Centre for Science - Biology lab resources

**check Moodle for more information about the virtual labs.
***alternate evaluation, check Moodle for information

*subject to minimum enrollment

Lab exemption instructions

Lab exemptions for BIOL 207, Supervised Lab, may be granted in exceptional cases if:

1. an equivalent introductory general biology lab course has been taken at a recognized institution.
2. the course has been taken within the last 5 years.
3. the student achieved a grade of 50% or higher on the lab component and/or lab exam.

If you meet all three criteria, arrange for a "Lab Exemption Request Letter" to be sent to the Science Lab Coordinator from the college or university you previously attended, or send us an official course transcript showing that you have successfully completed the equivalent lab component. Please note that lab exemptions will incur a lab fee.

The "Lab Exemption Request Letter" must be obtained before your course contract end date.

Please see below for the detailed steps towards obtaining an exemption. If you have any further questions, please ask the Science Lab Coordinator.

• Contact the Biology Lab Coordinator/Course Professor at the college/university you previously attended and ask her/him to forward the necessary information to the Science Lab Coordinator via e-mail.
• The biology course and labs you have previously taken may not yet have been evaluated and determined to be equivalent to the AU BIOL 207 lab component. Therefore, in the "Lab Exemption Request Letter", we need to see a complete list of the experiments performed in the lab, and a description of the evaluation system used in the lab, in order to determine equivalence.
• The "Lab Exemption Request Letter" needs to contain the following information:
  1. Your full name.
  2. The course number and the sending institution.
  3. The lab mark you obtained in the above course (all lab activities marks separately).
  4. The year you took the course (must have been within the last 5 years).

Lab equivalence determination

Once your letter is sent to us, it will be forwarded to the course professor for BIOL 207 for his review and consideration.

We will use the average lab grade for the lab portion of the student's AU grade and this will count 25% towards the student's final grade.

A student will NOT be exempt from doing the home labs (simulation exercises).

Please note that the lab exemption mark will be entered into our system last, after all other components of the course.

BIOL 207 course syllabus

A lab exemption will only be granted in the following cases. Lab exemptions for BIOL 230* may be granted if:

1. an equivalent physiology course has been taken at a recognized institution.
2. the course has been taken within the last 5 years.
3. the student achieved greater than 50% on the lab component.

These criteria must be supported by an official transcript that shows a separate grade for the "equivalent laboratory component" of the course. If the lab mark is not shown as a separate mark on the official transcript, then you must arrange to send a "Lab Exemption Request Letter" from the lab coordinator at the previously attended institution to the Course Coordinator.

Once you are lab exempted there is a course mark redistribution so that your final mark is determined only by course work done with Athabasca University. For more details on the course mark redistribution, please see below.

The physiology lab exemption request information should be directly sent to the Course Coordinator.

*BIOL 230 Lab exemption information must be received BEFORE the course contract end date.

The final grade for the course cannot be processed until the official transcript has been received by Athabasca University.

Mark redistribution

*There is no difference between the exams given to lab exempted and non-lab exempted students and when a student is lab exempt, no mention of this appears on your course transcript. Instead, it will look like you completed a course that has a compulsory supervised lab component.

BIOL 230 course syllabus

Evaluation

To receive credit for BIOL 230, you must complete all three tutor marked exercises (TMEs), the laboratory assignment (or approved exemption), and the three examinations. You must also achieve a minimum passing grade of 50 percent on the 3 Quizzes, 2 Midterms and Final Examination. The passing grade for this course is "D" (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Lab exemption instructions

A lab exemption will only be granted in the following cases. Lab exemptions for BIOL 320^* may be granted if:

1. an equivalent vertebrates course has been taken at a recognized institution with in-person attendance.
2. the course has been taken within the last 5 years.
3. the student achieved greater than 60% on the lab component.

Only official, organized laboratory components of credit courses offered at other institutions can be used for lab exemptions. The above can be shown by either one of two options below.

These criteria must be supported by an official transcript that shows a separate grade for the "equivalent laboratory component" of the course. If the lab mark is not shown as a separate mark on the official transcript, then you must arrange to send a "Lab Exemption Request Letter" from the lab coordinator at the previously attended institution to the Course Coordinator to include:

• the name, code(s) of the course(s), and # of credits taken at the sending institution.
• the date when the student took the course(s) (e.g., Fall Term: Sep-Dec, 2009).
• the students approximate lab mark or Pass/Fail.

Once you are lab exempted there is course mark redistribution so that your final mark is determined only by course work done with Athabasca University. For more details on the course mark redistribution, please see below.

The Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates lab exemption request information should be directly sent to the Course Coordinator.

*BIOL 320 Lab exemption information must be received BEFORE the course contract end date.

The final grade for the course cannot be processed until the official transcript has been received by Athabasca University.

Mark redistribution

*There is no difference between the exams given to lab exempted and non-lab exempted students and when a student is lab exempt, no mention of this appears on your course transcript. Instead, it will look like you completed a course that has a compulsory supervised lab component.

