Los Angeles Mission College
Department of Life Sciences
Agenda
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Present: Steve Brown, Angela Echeverri, Par Mohammadian, Mike Reynolds
Old Business
1) Updating Course Outlines

Courses in the update process: Par (Biology 3; Physiology 1; Anatomy 1); Mike (Biology 7;
Biology 33)
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Still to be assigned: Biology 6, Microbiology 20

Biology 110 course outline will be added as a new course

Biology 185, 285, 385 – (1 unit, 2 unit, 3 unit) Mike updated course outlines in Spring 2013;
From M. Hernandez:
” The only assurance given for the directed study courses are CSU transfer. If a UC-bound student is going to take one of these courses, the UC system MAY look at the content and rigor and determine if they MAY use it. In this case, the student would need to provide ALL information from the course
(i.e. work completed, hours/information on project or lab, etc.). Generally they do not grant any credit for these.
I can attempt to submit them for UC transfer if you would like.”
2) SLO/PLO update

Course SLOs were entered and updated to meet the June 10 th deadline. The SLOs of the following courses were assessed in the Spring: o Anthropology 101, 104, & 121, Biology 6 & 7, and four Physiology sections. In addition, one PLO for the Health Science Associate degree was assessed.

It was decided that the PLOs for the Associate degree program in Biology will be assessed using students’ data enrolled in both Biology 6 & 7 courses at LAMC. The PLO for the Health
Science degree will be assessed using students’ data who completed Biology 3, Anatomy, and Physiology courses at LAMC. The assignments will be given to the entire class and evaluated for the SLO; at the same time, the assignments of the students who completed the above-mentioned courses at LAMC will also be used to assess the PLOs.
3) Finalize Prerequisite Recommendation Sheet

It was agreed that English 28 will be a prerequisite for all Life Science courses with the exception of Biology 33 – Medical Terminology
 Biology 6 will be a prerequisite for Biology 7

Chemistry (51 or 65 or 101) will be a prerequisite for Physiology
 All of these prerequisites will take effect in Fall 2014
4) Biology 3 Hybrid Course
Par is currently finalizing the course syllabus and as soon as completed she will send it to the faculty.
5) Outdoor Lab for Biology 3
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
Overall, the outdoor lab, as suggested by Sheila, was supported by the faculty. Concerns, such as the bus cost, safety of the students, and liability were discussed if organized in the
LACCD canyon.

Other locations were recommended: Placerita Canyon and Deukmerjian Park in
La Crescenta.

Steve to work with Sheila to prepare the lab. May be it can be done as a field trip organized by the individual’s instructor(s), similar to the zoo field trip.
6) Journal Club
Steve will take the lead to organize the journal club to start in the Fall 2013 semester.
7) Biology 110 (5 SU)

Upon consulation with Valley and Pierce, the following was discovered: o Valley continues to offer Biology 40 over the first two weeks of the summer o When funds are available, Pierce offers Biology 110 in the Spring semester

Given the limited population at Mission who would be eligible for this course, discussion should be had regarding 40 and 110 in the greater context of our sister schools
8) Defective Equipment
 Steve to provide Mike with a list of the defective equipment and FFEs.
9) AV in Life Science Labs
 Hahn Tran et. al. transferred microphones to labs where they are in highest demand
 Steve to identify the number of refrigerators and purchase timers.

Pong to order rechargeable batteries with appropriate chargers for the microphones.
10) New hires

Mike to apply for new faculty positions; new round of submissions not yet decided
11) Work study students for Fall 2013

Pong and Nadine submitted three requests for student workers for Fall 2013 with the hope of getting a total of 60 hours
12) Chemical Hygiene Plan
Par handled this plan and it is in the process of review by the college and the District
13) Anthro online

Dr. Arthur Gribben has expressed some hesitation about offering an Anthropology 101 or
121 online due to past experience; he will still consider
14) Axial microscopes/cameras
Steve to organize with Lee a training session
15) Life Science website
Updates and pictures to be sent to Par to update the website
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New Business
SLO Assessments for Fall 13

Biology 3, 33 and Microbiology 20
Biology 3 Hybrid Course

Discussion on implementation
Biology 3 Final Practical Exam

Testing students individually

Implementation and working with Nadine
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