Monday 2:00-3:50 and Wednesday 3:00-4:50; Sanford Hall Room 001

Contents:

 Instructor: Dr. Marsha S. Stock

• Office 519 Evenden Tower
• Phone: 746 4370
• e-mail: stockms@delhi.edu
• Office hours as posted outside my office.

In Case of Inclement Weather:

• The College generally does not cancel classes because many students live on campus.  However, if the roads are terrible and I cannot make it in to Delhi, I will cancel class.  You should assume that class IS meeting unless you hear otherwise.
• If I cancel class my voice mail message will be changed to indicate that I will not be here.
• If I cancel class I will also notify you by an e-mail in Vancko Hall.
• If I cancel class I will usually give you an assignment to do in Vancko Hall.
• Remember that all assignments are due regardless of whether class met or not.

About the course:

• This course is all about the ways that food can cause human illnesses and all about the prevention of such foodborne illnesses.  You will learn  the ways that food becomes contaminated, the kinds of organisms (microorganisms) that cause foodborne illness.  You will also study the ways that food is preserved along with information on the ways that food spoils and how natural spoilage has been used to preserve foods.  These are called "bioprocessed" foods.
• While learning these things you will also learn where to go for the most current and reliable information on existing and new foodborne hazards.
• Although this course does not have a formal laboratory period we will use part of the time to conduct some laboratories in which we will produce some of those "bioprocessed" foods, discover how many microbes are in different foods (like the MacDonald Hall salad bar), how effective disinfectants are, how effective hand washing is, and others.  You will have a chance to look for such  disease-causing organisms, or pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Salmonella.  We may even see if we can culture (grow) some Clostridium botulinum, the organism that causes what probably is the most toxic form of food poisoning:  botulism.

General Education Requirements

• This course meets the New York State General Education or "Gen Ed"  requirement for the Natural Sciences.  Students in most majors are required to fill several Gen Ed requirements for graduation.
• At various times during the semester you will be asked how the scientific method operates in specific situations.  These questions are intended to show that you understand the basic workings of scientific research as it is applied in Nutritional Microbiology.
• To meet the General Education objectives you will have to show or demonstrate

1. an understanding of the role of observation in the development of hypotheses to explain natural phenomena.
2. an  understanding of the methods of hypothesis testing.
3. methods of data collection and analysis.
4. the ability to synthesize data and information to arrive at a conclusive statement which assess the validity of hypotheses as applied to natural phenomena.

 Texts and Other Resources:

• Stock, Marsha. 2005.  Microbes and Food:  A Textbook for Nutritional Microbiology.
• Food and Drug Administration.  1999. The Bad Bug Book : http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html 
  • The Bad Bug Book is an excellent on-line resource on many aspects of foodborne illnesses and the organisms that cause them.  You will be referring to this frequently during the semester.  The Bad Bug is also available for purchase at Amazon.com and other sources.

• Web Sites:

  • There are a number of very interesting web sites in Microbiology and Food Microbiology.  Some you may find useful for various assignments. They are included on a separate web page: Web Sites for Information on Microbiology

Food Safety Sanitation Certification (ServeSafe^TM):

•  As a part of this course you are REQUIRED to take the Food Safety Sanitation Certification Examination which is administered by the National Restaurant Association.  It will make up a large part of the final examination for the course.
• You must register for this certification examination by purchasing an examination answer sheet in the Campus Store.
• You must purchase the sheet and hand it in to the instructor in class on Jan. 29th at the latest.
• Failure to hand in this sheet by February 6th will result in a score of zero for the final exam which means you will probably fail the course.
• EXCEPTIONS: 
  •  Those of you who are already hold this certification AND can provide me with proof that you have done so.  Note that you will still be required to take a final examination; it just won't be quite the same as the certification exam.
  • Those of you who do not have a major in Hospitality.  You must give me your name and I will verify your major.

        Vancko Hall (Moodle)

• Moodle is a course management system that we will be using throughout the semester.  Within Vancko Hall you can e-mail me or others in the course, access and turn in assignments, lecture outlines, student reports and more.
• Click here to go directly to Vacnko Hall.
  • Log on using your student number as your ID and your PIN as your password.

Tutoring:

• Tutoring is available through Academic Services located in the library/leaning center.  You must apply for a tutor and bring the form to me to sign.

Attendance:

You are expected to be on time and prepared for each lecture. Walking late into lecture or laboratory is not only rude, it is disruptive.  Please make every effort to be on time.  (See disruptive behavior below.)

