College of the Siskiyous

BIO 0891 - Biology Preparation

Online Course Information

Summer 2019 (Section #5006) - 6/3 - 7/3

Summer 2019 (Section #5007) - 8/17 - 8/25

Welcome! BIO 0891 – Biology Preparation - is a one-unit prerequisite course that covers the basic biological concepts necessary to succeed in BIO 2600 – Microbiology, and BIO 2800 – Human Physiology. The information here will be repeated once you are in Canvas.

Biology Preparation is designed solely to be the prerequisite to the Microbiology and Physiology courses for the Health Careers students. That means that everything in this short course is essential for your success in those courses. It is also designed so that - if you already possess that knowledge - you will test out of BIO 0891 very quickly, with the knowledge that you are indeed ready for the course.

There are 3 pieces within BIO 0891: Basic Science, Basic Chemistry and Basic Cell. For each section, there is a set of objectives, reading assignments from the text, and online activities. You will take the Science Exit Quiz when you think you are ready. If you pass that first try, you will move on to the next section. If you do not pass that first attempt you will be able to re-take the quiz (different questions - same material) until you pass it. The course will culminate in a cumulative final, which you need to pass to complete the course.


Answer: You can start working on the course as soon as it opens up.  I will be sending an announcement through Canvas (to the email you list when you register) when the site is ready to go.  The only requirement is that you finish by the date your section ends.


Question: "I already have some science classes, can I get the BIO 0891 prerequisite waived?"

Answer: We encourage everyone to take the course, regardless of their previous science coursework. The reason is pretty simple. Students who think they already know all the basics of BIO 0891 fall into two groups. The first group consists of those who are right about themselves - they do indeed know everything they need to know. When this group takes the course they finish in just a couple of hours, with the knowledge that they indeed were already well prepared. Generally, these students appreciate that they had a review and are happy they took the course. The second group consists of those who - after completing the course - report back to us something like "I thought I was ready, but I was weak on the types of chemical bonds" or "I never really understood Membrane Transport. If that is going to be essential for understanding the concepts (it is) then I am really glad I took the course." or... So, the bottom line is - if you take the course and it turns out that you did not really need to, all it cost you was a couple of hours (see the question above about the time commitments) and you find out that you are indeed prepared. And if it takes more time than a couple of hours - that is an indication that you needed the review! So, taking the course is a win-win. In a very few cases we will waive the prerequisite. If you think you should be one of them you should contact Dave Clarke in the Biology Department.

Question: "Will this count as a GE class, or even as a survey of biology, if that is what I am interested in?"

Answer: This is not in any way, any where, a general education class. It will not count any where as a general education class, nor will it transfer to any four year college. Since the scope is limited to those three areas noted above and below, it is not even a good survey of biology.


Answer: There are no assignments to be turned in, no papers to write, no mandatory discussion groups, no extra reading assignments. There are three sections (Basic Science, Basic Chemistry, and Basic Cell) and each section is organized identically. For each section there is a set of objectives, reading assignments from the text, online material, and some practice quizzes. When you think you are ready, you take an exit quiz (all multiple choice questions). When you pass, you move on to the next section. If you do not pass the first attempt at the exit quiz, you will get more attempts. When you have passed the last exit quiz (Cell) you are ready to take the final. There is more detailed information about how this works once you get into the course.

Question: "How do I register for BIO 2600 or BIO 2800 once I have signed up for BIO 0891?"

Answer: Registering for the prerequisite allows you to provisionally register for the subsequent course. If you are registering in person there will not be a problem. The person helping you at the counter will make it work.

If you are registering online, the system should be able to see that you are taking Biology Preperation and allow you to provisionally register for your Microbiology or Physiology. First, register for your BIO 0891, then register for your other class (the system should see that you have registered for BIO 0891 and should let you in).

If the system has trouble with that, close your COS account, reopen it and try again. If the system still does not let you in after trying both of these steps, call the counseling office at (530) 938-5353 and explain to them that you have registered for BIO 0891 and need someone to confirm your presence in that class and make the computer change which will allow you to enroll in BIO 2600 or BIO 2800. Then, after they have made the change, you can go back into the online registration and complete your registration.

A last note: Biology Preperation is not a corequisite for BIO 2600 and BIO 2800, it is a prerequisite, and needs to be completed before the other class. If you don’t complete the class in the summer, you’ll be dis-enrolled from the fall Microbiology or Human Physiology class.


Canvas Login