Readings and assignments due will be posted on the course calendar. You can check it here or subscribe to it yourself in various applications. Check it often and carefully.
You are expected to take responsibility for your own learning. So here are the usual reminders for optimizing your performance in the class.
Attend class. You are responsible for material in your readings as well as those presented in lecture. Keep in mind that readings will often be primary sources or professional reviews, and it is during class that unfamiliar concepts will be explained and discussed.
Participate. Ask questions and offer ideas in class. Take responsibility in group work.
Complete your written work in a timely manner. Pay attention to instructions and due dates so you can plan the required research. Even in short responses or technical lab reports, the quality of your prose writing matters. It is an important goal of this class to hone your skills in communicating scientifically. You will be in a better position to do so, the less you have to rush. The late work policy is spelled out above.
Adhere to standards of academic honesty. This class involves a fair amount of collaboration in the form of lab work. For each assignment, I will make it clear what is expected of each individual. I will also ask you to list who you worked with. But here are the general guidelines: I encourage you to work together to understand material, to work out design of experiments, to share the responsibility for collecting data, and to help one another understand how to execute the data analysis afterwards. However, all analysis and written work must be completed by the individual.
The Academic Integrity web site contains the policies and procedures that bind us both for suspected academic dishonesty: here.
Request accommodation if necessary. If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please obtain an Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and submit it to me in person within the first two weeks of the quarter. Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY), or http://drc.ucsc.edu for more information on the requirements and process.
Communicate. Lastly, but importantly, never hesitate to get in touch. If you get into difficulty, it is entirely appropriate to seek help. Come by office hours, or send me an email. Likewise, if you are having a problem that adversely affects your classroom participation, contact me.