Queensborough Community College
ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW
RESPONSE AND ACTION PLAN FOR DEGREE PROGRAMS
Program reviewed:
Health Sciences (HS1)
Date of site visit:
May 9-11, 2011
QCC Review Committee:
Dr. Urszula Golebiewska
Dr. Bryn Mader
Dr. Andrew Nguyen
QCC Department Chair
Dr. Mel Gorelick
Administrative Support:
Dr. Arthur Corradetti
External Reviewers:
Dr. Stuart Chaskes, SUNY Farmingdale
Dr. Kerry Lutz, SUNY Farmingdale
Report to be presented to the Vice President for Academic Affairs
1.
Corrections to reviewers’ report
Under “VI. Instructional and Student Support Resources,” Brian Kerr is mistakenly
referred to as the director of the Counseling Center rather than of Academic Advisement
(page 3). In the same section, the Student Learning Center is mistakenly referred to as the
Technology Learning Center (page 3).
Under “Suggestions,” number 6, it is stated that the articulation agreements in the college
catalog imply that “students will obtain a professional degree after completion of the
bachelor’s program” (page 7). It is unclear where this is implied. Nevertheless, in one
case, the college catalog should be revised to indicate that for Physical Therapy the
doctorate is the terminal degree.
In the same section, number 7, it stated erroneously that many of the Health Sciences
curricula “do not require a second semester of a dual semester course” (page 8). On the
contrary, every track within the degree program requires both semesters of a dual
semester course.
2. Major conclusions of academic program review
Program Strengths
Enrollment in the Queensborough Community College (QCC) Health Science program
has steadily increased during the last three years. Even though QCC is an open
admissions institution, it must be acknowledged that many students entering a demanding
science program for the first time may not be mentally, emotionally, or academically
prepared for the rigors of such study. Fortunately, recent data indicate that the incoming
class of students is more prepared than ever—97% of students have GPAs between 2.0
and 4.0 compared to the previous five years in which only 67% of students had GPAs in
this same range. One of the major tasks of the department is to retain these students and
ensure that they graduate from the Health Science program in a timely manner.
One of the great strengths of the Health Science Program is the wide diversity of Health
Science sub-disciplines that students are able to pursue as a course of study. With ten
formal articulations ranging across the Health Science field, the QCC program is fairly
unique among local community colleges. Further, as an A.S. degree, the program helps to
establish a curricular niche that is distinct from the offerings of most other local
community colleges.
Another strength of the program is that the Department of Biological Sciences and
Geology places a strong emphasis on pedagogy, helping to ensure the excellence of the
program and that all students receive the best possible instruction. Funds are available for
faculty to attend conferences focused on educational techniques, and the department has
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invested in the development of a “smart” classroom to allow faculty to explore innovative
pedagogical techniques using recently developed technology.
Program Weaknesses
Like most transfer programs at QCC, the retention rate for Health Sciences is low. The
department is working to bolster retention rates by enhancing instruction (through
workshops and service learning programs), providing tutoring, and ensuring that faculty
members are available during regularly scheduled office hours to assist students with
their work.
The recent effort at QCC to routinely assess core courses such as General Biology (BI201 and BI-202) should help with retention. Over half of the Health Science students who
took General Biology in fall 2009 received a letter grade that was below C. Assessment
will allow faculty members to identify strengths and weakness in the course curriculum
and to adjust the subject matter to meet the official course goals and objectives. The
department has an enrichment program that helps to enhance the performance of the more
serious students, and special tutoring sessions are available for the weaker students, but it
would be desirable to develop ways to better assist the average student without
compromising the academic quality of the course
The low graduation rate of the program is of potential concern but may not accurately
reflect its overall success. In the past, the low graduation rate was usually attributed to a
lack of preparedness on the part of many QCC students. As indicated above, however,
recent data suggest that this is currently much less of a problem. Instead, the low
graduation rate may reflect a tendency for students to transfer to senior colleges or other
institutions before they can graduate from QCC (after only one year or even one
semester). Many students prefer to transfer as soon as they can gain admission into other
programs since there is limited space at four-year schools, and the articulation
agreements do not guarantee entrance.
Finally, existing articulations need to be reviewed. Many of them were signed many
years ago and may no longer be valid.
