To:

Joseph R. Tomasso, Ph.D.

Department of Biology Chair



From:

The Students of Dr. Ott's Spring 2012 Evolution Class (Bio4301.251)



Dr. Jim Ott's Spring 2012 Evolution course (Biology 4301.251) contained several fundamental flaws. The manner in which this class was conducted was unreasonable, and the amount of effort applied and dedication shown by students to learn the material and excel in this class was completely unrelated to assigned grades. Several factors contributing to overall student dissatisfaction are outlined below:



Dr. Ott was unhelpful when students requested assistance understanding difficult concepts; even when asked direct questions he either refused to provide information, or gave answers which were round-about and severely unclear.



Unannounced quizzes administered throughout the semester were extremely difficult to prepare for, and questions seemed to be intentionally ambiguous or difficult to answer correctly. The only possible grades to receive on a quiz were A, D, or F.



Dr. Ott misled students at the beginning of the semester by implying that quizzes were insignificant to final grades and generally for attendance purposes only; however, quiz grades counted for an entire test grade. Quiz grades were unavailable to students until 4 out of 6 quizzes were administered, which left little opportunity for students to improve.



Students were not provided an opportunity to contest grading of questions on exams and quizzes. Even when Dr. Ott conceded that he had erroneously marked quiz answers incorrect, he dismissed the complainants out of hand and refused to update the grades.



Dr. Ott expected students to have a thorough understanding of substantial amounts of material which were completely omitted from lecture because of poor time management.



A sizeable portion of total points on the final exam were based on questions for which the students had severely inadequate preparation. These questions introduced completely novel methods of approaching and solving questions which were not covered or even hinted at in class.



Dr. Ott refused to denote (physically or orally) which answers were marked correct or incorrect on returned tests, which is a crucial study tool upon which student rely for preparation for subsequent exams.



The manner in which this class was implemented reflects poorly upon the professor in question and the Texas State University Biology Department, and is not consistent with the high standards at TSU.



Due to the inequitable management of this class, even the most dedicated and high-achieving students have a poor course GPA. This will force some students to repay financial aid, and some will be prevented from graduating on time. Furthermore, many students must now raise additional funds to retake Evolution at a future time if their cumulative GPA is to accurately reflect their academic efforts. This wastes valuable time and puts undue monetary strain on students in already challenging situations.



We sign this petition requesting action to ensure the grades for the Spring 2012 Biology 4301 class reflect a reasonable distribution curve, to alert the Biology Department of Dr. Ott’s poor handling of this course, and to prevent this calamity from recurring in future semesters.



Signed,

Students of BIO 4301.251





Signatures reflect agreement with all or part of the aforementioned grievance.