GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: (Return to page with background photo here.)

The Semester Project is an assignment you must do on your own outside of class. You must select ONE of three projects. Two of the projects are intended to assist you in your learning, and the third project is for those students who are wish to work with their hands... You will receive very few instructions, and if necessary you must do your own research on the World Wide Web, in a library, or other places, to complete it.

If you select to do an Biodiversity Collection you must first turn in an early set of five (5) properly mounted beetles in order to qualify for the project. If you select to do the Figure Drawings you must turn in drawings for each semester unit as we progress during the semester. If you select to do the Lecture Notes you must turn in your lecture notes (typed) for each semester unit as we progress during the semester. All these projects are INDIVIDUAL projects requiring skills that not all students have. And, since we all have different study methods one project may be better suited for a particular student.

The project is only a small part, 4%, of the total biology grade. The project grade is given subjectively to you by the instructor. The grading criteria for each part are as follows: 1% "Excellent" or "Good" as subjectively determined by the instructor, 0.7% "Average" as subjectively determined by the instructor, 0.5% "Passing" as subjectively determined by the instructor, and , 0% "Poor" as subjectively determined by the instructor. Note that there is no separation between "excellent" or "good", and that sloppy work and lack of care will not be accepted and will be "rewarded" with a zero. You must balance the time you spend on the project, with the study time needed for the exams. You are not expected to spend hours and hours on your selected project -- the assignment is only worth a few percent of your total biology grade, but if you don't have time to do a decent work don't do the project. Spend the saved time studying for your tests instead! If time is your concern, the Lecture Notes Project is probably your best choice, since most students takes notes, you just need to polish them a little for a project grade (which may make it easier to use them when studying for a test). Drafts or sloppy notes will not be accepted.

For more information select a semester project from the list below:

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Copyright 2003, 2004, Jan A. Nilsson. Web page layout and design © and intellectual property Jan A. Nilsson. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Page created 10.V.2003, last updated 25.V.2004, most likely during the wee hours of the morning on a G3 PowerBook owned by Jan A. Nilsson. Photo "Dripping Mesquite" © Jan A. Nilsson, 2003.

-- Disclaimer: "Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice", at the time of writing located as a file under the South Texas Community College's (STCC) web server with the general URL http://stcc.cc.tx.us/, is the intellectual property of Dr. Jan A. Nilsson, member of STCC biology faculty. The content of Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice does not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of the STCC faculty, staff, administration, and Board of Trustees.