Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Environmental Biology (Face-to-Face)

BIOL 2500-01

Course: BIOL 2500-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: Biology
CRN: 30714

Instructor Information

Instructors: Dr. Fredric R. Govedich,    Dr. Samuel Wells
Office:           SCA 203                                SC 113
Office Hours: M 10-11, T 1-2, WF 12-1,   Held in SCA 010 (Bee lab)
                         R 11:15-12:15.                    M 1-4, T 10-12
Office Phone: 435 865-8092                     435 865-8701
E-mail: govedich@suu.edu                        samuelwells@suu.edu

Course Description

Course investigates diverse ecosystems found in southern Utah. Ecosystems will be used to learn about cycling of matter/energy, patterns, scale, proportion, the link between structure/function, cause/effect, and evidence of stability and change. Students will gather data about ecosystems, describe possible problems, the causation and possible solutions. Recommended for Education Majors K-12. 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. (Fall) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: Life Sciences

Required Texts

Fisher, M.R. 2017. Environmental Biology. OpenStax; Kamala Doršner; Alexandra Geddes; Tom Theis; and Jonathan Tomkin, OPEN OREGON EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. This text is provide through our course Canvas shell and can be downloaded for free.

Learning Outcomes

General Education Category: Life Sciences.BIOL 2500 satisfies the Life Sciences breadth designation specifically because Environmental Biology is a Life Science: the course teaches students to demonstrate an understanding of science as a “way of knowing,” Demonstrate knowledge of global, national and local environmental issues, Demonstrate knowledge of basic ecological principles, including: populations, communities and ecosystems, Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of living things, the impact of environmental issues on living things, and evolutionary processes, Demonstrate skill in both oral and written presentation of scientific work and results, Possess an increased ability to work in and function as part of a collaborative group and Possess an increased ability to think critically and evaluate and synthesize information.

Essential Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the General Education Life Sciences requirement, students will be able to:
  1. Apply Scientific Methods: Describe and apply approaches to scientific discovery and interpretation of experimental data
  2. Understand: Demonstrate understanding of matter, energy, and their influence on biological systems 
  3. Apply Knowledge: Describe and apply evolutionary concepts in terms of inheritance, adaptation, and diversity of life 
  4. Explain: Explain the mechanisms of information storage, expression, and exchange in living organisms or ecosystems 
  5. Reflect: Reflect on the relevance of life sciences in a broader context. 

Durable Skills and High-Impact Practice
This course intentionally embeds two AAC&U-aligned durable skills and one high-impact practice (HIP).
  • Critical Thinking: students evaluate biological/scientific evidence and apply theory to real environmental biology topics (Midterm and Final Exams, class discussions and readings, and Interpretation project).
  • Communication: students practice written communication (class discussions and readings and interpretation project/presentation) and oral/visual communication (Presentation).
  • High-Impact Practices: Teamwork: Collaborative Assignments and Projects: Learning to work and solve problems in the company of others and sharpening one’s own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others. Students practice their ability to work in and function as part of a collaborative group. Projects and Presentation asks students to develop, conduct and present work as a group on an analysis of a real-world environmental issue to peers in a structured, public format, deepening learning through preparation, feedback, and accountability as part of a larger group.

Course Requirements

Course Assessment
Grading: Letter grades will be assigned using a typical scale of percentage of total available points. 

 | 100-93 A | 92-90 A- | 
 | 89-88 B+ | 87-83 B | 82-80 B-
 | 79-78 C+ | 77-73 C | 72-70 C-
 | 69-68 D+ | 67-63 D | 62-60 D-
 | < 60 F      | 

| Assignment/Assessment | Points | ELO Alignment | Durable Skill
| Two Midterm exams (150 points each | 300 | ELO 2, ELO 3, ELO 4 and ELO 5 (Understand, Apply Knowledge, Explain, and Reflect) | Critical Thinking
| Final exam | 200 | ELO 2, ELO 3, ELO 4 and ELO 5 (Understand, Apply Knowledge, Explain, and Reflect) | Critical Thinking
| Discussion/Class Participation | 100 | ELO 2, ELO 3, ELO 4 and ELO 5 (Understand, Apply Knowledge, Explain, and Reflect) | Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork
| Interpretation project | 500 | ELO 1, ELO 2, ELO 3, ELO 4 and ELO 5 (Apply Scientific Methods, Understand, Apply Knowledge, Explain, and Reflect) | Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork
| Book/reading assignment | 100 | ELO 2, ELO 3, ELO 4 and ELO 5 (Understand, Apply Knowledge, Explain, and Reflect) | Critical Thinking, Communication
| Total points | 1200 |