Recommendations
The review committee made the following recommendations for the Health Sciences
program:
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Articulation agreements should be updated and revised.
The departmental Web page should be updated and include information about the
program, articulation agreements, transfer options, and job opportunities.
Assessment of the BI 201/202 (General Biology) courses should be completed.
Institutional Research should work on tracking student performance for those who
transfer prior to the completion of the program.
Update technology in the classroom, specifically computers and teaching
microscopes in the BI 301/302 (Anatomy and Physiology) laboratories.
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3.
Major conclusions of external reviewers
Program strengths
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The Biological Sciences and Geology Department at QCC maintains high standards,
the faculty and staff are excellent, and students are receiving a high quality education.
The Biology laboratories have computer capabilities and are well equipped with
microscopes, white boards/blackboards and smart rooms.
There are many models for students to use in the Anatomy and Physiology
laboratories. The tutoring center has a duplicate set of models for students.
The site team was extremely impressed by the research that was performed by the
faculty and the students.
Equipment for performing research is adequate.
The amount of grant money from outside agencies such as NIH and NSF is very
substantial. Some four-year departments have less research funding.
There are excellent opportunities for Biology, Health Sciences and Environmental
Health students to complete an internship at QCC. The department has both research
internships as well as shadowing internships.
The cooperation between Biological Sciences and Geology and Nursing and
Chemistry appears to be excellent.
Health Science students are required to complete at least one chemistry course.
Chemistry and Biology courses and programs are interlinked, and the standards and
facilities of the Chemistry department are very high and outstanding. Chemistry
student laboratories are excellent. The research equipment that the Chemistry
department owns is truly outstanding even for a four-year college. Chemistry faculty
and staff are excellent.
The new Biotechnology course in Molecular Biology (BI-453) introduces cuttingedge technology to students in the new Biotechnology program.
There is wide diversity of teaching methodology employed by the Biology
department.
The site team received favorable student comments toward Biology courses and
Nursing students who have taken Biology courses.
The assessment area of the Biology self-study confirms that student learning is
occurring in the biology courses
Academic Advisement provides excellent support to students.
The Library is extremely well used by students; students can use a Library laptop up
to two hours; the library is not heavily utilized on Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
The Academic Computing Center is well run and very busy.
The Campus Writing Center was busy when visited. It is a plus that the students are
required to successfully complete two writing-intensive courses to graduate.
The Student Learning Center employed several graduates of BS programs as tutors.
The tutoring staff has excellent credentials, and tutoring was one on one or in small
groups. Occasionally, the Anatomy and Physiology groups could be up to 15 to 20
students. The presence of models to review/teaching A & P is a large plus.
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Program weaknesses
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The course numbering system for many departments needs to be simplified and
follow traditional standards.
Many of the articulation agreements are old and out of date. Both the faculty and the
administration are aware of this problem and are working to update the agreements.
The format of the self-study lacks significant statistical data for individual years.
Below is a sample statistical table that could be used.
Selected student data should appear in the self-study.
The self-study states that students filled out course evaluation forms for each Biology
course; summaries of the completed evaluations could be placed in the self-study.
Student exit survey results are not in the self-study.
Sample Data Table
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
1.TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN HEALTH SCIENCES
A. Full time
B. Part time
2.Graduates in Health Sciences
3. Total Lecture Sections in Biology
4.Total Laboratory sections in Biology
5.Total Supply Budget for Labs
6. Number of sections taught by Full time faculty
7.Number of Sections taught by adjunct faculty
8.Number of Full Time Technical Assistants
9.Number of part time Technical assistants
10 External Grants funding
A. NSF
B. NIH
C. CUNY
D. MISC
11. Scholarship funds awarded to Biology students
12.Student internships
A. Research
B. Shadowing
13.Student Poster Presentations
14.QCC Students transferring via an articulation
agreement
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Suggestions
1. Both the administration and the department are aware that articulation agreements are
outdated. The self-study clearly points this out.
2. The self-study clearly points out the major problem in the Health Sciences program is
that approximately 50% of the students do not achieve at least a C in the gateway
Biology course, General Biology (BI-201). This is a major reason that the graduation
rate from the Health Sciences program is at a 2% rate. Below are some suggestions or
a possible Plan A to start to solve this problem. It is likely that a Plan B and C may
have to be implemented to completely correct the problem.
