November 1, 1999

Department of Biology and Life Sciences - SACS (DRAFT)

§ Mission Statement

The Department of Biology and Life Sciences is dedicated to the training of natural and life scientists in response to local, state, regional and national needs. Departmental human and fiscal resources, including its facilities and equipment are employed to provide research, education and training programs of such quality as to ensure a scientifically competent and technically qualified as well as ethnically diverse workforce responsible for ensuring State and National ecosystem health, fisheries sustainability, environmental quality and continual professional development.

§ Goals:

Departmental programs are designed to:

1. Improve the physical environment supportive of excellence in teaching and research.

2. Improve and promote strategies for effective student recruitment, retention and advisement

3. Develop and implement new degree programs including Masters (M.S.) in Marine Science, Environmental Studies and Applied Biology as well as a B.S degree program in biotechnology.

4. Expand the technology-based teaching and research infrastructure.

5. Encourage, support and promote faculty and student scholarship through grant acquisition, research and publications

6. Promote faculty development especially in collaborative programs in public service/community outreach, sabbatical leaves and opportunities for post-doctoral scholarships.

§ Objectives

Overall objectives of departmental activities are focused on the creation and sustenance of a learning community (of students and faculty) in order for community members to:

1. Be active participants in the learning process.

2. Enhance a sense of community by emphasizing cooperation (collaboration) and purpose.

3. Base our efforts to succeed on a sense of shared responsibility and values.

4. Learn how we can construct knowledge and simultaneously develop coherence from divergent views of reality.

5. Emphasize the deep interconnection and interaction between learning and research.

6. Study each discipline (e.g. biology) in depth while simultaneously examining how different disciplines complement one another.

7. Promote the trust necessary to confront controversial issues and shared interests among faculty and students.

8. Develop reading, writing, computing and thinking as activities that assist individuals in becoming more effective in their intellectual pursuits; and

9. Expand the repertoire of thinking and learning skills of both faculty and students.

§ Strategic Plan

Anticipated changes for the next five years?

Programs

1. Planning and implementation of new programs in Biotechnology (B.S.), and M.S. programs in Marine Science and Environmental Science

2. Implementation of an integrated Pre-Professional program that will enhance the acceptance rate into medical and professional programs. This will include focused advising, interviews and tutorials to increase student preparation.

3. Increased level of funding for research among department faculty.

4. Development of a Biology-business program to provide training for graduates in the pharmaceutical industry. This will entail a focused program providing the core major in biology and a minor in business.

Staffing

1. At least two full-time technical support staff person to provide laboratory support and maintenance for faculty to facilitate faculty research and instruction.

2. Increased staffing will be needed to provide graduate level instruction in Marine Science and Environmental Science graduate programs.

3. At least five new faculty will be needed to provide adequate instruction for graduate programs and increased enrollment.

4. Replacement of retiring faculty with appropriately trained faculty in new programs.

Facilities

1. Badly needed is the repair and renovation of the existing D/G building.

2. The Drew-Griffith Annex should be completed by the Fall of 2001.This will provide critically needed laboratory space for departmental instruction. New equipment for these laboratories must be obtained.

§ Assessment Process/Instruments in place:

1. Assessment of Student Achievement:

Students are required to take a standardized Exit Examination that covers material from all required courses in the major. In addition, instructors use pre-and post -tests to assess student achievement. It is being debated if biology majors should be required to take the GRE exam instead of internally prepared exam to exit. Students planning to enter medical schools take the MCAT exam.

§ Data Sources to Assess Student Achievement and Program Effectiveness:

1. Exit Examination scores

2. Student Placement

3. Student participants engaged in program related research or research related career occupations within 2 years after graduation

4. Student internships and/or mentorships

5. Grants and Contracts

§ Use of Assessment Data:

Course contents/emphasis may be altered based on perceived needs; inclusion in courses of the latest technology; procedures and equipment available; increase the network of professional contacts by faculty.

§ Assessment Process/Instruments in planning stage:

State 1: All students who major in biology and life sciences will be required to pass an objective departmental exit examination. The exit examination consists of one hundred multiple-choice questions in two sections (A and B). Section A with fifty questions will cover the required core courses that all students take; Section B with fifty questions will cover content of the concentrations in the program. Students must pass the examination in order to graduate. Students who fail the examination are re-tested following workshops and/or meetings with the academic advisor.

Stage 2: A capstone course will be developed to make u the assessment routine for the program. All graduating seniors will be required to take the capstone course. The departmental exit examination will become part of the capstone course. Students must pass the capstone course in order to graduate. BIOL 4930-Modern Trends in Biology course will be modified and expanded as a capstone course. The outlines of the capstone course will also include:

A) Cell and molecular biology

B) Developmental Biology, Genetics

C) Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity

D) Plant and Animal Biology (Physiology)

E) Behavior and Ecology

F) Human Population Concerns

G) Overview and Review