Interpretation Project: This assignment will require you to work as a small group to investigate a local ecosystem. Using skills and techniques illustrated in class you will gather data regarding concepts that are found in your ecosystem (scale, proportion, cause and effect, patterns, flow of energy and matter, etc.) we expect that your group will become local experts on your chosen issue and will seek information and answers from a variety of sources. Your sources may include not only primary research articles, but newspaper articles, interviews, agency reports, empirical data etc. The final products for this project will be up to you, but must interpret the problem you investigated for a non-technical audience. Some POSSIBLE products might include: pamphlets, brochures, posters, movies, exhibits, or multi-media presentations. The sky is the limit in terms of what you might produce. Think about what would best communicate your findings to the general public. You will be using every skill you have (reading, writing, artistic, musical, critical thinking skills, etc.), but in the end we think you will find this to be very satisfying work.

Goals: There are several goals for this project:
  1. To allow you to increase your knowledge about a local environments and issues involved with these areas.
  2. to begin to understand the complex nature of environmental biology and the difficulty associated with their solution.
  3. To give you experience looking for cross-cutting concepts in the natural world (e.g., patterns, cause and effect: mechanism and explanation, scale, proportion and quantification, system and system models, flow and cycle of energy and matter, relationship of structure and function, evidence of stability and change)
  4. To give you experience synthesizing information and presenting that information in a creative way to a general audience
  5. To give you experience working as part of a collaborative group.

Project Deadlines:
September 18: Topics for Projects: Assignment: a one paragraph description of your proposed topic including: 1) group members, 2) proposed topic, 3) proposed means of gathering and presenting information 
September 25: Project Plan: Assignment: a one page detailed project plan including who is going to do what and dates for completion of various parts of the project. In addition, if you are planning any type of data gathering using humans (including surveys) this is the deadline for submission of your proposal to the Institutional Review Board.
October 30: Project Progress Reports: Assignment: a 2 page written description of your progress thus far including: 1) findings thus far, 2) questions still to be addressed, 3) proposed cross-cutting concepts to be addressed, including possible evidence of human intervention, 4) participation rate of each group member.
December 4: Projects due to Instructor
December 11: In class project presentations ALL group members must participate in a presentation of your project for the class

Book Report and Presentation: Read one of the books listed below then write at least a 1,000-word report and give an oral presentation to the class (you will be able to sign up for one of the books in class early in the semester). You can either buy your chosen book or check it out from the library. No digital or audible books are allowed. Your report needs to include the following:

  1. Begin with a paragraph stating the author's main point,
  2. Provide at least a dozen annotated quotes (listing the page they are on) from throughout the book that you consider aphoristic, noteworthy or that perhaps support the author's thesis,
  3. End with a paragraph describing your overall impression of the book. 

You will be graded on your writing, your argument, your presentation and the quality of your quotes.

Chose one of the following books to read and report on:
The Serengeti Rules by Sean Carroll
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold 
The Garden Jungle by Dave Goulson
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Crossings (road ecology) by Ben Goldfarb
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv 

