Office: Faculty Suite 3525 room #7

Office Phone: 281-283-3750

Email: puzdrowski@uhcl.edu

I am most easily contacted through my email address, which I check regularly.

Office Hrs: Tuesday 4-5:00pm, Wednesday 4-5:30 pm, Thursdays 4-5:30pm, and by Appointment

I reserve the right to alter these office hours any time during the semester

Prerequisites: General Biology.

Course Description and Objectives: This course will introduce the student interested in biology to the study of animal structure. A comparative approach to the study of structure will be taken. Similarities and differences between the anatomy of animals, both invertebrates and vertebrates, will be related to their possible evolutionary origins.

Methodology: The material covered will be presented in a lecture format. Reading assignments from the course textbook will be required. Handouts of figures, tables, and charts will be provided if they are not in the textbook.

Required Text: Integrated Principles of Zoology,13^th edition by Hickman, Roberts, Larson, I’Anson is available in the UHCL bookstore.

Lecture Attendance: Lecture attendance is strongly advised. The exam questions will focus mainly on the material covered in lecture. HOWEVER, YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO DO THE ASSIGNED READINGS AND ANY MATERIAL FROM THESE READINGS IS FAIR GAME FOR EXAM QUESTIONS.

As a courtesy to the class, all pagers and cellular telephones should be set to “silent mode” or preferably turned off during lecture. Responses to cellular phones should be restricted to emergencies. If you must respond to a phone call during lecture, please leave the room as quietly as possible before answering your phone.

Exams: There will be four exams. The exams will consist of multiple choice, True/False, matching, and essay questions. Each exam will be worth 100 points. The test format may be changed as the course instructor sees fit. While exam questions will focus on material covered in lecture, questions may also be based on information from assigned readings.

Make-up exams will not be given unless a signed doctor's excuse verifying illness or other reasonable documentation (obituary, etc.) can be provided. Exams must be made up within a week of the scheduled exam time.

After the exam, a copy of the exam questions will be made available. Challenges to exam questions may be submitted during the week following the return of your exam, NO CHALLENGES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS TIME. Challenges must be submitted to the Instructor in writing or by email. Challenges to exam questions should include a detailed explanation of the basis of the challenge. (HINT: Challenges based on the claim, “You didn’t tell us we need to know this” or “this question is not fair”, will not be considered.)

Optional Quizzes: In addition to the exams, there will be four optional quizzes each worth 5 points. Points earned from quizzes will be added as extra credit to your total earned from the four exams.

Grades: Final grades will be based on the total points accumulated from four exam scores. The highest possible point total for the course is 400 (not including the bonus points from the optional quizzes). Your final grade will be determined as a percentage of 400 (for example 300/400= 75%). Letter grades will be assigned according to the scale, 90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D, and less than 60 =F. I want everyone to get an ‘A’ in the course, so study hard, ask questions, and good luck! If you feel that you are having trouble with the material, please see the instructor immediately, so that help can be provided. Please, don’t wait until the last exam to seek help!!

Honor Code: Students will be expected to adhere to the UHCL Academic Honesty Policy. This code is detailed on pages 76-78 of the 2005-2006 UHCL catalog. Anyone found in violation of this code will be held accountable for his/her behavior.

Students with Disabilities: If you are certified as disabled and entitled to accommodation under the ADA Act, Section 503, please tell me immediately so that arrangements can be made. If you are not currently certified and think you may qualify, please contact the Health and Disability Services Office.

Drop Date: The last day to drop the course without receiving a grade is October 24th.

It is your responsibility to initiate the drop proceedings. If you simply stop attending the course and do not take the exams I will assign you a grade of ‘F’.

Incomplete Grade Requests: The UHCL policy regarding receiving an incomplete grade (i.e. grade of ‘I’) for a course states that the student must be making “satisfactory progress” in order to receive an incomplete. I interpret this to mean that you must be earning a grade of ‘C’ or better at the time of the request to receive an incomplete (‘I’) for the course. If you are not earning at least a ‘C’ in the course I will not be able to give you an incomplete.