Course ID: PATH 4300/6300 Clinical Plant Pathology

Name of Instructor: Jean Williams-Woodward

Semester and Year Syllabus is for: Spring 2003

Clinical Plant Pathology (PATH 4300/6300) is a non-traditional course that involves hands-on, one-on-one instruction between students and the instructor on laboratory methods to diagnose plant diseases. Disease specimens examined during the course will comprise of plant samples submitted to the Extension Plant Pathology Plant Disease Clinic in Athens, as well as samples provided by the instructor.

Students will examine and provide disease management recommendations for a minimum of 60 plant disease samples per semester. Diagnostic techniques, plant disease and insect reference material, and control recommendations will be covered in class. Although time within class will be available to work on the clinical reports, students are expected to complete the clinical reports for each sample outside of class.

Meeting Time: The course meets 1 day per week for a 3-hour block of time. The time and day of each class will be decided upon by the instructor and enrolled students to accommodate class schedules at the beginning of each semester. The course meets in the Plant Disease Clinic, 2405 Miller Plant Sciences Bldg.

Spring 2003 scheduled class times are Mondays from 8:30 to 11:30 AM.

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor is required to enroll in this course. Students may re-enroll in the course for up to 6-hours of credit. Diagnosis and Management of Plant Diseases (PATH 4280/6280) is a prerequisite for this course. Only in exceptional cases will the prerequisite be overridden to allow student enrollment.

Required course material: There is no required textbook for the course. Reference material is available for student use within the Plant Disease Clinic in Athens. Students are able to use the reference material during regular work hours (Monday ö Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM). No reference material is permitted to leave the Plant Disease Clinic as this material is used on a regular basis for regular clinic operation.

Attendance Policy: Students are required to attend and participate in each class period. Students can continue to work on assigned samples outside of the scheduled class period, but instructor support may not be available at that time depending upon the instructor's schedule. No unexcused absences will be tolerated due to the nature of this laboratory course. A student may be withdrawn from the course at the discretion of the instructor if unexcused absences occur. Only excused absences will be permitted to make-up missed class periods, however, instructor support and sample quality cannot be guaranteed.

Grading policy: Students will be graded (A-F) on the clinical reports for each disease sample evaluated, as well as a 4-hour oral final exam. Class participation will account for 10% of the student's grade. Clinical reports will be collected twice during the semester and graded based upon correctness of sample diagnosis and pathogen biology and control recommendation content. The final exam consists of independent student evaluation of five to six disease samples for which the student must diagnose the each sample and be able to orally defend their diagnosis based upon pathogen characteristics and biology.

ACADEMIC HONOR STATEMENT:

Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity in every phase of their academic careers. The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe and ignorance is not an acceptable defense. Penalties of academic dishonesty:

• a notation in your transcript
• suspension for a semester
• permanent expulsion