1. Attendance
   1. You are expected to attend all lectures, labs, and field trips. If you are unable to attend class, you are expected to email Professor Perl or Professor Begum ahead of time. 
   2. If you miss more than two classes (even with excused absences) you must reach out to Professor Perl to meet and discuss accommodations. 
   3. Each unexcused absence will deduct 10 points from your grade. Note that 4 unexcused absences will result in a non-passing grade. 

1. Reading
   1. You are expected to complete all assigned readings before the class they are due. You are expected to spend at least 2-3 hours reading for this course every week. 
   2. Reading is essential for this, and all courses. Do not let reading become a lost art!

1. Blackboard Discussion Boards and Quizzes
   1. Blackboard is an online class management tool provided by CUNY. There, we will post reading material, messages to the class, important upcoming deadlines, send emails, etc.
   2. This will be our primary means of communicating with the class outside of our scheduled meetings. You are responsible for logging in to Blackboard and checking for updates.
   3. You will be asked to hand in several short writing responses on Blackboard by midnight on Saturday (or two days) before the next lecture class. 
   4. Two quizzes will be assigned on Blackboard to help you stay on top of course content. 
   5. Your interests and questions are essential for this course. Your writing will help guide discussions and activities and may also be used to create the final exam. 

1. Respect
   1. It is a privilege to be in an institution of higher education. You are expected to treat everyone, including yourself, with the utmost respect. As such, you are expected to put time and effort into all the work you do in this course, and to know what constitutes academic integrity (i.e., cheating and plagiarism of any kind is disrespectful to yourself and others, and will not be tolerated). 
   2. When someone is speaking in class, please look at the speaker, listen attentively, and respond with questions or comments. 
   3. Texting, scrolling, or looking at screens while classmates or professors are talking is disrespectful and will not be tolerated. 10 points will be taken off your grade each time this occurs.  
   4. Communication is key to learning and success in college. You are expected to participate actively in class, and to stay on top of communication via email and Blackboard outside of class. 
   5. If you face any challenges with course material or with circumstances in life that might impact your attendance or ability to stay up to date with reading and assignments, it is imperative that you communicate with your professors. Please write respectful and formal emails. We will do everything we can to support you in ensuring your success in the course. This is our job. But we can only do so in response to your proactive communication. 

1. Field Trips and Plumb Beach Presentation
   1. There will be a mandatory field trip to Plumb Beach in Brooklyn (precise date TBD by weather and tides). You must attend. We will depart Brooklyn College at 9:30 AM and return by 4:00 PM (please arrive early). 
   2. During this field trip, you will be collecting data to assess the impacts beach erosion and erosion control measures on sensitive coastal habitat. 
   3. Again, this field trip is an essential component of the course and is mandatory. If you have a schedule conflict, you MUST discuss this with me within the first two weeks of the semester.
   4. For the final project, each group will assume the role of an environmental consulting firm and present their results from the field investigation at Plumb Beach. Though this is a group presentation, each group member will be assigned an individual grade based on the quality of their contributions to the final product. 

1. Creative Final Project
   1. In lieu of a midterm, you will have the opportunity to work on a creative final project. The purpose of this project is for you to conduct some research on a topic of interest to you, and to find a creative way of sharing the information with others. 
   2. First, consider: what topics, issues, or solutions to environmental issues are most interesting to you? This can be something we covered in class, or something we did not. 
   3. Second, search the internet, academic journals, books, etc. to learn as much as you can about this topic. 
   4. Third, think about ways you can share this important information with others. What would be a meaningful and engaging way to teach others about this? Memes? Videos? Songs? Zines? Visual images? Concept maps? Choose any form that is interesting to you. If you prefer to write a standard report, this is fine, but please do your best to write something you would want other people to read (perhaps you should submit it to a newspaper, a journal, even a Brooklyn College publication?). 
   5. Finally, feel free to collaborate with your peers, but make sure everyone has their own final product. Reach out to Professor Perl with questions or for feedback at any point along the way. 
   6. Be prepared to share your final project with the class on May 8. 

1. Grading

1. 20% Blackboard Writing Assignments / Quizzes
2. 15% Creative Final Project
3. 15% Cumulative Final Exam
4. 50% Lab assignments, including attendance and final presentation 

Your letter grade will be based on your final cumulative points as follows:

A+ (98 – 100), A (93 – <98), A- (90 – <93), B+ (87 – <90), B (83 – <87), B- (80 – <83), C+ (77 – <80), C (73 – <76), C- (70 – <73), D+ (67 – <70), D (63 – <67), D- (60 – 63), F (<60)