You can find a link to the complete course syllabus at - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xw2j4d3u9IdgjbPOSndDWfFF1vXVs_yUs8v4kjPprlc/edit?usp=sharing

Section Information

Campus: Online

Sections:

• BIOL 2316-001-42888
• BIOL 2316-002-42889
• BIOL 2316-003-43890

*All classes will be online and be conducted asynchronously.  This means that you will not have regularly scheduled online lectures.  You will work on the course during times that are convenient to you using the deadlines for assignments and quizzes as your guide.

Instructor Information

• Name: Curtis Eckerman
• Office location: Online
• Phone Number: (512) 769-9350 (cell)
• E-mail: curtis.eckerman@austincc.edu
• Office hours: MTWTh 11am - 12pm via Zoom (Details in Blackboard course)  *Other hours by appointment

ZOOM Meeting Information

All Classroom meetings and office hours will be held in Zoom.  You can connect to the Zoom Class using the following link and information:

https://austincc.zoom.us/j/9177372118

Course Description

• Credit Hours: 3
• Classroom Contact Hours per week: 3

Genetics is an introduction to the basic concepts of human heredity and cytogenetics including Mendelian, molecular, and population genetics.

Online Course: This course is an online course.  Online courses can be more difficult than a traditional course if you are not prepared for it.  I will be expecting that you are working on the material in a timely fashion.

An online course also means that you will have to make a more concerted effort to stay on schedule and be aware of what assignments/quizzes/exams are coming up and what their due dates are.  I have provided this information in several places in Blackboard and here in the syllabus.  You are responsible for staying up-to-date with the material.

Skills Requirements

Reading, writing, and mathematics proficiency as determined by the COMPASS or ASSET test, or by the statewide THEA test, or by providing an official transcript from another college.

Course Rationale

In support of Austin Community College’s Mission Statement to support skills for “life-long learning”, this course will challenge students to apply critical thinking skills to their readings, class activities, and classroom discussions.  Although an emphasis is placed on each student’s resourcefulness and personal responsibility for constructing their new knowledge, opportunities for working collaboratively with groups will also be provided.  An emphasis is given in this course on the practical applications of the study of genetics in human diseases.

Prerequisites

BIOL 1406 with a minimum grade of C.

Instructional Methodology: Lecture

This course is divided into 4 Units (see the syllabus for more details on these units).  Each unit consists of a series of chapter homeworks, concept maps and quizzes.  You can find the due dates for all of these in the "course calendar" and in the syllabus.  We will cover a unit every 2 weeks (14 days).

Blackboard: All material for this course can be found on and is delivered through the learning management system, Blackboard. You will be submitting assignments, taking quizzes and exams, and posting discussions on blackboard. You will be expected to use blackboard for all work and submissions.

Achieve Digital Content: As part of the textbook content is a digital platform called Achieve.  You will be completing assignments in Achieve but will access it through Blackboard.  The grades from Achieve will migrate to Blackboard.

Grading System

Grading criteria: The course is divided into four modules/units.  The learning assessments are broken down as follows:

This grading system is a weighted system with different weights (as a percent of the grade) applied to the materials to represent their importance to your overall grade. For instance, the unit exams are worth a total of 50% of your grade.

Grading Scale: The grading scale is a standard percent scale.

• 0-59% F
• 60-69% D
• 70-79% C
• 80-89% B
• 90-100% A

Grades will be available through the “My Grades” link in Blackboard. Click on the icon and you will be able to see your grades as they become available.

Missed Quizzes/Late Assignments

Work (including exams) will be accepted for up to 7 days after the due date but will be penalized 20% off of the total possible points for lateness. Work will NOT be accepted after this one-week grace period.  Missed exams and lab quizzes must be made up during class time or during office hours. 

Unit Exams

• Unit Exams will be administered in Blackboard using the Respondus Lockdown Browser and a webcam.

Quiz, Assignment, Discussion and Exam due dates: Due dates for quizzes, discussions, exams and homeworks can be found in the schedule and online in blackboard. All materials that are turned in on blackboard are due by midnight (11:59 pm) of the due date.

The due dates for each assignment within each unit are listed at the end of the syllabus and in the calendar on blackboard. Please make every effort to stay up-to-date on your work!

