Instructor Information

Name:

Mary G. Puccini

Email:

mary.puccini@hccs.edu until Blackboard accounts are ready.

Office Hours:

Immediately before or after class or by appointment.

Biography:

I have taught many years at HCC as an adjunct and eventually as a full-time instructor in the traditional and online setting. I have also taught at the University of Houston. I enjoy teaching and am always open to suggestions.

Policies

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
HCCS Disability Support Service states: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office. Students who are requesting special testing accommodations must first contact John Reno at john.reno@hccs.edu or call him at 713/718-6165.

Course Repeaters
Students who repeat a course for a third time or more will be charged a tuition/fee increase of $50/credit hour at HCCS and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please contact your counselor or me before withdrawing or if you are not receiving passing grades.

Official Withdrawal Policy:� An Instructor will no longer give any student a grade of “W” after the official drop date. The Texas Legislature passed a law limiting first time entering freshmen to no more than SIX total course withdrawals throughout their educational career in obtaining a certificate and/or degree.�

Absences/Lateness/Grade
Your grade is your responsibility. If you stop coming to class, but do not withdraw yourself, you will get an "F." See the current semester's course calendar for the last day for administrative and student withdrawals. HCCS policy for faculty states that the instructor may administratively drop any student missing 12.5% of class time. Missing three (3) classes for sections that meet once a week is equivalent to 12.5% or more of class time. Missing six (6) classes for sections that meet twice a week is equivalent to 12.5% or more of class time. Being late to class or leaving early will be recorded. See Student Handbook for more details on class attendance.

Your Grade
Your grade is your responsibility. I CANNOT withdraw any student at the end of the semester. If you received a grade for any exam or project, but simply stop coming to class you will receive the grade that you earned according to the total points you accumulated. If you do not show up to take the Final Exam, you will get a "0" for your final exam grade and that grade will be plugged into the final grade calculation. If you have arranged with me to receive an "I" in the course to due an emergency preventing you from finishing one test or one assignment, you will have one semester to complete your grade for the course. All “I” grades convert to “F” at the end of the next semester.

Testing
If you arrive late for an exam, you will have only the time remaining from the official start of the exam. THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP EXAMS for any reason. There are four (4) exams for this course; your highest three (3) scores on the four exams will go toward your grade. If you have an “A” average in this course going into the final, you are exempt from the comprehensive final exam. On test days, once someone has finished the exam, no other student may enter and start that exam. If you are late for class on a test day, you may be prohibited from taking the test. You may NOT use your cell phone as a calculator during the any exam. Bring your own calculator to each exam.

Student Work/Academic Honesty
Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by the college system against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Penalties can include a grade of “0” or “F” on the particular assignment, failure in the course, academic probation or even dismissal from the college.” (See student Handbook for further details.) All answers to the projects will be original (not copied) and typed. If you are using a reference from the text, put it in quotes and limit it to one sentence.

Classroom Etiquette
To avoid disruption in the classroom, all pagers and cell phones must be set on the silent mode. You may not take calls during class. If you exit the room to take a call, bring your books with you so that you can leave the building after your call. There is no eating or drinking, except water, during class.

Textbooks

Required reading:

Personal Nutrition , Marie Boyle and Sara Long, SIXTH Edition.  If you buy the textbook at the HCCS central campus bookstore, it will come with a supplementary handout on Vitamins and Minerals.

If you don't have the textbook yet, get moving! Textbook information and link to bookstore is http://hccs.bkstore.com

Course Objectives

By the end of the semester, I expect you to be able to:

1. Critique a publication for nutritional validity.
2. Be aware of the information contained on food labels and how to use this information in evaluating the product.
3. Be knowledgeable of the different roles of vitamins and minerals and why they are important to overall health.
4. Know how antioxidants and phytochemicals are related and what role they play in nutrition and health.
5. Come to a conclusion about what role, if any, supplements should play in your own food plan.
6. Know how the body reacts under feasting, fasting, and extended fasting situations.
7. Explain the role of nutrition in exercise performance.
8. Explain the role of nutrition in disease promotion and prevention.

Grade Breakdown

:

Your best three exam scores out of four given: 75%

Nutrition Evaluation Answer Sheet: 12.5%

Diet Analysis Project 12.5%

Exams

There will be four exams--three mid-terms and a final. The mid-terms will be a combination of multiple-choice, and short answer/essay. They will be given in class. The Final Exam is comprehensive. It will have multiple-choice and essay questions.

:

Projects

Diet Analysis Project and Nutrition Evaluation Project:

There are two individual projects: a Diet Analysis Project and The Nutrition Evaluation Project. You will print out the handouts necessary to complete these projects from your WebCT course shell. I will also give instructions on how to complete these projects in class. Be sure to attend those classes. We will meet in the Biology Department Computer Lab to do the first half of the Diet Analysis Project. The second half you will do at home. These projects will be handed in to me on or before the due date. They will be well-written and typed. If you miss the class day on which they are due, then they will be considered late and you will receive a deduction. If they are handed in to the Biology Department office on their due date instead of to me personally during class, they will be considered late and you will receive a deduction.

Final Words

HCC expects that all students to graduate from its programs with the following competencies: reading, writing, computer literacy, listening and speaking. I am committed to making this happen. During the course of the semester, you will not only be reading from the text, listening to my lectures, writing essays, and presenting to the class; you will be using the computer to complete the Diet Analysis Program and to access Blackboard. Teaching nutrition is the vehicle I use to help you achieve these core competencies.