Course Outline

Tentative Course Schedule:
Week Topic Presenter Reading
1 (9/4) Course introduction. Skills session: Learning activity Govedich/Wells
2 (9/11) Environmental Science. Skills session – learn how to use tools you might use in your projects Govedich/Wells Chapter 1
3 (9/18) Field Trip    Project topics due
4 (9/25) Matter, Energy and Life Govedich Chapter 2   Project Plan due
5 (10/2) Ecosystems and the Biosphere Govedich Chapter 3
6 (10/9) Community and Population Ecology Wells Chapter 4
7 (10/16) Conservation and Biodiversity Wells Chapter 5
EXAM #1 (Testing center)
8 (10/23) Environmental Hazards and Human Health Govedich Chapter 6
9 (10/30) Water Availability and Use Govedich Chapter 7    Project Progress Report due
10 (11/6) Food and Hunger Wells Chapter 8
11 (11/13) Conventional and Sustainable Agriculture Wells Chapter 9
12 (11/20) Air Pollution, Climate Change and Ozone Depletion Wells Chapter 10
13 (12/4) Conventional and Sustainable Energy Govedich Chapter 11    Final Project due
Exam #2 (Testing center)
14 (12/11) Presentations to the class
FINAL EXAM Thursday, December 17 at 1:00pm

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

Policy on Late assignments: Assignments may be submitted late for partial credit. A total of 20% per day late (beginning the day the assignment was due) will be deducted from the total earned. In other words, four days after the assignment was due the assignment is no longer worth any credit. Exams will be held in the SUU testing center and will be available for one week. Late submissions will be subject to the same policy stated above. 

Attendance Policy

Workload: If you want to be successful in this class (and all of your classes) you should expect to spend between two and three hours outside of class studying/working on class assignments for every hour you spend in the classroom. So, if you are enrolled for 12 credit hours, this means you spend twelve hours in the classroom every week. According to this general rule, you should then be spending between 24 and 36 ADDITIONAL hours every week working on class related work, for a total of 36 to 48 hours each week. This is as much time as a full-time job and should be treated as such! 

Attendance: THIS COURSE IS DESIGNED & INTENDED TO BE COMPLETED FACE-TO-FACE. The condensed nature of this course places significant weight on each class period. We will only be meeting once a week for the entire semester, so attendance is incredibly important. Each week we will be completing in-class assignments, activities, and a field trip. These have the most impact on learning when completed in a group setting with you collaborating and discussing issues with classmates. Therefore, the only way to earn full points is to be present and participating in class. They cannot be made up. Thus, your grade is linked to your participation which is, in turn, linked to your attendance. It has been our experience that students who participate the most typically earn the best grades. This system is our way to encourage active participation.

Excused absences include university sponsored travel or illness. However, in order to be considered excused for illness I must be notified BEFORE class that you will not be attending. ALL other absences will be considered unexcused and participation points will be deducted. 

Come DRESSED APPROPRIATELY we may have outdoor activities. Be prepared for winter, snow, rain, wind, and cold weather.

Course Policies and Information

Course Canvas Site: Canvas is an electronic learning environment where we will post all materials related to this course. This is also where we will post all grades related to this course so you may see where you stand in the course at any time.

Exams: Exams will be a combination of matching/justify, and short essay questions. The questions will focus on analysis and integration of ideas, theories, and data, and how these ideas might be communicated to a non-scientist (interpretation) – NOT rote memorization of facts. The final exam will be cumulative in nature.

Policy on the uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Generative AI tools may be used to brainstorm or check grammar on written assignments, but all analysis, evidence selection, and final writing must be the student’s own; undisclosed AI-generated submissions will be treated as a violation of SUU Policy 6.33, Academic Integrity. AI tools may not be used during quizzes or exams. Students must cite any AI assistance used, consistent with course and university policy.

Treatment of Live Animals/Human Subjects: In this course, we will conduct observations of and experiments using live animals. These animals are to be treated with respect at all times. In addition, any vertebrate animal used in this course is covered by protocols and permits under the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (https://www.suu.edu/sparc/iacuc/). IACUC has strict requirements for the ethical care and use of animals in research and educational settings. Guidelines for animal care set forth by IACUC will be followed at all times. Failure to comply with IACUC guidelines will result in a failing grade for the research project. Students do not have the authority to make decisions regarding proper animal care and use. All decisions should be made in conjunction with the instructor. Projects that require the use of human subjects and will have results presented outside of class must complete Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Human subject research is regulated by a series of foundational documents, state and federal laws and regulations, and relevant university policies (https://www.suu.edu/irb/what-needs-irb.html).

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.