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Add a prerequisite to BI201. This prerequisite can be passing a Regents
Biology course in high school within the past five years or a C or better in the
lower level BI115 course offered by the department.
An alternative option that may be difficult to implement is to allow students
the option of entering the BI115 course if they receive a D or F on the first
exam in BI201.
Perform follow-up analysis of students performing poorly in the class. A
survey can be administered to students that perform poorly on the first exam.
A second survey can also be performed by students that obtain poor final
grades (D or F). This may help identify similar academic deficiencies that
these students have. Alternatively, this class can be added to the IBM Early
Alert project for electronic monitoring by the freshman coordinators.
3. Biology as well as Institutional Research should better track Health Science students.
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Institutional Research should be able to obtain data on the number of Health
Science students that transfer to other curricula at QCC
An exit survey of the Health Science graduating students should provide
significant information on graduates.
A quick survey could be given by the Biology department to students taking
such high attrition courses as BI-201, BI-202, BI-301, BI-302, and BI-311.
The data then could be submitted to Institutional Research for statistical
analysis. Alternately, Institutional Research could formulate the survey and
ask the Biology department to administer it in a Biology course.
4. The number of laboratories available to the department is limited. Laboratories for
such courses as Anatomy and Physiology run from morning to evening non-stop.
Although some faculty members perform research off campus, the department also
needs more space for faculty research.
5. In the articulation agreement descriptions in the college catalog, the master’s program
for Physical Therapy no longer applies, as a doctorate is now required in this field.
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Recommendations
The site team made the following recommendations:
1. Update articulation agreements. Once this is accomplished, both the college
catalogue and the department Web site can be revised.
2. The self-study clearly points out that, in the Health Sciences program, the major
problem is that approximately 50% of students do not achieve at least a C in the
gateway course, General Biology (BI201). The site team has made several
suggestions. Corrective action should be initiated as soon as practical. Since this
is a substantial problem, it may take several attempts until the problem is
completely corrected.
4. Proposed action plan and timetable (next five years)
A. Commentary
The action plan for the Health Sciences program involves solving the problem of student
performance in General Biology, tracking students through and beyond program (with
Institutional Research), using assessment instruments like exit surveys in key courses,
hosting information sessions with student support staff, revisiting and updating
articulation agreements, and improving and expanding technology in the classroom.
Specifically:
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Test early in General Biology and offer an option for poor performers to transfer
into BI-115, a preparatory course (pilot in fall 2011; expand in spring 2012).
Work with Institutional Research to track students through program and on to
four-year schools (every year).
Develop and administer exit surveys for General Biology, Anatomy &
Physiology, and Microbiology to obtain outcomes assessment (develop in fall
2011; implement in spring 2012; examine every year thereafter).
Revisit and update all articulations, one with Molloy is being completed and one
with SUNY Maritime is anticipated (complete over two years; review every two
years).
The course numbering issue brought up in the report as a program weakness is actually a
systemic problem at the college and will ultimately be addressed when CUNYfirst
becomes fully functional and a university-wide renumbering takes place.
To address the issues raised about data in the site team report, OAA will collaborate with
Institutional Research to establish standardized data sets, much like that presented by the
external reviewers, for use by review committees for their analysis of academic programs
and assessment of student outcomes.
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B. Curricular changes
None
C. Timetable for assessment
A department committee has been formed that will meet in fall 2011 to plot out an
assessment schedule for all active courses. Some information is provided below.
Additional information will be provided by the department committee.
Key courses to
be assessed
BI 201
BI 202
BI 301
BI 302
BI 311
General Education
Objectives ( 1-10)
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
Date last
assessed
2010
2011
2011
2009
2009
Date of next
assessment
2012, 2014
2012, 2014
2014
2014
2014
D. Personnel, equipment, facilities, and resource changes
More Smart rooms, including update of M-255, more laboratory safety equipment and
new laboratory stools.
E. Student recruitment and student support activities
On a periodic basis, the department will host, with the sponsorship of OAA,
informational meetings with student support staff to ensure that program requirements
and student options are well understood.
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