Gear up for seminar!

Biology Seminar @ Harding University

Enrollment Policy

In addition to one semester of Biology 140, three semesters of Biology 440 are required for the BS-BIOL and BS-BCMB degrees. You should enroll in Biology 140 during the first or second semester of your freshman year at Harding University. Afterwards, you should enroll in two semesters of Biology 440 for zero hours credit, and a final semester of Biology 440 for 2 hours credit. During the final semester of seminar you will sit for the MFAT and present your senior seminar, both of which are grade affecting.

Attendance Policy
(download a Request for Excused Absence Form)

Insufficient reasons for being absent include, but are not limited to:

• making up work for another class (i.e. labs, exams, etc.) or attending study sessions
• attending sporting events or team practice
• medical appointments
• institutional exams (CLEP, JEP, etc.)
• going home or having no yet returned to campus from a personal trip
• forgetting to attend or attending to frivolous personal needs
• club activities and performance practices

You are allowed one absence per semester for which you will not be held accountable. Each additional absence, you must formally request to be excused. Formal requests for excused absences should be made by submitting the Request for Excuse Form along with supporting documentation to the Depatment of Biology secretary in Pryor Science Room 131 by 5:00pm, Monday folloowing your seminar absence. This is the only requesting procedure that will be considered and does not guarantee an excused absence. A majority vote by the Biology Faculty on your request will determine whether or not your absence is excused.

If you have been called away from campus for an extended emergency or are suffering from an extended illness, you may turn in the form as soon as possible after your return. Make sure that the secretary in Pryor-England room 131 dates and initials the form when it is submitted. Late excuses will not be accepted except in cases of unavoidable emergency.

MFAT Policy

The semester you enroll in Biology 440 for 2 credit hours you will sit for the MFAT exam. It will give immediate feedback regarding your performance relative to students at other institutions currently earning similar degrees. The test assesses your breadth of factual knowledge, your ability to answer questions about biological matters, as well as your ability to analyze and solve problems, understand relationships and interpret material from their major field of study (biology or biochemistry and molecular biology).

We encourage students to prepare for this exam. One way to do so is by perusing ETS's MFAT for biology homepage. There you will find a description of the material covered on the MFAT, sample test questions, study tips, and example score reports. A five (5) point deduction will be made on your seminar course grade for an MFAT score less than the 40th percentile in appropriate categories for your degree (BIOL: all categories; BCMB: Cell Bio and Molecular Bio/Genetics).

Your performance on this exam is important to the Department of Biology. We will use the results of each semester's student scores to aid in our program assessment. The information will be used in the on-going process of improving our curriculum content and our methods of curriculum delivery. This exam should not be taken lightly...it is certainly not taken lightly by the faculty.

Grading Policy

When you enroll in Biology 140 and Biology 440 for 0 credit hours you will receive a final semester grade of 'NC', or no credit. However, participation will be recorded on your formal transcript as a partial fulfillment of a degree requirement.

Your final course grade will issued at the completion of your final semester of seminar and will be determined by three factors; your Presentation Score, accumulated absences, and MFAT performance.

Maintained by J. M. Goy - Questions or Comments? jmgoy@harding.edu