Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is this a cool class? Yes!! It
is a cool class. 2. Do we have lectures in this
class?
No. We call them "Discussions" and they are held on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is an informal question and answer setting in which the material for the week's unit is discussed.
3. Do we have to go to Discussion?
Yes, attendance and participation are required. Your grade will be partly based on Discussion points earned by attendance and participating in discussion assignments and quizzes. Plus many questions on the exams are from the discussion meetings.
4. Are there exams in this class?
Yes. Three exams will be given in the class. You must take all 3 exams and pass the 14 unit quizzes. For more details, see the course information page and study the section on "evaluation"..
5. How often do we have to go to the PLANTS Center?
The amount of time you spend in the PLANTS Center is entirely up to you. However, in order to be fully prepared for the quizzes, you may want to spend several hours each week reading and studying the textbook, going to the PLANTS Learning Center to ask questions to the instructor and study the displays and greenhouse demonstrations, and using the computer learning program on the computers.
6. I forgot I had discussion today. What I can I do?
You need to make a friend in your discussion section (or another section) and get their notes. They should have all the questions and discussion written down. Then after studying it, contact the discussion leader if you have any questions. This approach will give you more of the information we talked about than just getting the list of questions that were shown in the class that day.
7. I was wondering, should I participate in the Thinker, Entrepreneurship, and CASA activities or will those be a waste of my time?
These activities are designed to enrich your learning in the course and to improve your professional skills. You can earn bonus points if you do them and they will be added to your course point total, which may help you achieve a higher grade. You do not have to participate if you don't want to and you won't be penalized if you don't. The cutoffs for course grade will not be influenced by whether you participated or not. They are fun to do, a good professional experience and you are encouraged to participate.
8. If I can’t finish all of the weekly quizzes by the end of the semester, will I fail it and have to retake the course?
You would fail the course if you did not pass all weekly quizzes by the end of the semester, unless you made prior arrangements with the intructor to file for an incomplete grade. Incomplete grades must have extenuating reasons discussed and approved by the instructor. You must sign an Incomplete form for the course to avoid an F grade.
9. What is an "Incomplete" grade? Is it a good thing?
An Incomplete grade is used if you cannot finish the course because of unusual circumstances like health problems, etc. otherwise you would receive an "F". The incomplete form must be approved by you and the instructor. If you are eligible for an Incomplete grade, you will need to fill out and sign an Incomplete form, which will also identify what is needed to complete the course in order to receive the grade. Your grade card will show an "I" grade for the course and will not figure in your grade point average for that semester. You must complete the requirements to remove the Incomplete grade within one academic year from the date of the incomplete (two semesters), otherwise the university will automatically change the "I" grade to an "F" grade. After you complete the course, the instructor will submit a grade change form that will change the grade from "I" to whatever grade your earned in the course. The Registrar will then insert the new grade and recalculate your grade point average and send you a new grade slip.
The Incomplete grade cannot be used to avoid an F grade or to improve upon an failing performance in the course. It is used to help students due to circumstances beyond their control. We like to use the "I" grade in Agron 114 for students who passed all but 1-3 units because: 1) You have completed most of the course and given a good faith effort; 2) You do not have to sign up for the course again and thus it doesn't count toward your limit of course repeats. 3) It gives more flexibilty (and less penalty) to students who had a rough semester for whatever reason and couldn't finish the entire course by the time grades are due.
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