ATMCC
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TMCC PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW - ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2014-15
Program/Unit Reviewed: Biology (and Community Health Science)
Self-Study Chair: Julie Ellsworth
Division: Sciences
Dean: Lance Bowen
Year of Last PUR: 2011-2012
Year of next PUR: 20182019
Program/Unit Mission Statement: The mission of the Biology Department is to provide
students the basic principles and concepts of modem biology in order to establish a_foundation
for those pursuing careers in the natural sciences as well as allied health professions. As such,
the Biology Department offers college transfer courses for biology majors, provides prerequisite
classes for allied health and other programs, and supports the College general education
requirements in the natural sciences.
The Description of the Degree(s)/Emphasis(s)/Certificate(s) for your PUR area are listed below. Please
review for accuracy.
Description of Degree/Emphasis/Certificates: AS Degree Biology Emphasis - This is a
two-year transferable program leading to an Associate of Science with an Emphasis in Biology.
The curriculum includes a core of courses in the biological and physical sciences and
mathematics. All courses recommended will partially satisfy the Bachelor of Science in Biology
at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Description of Degree/Emphasis/Certificates: AS Degree Community Health Science
Emphasis - The Associate of Science Community Health Science Emphasis affords students a
broad, integrated, and interdisciplinary perspective on a variety of health topics and allows for
them to begin developing an understanding of personal, public, and community health issues.
The emphasis provides the lower division coursework towards potential Bachelor degrees in
community health, public health, health education and other related areas, and satisfies the
lower division major requirements towards UNR's Bachelor of Science in Community Health
Sciences.
SECTION t
The Outcomes and Measures listed below wete retrieved from Degree/Emphasis or Cerlificate
submissions provided by your area to CAP and approved. Please review the outcomes to ensure
accuracy or submit changes to CAP via the Degree, Emphasis, Certificate (DEC) Revisions form located
on the CAP Resources web page. If your area is scheduled for a PUR In the near future, please plan on
reporting assessment efforts around these learning outcomes when you participate in your PUR.
Biology Emphasis Degree Goals/Outcome:
• Apply principles of mathematics and physical sciences to laboratory practices and biological
processes.
• Explain concepts and theories In molecular structure and function, cellular processes, and
genetics.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the structural and physiological functions of organisms, their
ecological context, and the evolutionary relationships and hierarchical organization of
biological diversity.
• Demonstrate proficient use of standard laboratory equipment and follow safe laboratory
practices; apply the method of scientific inquiry by designing a controlled experiment, and
collecting, analyzing and interpreting data; and present findings in written and oral formats.
APR I REV: 5/2014
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TMCC PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW -ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2014-15
Community Health Science Emphasis Degree Goals/Outcome:
• Recognize how the social, cultural, economic, political, geographical and biological
environments affect personal and community health.
• Describe and apply behavioral strategies to promote personal health and wellness, and
disease and illness prevention.
• Demonstrate the ability to gather and interpret evidence-based information, and effectively
communicate, in both written and oral formats, on topic related to community health.
SECTION II
The following recommendations and strategies were identified in your most recent Program/Unit
Review. Please respond to the strategies by including the status, actions taken to respond to
the strategy, projected timeline, and if resources are anticipated to fulfill the strategy.
Unit Strategy #1
Degree assessment needs to be in place.
Status:
Ongoing
Timeline:
Fall '17
Action: Learning measures for specific degree outcomes are being tied to assessments from
specific courses. This work will continue until the listed outcomes for both emphases in the
department are directly linked to required coursework in the discipline.
Anticipated Resources Needed: The substantial growth in Biology and CHS requires additional
full-time faculty in both areas. There are no full-time faculty members in the department with an
MPH degree or a Ph.D. in Public Health, the fundamental and terminal graduate level degrees in
the CHS discipline area.
Unit Strategy #2
Status:
Timeline:
Ongoing
Continue to work with advising regarding reverse transfer to
Falf '17
increase the number of graduates with a Biology emphasis.
