In the module ‘Basic Zoological and Botanical Practical Course (ZBG)’ (hereinafter referred to as ZBG), we offer several parallel practical sessions (A, B, C, etc.) alongside the lecture. As we do every year, we need to agree, before the practical sessions begin – that is, during orientation week – on who will attend which session. - For quite a few of you, there may be clashes between individual practical sessions and other courses. To accommodate you in this regard, we are implementing a special allocation procedure designed to minimise potential clashes. It is important that you put together your timetable during Orientation Week and know when you have which modules, as once the final allocation has been made, switching to a specific alternative tutorial slot may be difficult or even impossible.

The Biology Student Body will help you put together your timetable in the tutorial groups during orientation week. They are also your main point of contact when it comes to the organisation of teaching in Biology.

To ensure that places are allocated to the individual tutorial sessions as efficiently and fairly as possible, we use an allocation procedure that has proven very successful so far.

In this process, places in the tutorials are allocated on the basis of a rating scale:

Before the actual allocation takes place, all interested students must submit a personal ranking of all! (see below) tutorials in terms of their timing. The tutorial with the most convenient time is given the lowest ranking number (1), whilst the least convenient is given the highest ranking number (5). We endeavour to allocate to everyone the tutorial session they selected with ranking number 1.

If there are clashes with other courses, you must specify which courses these clashes are with; otherwise, this will not be taken into account during allocation. Hardship cases (e.g. childcare, caregiving, etc.), on the other hand, will be given special consideration, but must be brought to my attention before the final allocation is made. Please note that travelling home does not count as a hardship case.

All first-year students can submit their ranking during Orientation Week in their respective tutor groups or send it to me directly (). All others (third-year students, etc.) must send me their ranking by email before Orientation Week.

I will evaluate the rankings for the tutorial sessions on the Wednesday of orientation week from 6.00 pm. All those interested must have submitted their rankings by then. We will try to take everyone’s preferences into account, but in cases of doubt, the decision will be made by drawing lots. For practical reasons, we must try to achieve an even distribution across all courses.

Note 1: All! tutorial sessions must be assigned a ranking number. In the past, it has repeatedly happened that quite a few participants failed to rank some tutorial sessions, which then led to confusion during the subsequent allocation process. We will therefore sort and allocate each participant’s preferences from the least preferred to the most preferred tutorial session. To give an example of our approach: suppose a ranking is only submitted for sessions B (1) and E (2), then I will assign the less preferred session the priority number 5 (session E), the more preferred session the priority number 4 (session B), and fill the rest at random based on least preference. This gives a clear advantage to those participants who have specified a ranking number for all tutorial sessions, as they are considered first during allocation.

Note 2: All course participants must register as attendees for the lecture in StudIP before the final allocation. (This is best done in the groups with the help of the tutors.) Registration is important for at least two reasons: (1) registration confirms that you are enrolled in StudIP and can therefore be added to the tutorials by me at a later date, (2) I only make learning materials available via the lecture. If, for any reason, you are unable to register, please send me an email (). It would also be helpful if you could provisionally register for the tutorials. This registration is not binding and can be changed after the final allocation, but it makes my work much easier.

The final allocation will usually take place on the Thursday of Orientation Week in Lecture Theatre W32-0-005 (Experimental Lecture Theatre). Please contact the Biology student body for the exact date. Everyone wishing to take part in the ‘Basic Zoological and Botanical Practical Course (ZBG)’ module should attend this joint meeting or send a representative. This applies in particular to third-semester students, for whom no preferential treatment can be given.

I will then announce the allocation to the individual practical sessions. Should any problems arise, these will be resolved on the spot. Only those who are present or represented will still be able to influence the allocation. This means there is still an opportunity to swap a practical session if you can find someone to swap with. After that, the allocation will be finalised and I will update the practical session lists on StudIP.

Following the allocation, further information will be provided on the structure of the lecture, the tutorials (dissection kit, drawing materials) and the written exam.

See you then,

Yours, Wilko Ahlrichs

Download Excel spreadsheet: Course ranking
(Please send this file, with your ranking completed, to wilko.ahlrichs@uol.de)