From the Director- Tips for success

The SIE program provides working students with the opportunity to take courses at night. We will do all we can to make your experience successful. There are some things you should be aware of as you embark on this exciting and challenging journey. Please take a moment to read through these tips.

• SIE is part of the University of Maryland College Park undergraduate program in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences. The courses we offer are identical in content and rigor to our daytime courses. SIE courses also follow all of the same rules and guidelines as our daytime courses.

• Academic dishonesty is taken seriously at UM. All of the work you hand in must be your own, even if you worked in a group to gather data or discuss concepts. Copying words from a website or writing a paper together with a classmate constitutes academic dishonesty, as does any other instance in which a student turns in work that is not their own. Any case of suspected academic dishonesty will be turned over to the campus student Honor Council for action. www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/about.html You should expect your instructors and TAs to take steps to minimize opportunities for cheating. Do not be offended by such measures.

• Coursework in SIE takes time and commitment. It is crucially important that you have sufficient time to commit to your courses. Here are some guidelines:
a. If your job requires you to work overtime, travel, or take work home your chances of success in SIE will be lessened. You need time to be in class and time to study and do assigned class work.
b. Attendance in lecture is not mandatory, but you will not do well in a course if you miss lectures.
c. ATTENDENCE IN LAB IS MANDATORY and absences often affect your overall course grade. Lab courses have an attendance requirement. If you miss more than three labs, regardless of reason, you fail the entire course. For example, BSCI230 is both lecture and lab. If you miss four labs you fail the entire course. If you have any questions about attendance check with your instructor or TA, but do not expect the course to make exceptions to the normal rules.

• Math proficiency is crucial for success in science courses. Success in science courses requires proficiency in basic arithmetic and college algebra. If you have not taken a college math course within the last few years you should plan to do so before you start SIE. You can take such a course through UMCP Summer School, or at a community college.

• Take advantage of advising sessions with the Director, Dr. Presson. Academic advising can be very helpful to you in planning curriculum. Dr. Presson can help you decide which courses to take in which sequence, how many courses to take each semester, and when to plan your application to medical, professional, or graduate school. You can talk to Dr. Presson in person, or have a phone conversation if that is more convenient to your schedule. To make an appointment to talk with Dr. Presson call Linda Dalo at 301-405-6892.