COURSE INFORMATION 

Section/Synonym: 008 / 65390

Mode of Instruction: 8 week Asynchronous Lecture/ Lab (Fully ONL)

Lecture/Lab: 8 week Asynchronous (no meeting times for lecture or lab) No required meeting times.

Instructor: Jaime Cantu, MS, MBA

Email: Jaime.Cantu@austincc.edu*

Office: Riverside Campus RSVA 2296

Online Office Hours: Monday – Thursday, 7:00 am - 9:00 am*

     *Best way to contact me is through Email. I answer Emails within 24 hours during the workweek.

     ** Please let me know and we can set up an appointment. Office hours will be conducted through Zoom.

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 Prerequisite: High school biology with proof of competency through ACC department exam.

Managing the Prerequisite Course Load: Many ACC Health Sciences programs require BIOL 2401, BIOL 2402, and  BIOL 2420 as prerequisites. Due to the rigorous nature of each of these courses, it is not recommended to take two  of them in one semester. The Biology department recommends taking these courses in the following sequence in  order to balance the course load:

Semester 1: BIOL 2401 – A&P I

Semester 2: BIOL 2402 – A&P II

Semester 3: BIOL 2420 – Microbiology for the Health Sciences

Course Rationale: This course is designed for students entering professional programs. It provides a foundation  for the clinical topics covered in those courses by requiring mastery of factual material, laboratory techniques, and  problem-solving skills. This course is a prerequisite for Introduction to Microbiology (BIOL 2420) and Anatomy and  Physiology II (BIOL 2402) and is intended to adequately prepare students for these courses and for health sciences  programs.

Required Textbooks and Materials:

This course has First Day Access, which means that the cost of the digital textbook is paid in your tuition and fees for the course. You may access the textbook via Blackboard on the first day of class in the MyLab & Mastering tab. The First Day Book charges opt-out refund request period begins on the course start date and ends on 06/06/2023. The option to opt out only applies if you have already paid for your First Day Book charges or already have a payment plan in place. Requests to opt-out must be submitted by 5pm on 06/06/2023 for the semester or additional session. Refunds will be issued 15 days after the last day to opt-out. To opt-out of the First Day book fee submit your request through your course’s site via Blackboard. Information about First Day Access can be found here: https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/first-day-classes.

Required Textbooks and Materials:

• Required Textbook: Pearson’s My Lab & Mastering for Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th ed.) by Marieb & Hoehn (Pearson). While you may opt out of purchasing the required text, I highly discourage this. Many lab and study materials come from My Lab & Mastering, which is only available electronically.
• Computer/IPad with internet access and the capability of having Respondus Lockdown.

Course-Level Student Learning Outcomes: Specific skills and competencies expected of students who complete  this course include the following: 

Learning Outcomes for Lecture: Upon successful completion of this course, students will:  • Use anatomical terminology to identify and describe locations of major organs of each system  covered. 

• Explain interrelationships among molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ functions in each system.

 • Describe the interdependency and interactions of the systems. 

• Explain contributions of organs and systems to the maintenance of homeostasis.

• Identify causes and effects of homeostatic imbalances. 

• Describe modern technology and tools used to study anatomy and physiology. 

Learning Outcomes for Lab: Upon successful completion of this course, students will: 

• Apply appropriate safety and ethical standards. 

• Locate and identify anatomical structures. 

• Appropriately utilize laboratory equipment, such as microscopes, dissection tools, general labware,  physiology data acquisition systems, and virtual simulations. 

• Work collaboratively to perform experiments. 

• Demonstrate the steps involved in the scientific method. 

• Communicate results of scientific investigations, analyze data and formulate conclusions.

• Use critical thinking and scientific problem-solving skills, including, but not limited to, inferring,  integrating, synthesizing, and summarizing, to make decisions, recommendations and predictions. 

General Education Learning Outcomes: 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 for this course  in the departmental common course objectives. The departmental objectives are located at  http://sites.austincc.edu/biology/common-course-objectives/. 

*Course schedule is meant as an outline and may be subject to change. Any change will be announced through Blackboard. Some assignments may not be listed on the schedule.

