Annual Program Review Update
*Be sure to include information from all three campuses.
Program/Discipline: _Chemistry (CHEM)
Date:
_9/17/07_______
Trends and Relevant Data
1. Has there been any change in the status of your program or area? (Have you shifted
departments? Have new degrees or certificates been created by your program? Have
you added or deleted courses? Have activities in other programs impacted your area or
program? For example, a new nursing program could cause greater demand for lifescience courses.) If not, skip to #2.
Note: curricular changes should be addressed under 12-14.
The chemistry discipline is part of the Math, Science, and Engineering Division. All of the
courses are major preparation courses while two of those (Chem 1A and Chem 2) also
meet general education (GE) requirements for UC and CSU schools. Recent changes
include the removal of Chem 2 as a prerequisite for the application to the Registered
Nursing (RN) program at CR. This immediate impact was minimal because the majority
of nursing students began to take an online course from another community college
district a few years ago. Over the last 5 years, the Chem 2 sections offered decreased from
a high of six per year (full sections) to the current two per year. An additional change is
the development of the district recognized Science and Transfer Preparation Program.
This is not a program in the traditional sense in that no approval from the Systems Office
is sought and no degrees or certificates are available. The purpose of the SMP program is
to advise on coursework within particular disciplines that are required of most science
transfer students. Biology, chemistry, physics, and math are disciplines covered by the
program. Another change to the program is the reassignment of a chemistry instructor to
the position of division chair, an 80% reassigned position.
2. Have there been any significant changes in enrollment, retention, success rates, or
student demographics that impact your discipline? If so, please include data sheets
(Excel or Word format) showing these changes.
There has been a significant reduction in enrollment. This is largely due to fewer sections
of Chem 2 being offered because it is no longer required for the Registered Nursing
Program. Of significant note is that approximately 10% of RN programs in the state do
not require chemistry as a prerequisite for application (either explicitly or implicitly).
CR’s program is in the minority. The general chemistry course for science majors, Chem
1A and 1B, has also seen enrollment decline as fewer students interested in transferring as
science majors appear to be attending CR. The enrollment in the preparatory course,
Chem 100, has remained steady or even slightly increased.
3. Occupational programs must review the update of their labor-market data, some of it
provided by Institutional Research, to illustrate that their program:
a. Meets a documented labor market demand,
b. Does not represent duplication of other training programs (in the region), and
c. Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment and
1
completion success of its students.
Not applicable.
Other Resources
4. Do you have needs (professional development, library resources, and so forth) not
previously required by the discipline or not previously addressed in budget or equipment
considerations? Please describe.
Professional development funds and availability of library resources have been sufficient
for chemistry instruction during the last five years.
5. Does your discipline need additional support from Student Services beyond that
previously provided?
In the past, advisors have steered students toward taking some chemistry courses online
offered by other colleges to meet a prerequisite that used to be required at this college (see
above). This was brought to the attention of The Vice President of Student Services and
should no longer be the case. Our recent definition of a Science Major Preparation program
has resulted in better coordination with the counseling department. They have agreed to
provide support in terms of advising about the prerequisites and needs of science majors. A
component of this advising is information about the physics core courses required for
virtually all four-year science degrees. We anticipate continued support and additional
development in this area as students become more aware of the program.
Human Resource Needs
6. Complete the Faculty Employment Grids below (please list full- and part-time faculty
numbers in separate rows):
Faculty Load Distribution in the Program
Discipline
Name
(e.g., Math,
English,
Accounting)
Total
Teaching
Load for fall
2006 term
% of Total
Teaching
Load by
Full-Time
Faculty
% of Total
Teaching
Load Taught
by Part-Time
Faculty
Changes
from fall
2005
Explanations and Additional
Information (e.g., retirement,
reassignment, etc.)
Chem
32
81
19
-10.18
TLU
Decrease in TLU due to
fewer sections of Chem 2
and temporary
suspension of offering
Chem 8
Faculty Load Distribution in the Program
Discipline
Name
(e.g., Math,
English,
Accounting)
Total
Teaching
Load for
spring 2007
term
% of Total
Teaching
Load by
Full-Time
Faculty
% of Total
Teaching
Load Taught
by Part-Time
Faculty
Changes
from spring
2006
Explanations and Additional
Information (e.g., retirement,
reassignment, etc.)
Chem
36
100%
0%
-12 TLU
Decrease in TLU due to
fewer sections of Chem 2
and temporary
suspension of offering
Chem 3
Do you need more full-time faculty? Associate faculty? If yes, explain why and be sure
to include data sheets justifying the need.
There are two full-time chemistry faculty in the district. This year and last year, one of
those members has an 80% reassignment to the division chair position. This is the last
year of the reassignment. Finding qualified and competent part-time faculty in the
discipline is problematic. Part of the reason may be that there is no graduate education in
the discipline in this area. Additionally, there are few employers in this area that hire
chemists with Ph.D.s or master degrees.