• Attendance rules will follow those of the college.  You are expected to attend lecture at all times.
• You may be allowed to make up material that you miss if you have a legitimate excuse that can be documented.
  • All health-related absences must be documented by the College Health Center in Forman Hall.
  • College-related absences such as participation in athletic events or academically-based field trips may be excused in writing but ONLY with two weeks notice.  The written documentation must come from a coach or faculty member who is overseeing the event.
• If you are going to be absent for a religious holiday you must notify me in writing two weeks in advance of the holiday in order to be excused from class.
• Regardless of the excuse it is your responsibility to notify me in a timely manner to make up the material you missed. 
  • "A timely manner" would be within one week of the absence.
• With the use of VAncko Hall and e-mail you have no excuse for turning in work late.  You are expected to find out what you missed and hand in all assignments on time.  Assignments are due on time regardless of your lack of attendance.
• Exams and Quizzes:
  • Missed lecture exams and quizzes must be made up within the week of the absence.
  • If you miss a quiz or exam because of participation in an athletic or other school-sponsored event, you must make it up within 24 hours of your return.
  • Make up exams/quizzes will only be given with a documented excuse, i.e. doctor, family emergency, etc. 
  • Since the final exam is a National Certification Exam it must be taken at the assigned time.  There will be no excused absences.
• Homework assignments will not be accepted late.
• Presentations must be given on time.  Failure to be ready to give a presentation on the date they are assigned will result in a 10 point deduction on the report for each class that they are late.  Presentations that are more than 1 week late will be given a grade of zero. 
• If you are absent from class the day a report by your group is due, you will be assigned grade of zero for that assignment.  

Disruptive Behavior:

• Disruptive behavior of any kind that distracts from the learning atmosphere of the class room will not be tolerated.
  • Such behavior includes, but is not limited to, late arrival, early departure from class, talking in class, walking around or leaving while class is in session.
    • Go to the rest room BEFORE class; bring tissues or cough drops if you have a cold.
  • Cell phone or the use of other electronic devices such as PDA's and mp3 players will not be tolerated in lecture. Be sure that all such devices are turned off and put away before you come to class. Their use is considered disruptive and may result in an F in the course.
  • Students who are disruptive will be warned one time but a written notice such as an Early Warning form.
  • Any subsequent infraction may result in removal from the class and an F in the course. Such behavior may be referred to the Disciplinary Council for appropriate action, which can include suspension from the College.

Written assignments:

• Lab reports and homework assignments will be graded on a scale from 0-10 with 10 being excellent and 1 being very poor.  These assignments will not be accepted late.  It it is your responsibility to get them in on time -- even if you were not in class the day they were given out. It is up to you to find out what went on in class when you were not there.
• Written portions of your class presentations are due on the day your report is presented.  Failure to turn in required material will result in a penalty of 5 points for each day they are late. They will be given a zero if they are more than one week late.

Academic Honesty:

• Academic Integrity is another way of describing honesty. Students must understand that cheating in any form is unacceptable, whether copying another student's work, copying information from the internet or another source, bringing answers into a test, or giving answers to another student. Students who cheat will be subject to the Academic Integrity Policy. The policy Provost's Office Website, http://www.delhi.edu/academics/provost/ under "General Information for Students."
• This policy requires that any violation of the academic integrity policy of the College be reported to the Office of Academic Advising. If more than one incident is reported to this office the violations will be turned over to the College Judicial Coordinator and the student will be placed on deferred suspension. Any further incidents may result in suspension or expulsion from the College.

Collaborative Learning: There are several instances where you will be handing in work that you have done in laboratory or lecture. In those cases you are free to consult with your classmates; I encourage you to do so. However, the work that you hand in must be your own and written in our own words. Work that, in the opinion of the instructor, is too similar to another student's work, may result in a grade of a zero on that assignment as well as a written and oral warning.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism includes not only copying another student's work, but using the work of others, such as the author of your text, without giving proper credit. Reports and papers that are handed in must be properly referenced. Failure to do so will result in a verbal and written warning as well as a zero on that report. See detailed instructions on scientific notation which will be handed out when you are given an assignment.

Cheating: Copying from other students in an exam or using any kind of study aid during an exam or quiz will be punished by a zero for that quiz or exam.

Grading:

• Exams and Quizzes etc. : There will be a quiz or exam nearly every Wednesday for the semester.
  • 50 points for the total of 4 or 5 quizzes. The lowest of these will be dropped.
  • 200 points:  100 points each for two hourly exams.
  • 100 points for the  final exam.
  • 50 points for homework assignments.
  • There may be a small project on sanitation or some other aspect of foodborne illnesses.  It may count additional points.  I'll give you written notice if there is a change in this grading structure.
  • 100 points:  50 points each for two group  presentations.
  What about that foodborne disease or bioprocessed food presentations?
  • Small groups of students will be assigned foodborne diseases or bioprocessed food to investigate and teach to the rest of the class. 
  • Each group will develop a PowerPoint presentation on their topic.
  • They will then add narration to the presentation and the presentation will be shown in class and added to the course in Vancko Hall so that it can be reviewed outside of class.
  • Each presentation will include 6-10 short answer questions that the audience should be able to answer by watching the presentation.
  • The presentation must also include a bibliography of resource information on their topic AND a one-page summary of the information included in the report.
  • Each group must meet with the instructor before their assigned date to hand in an outline and plan of action for their report.
  • Each project is worth 50 points for a total of 100 points (the same as an exam). A grading rubric will be developed to show you how the reports will be graded. 
  • Usually there will be a quiz on your report given to presenters the day it was due. 
  Letter Grades: Letter grades will be assigned after your numerical grade is calculated from the proportion of possible points that you have accumulated.
  • In general there will be no curve so that letter grade assignments follow the following:  A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F < 60