Bolen and Robinson's Wildlife Ecology and Management is the first Wildlife Management text I have seen that parallels my thoughts for teaching this course. This is a high quality text that you should be able to use as a reference for years to come. Lecture topics follow the text reasonably closely but will not duplicate the text very much. Instead, my lectures complement the text and emphasize points that Robinson and Bolen treat lightly. When I lecture on a topic, I assume that you have already read the assigned chapters.
    Leopold's A Sand County Almanac is a classic of American literature and is one of those books one can read and reread and reread for sheer pleasure. Leopold, however, had many lessons to teach in the pages of this book, so pay attention. Leopold was a skilled observer and wildlife ecologist. Indeed, he established the field and wrote the first text on wildlife management. I expect that you will enjoy A Sand County Almanac but I also expect you to glean from its pages considerable information on wildlife ecology.

EXAMS and GRADES
    You may, as a class, suggest a system for grading or a system of assignments that you think more fair than the one I have devised. If you do not suggest otherwise, we shall do the following.
    We shall have 5 scheduled, mid-semester quizzes that will take about 20 minutes each and are scheduled at approximately 2-week intervals. These quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer and essay questions. You will take each quiz during the 1st half of class on the scheduled day and during the 2nd half you will grade your own quiz. I shall give you the correct answers for multiple choice, short answer and fill-in-the-blank type questions and we shall discuss in class, if necessary, whether questionable answers should receive credit. On each quiz day you must have a pen for taking the test and a pencil for grading. At the end of class you will turn in your quizzes and I shall check your grading. Wherever you have incorrectly taken off too many points, I shall give you credit. Wherever you have incorrectly not taken points off, I shall double the number of points lost. Therefore, you will be served well by grading your quizzes correctly.
    Grading for quizes will usually be curved with the mean score on the quiz equal to a C. If the mean is 75% or greater, however, I shall grade on a 90-100% = A, 80-90% = B, etc., scale. I do not count the worst of your 5 mid-semester quizes. Students may make up quizes missed due to illness, conflicts with other courses, or other legitimate reasons. You must see me ahead of time to gain permission to miss a quiz (except for quizes missed due to illness). A single, cummulative make-up quiz will be given the last day of class for all students who gained the instructor's approval for missing a quiz.
    At random times during the semester you will be asked to write the answer to a question during the first or last 10 minutes of class or to turn in an assignment at the beginning of the next class period. You will also be given homework assignments periodically. As with the scheduled quizzes, I shall discard your lowest grade from these unscheduled assignments but missed pop-assignments can not be made up. I shall grade these assignments as 0 (missing), and then --, through , to ++. If your average equals a , your grade will be unaffected. If your average is +, then your quiz grades will be increased by 5%. If your average is ++, then your quiz grades will be increased by 10%. Similarly, if your average is - or --, your quiz grades will be lowered by 5 or 10%.
    The final will be computer graded, multiple choice questions. Copies of old finals will be available. Bring a blank sheet of paper to the final. If you wish to explain an answer and, thereby, possibly get partial credit, write the explanation on that blank sheet of paper (remember to put your name on it), and I will adjust your grade if appropriate.
    You can gain extra credit through many approaches. I am open to your suggestions. Some students in the past have written papers of different sorts. A standard method is to contribute potential questions for the final. Many students have come with novel ideas unrelated to writing or testing. Think of something, then bounce the idea off me.
    Your scheduled mid-semester quizes will count 65% and your final exam 35% of your final grade.

OTHER TOPICS
    Attendance is not mandatory but, in past years, those students who have missed lectures did not receive good grades because they had difficulty with quizes. Students who attend all classes inevitably make better grades than students who miss many.
    I am available most afternoons and Tuesday and Thursday mornings in my office. Appointments are not necessary; just stop by. Students should not feel restricted to come by my office only during specified hours. If I am in my office I shall either be delighted to talk to you right away or I shall be happy to set an appointment when I can talk to you.
    NCSU has an honor code. NCSU takes its honor code seriously and you are expected to adhere to the Honor Code.

Revised 23/8/6