7. Complete the Staff Employment Grid below (please list full- and part-time staff
numbers in separate rows:
Staff Employed in the Program
Assignment
Full-time (classified) Part-time staff
(e.g., Math,
staff (give number)
(give number)
English)
Gains over
Prior Year
Chem
A.. One - shared
MSE office
coordinator
0
0
B. The majority of
a 20 hr per week
science technician
position (primarily
for chemistry and
biology)
0
0
Losses over
Prior Year (give
reason:
retirement,
reassignment,
health, etc.)
Do you need more full-time staff? Part-time staff? If yes, explain why and be sure to
include data sheets justifying the need.
Current staff is adequate for this discipline.
8. If necessary, to clarify your needs, please comment on current available staff and
distribution of FTE's for contract and part-time faculty. Describe strengths and
weaknesses of faculty/staff as appropriate to program's current status or future
development.
Staffing needs of the discipline are currently met.
Facilities
9. Comment on facilities the program uses, their current adequacy, and any immediate
needs. Have your discipline’s facilities needs changed? If so, how? Please provide a
data-based justification for any request that requires new or additional facilities
construction, renovation, remodeling or repairs.
Current facilities are approximately 40 years old. There are three rooms that can be used
for laboratories or lectures. One of the rooms is adequate, but not ideal, for offering
lectures and labs. The other two rooms are primarily laboratory rooms. The spacing
between lab stations in all rooms is marginal and a safety concern. All three rooms do not
have an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant laboratory station. The district
planned to remodel the labs with Measure Q monies. Faculty were consulted on the
remodeling (needs, desires, etc). However, the district is receiving funding for a new
building that will contain new labs. Faculty have not been consulted on the change in
plans.
Equipment
10. Have your discipline’s equipment needs changed? If so, how? Is equipment in need of
repair outside of your current budget? Please provide a data-based justification for any
request that requires a new or additional budget allotment.
Equipment needs have not changed. Laboratories require a diverse variety of equipment
for the discipline. Major acquisitions have been funded through Projects for Learning
Enhancement (PLE) grants, however, funding for PLE has been suspended. The budget
for chemistry is large enough for maintenance of equipment and replacement of materials
that are consumed on a yearly basis (chemicals, glassware, etc.) however, funding is not
available should failure occur in other more expensive but typical instruments (infrared
and UV/VIS spectrometers).
Learning Outcomes Assessment Update
11. How has your area or program been engaged in student learning outcomes assessment?
a.
Summarize your results.
All chemistry outlines are being revised this semester to reflect course learning outcomes.
b.
What did your program learn from these results that enabled you to
improve teaching and learning in the discipline?
Not applicable at this time. By the next annual update, we hope to have a first run of data
collection informing faculty of rates for students achieving course learning outcomes.
c.
How have part-time faculty been made aware of the need to assess SLOs?
There are few part-time faculty in the discipline. The part-time faculty member this
semester has been invited to participate in developing course learning outcomes and will
be kept abreast of developments.
Curriculum Update
(Reminder: Send updated course outlines to the Curriculum Committee.)
12. Identify curricular revisions, program innovations, and new initiatives undertaken in the
last year.
Chemistry labs are continuously revised, deleted, and developed to improve instruction.
However, collected data has been casually interpreted for effectiveness. Updating and
revision of course outlines is the initial step to instituted examination of the effectiveness of
changes.
13. Identify curricular revisions, program innovations, and new initiatives planned for the
next year.
All of the chemistry courses will be revised in Fall 2007. The new curriculum form
includes the identification of courses to disciplines and course learning outcomes.
Assessment goals will be developed during the next year. Conversations will be initiated
with other faculty who teach GE natural science courses-with the intent of discussing the
alignment and assessment of specific learning outcomes.
14. Complete the grid below
Course
Chem 100
Chem 1A
Chem 1B
Chem 2
Chem 3
Chem 8
Chem 152
Chem 99
Year Course Outline Year Next Update
Last Updated
Expected
1999
F2007
1999
F2007
1991
F2007
1999
F2007
1995
F2007
1993
F2007
2001
inactivate F2007
????
inactivate F2007
Goals and Plans
15. If you have recently undergone a comprehensive review, attach your Quality
Improvement Plan if applicable.
Not applicable.
16. If you do not have a QIP, what goals and plans does your area have for the coming
year?
Plans and goals:
1. Update all course outlines
2. Develop assessment protocol for learning outcomes
3. Initiate discussion with other GE assessment protocol in sciences
4. Begin collecting data for assessment
5. Investigate possibility of developing a non-major preparatory GE offering for the
discipline and offering the course online.
6. Offer sections, in a planned and appropriate manner, of Chem 8 and Chem 3.
7. Open a conversation with life science faculty concerning prerequisites for life
science courses that may be appropriate for each course.