GRADING

• Lecture Unit Exams: There are four timed unit exams worth 120 points each (for a total of 480 points). If a student misses more than one exam, it is recommended to drop the course. Unit exams may consist of a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank, free response, critical thinking, and application questions.  Material for unit exams will come from the course objectives (lecture). MAKE UP EXAMS: There will NOT be any make-up exams. You will use Respondus Lockdown with webcam. (Make sure you follow all directions outlined on Blackboard on How to use Respondus Lockdown (Mandatory Orientation), failure to do so could result on a Zero on an exam/quiz.)

• Lab Exams: There are four (4) lab Exams worth 70 points each for a total of 280 points. Material for lab practical comes directly from the lab objectives and activities. Lab Exams may be multiple choice or fill in the blank. Mostly fill in the blank dealing with the anatomy. You will use Respondus Lockdown with webcam. (Make sure you follow all directions outlined on Blackboard on How to use Respondus Lockdown (Mandatory Orientation), failure to do so could result on a Zero on an exam/quiz.)

• Lecture Quizzes: There will be quizzes to cover the material that students should have gone over during the week. The quiz will be timed. You will use Respondus Lockdown with webcam. (Make sure you follow all directions outlined on Blackboard on How to use Respondus Lockdown (Mandatory Orientation), failure to do so could result on a Zero on an exam/quiz.)

• Discussion Boards: You must contribute a post and comment on at least two of your classmates' posts in a meaningful way. Your initial post can be about anything related to the subject we are studying, such as an innovation in the field, a personal encounter with the subject, or a way you learned a certain concept. However, your responses to your classmates must be more than just agreement or praise. Your responses must be meaningful, contributing to the discussion in a substantive way. We will be using a platform called Packback to ensure that your responses are thoughtful and well-researched. The website utilizes AI to ensure that your responses are creative and that you are citing your sources appropriately. By using this platform, we can ensure that everyone is actively contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way.

• Mastering A&P: There will be weekly assignments that will need to be completed through Mastering A&P. This platform is a way for you to practice your knowledge of the content. These assignments are posted on Mastering A&P Platform.

 • Case Studies: There will be 5 case studies and questions that you must complete during the course. Each will be worth 10 points. These case studies will allow you to apply the knowledge learned through the course onto a real world application.

• Assignments: There will be several assignments throughout the semester that will count towards your grade. The total points for all of the assignments will be 50 points. Number of points will be clearly stated on assignment. These assignments will help you understand the material and may sometimes need to be done after lecture/lab. I will be clear about due dates on these assignments.

• Disease Podcast/Public Service Announcement: This assignment is worth 50 points and will be due Friday July 21, 2023. I will demonstrate samples of Podcasts during the explanation of the assignment. You will also have the option to do an infographic Public Service Announcement instead of the Podcast. Rubric to both assignments will be on Blackboard tab (Podcast/PSA)

• Extra Credit: There will be opportunities for extra credit. These will be announced with sufficient time to complete the extra credit. The extra credit will be available to everyone, but will require outside class time to complete.

• • Lecture Exam Corrections: You will have the opportunity to correct your mistakes on your exam. After taking an exam you will be given a form to fill out with test corrections. Corrections will not be on all exams.
  • Course Evaluation: Towards the end of the semester, you will be given the option to fill out a course evaluation about my course. Submitting proof that you have completed will give you extra credit.

The final course grade is determined by the total number of points earned by the students with the following letter  grade equivalents: (THERE IS NO ROUNDING, make sure you do all assignments)

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. The instructor will post grades on Blackboard; in  Blackboard, students can only see their own grade.

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance/Class Participation: Attendance is recorded as turning in assignments. Since this is an asynchronous course, no formal attendance will be recorded. Students are expected to actively participate through discussion boards.

Technical Difficulties: This is a fully online course, there may be instances in which technology does not cooperate. Please make sure you start and finish assignments within the timeframe. Take into account that there might be technology problems into the timeframe. I will NOT extend deadlines due to technology issues beyond the given timeframe for an assignment/quiz/exam. In addition, by signing up for a fully online class you agree to be Blackboard savvy or contact me if there are issues when submitting an assignment prior to the deadline. Please make sure when submitting an assignment, it is the assignment you want to turn in.

