Microbiology

Bachelors of Science in Life and Health Sciences

BIO 420

BREYER STATE UNIVERSITY

Instructor: Donna Conroy, MS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to BIO 420, a basic course in microbiology. Please be aware that the understanding of microbes are crucial to your future success in the medical field. Human disease is caused in one of two ways: a foreign microbe enters the body, or a breakdown in the biological systems within the body. This course should prepare you to understand the prior, thereby strengthening you for more complex studies in human medicine.

TIMEFRAME: This is a six-semester hour course. The course is allotted 10 weeks of study. You must successfully complete all assignments of the course by the end of week ten to be awarded six semester hours of credit. The first day of week one will begin the day you register for the course, or the day you notify me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. It is rare that extensions for time are permitted, so please be cognizant of your time.

TEXTBOOK: The textbook required for this course is:

Book 1: Microbiology, An Introduction (Eighth Edition). Tortora, Funke, and Case. Pearson Education, Inc. Copyright 2004: ISBN # 0805376143.

You may purchase the at the university bookstore:

	» Click Here to Enter
» Additional Student Resources at StudyTactics

ASSIGNMENTS: There are two examinations for this course, a mid-term and a final exam. In addition, one paper will be required for this course pertaining to a microorganism and human disease.

ASSIGNMENTS TIMELINE: The mid-term will occur at the end of the 5th week of study.

The paper on microorganisms and human disease will be due by the end of the 8th week of study.

The final exam will occur at the end of the 10th week of study.

Both exams are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course. The exams will be worth 80% of your total grade (40% for each the mid-term and final). You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive your email address. I will then program your access in. You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and password to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your answers. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. Shortly, you will receive the exam in your email box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and what the correct answer is. I also receive a copy of your exam and your score.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT DETAILS: Either a bacterial or viral pathogen will be chosen from chapters 21-26 in your text. After the professors approval of this choice, you will then write a comprehensive paper demonstrating your full knowledge of this microbe. The paper should be approximately 3 pages in length and will be due at the end of week ten.

The written assignment will be worth 20% of your total grade. Your grade for the paper will be based on your ability to answer each of the questions provided in a comprehensive scientific paper.

More details for the written assignment are provided in the syllabus in the week ten objectives.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: I am available via e-mail any time and via phone during normal business hours (8am-5pm EST) Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Please see my contact information below. This course may be difficult without open communication, so you are highly encouraged to contact me with questions, thoughts, or concerns you may have.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.