Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce students to both the biological and societal aspects of psychoactive drugs. Initially the general mechanisms of drug action will be examined, followed by a focus on specific classes of drugs. Current and historical uses of and attitudes towards drugs will be addressed. Societal and cultural differences will also be noted. Suitable for students interested in furthering their understanding of psychoactive drugs and those interested in working with populations recovering from or at risk for drug problems.

Tests and Grading:

You are responsible for all material covered in the text and in the lectures, be sure to read the text and the online lectures that are provided.  Occasionally you will also be asked to read or find information on websites. As indicated on the schedule, there will be quizzes, written assignments, three exams, and a final.  You will also earn points by participating in an online discussion. This discussion work is required - and it is a considerable portion of your grade (you earn 1 point per posting for a possible total of 45 points).  All work will be done online, although you may choose to come in for exams. Exams will be timed and are closed book and closed notes. The clock will serve as your proctor. If a "clock proctor" makes you nervous, please come in for the exam. I am more than happy to make plans with you individually, and I will also try and have some scheduled exam days.  Exams I, II, and III are each worth 65 points and will each consist of 50 multiple-choice (mc) questions (each worth 1 point) and 15 points worth of short-answer questions (questions will have various point values). Penalties apply if the time limit is exceeded - points will be lost at a rate of at least 1-point per minute.

The final exam is cumulative (it covers all chapters that we cover) and is worth 100 points (80 mc and 20 points worth of short-answer questions). You will have 90 minutes to complete the final. The final is cumulative so that you can always save yourself if there are problems early on in the semester - if you come in for a proctored final, I will give you the grade you earn on the final or your grade based on all of your work (including the final). Thus, if something goes horribly wrong the night before the one or two of your exams, you can still come in and get an A on the final and an A in the course. 

Note that prior to taking the exams you have an "exam entry". This asks you to agree to the terms of the exam. This must be completed, submitted, and scored in order for you to access the exam. If you are trying to get to the exam and it is not there, but you have completed the entry, check to see that the exam entry was graded. This is a common problem. PLEASE read the WebCT notes thoroughly - they provide you with lots of useful information.

For each chapter covered, you have text readings, a lecture, a quiz, and a written assignment. At times, I have provided additional sources of information, as well as additional notes. You will find the written assignment for a given chapter in Coursework, right after the lecture for the chapter. All of your work will be submitted in the Assignments section. Note that you will not be able to submit the Written Assignment for a chapter until the associated quiz has been completed and graded. All of this is explained in the "START HERE" document. Additional important information can be found in "WebCT Notes". I have worked hard to give you all that you need to work independently. I am here and I am watching, but you should not get held up due to anything that you need me to do. All work must be done in order - if you have not completed the quiz for chapter 1, you can't do the quiz for chapter 2, and so on. There is a bonus for the on time submission of work - an additional point will be earned on written assignments submitted by 5pm of the due date. Once the work for a given chapter is 72 hours late, points will be deducted at a rate of 1 point per day from the Written Assignment. Once an assignment is so far past due that it makes no sense to do it, it will be made unavailable. 

Discussion forums will be available for 1-2 weeks, depending on the nature of the topic and the extent of student participation. Please feel free to start a new topic within an existing forum - I can then move it to be a new forum on its own.

GRADING SCHEME