IUP General Biology II
Elective Lab Program - 2008
Information, Procedures, and Regulations

         The elective lab program is designed to give you freedom and flexibility in choosing and scheduling some of your general biology labs. Each elective lab is designed to be educationally sound and also enjoyable. You may choose labs in an area in which you already know you have an interest, however we also encourage you to choose labs to broaden your experiences. You will not meet with your regularly scheduled lab after March 20.

         The elective lab program will be worth a maximum of 40 points, representing 40% of your lab grade. These points will be added to your formal lab points (60 points possible, including the supplemental reading assignment) for your final lab score. No lab tests will be given during the elective lab program, however you should expect that there will be some other interactive assignment, e.g., a written worksheet. Basically, you get the points for attending and participating in the labs, including completing any written assignment. Especially note that to receive credit for the labs your active participation is required.  You have the responsibility of signing up and attending labs worth a total of 40 points. The number of points a particular lab is worth depends upon the length of the lab and will be given on the posted schedule and sign-up sheet. Labs of various lengths of time will be offered on different days of the week at many different times - including labs very early in the morning and labs in the evening. Some labs will be scheduled at various times while regularly scheduled labs are meeting, however most of them will be scheduled during those last five weeks allocated to the program. Under no circumstances are you to cut a class in order to attend an elective lab. This is not considered an "excused absence" for any class, including General Biology lecture.

         The complete schedule of elective labs will be posted in the lab rooms and on the bulletin boards located outside of Weyandt 32 and across from Weyandt 112. The schedule of labs will also be posted on the Internet at http://www.iup.edu/generalbio/.  Use the posted schedule to prepare a preliminary list of labs of your preference. Also prepare a backup list in case your first choices are filled and no longer available.

         Some popular labs worth 32 points will be scheduled for all-day trips and will be available to you through a lottery system. You will receive one lottery card during a regular lab period and will be able to enter one lottery for one of these longer trips. If you wish to go on one of these trips, you must put your lottery card for that trip in the red box in (or near) room 112 before Noon, Friday, February 8. Descriptions of these labs will be available before that time. The winners of the lotteries will be posted on the bulletin boards outside rooms 32 and 112 on Monday, February 11. Check to see if your name is included on the list, and if it is, you must confirm your seat for the trip (and pay any extra money if necessary) with the appropriate professor as posted. Lottery winners who have not confirmed their seats by the posted date will lose their tentatively reserved seats. Also see the separate instructions at the end of this handout.

         THE SIGN-UP FOR ALL ELECTIVE LABS (EXCEPT THOSE WITH LOTTERIES) WILL OCCUR ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 10:00 AM - Noon. (A final scheduling period of left-over labs will be held on Monday, February 25 in Weyandt 119 (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM) for those students not able to complete their schedule on Saturday.) You have the responsibility of coming and signing up for your elective labs on those days. You may have a friend or lab partner sign up for you if you are unable to be present. Information that will be required is your phone number, regular lab professor, and list of desired labs (which fit into your schedule). No other sign-up times will occur later in the semester. Sign-up will occur in the two General Biology laboratory rooms Weyandt 110 and 112. Each room will contain the sign-up sheets for some of the scheduled labs, and a professor will be at each table with sign-up sheets. Line up in the hall (toward the Oak Grove) to enter room 110 to begin the process. If you miss both sign-up days, you will not have a reserved seat in any of the labs. However, you may show up for a scheduled lab at the listed time and location, and hope for a seat as space permits, on a stand-by basis.

         Each student will be issued a single Individual Elective Laboratory Schedule Card (IELS Card) upon arrival at the sign-up location on February 23^rd. To sign up for a particular lab, record the appropriate lab information on your IELS Card and enter your name on the sign-up sheet for that lab. Professors will be available to aid you in this process. When you have scheduled your 40 points, two copies will be taken and you will keep a third. One copy will go to central records and the other to your lab professor. Tape your copy of your scheduled labs into your lab manual for future reference. Being in the right place at the right time is your responsibility.

         Be sure to note any special instructions on the sign-up sheet. A few labs will have an extra charge because of their unusual expense. Even if not explicitly stated, be sure to wear appropriate clothing for the lab.

         Each lab will hold a maximum number of students as indicated on the sign-up sheet. Those people signed up within this maximum have a reserved space in the lab.

         When you attend an elective lab, sign an attendance card. The lab professor will call your name from the sign-up sheet and then give you the card to sign. This card will be given to your regular lab professor, who will keep a tally of the points you accumulate. It is your responsibility to make sure you sign this card during the lab and give it to the professor in charge of that lab. Not signing a card or forgetting to turn it in will result in your not getting credit for the lab.

         When you sign your name on the sign-up sheet you have made a firm commitment to attend the lab. Your reservation probably prevented another student from signing up for the lab. If you do miss one of your scheduled labs (for whatever reason), then there is no penalty as such, but you do not get credit for the lab. You may make up those missed points, but only on a stand-by basis; you only have reservations for your original 40 points. Check the posted master schedule of labs and just show up at an elective lab. If there is a space available caused by an absence, then you may attend and get the points. If no one is absent and there is no space available, then you will not be able to attend that lab but may try again at a different lab. Do this as soon as possible after missing a lab, since the end of the semester is bound to be crowded with hopeful standbys. Write your name on the chalkboard as a standby when you arrive and then tell the lab professor immediately before the lab that you are a standby.  (Note that an extra chair being available in the lab does not necessarily mean there is actually a space available, since the professor in charge of the lab may have planned activities and supplies for a certain number of students.)

         No extra credit is available, however you may attend more labs for your own benefit on a stand-by basis.