Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Vertebrate Physiology Lab (Face-to-Face)

BIOL 3275-01

Course: BIOL 3275-01
Credits: 1
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: BIOL
CRN: 12790

Course Description

Lab to accompany BIOL 3270. One three-hour meeting per week. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a biological science major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other biology course. (Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Co-requisite(s): BIOL 3270

Required Texts

You don’t need to buy a lab manual for this class. Materials for lab each week will be posted on Canvas. You can either access them on a device, or print them out and bring them with you.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Describe the organ systems of the body and explain the physiological processes accomplished by each.
  2. Predict how a physiological system will respond to experimental manipulation.
  3. Collect, analyze, and interpret the meaning of physiological data.
  4. Design and conduct experiments to test scientific hypotheses, and relate results to previous findings.
  5. Communicate scientific information orally and in writing.

Course Requirements

Course logistics
This course is listed as “Face-to-Face”, meaning we will be meeting in lab each week and doing hands-on activities. Please arrive to lab on time and be prepared to stay until your lab group has completed all of the lab activities. If you need to miss all or part of a lab, please let me know as soon as possible so we can figure out a way for you to make up your missing work.

I am committed to providing an effective, flexible, and understanding learning experience for all of you. If anything comes up this semester that will make it difficult for you to come to class or complete your work, please let me know and we’ll figure something out together. 

Assessments
Pre-labs
Each lab will have a pre-lab assignment that you will submit before coming to lab. For these assignments, you will make predictions for each lab’s exercises and justify those predictions using your physiological knowledge. You will do these assignments on your own and submit them on Canvas before the start of your lab each week.

Lab assignments
You will submit a lab assignment after completing each lab. For these assignments, you will present the data you collected and explain your results. You will do these assignments as a group, with each group member expected to contribute. After grading your group assignment, I will apply a correction factor based on your individual contribution, which will determine your score on the assignment. See more information at the end of the syllabus.

Mini projects
With your lab partners, you will design and conduct small research projects that expand upon some of the prepared labs we will be doing this semester.

Presentation
At the end of the semester, your lab group will present the results of one of your mini projects to your classmates.


Grading
Course grades will be based on the following (500 points total):
  • 8 pre-labs worth 15 points each (120 points total)
  • 8 lab assignments worth 25 points each (200 points total)
  • 2 mini projects worth 65 points each (130 points total)
  • 1 presentation worth 50 points

   Points      Letter Grade
465 – 500            A
450 – 464            A-
435 – 449            B+
415 – 434            B
400 – 414            B-
385 – 399            C+
365 – 384            C
350 – 364            C-
335 – 349            D+
315 – 334            D
300 – 314            D-
0 – 299                F

Course Outline

Date            Lab
1/13      Diving Response I
1/20      Diving Response II
1/27      Nerve Physiology
2/3        Endocrine Physiology
2/10      Electromyography
2/17      Muscle Physiology
2/24      Cardiac Physiology
3/3        Cardiovascular Physiology
3/17      Respiratory Physiology
3/24      Mini-Project I
3/31      Festival of Excellence - No lab
4/7        Mini-Project II
4/14      Presentations

Group Work

You will submit lab assignments and research project assignments as a group, but you will be graded individually based on 1) your group’s answers, and 2) a correction factor that will be applied based on your contribution to the assignment.

Each assignment has several questions you will need to answer. As a group, decide who will take the lead on each question, making sure that each group member is assigned at least one. Each person should also provide feedback on their lab partners’ work in order to improve the final product.

After you finish the assignment, you will do a brief peer review of your lab partners’ contributions in terms of their answers and their feedback using the following scale:
  • Answers
    • 2: Solid effort made to answer questions
    • 1: Moderate effort made to answer questions 
    • 0: No answers provided 
  • Feedback
    • 2: Solid effort made on feedback
    • 1: Moderate effort made on feedback 
    • 0: No feedback given

I will then apply a correction factor based on the average of these scores, as shown below:

Average score    Correction factor
       3.5-4.0                   100%
       3.0-3.4                     90%
       2.5-2.9                     80%
       2.0-2.4                     70%
       1.5-1.9                     60%
       1.0-1.5                     50%
       0.1-0.9                     40%
       0                                0%

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Assignments are due before the start of lab each week. If something unexpected happens that will make it difficult for you to complete your work on time, please let me know and we can work together to come up with an alternative arrangement. Otherwise, my standard penalty for late work is a 5% deduction per day.

Attendance Policy

Attendance in this class is required, and you should be prepared to arrive on time and stay in lab until your group has finished all of the day’s activities. That said, I understand that life sometimes gets in the way of our best laid plans, and that illness, family emergencies, and other challenges don’t always respect your course schedule. If you either can’t make it to lab or can’t stay for the entire time, please contact me ASAP so we can make an alternative arrangement.

AI

The course assignments are designed to help you learn the course content, develop your skills at synthesizing information, and apply what you have learned. While it may be tempting to use artificial intelligence like ChatGPT to help with some of these assignments, doing so will deprive you of important learning opportunities. Therefore, the use of AI to produce any course work is not allowed.

Mental health resources

At SUU, we care about the well-being of our students. If you find yourself struggling with mental health challenges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can also visit https://www.suu.edu/mentalhealth for resources.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.