion and/or lab. No makeups will be allowed after the labs are taken down for the week!

You will also be able to earn points through participation in iClicker exercises. You MUST buy and register your iClicker online by the end of week two (Sept 4). Grades from these exercises will be posted on blackboard. If you forget your iClicker or your iClicker is malfunctioning, you will have to take a zero for that day. There are multiple iClicker drops so missing a couple won’t hurt your grade in the least. If there is a problem with iClicker grading, you have a week after the grades are initially posted to report them to me. After that time is up, there is nothing I can do. You can earn a total of 20 points from clicker exercises

The final grade will be determined by the following grading scale:

540 - 600 A
480 - 539 B
420 - 479 C
360 - 419 D
0 - 359 E

These point levels are guarantees - for example, if you earn 480 points, you are guaranteed a B. I will never raise the grading scale. This scale will NOT be moved in any ways, so don’t ask about it. Also, please notice that the grades are in points, not percentages.

All of your exam grades and laboratory exercise grades will be posted on the UIC Blackboard website (http://blackboard.uic.edu) You are responsible for keeping track of your exam and laboratory grades!

Other Notes

Due to complications that have occurred in the past, I am forced to make the following clarifications

• In discussion and laboratory, you are frequently working in groups. However, all assignments are individual efforts, not group efforts. We encourage you to discuss your answers before hand, but all work submitted must be your own. If I even suspect lab exercises were copied, all parties involved will receive zero credit. End of discussion
• All discussion and laboratory assignments must be initialed by your TA before you leave. Assignments submitted without TA initials will receive zero credit.
• We are not responsible for lost exam scantrons - if your scantron becomes lost, you will not receive a grade for that exam and must take the optional final. Life is hard and unfair.
• Blackboard is meant to be a place where you can find out your scores on labs and exams. However, it does not drop the lowest exam or labs, so if you want to know your score, you must do this. See, your math teacher was right, you will need to use this skill every now and then.
• You are ultimately responsible for keeping track of your grades. We are not held responsible for input errors into blackboard. Greater emphasis will be given to any disputes if they are presented in a timely manner. You MUST keep track of your clicker points - if you come up to me at the end of the semester and say that you haven’t received any clicker points, you won’t.
• If you are acting suspicious during an exam, the TA’s or I will move you. If you continue to act suspicious, we will take your exam, you will receive a zero, and you will be reported to the student judiciary council.
• Read the FAQ for answers to questions regarding grading before asking me. I can almost always guarantee that the answer you seek is there.