Missed or Late Work: As a rule, late work is not accepted. However, I understand that things happen and requests  to submit work late will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the professor. If you missed an assignment, a valid excuse with documentation will allow you to turn it in without penalty.

Lecture Exams/Lab Exams/ Lecture Quizzes: All module exams, lab exams, and quizzes must be taken in Blackboard using Respondus LockDown Browser with webcam. Exams and quizzes offered online will have a window offered, and students must complete the  exam or quiz in a single, timed session. No outside resources (e.g. notes, book, websites) are allowed to be used on  the exams/quizzes. Students may not discuss the exams/quizzes with any other students. Students are expected to  practice and comply with all ACC Scholastic Integrity policies. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero and  possible withdrawal from class. Module exams are composed of a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank,  and application. Make sure you follow all directions outlined on Blackboard on How to use Respondus Lockdown (Mandatory Orientation), failure to do so could result on a Zero on an exam/quiz.

Lab Policies:  Students are expected to direct their own learning. Labs will be online/simulated. Some labs will have required assignment to turn in via Blackboard.

Academic Integrity (Cheating): All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person quizzes and exams also apply to online quizzes and exams. In this course, all work submitted for quizzes and exams must be yours alone. Discussing or communicating about quiz or exam questions with anyone during the quiz or exam period violates academic integrity expectations for this course. If a suspected case of academic miscount occurs, the instructor will notify the student and have a meeting. If the academic integrity violation is evident then the student will receive a zero (0) for that assignment/quiz/exams. If the violation is less evident then in the meeting the student will be ask questions that pertain to the quiz/exam that they are suspected of the academic misconduct. If the student cannot answer the questions, a zero will be given for that particular quiz/exam. If a similar situation happens again, the student will be reported to the dean for academic misconduct.

• Using Websites: Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g. Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others and present the work as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and will be reported to the dean. This is not limited to using AI to complete assignments/quizzes/exams.

Official Biology Department Policy Concerning Student Use of Organisms in the Classroom and Laboratory: Most ACC biology classes, particularly those with laboratory components, use actual organisms during instruction in addition to images and models. ACC students generally are preparing for real-world careers requiring workers with hands-on experience. These careers include health care, veterinary work, horticultural and agricultural work. Other students plan to transfer to four-year colleges and will be participating in biological research where hands-on experience is equally important.

Organisms used at ACC are fundamental in biology instruction and they are utilized to teach specific skills and knowledge. Their condition and usage varies from course to course. Students will be expected to actively participate in these activities. Students with particular concerns in this matter should consult with their instructor and/or departmental officials before enrolling in a course so that they can know what will be required of them. Some organisms are observed alive while others are dead and preserved in various ways. Student manipulation of organisms ranges from culturing living organisms to dissecting preserved ones. Some examples include, but are not limited to: bacterial culturing for microbiology courses; cat, pig or rat dissection for anatomy courses; skeleton and pelt examination for field biology; and use of frogs in physiology experiments.

Withdrawals: It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the roll  should he or she decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a  student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the  withdrawal is submitted before the Final Withdrawal Date. The student is also strongly encouraged to retain their  copy of the withdrawal form for their records. Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall 2002, may be charged a higher  tuition rate for that course.

State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at  Texas public colleges or universities. With certain exceptions, all course withdrawals automatically count towards  this limit. Details regarding this policy can be found in the ACC college catalog.

Withdrawal Dates:

Last day to withdraw from course without W appearing on transcript Tuesday 06/06/2023

Last day to withdraw from course with W appearing on transcript Monday 07/17/2023

Instructor-Initiated Withdrawal of Student: The instructor may drop the student from the course at any time  without prior warning for any of the following reasons: missing two or more lecture exams; poor attendance (not turning in assignments);  disciplinary issue (e.g., scholastic dishonesty, disruptive behavior, violation of ACC policies); not completing mandatory online orientation. Students that do not complete the MANDATORY online orientation by the end of the first week, may be withdrawn from the course.