GEOL 104 Dinosaurs A Natural History Fall Semester 2009 PLS 1130 10 00 10 50 am MWF Instructor Dr Thomas R Holtz Jr Room Centreville 1216 Office Hours T 8 30 11 am or by appointment Phone x54084 Email tholtz umd edu NOTE It is your responsibility as a student to completely read through and understand this syllabus If you have questions about it please contact Dr Holtz You will be held responsible for following all requirements of this syllabus Course Organization 3 meetings per week Monday Wednesday Friday Grade Test 1 20 Test 2 20 Final 20 Smithsonian Assignment I Smithsonian Assignment II Weekly Online Quizzes Video Review Assignment 15 5 15 5 No separate extra credit assignments are planned for this course However tests and some quizzes and assignments have extra credit questions NOTE Late Smithsonian or Video Review Assignments will be docked 25 of the total grade if not turned in on time but turned in at my mailbox in the Geology Building or at my office prior to the next class day or docked 50 if handed in the next class day After that point the grade for that assignment will be a 0 Online Quizzes cannot be completed for a grade after their regularly assigned due date typically Wednesdays at 10 am passes Grade Scale 90 A 80 89 B 70 79 C 60 69 D 60 F and grades are given to the top and bottom twopoint range respectively within each grade Dinosaurs A Natural History is a CORE course CORE Distributive Studies courses are designed to ensure that you will take a look at several different academic disciplines and the way they create and analyze knowledge about the world A faculty and student committee approved this CORE Distributive Studies course because it will introduce you to the ideas and issues that are central to a major intellectual discipline and because it promises to involve you actively in the learning process Please take advantage of the opportunities this course offers you Required Text David E Fastovsky and David B Weishampel 2009 Dinosaurs A Concise Natural History Cambridge Univ Press 379 pp ISBN 978 0 521 71902 5 Websites http www geol umd edu tholtz G104 This Website contains a copy of the course policies the syllabus lecture notes copies of some of the handouts dinosaur related web links and other features Please feel free to utilize this resource and email Dr Holtz with any suggestions on improving this resource http elms umd edu Course ID 200908 GEOL104 tholtz The ELMS Blackboard site will include required weekly online quizzes announcements concerning the class class discussion list copies of the handouts and so forth If you have not already done so make sure that you get access to ELMS Policies Academic integrity The University of Maryland has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity administered by the Student Honor Council This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating fabrication facilitation and plagiarism For more 1 information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council please visit http www studenthonorcouncil umd edu whatis html The University of Maryland is one of a small number of universities with a student administered Honors Code and an Honors Pledge available on the web at http www jpo umd edu aca honorpledge html The code prohibits students from cheating on exams plagiarizing papers submitting the same paper for credit in two courses without authorization buying papers submitting fraudulent documents and forging signatures The University Senate encourages instructors to ask students to write the following signed statement on each examination or assignment I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this examination or assignment Academic Accommodations If you have a documented disability you should contact Disability Support Services 0126 Shoemaker Hall Each semester students with documented disabilities should apply to DSS for accommodation request forms which you can provide to your professors as proof of your eligibility for accommodations The rules for eligibility and the types of accommodations a student may request can be reviewed on the DSS web site at http www counseling umd edu DSS receiving serv html Religious Observances The University System of Maryland policy provides that students should not be penalized because of observances of their religious beliefs students shall be given an opportunity whenever feasible to make up within a reasonable time any academic assignment that is missed due to individual participation in religious observances It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor of any intended absences for religious observances in advance Notice should be provided as soon as possible but no later than the end of the schedule adjustment period September 14 Faculty should further remind students that prior notification is especially important in connection with final exams since failure to reschedule a final exam before the conclusion of the final examination period may result in loss of credits during the semester The problem is especially likely to arise when final exams are scheduled on Saturdays Other All work on tests quizzes etc must be your own Although group study can be very useful make sure that all your work you turn in is your own Absences from exams will not be excused except for those causes approved by University policy see http www umd edu catalog index cfm show content section c 27 ss 1584 s 1540 of the UMCP Undergraduate Catalog 2008 2009 Only those students excused for these causes will be eligible for a make up exam Throughout the course there will be a series of online quizzes using the ELMS system Please make certain that you stay current with these They will typically be made available Thursday afternoon and be due at the beginning of class the following Wednesday with some exceptions and will cover material from class from the previous quiz onward Attendance in class is expected Much of the information presented is not available in the textbook If you cannot make a certain lecture try and find another student who might lend your their notes In fact establishing a study group early in the course has proven useful for many students in the past Keep up with the required readings Although the format of the