Biol 320 course syllabus

Evaluation

To receive credit for BIOL 320, you must complete the two assignments, the laboratory session (or approved exemption), the midterm and the final examinations. You must also achieve a minimum passing grade of 50 percent on the Final Examination, and 60 percent on the laboratory evaluation. The passing grade for this course is “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

A lab exemption will only be granted in exceptional cases. Lab exemptions for BIOL 325* may be granted if:

1. an equivalent microbiology course has been taken at a recognized institution.
2. the course has been taken within the last 5 years.
3. the student achieved greater than 50% on the lab component.

These criteria must be supported by an official transcript that shows a separate grade for the "equivalent laboratory component" of the course. If the lab mark is not shown as a separate mark on the official transcript, then you must arrange to send a "Lab Exemption Request Letter" from the lab coordinator at the previously attended institution to the AU Science Lab Coordinator.

Once you are lab exempted there is a course mark redistribution so that your final mark is determined only by course work done with Athabasca University.

For more details on the course mark redistribution, please contact the AU Science Lab Coordinator.

The microbiology lab exemption request information should be directly sent to the AU Science Lab Coordinator.

*BIOL 325 Lab exemption information must be received BEFORE the course contract end date.

The final grade for the course cannot be processed until the official transcript has been received by Athabasca University.

Lab exemptions for BIOL 345* Field Ecology Workshop may be granted if:

1. an equivalent ecology lab course has been taken at a recognized institution.
2. the course has been taken within the last 5 years.
3. the student achieved greater than 50% on the lab component and lab exam.

If you meet these criteria, you may decide to arrange for a ‘Lab Exemption Request Letter’ to be sent to me from the college or university you previously attended.

Please note that the ecology course and labs you have previously taken may not yet have been evaluated and determined to be equivalent to the AU BIOL 345 FEW. Therefore, in the ‘Lab Exemption Request Letter’, we may also need to see a complete list of the experiments performed in the lab, and a description of the evaluation system used in the lab, in order to determine equivalence.

You will not be exempted from doing the home labs, many of which are parts of the assignments! A FEW exemption means you are only exempt from the 4 day workshop and lab report associated with it.

Please see below for the detailed steps towards obtaining an exemption. If you have any further questions, please ask the Lab Coordinator.

BIOL 345 FEW exemption instructions

The quickest/cheapest way to obtain a ‘Lab Exemption Request Letter’, is to contact the Ecology Lab Coordinator/Course Professor at the college/university you previously attended and ask her/him to forward the necessary information to me via e-mail (see web page above).

Please be aware that we do not need to receive the ‘Lab Exemption Request Letter’ from your current/previously attended college or university before you register or start in the course, but only before your course contract end date.

Step 1. Obtaining the ‘Lab exemption request letter’

The ‘Lab exemption request letter’ sent by the coordinator/professor to AU needs to contain the following information:

1. Your full name.
2. The course number you took at the sending institution.
3. The lab mark you obtained in the above course (lab report and lab exam marks separate).
4. The year you took the course (must have been within the last 5 years).
5. Please note the lab component of the course you have taken and BIOL 345 must be deemed equivalent (at xU, Biol/Ecol xxxx labs have not yet been evaluated and determined to be equivalent to AU BIOL 345 FEW). Therefore, we may also need to see a complete list of the experiments performed in the lab, and a description of the evaluation system used in the lab, in order to determine equivalence.
6. The information should be directly sent to the AU Science Lab Coordinator.

Step 2. Lab equivalence determination

Once your letter is sent to us, it will be forwarded to the Course Professor for BIOL 345 for his review and consideration.

Step 3. Lab marks redistribution for a FEW exempt student

We will use the average lab grade for the lab portion of the student's AU grade, so if the student has 50% in their lab reports and 70% in their lab exam, they would get a mark of 60% entered for their lab grade at AU and this will count 20% towards the student's final grade.

BIOL 345 FEW exemption instructions 2010

*There is no difference between the exams given to FEW exempted and non-FEW exempted students and when a student is FEW exempt, no mention of this appears on your course transcript. Instead, it will look like you completed a course that has a compulsory supervised lab component.

A student will NOT be exempt from doing the home labs, many of which are parts of the assignments!

Please note that the lab exemption mark will be entered into our system last, after all other components of the course.

BIOL 345 course syllabus

• BIOL 204 lab activities

• BIOL 207 lab manual

• BIOL 230 lab kit request (If you encounter an error in submitting your lab kit request form please refer to the following set of instructions for troubleshooting)
• BIOL 230 lab activities

• BIOL 320 lab activities

• BIOL 325 course outline
• BIOL 325 labs
• BIOL 325 lab manual
• BIOL 325 study schedule
• BIOL 325 ASM example

• BIOL 345 home labs
• BIOL 345 internet resources
• BIOL 345 lab manual
• Field ecology workshop details
• Field ecology workshop: Overview

• How to Use Stereo and Compound Microscopes: Part 1