Submit all work through the blackboard system or Achieve, as per the instructions. DO NOT email your work to me, as I will not accept/grade emailed assignments (This is a matter of keeping the grades organized within Blackboard and allowing me to know what still needs to be graded).

All underlined text within the ‘Course Content’ area is a link to another part of the course. Click on these links to submit assignments, access websites and readings, etc. All assignments must be submitted electronically, and all documents must be saved in .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf, .txt or .pdf formats. Please do not submit anything in a .pages format (this is a standard apple format).

**All assignments must be turned in and quizzes/exams taken by July 24, 2022.

Due to ACC policies concerning the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), instructors cannot post grades or call or email students with information about their grades. You can post grades on their Blackboard site for the class. In Blackboard, a student can only see his/her own grade.

Learning Assessment Descriptions

Below is a description of each of the learning assessments that are used in the course.

• Chapter Homework: These are homework assignments designed in the Achieve digital content.  These are a series of questions that cover the chapter material and are meant to help you make sure you are familiar with the material.
• Chapter Adaptive Quizzes:  These quizzes are administered in the Achieve learning environment and are meant to give you sample questions that will help you study for the exam.  They are structured to allow you to work on questions and get to the right answer without just giving you the answer.
• Chapter Reading Quizzes: These quizzes are to be taken after the adaptive quiz and the homework but before you take the unit quiz. This quiz will help you determine if you are ready to take the test.
• Discussions: Discussions are a chance for you to interact with other students over the topics covered in each chapter. Discussions will focus on relevant topics in genetics.
• Unit Exams: There will be an exam for each unit covering the chapters in that unit.  These exams will be delivered through Blackboard using the Respondus Lockdown Browser.
• Final Exam: There is a comprehensive final at the end of the course that is NOT optional.  It is worth 15% of the grade and will be delivered through Blackboard using the Respondus Lockdown Browser.
• Optional Exam: There are some review chapters for you to look at and you can take the exam for those chapters.  This exam can be used to replace one of your lowest exam scores.
• Extra Credit: There are extra credit opportunities that will be offered in the course at the instructor’s discretion. The total amount of extra credit offered will not exceed 3% of the course grade.

Required Texts/Materials/Software

Pierce. Genetics: A Conceptual Approach, 7th Edition.  2020. 

• Do NOT buy a textbook from the bookstore before reading below!

This class is registered as a “First Day Inclusive Access Program” class.  This means that the cost of the required materials is added to your tuition and fees bill.  This will include a digital text and access to digital content used in the course for assignments.  You can find more information about it at the following link: https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/first-day-classes

You will be given instructions on how to access the E-textbook and the other materials in Blackboard.

Note: there will be an opt-out option for those of you who do not want to pay for this in your tuition but if you buy it from Sapling learning directly it will be more expensive and you do need the digital access to be successful in this class.

Software: You will need some form of word processor for doing assignments.  Microsoft office is preferable but anything that will allow you to save it as a .pdf file will work as well.

BIOL 2316 - Course Schedule (Summer 2022)

• All homework, concept maps and quizzes are due at midnight of the given due date.
• Note: the last day and time to turn in any work is July 24th at midnight.

Student Learning Outcomes

Course-Level

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Perform monohybrid and dihybrid crosses and determine phenotypic probability
• Solve problems in X-linkage, multiple alleles, pedigrees and epistasis.
• Describe chromosome structure, variations such as translocations, and gene mapping by linkage analysis.
• Identify types of mutations, mutagens and DNA repair mechanisms.
• Compare viral, bacterial, eukaryotic and organelle genomes and genomics.
• Illustrate DNA structure and replication, transcription, translation and regulation of gene expression.
• Identify different RNAs including their impact on selective splicing, editing, and inhibition of translation.
• Describe the genetics of cancer including proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressors, telomerase and DNA repair mutations.
• Describe the Hardy-Weinberg Law and its impact on population genetics.

General Education

As a Core Curriculum course, students completing this course will demonstrate competence in:

• Critical Thinking - Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.
• Interpersonal Skills - Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.
• Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning - Applying mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods.
• Written, Oral and Visual Communication - Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.

Departmental Common Course Objectives

The ACC Biology Department has specified the content of this course in the departmental common course objectives. The departmental objectives are located at  http://sites.austincc.edu/biology/common-course-objectives/ .