Action: Working closely with advising continues to be important, as does continuing to increase
the number of graduates from our department. However, promoting reverse transfer of credits
toward the completion of the Biology emphasis is only one piece of the strategy moving forward.
The number of students declaring the Biology emphasis has grown to over 200 and the number of
students in the CHS emphasis suddenly increased from less than 50 to over 1,200 in 2014 with
the policy to restrict the declaration of competitive allied health majors until after students are
accepted into a program; thus CHS became the default pre-Allied Health major at TMCC.
Advising CHS majors about career opportunities and educational pathways In the field is a new
priority, as not all CHS majors will be admitted into a competitive allied health program like nursing
or radiological tech. In particular, students should be aware of the option to transfer to the
bachelor's program in CHS at UNR following completion of the AS, compared to repeating
courses toward reapplying to competitive allied health programs. The chair regularly meets and
communicates with advising staff, particularly with the advising liaison to Biology/CHS, and a new
CHS website was established in 2015, http://www.tmcc.edu/biology/community-health-science/.
Anticipated Resources Needed: Same as resources needed for unit strategy #1; in order to
adequately promote educational and career pathways in Community Health Science the
APR I REV: 5/2014
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TMCC PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW - ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2014-15
department needs full time facultv in the discipline.
Unit Strategy #3
Timeline:
Status:
Monitor the impact of the creation of the Associate of Science in Ongoing
Fa/1 '18
Community Health Sciences on the graduation rate of the
Associate of Science/Bioloav Emohasis.
Action: The major increase in the number of CHS majors and aligning students toward the BS
transfer degrees in CHS at UNR will require increasing the number of sections of CHS courses.
This has started to occur, for example, going from one to three sections of CHS 101 offered per
semester. This growth has primarily relied upon part-time faculty to teach these courses.
Anticipated Resources Needed: Data on the number of graduates in each emphasis will be
made available during the next PUR cycle and any impact of one program on another will be
analyzed at that time. Increasing the number of CHS courses requires more faculty, particularly
with a backaround in public health.
Unit Strategy #4
Status:
Timeline:
Provide further clarification on the proposed Biology faculty
Complete
Done
advising position, and would this position still be necessary if an
Associate of Science in Applied Science is available for
students?
Action: The department still feels that having a faculty position that specifically includes advising
would be beneficial, regardless of degree offerings. Life science is a very broad field and faculty
from these disciplines can give the best advice about possible pathways for students. However,
there are not enough faculty to offer enough course sections to meet student demand, so student
advisement occurs in less formal ways between students and faculty and through the advisement
liaison to Biology/ CHS (see #2).
Anticipated Resources Needed: The substantial growth in Biology and CHS requires additional
full-time facultv in both areas.
Timeline :
Unit Strategy #5
Status:
An additional Biology teaching faculty is a valid request and the
Ongoing
Spring '19
data suooorts this (i.e. increasina Full-Time Eauivalence CFTE)).
Action: We have been granted permission to search for one full-time tenure track faculty in
Biology, but more are needed.
Anticipated Resources Needed: The substantial growth in Biology and CHS requires additional
full-time faculty in both areas, at least one more in Bioloav and one in CHS.
Unit Strategy #6
Timeline:
Status:
The committee validates the Department's justification for an
Complete
Done
additional full-time faculty member who teaches full time and
also recognizes the need for a faculty member who can serve
as an advisor; perhaps the Department could seek an additional
assignment under the Nevada Faculty Alliance (NFA) contract
that would preserve core teaching functions and not further
impact the negative effect of release time on teaching
availability.
Action: see #2 and #4
Anticipated Resources Needed: see #2 and #4
Unit Strategy #7
The committee validates the need for facilities upgrades,
particularly when student and faculty safety issues are of
Status:
Ongoing
Timeline:
Open
APR I REV: 5/2014
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TMCC PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW -ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2014-15
concern.
Action: See #8
Anticipated Resources Needed: See#8
Unit Strategy #8
Status:
Timeline:
Fal/'18
There should be a way to fast-track areas that impact student
Ongoing
and faculty safety and put the College at risk for liability issues;
Bioloav needs should be a priority.
