Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Thanks for your interest in BI 211!

I am looking forward to our class at the Sylvania campus which starts this April 2024. I'll be preparing our syllabi soon, but you can see last year's lecture syllabus at this link, and the accompanying lab syllabus at this one.

Lecture and lab sessions will be conducted live, in-person, and on-campus. Note that we will also have supplemental lecture material provided as recorded “video lectures” that students will view and take notes from outside of scheduled class time. All quizzes and exams – for both lecture and lab sections - will be conducted together, in-person, in-class, except as required by approved accommodations or in cases of special instances such as unexpected absences, which will be negotiated with me on a case-by-case basis.

Most material, including lectures, will be provided in files suitable for download to your own computer (See under Technology). Attendance at lecture sessions is expected, and students are encouraged to interact with the instructor and classmates to discuss lecture content, practice concepts, and ask questions. Lab attendance and participation is especially important, and absences in the lab section will be limited in order to obtain a passing grade.

The required textbook for Biology 211 (and the subsequent courses in the Principles of Biology series) is “Campbell Biology”, 12th ed, by Urry et al., published by Pearson, Inc.  Previous editions are acceptable to use, but please notify me if you plan to do so (must be the full Campbell Biology text). You may also want the less expensive option of renting the e-book for 180 days or a lifetime access to the e-book. If so, please do this directly through the publisher at this link: Pearson: Campbell 12^th Ed.

You will also need to purchase the lab manual that accompanies this lecture text: “Investigating Biology” Laboratory Manual, 9th ed. by Morgan, J. and Carter, M. Pearson Benjamin Cummings. This manual will be utilized each week in your lab class.

The PCC Sylvania Bookstore allows you to choose from various options, but please note that access to the “Mastering Biology” is not required; only choose this if you want these resources and/or e-book.

Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities should notify their instructor if accommodations have been approved or are needed to take this class. For more information, please visit the Accessible Ed & Disability Resources website.

Students are expected to be familiar with computers and the Internet. Students are responsible for their own software and computer equipment maintenance and setup. See the PCC website on computer systems and supported web browsers. Basic requirements include: 

• A modern computer system (or personal device) with supported operating system (OS) installed.
• Access to broadband internet service, with LTE or better service.
• An internet browser installed on your computer or device (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.)

Students will be expected to have the capability of accessing and uploading documents to PCC’s D2L Brightspace Students who are unfamiliar with the D2L Brightspace platform should first visit PCC's D2L QuickStart page at the online Student Help Desk, and view the tutorial videos listed there.

Students will have the option of working on the Google platform of software (Google Docs, Google Slides, etc.) or in Microsoft Office 365 (e.g., Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, etc.) You must be able to save files as .pdf or .doc format, and upload them to the Assignments tool in D2L. For more information, see this tutorial on using Google Drive in D2L Brightspace