QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The City University of New York
MEMORANDUM
Office of Academic Affairs
Telephone: (718) 631-6344
Fax: (718) 631-8284
TO:
Dr. Mel Gorelick, Chair
Biological Sciences
FROM:
Dr. Karen Steele
Vice President for Academic Affairs
DATE:
June 5, 2012
SUBJECT:
Administrative Report – Update to Environmental Health Action Plan – 2011
As preparation for this year’s year-end report, based on a meeting of June 4, 2012, of the department chairs
and faculty representatives, here is a follow-up to the action plan for the Environmental Health degree
program, which was reviewed in 2011.
The action plan for the Environmental Health program indicated curricular change, new and updated
articulation agreements, an assessment plan, additional equipment and supplies, and new promotional and
advisement strategies for the modified curriculum.
A. Curricular changes
Both the program review and the site visit recommended a complete curricular revision of the
Environmental Health program, to be renamed either Environmental Science/Health or Environmental
Science and Health. A central core was to be developed and two separate tracks. Each track would have a
program coordinator. Delayed by the institution of Pathways, the curricular revision will be developed in
fall 2012 and submitted to the Senate in spring 2013. A new hire in the department will be dedicated to
coordinating the program.
The plan was to develop the curricular modification in the 2011-2012 academic year, with deployment in
fall 2012. The modification would require that all promotional materials, principally the Web site, be
revised and expanded.
The course numbering issue brought up in the report as a program weakness is and remains a systemic
problem at the college that will ultimately be addressed across courses and curricula subsequent to the
launch of Pathways in fall 2013. Some course prefixes and numbers have already been changed.
B. Articulation
Articulation agreements needed to be updated and developed. A major articulation for this new program
would be with Molloy. Negotiations with Molloy were planned for 2011-2012. Curricular revision will need
to be informed by the negotiations with baccalaureate programs in CUNY and beyond (e.g., Baruch). OAA
plans to hire an articulation director in fall 2012 to provide support and coordination of all articulation
efforts.
C. Timetable for assessment
The plan for course assessment is as follows. Missing information might be updated at this point.
Key courses to
be assessed
BI 201
BI 202
BI 301
BI 302
BI 311
BI 501
BI 505
BI 520
General Education
Objectives (1-10)
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
2, 5, 9
Date last
assessed
Date of next
assessment
2010
2011
2011
2009
2009
NA
NA
NA
2012, 2014
2012, 2014
2014
2014
2014
2012-13
2012-13
2012-13
To address the issues raised about data in the site team report, OAA has collaborated with Institutional
Research to establish standardized data sets, much like that presented to by the external reviewers, for use
by review committees for their analysis of academic programs and assessment of student outcomes. These
data sets will be available for future program reviews and be available in summary form on the Web site.
D. Personnel, equipment, facilities, and resource changes
The plan requested that equipment and supplies be budgeted to the program for the purposes of sampling
during field trips and testing that would occur as part of the program. The year-end report should indicate
the status of this activity.
E. Student recruitment and student support activities
After approval of a modified curriculum, which has to be updated, the department will host, with the
sponsorship of OAA, informational meetings with advisers, counselors, freshman coordinators, and other
student support staff to ensure that students understand program requirements of each track and the
prospective careers for which the program is preparation. In 2011-2012, Academy advisement offered
individual interviews with students to assess readiness, advising for BI 115 or 201 accordingly.
cc:
Dr. Diane Call, Interim President
Dr. Arthur Corradetti, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Dr. Urszula Golebiewska, Biological Sciences and Geology
Dr. Bryn Mader, Biological Sciences and Geology
Dr. Andrew Nguyen, Biological Sciences and Geology