Action: There is a safety committee, but there has been turnover in its structure and this wm be
addressed per the recent recommendations by our accreditors.
Anticipated Resources Needed:
Unit Strategy #9
The committee recommends that the Department seek the
additional lab fee through the established process: that a
request is made, approved by the President, and then
presented to the Board of Regents with justification.
Status:
Ongoing
Timeline :
Fal/'18
Alternatively, TMCC has been paying for increased lab fees for
the past two years; the Department could seek funding through
this process.
Action: We have not pursued increasing lab fees. Strategies to decrease costs and increase the
effectiveness of the Prep Lab have been implemented, such as defining the types of labs and the
timing of labs that can be conducted for large scale offerings, like BIOL 190L. Will re-evaluate
with Prep Lab staff if there is a continued need to pursue increasing lab fees.
Anticipated Resources Needed:
Unit Strategy #10
Timellne:
Status:
Done
The committee recommends that the Biology program track and Complete
analyze its needs (Institutional Advancement account,
operating, and student fees) independently of the combined
programs.
Action: We believe this is happening and it is unclear what programs our budgets were in
combination.
Anticipated Resources Needed:
Unit Strategy #11
Status:
Timellne:
Done
Investigate the need for a Biomedical (Clinical Lab Technician)
Complete
and/or BiotechnoloQV deQree or certificate.
Action: A needs assessment for this program was conducted, but there are not enough faculty to
pursue implementation.
Anticipated Resources Needed: The substantial growth in Biology and CHS requires additional
full-time faculty in both areas. There are no full-time faculty members in the department with an
MPH degree or a Ph.D. in Public Health, the fundamental and terminal graduate level degrees in
the CHS discipline area.
Unit Strategy #12
Status:
Timeline:
Ongoing
Spring '19
Develop curriculum towards a Biomedical (Clinical Lab
Technician) or Biotechnology degree or certificate pending
results of the needs assessment.
Action: A partial curriculum has been developed for this program, but it is on hold because there
are not enough faculty to pursue implantation.
APR I REV: 5/2014
ATMCC
Truck•• M - dow• Community Coll•ge
TMCC PROGRAM UNIT REVIEW -ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2014-15
Anticipated Resources Needed: The substantial growth in Biology and CHS requires additional
full-time faculty in both areas. There are no full-time faculty members in the department with an
MPH degree or a Ph.D. in Public Health, the fundamental and terminal graduate level degrees in
the CHS discipline area.
SECTION HI
(OPTIONAL - Fill out only if adding new Unit Strategies)
Please include any newl y identified strategies for the Program/Unit. Please respond to the
strategies by including the status, actions taken to respond to the strategy, projected timeline,
and if resources are needed to fulfill the strategy. If there are no new strategies, please leave
this blank and no signatures are required.
Unit Strategies: Degree re-alignments for Biology
Status:
Tlmeline: Fall 17
and CHS emphases in response to financial aid
Ongoing
chanaes
Action: Form a sub-committee in the department to work on making sure the courses listed in
these degrees are complete and appropriate so that they are financial aid eligible for students.
Anticipated Resource Needed: Faculty volunteers
Timeline: Fall ' 17
Unit Strategies: Focus on continual improvement of
Status:
Ongoing
teaching by full-time and part-time instructors, and the
implementation of new best oractices
Action: Have started a discussion group in the department focused on implementing strategies
outlined in the AAAS Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education in Biology. Planning to
meet monthly to share strategies and resources.
Anticipated Resource Needed: Facultv oarticipation
Unit Strategies: Outfit Redfield lab to be able to teach
BIOL 251, so that the entire sequence of Health
Science pre-reqs can be offered at that campus
Status: choose
Ongoing
Complete
Other
Timeline: Dale
range
Action: Purchase and install autoclave
Anticipated Resource Needed: Aooroximatelv $40,000
Approvals (Signatures and dates are required)
APR I REV: 5/2014