BIOL L250 – Microbiology
Basic Lecture Syllabus

Lecture Professor:  Dr. Annette Golonka
Office: Bradley 211
Phone: 803-313-7019
Email: golonkam@mailbox.sc.edu

Class Meeting Information: Varies from semester to semester (please see course listings for exact time).
Lecture: Meets twice a week for 75 minutes.

Course Requirements & Credit Information: Prerequisite – College-level biology and chemistry; corequisite – Biol 250L.  This course is not available for biology major credit.

Required Textbooks: 
Cowan and Talaro.  2005.  Microbiology: A Systems Approach.  1st ed.  McGraw-Hill.  New York, NY.

Golonka, A.M.  2007.  Laboratory Exercises for BIOL L250L Microbiology.  Biol L250L, Fall Semester.  University of South Carolina-Lancaster, SC.

Blackboard Content: All lecture assignments and some of your laboratory assignments WILL be available on Blackboard for printing.  These assignments will be available on Blackboard at least 1 week prior to the assigned date.  Unless otherwise stated, students are responsible for printing out any assignments prior to attending lecture or lab. 

Course Description and Objectives:  This is an introductory course to microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, archaebacteria, and viruses.  The course will focus on the structure, metabolism, and pathogenesis of microbes.  Topics covered in the course will include diversity and ecology of microorganisms, the metabolic processes, the differences in eukaryotes, eubacteria, and archaebacteria, the virus infection process, infectious diseases, anti-microbial agents in chemotherapy, and to some extent antigen-antibody relationships. 

By the end of the course, the student will have:

1. an awareness of microbial diversity (both in terms of species diversity and metabolic diversity);
2. a better understanding of the ecological and pathogenic capabilities of microorganisms as well as their social, economic, technological, global, and geographic impact;
3. engaged in the scientific process through experiments with bacteria using the physiological and morphological procedures that microbiologists use in the real world to identify bacteria;
4. engaged in the scientific process by developing testable hypotheses, investigating hypotheses by developing experiments, collecting data, and applying knowledge learned in the course to assess data;
5. and enhanced communication skills through discussion in lecture and lab as well as individual presentations and writing projects.

Attendance:  According to the USC Academic Bulletin, “absence from more than 10 percent of the scheduled class sessions, whether excused or unexcused, is excessive and the instructor may choose to exact a grade penalty for such absences.”  Please note that USC makes no distinction between “excused” and “unexcused” absences.  This course meets two times a week for lecture and once a week for lab.  Being more than 10 minutes late to class or leaving class early will count as an absence.  Thus, if a student misses more than 3 lectures (1 lab), his or her final grade in the lecture (lab) course will be dropped one letter grade.  Continual tardiness may also result in a drop in a student’s grade.

Students are responsible for any work or assignments missed during absences.  Laboratory experiments CANNOT be made up.  If a quiz is missed during lab or lecture, the student will receive a zero for that quiz.  If homework is turned in a day late or after lab or lecture begins, the final grade on that homework will be dropped one letter grade.

Classroom Behavior: Cell phones, pagers, and other similar devices are to be turned off or placed in silent mode during class; this includes lab and lecture time.  Disrespectful and disruptive behavior will NOT be tolerated in class.  Students should act as responsible citizens at all times, in lab, lecture, and outside the classroom.  Students who do not act responsibly will be asked to leave the classroom or lab.

Readings: Chapters covered during lecture are listed below in the lecture schedule.  To be successful in this course, you 1) need to purchase the textbook, lab manual, and any accompanying supplemental materials, 2) need to keep up with reading assignments, for lecture and lab, and 3) participate in discussions in lecture and lab.  You may be assigned review questions at the end of the chapters for discussion in class next period.  These questions may appear on the tests or in lab on quizzes.  Material not covered in class but assigned in readings, will be fair game for test material unless otherwise stated in lecture.  It is the responsibility of the student to read these assignments.

Exams:  There will be 4 exams (3 during the semester plus the final exam) – short essay, multiple choice, fill-in, true/false.  Exams will not be cumulative and are equally weighted (see point breakdown below).

Lecture Assignments:  There will be 4 lecture homework assignments, each due at the beginning of the class period.  Lecture assignments are worth 20% of your final grade.  Homework assignments may include short topical reports, drawings/figures, or short answer questions.  Some assignments may be done on Blackboard and some assignments may be done in groups and will be designated as such on the assignment.

Plagiarism & Cheating:  Please review USCL’s policy on plagiarism and cheating in the Student Handbook.  If a student is caught plagiarizing or cheating, at the minimum the student will receive a 0 on that assignment.  Depending on the degree of plagiarism and/or cheating, the student may receive an F in the course and possibly have to face the USC Lancaster Academic Affairs Committee and possible suspension from the university.  A handout will be given out about plagiarism, paraphrasing, and quoting.

Grading Scale:

Lecture Point Breakdown:

Biol 250: Microbiology
Lecture Syllabus

Lecture schedule may be modified during the semester.  If changes are made, they will be announced in class.

Statement for Students with Disabilities:  Students who have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, may contact me or Disability Services.  

Tips & Comments from Previous Students:
“Go to tutoring with Dr. G!  Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help!”

“Ask Questions.  Actually attend Dr. Golonka’s tutoring aid.  I’m a very visual & auditory learner and seeing her draw diagrams and hearing the lecture again Helped tons!  Also doing the questions @ the end of each chapter really does make a difference in your understanding the material.  Trust me.  I had to learn the hard way.”

“I suggest that the other students in the future just study everyday, read, and do not have a job, especially 3rd shift.  Just mainly stay on your p’s & q’s.  Also do not miss any days at all.”

“I felt encouraged to speak out in class and comfortable enough to make mistakes.”

This page last updated August 21, 2007 .