Historical Geology Lab Policies

Laboratory Class Policies

GOL 106 is an introductory course that focuses on the physical, chemical and biological materials and processes that have continuously transformed the surface of our home planet. After completing the course, students should be familiar with the cycles of energy and material that occur on Earth and with the evolution of Earth's surface and the life that dwells there. There are no prerequisites for enrollment.


lab meetings	11:00 am to 1:50 pm, Tuesdays, 391 Bisdorf.
cancellation	Official college closures are announced on the NOVA home page and at 703-323-3770 (or at 703-330-3770 in Prince William County). If inclement weather, or any other emergency, causes cancellation of a lab meeting, you must arrange to complete the missed exercise before lab grades are finalized on May 3.
attendance	Attendance will be taken at every lab meeting. Any student who has accumulated three absences will be withdrawn immediately.
electronic devices	You must obtain my prior permission before using any electronic device during lab meetings.
lab reports	For each assigned exercise, a written report must be submitted before you leave the lab.
lab tests	There are two in-class lab tests, given at approximately equal intervals during the semester. If you miss a lab test, you have one week in which to schedule a makeup test or your grade for the test will be zero.
field trip	During the course of the semester, you must make a self-guided visit to the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution and answer a set of questions concerning geological exhibits there. The report is due by noon, Tuesday, April 24. In place of the Smithsonian trip, you may participate in one of my GOL 135 field trips.
lab grade	There are fourteen components of the lab grade. Each of the eleven lab reports represents 5% of the grade. The field trip report and the two tests each represent 15%. The lab grade is 40% of the whole grade for GOL 106. (The remaining 60% is the lecture grade.)
misbehavior	Behavior that disrupts a lab meeting will not be tolerated. On the first occasion of such behavior, I will ask you to leave. On the second occasion, I will expell you from GOL 106 with a grade of "F".
cheating	The lab tests and the field trip report are *not* group activities. Each must by completed by the individual student working alone. I reserve the right to penalize anyone that I catch cheating. The minimum penalty is a zero grade for the test or report. The maximum is a zero for the lab portion of your GOL 106 grade.