SELF STUDY – DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
Academic Years 1999-2000 through 2003-2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Department Mission and Goals .................................................................................. 3
A. Departmental Mission Statement ......................................................................... 3
B. Overview and Context ......................................................................................... 3
C. Programmatic Goals ............................................................................................ 3
D. Centrality/Essentiality .......................................................................................... 8
E. Departmental Governance System………………………………………………. 12
II. Chemistry Program Descriptions ............................................................................... 14
A. Programs Offered ................................................................................................. 14
1. Undergraduate Programs ......................................................................... 14
2. Graduate Program .................................................................................... 15
3. General Education .................................................................................... 16
4. Teacher Preparation ................................................................................. 16
5. Service to Other Programs ....................................................................... 16
6. Summer Session ........................................................................................ 18
B. Currency of Curricula ......................................................................................... 19
C. Curriculum Review .............................................................................................. 20
D. Effectiveness of Instruction ................................................................................. 20
1. Instructional Methods ................................................................................ 21
2. Information Technology Used ................................................................... 23
E. Measures of Quantity ........................................................................................... 23
F. Measures of Efficiency ....................................................................................... 27
G. Assessment of Students and Programs of Students and Programs…. ................. 28
1. Admission-to-Program ............................................................................. 28
2. End-of-Program ........................................................................................ 28
3. Post-Graduate ............................................................................................ 29
4. Faculty Involvement .................................................................................. 29
5. Program Assessment .................................................................................. 29
6. Steps to Ensure Appropriate Assessment ................................................. 30
III. Faculty........................................................................................................................ 30
A. Faculty Profile ...................................................................................................... 30
B. Faculty Professional Records and CVs ................................................................ 33
C. Teaching Effectiveness ........................................................................................ 33
D. Scholarship ........................................................................................................... 34
E. Service.................................................................................................................. 34
F. Student Research Supervision………………………………………….............. 35
IV. Students ...................................................................................................................... 35
A. Majors .................................................................................................................. 35
B. General Education and Service Courses ............................................................. 36
C. Student Accomplishments ................................................................................... 38
D. Advising Services ................................................................................................ 39
E. Other Student Services ......................................................................................... 39
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V. Library and Technological Resources ....................................................................... 40
A. Library Requirements .......................................................................................... 40
B. Student Information Literacy Proficiencies ......................................................... 41
1. Instruction Provided .................................................................................. 41
2. Assessment of Proficiency ........................................................................ 41
VI. Instrumentation and Facilities .................................................................................. 41
VII. Reflections ............................................................................................................... 42
A. Accomplishments and Successes ......................................................................... 42
B. Challenges and Solutions ..................................................................................... 45
C. Increasing quality, quantity, and/or efficiency .................................................... 48
VIII. Future Directions..................................................................................................... 48
A. Current national trends in the discipline and the department’s response. ............ 48
B. How faculty set goals and balance teaching, research and service ..................... 49
C. The five-year vision for the Chemistry Department ............................................. 50
D. Targeting replacement positions to optimize department goals............................ 50
E. Resources required to pursue future directions ...................................................... 51
IX. Suggestions for the Program Review Process ............................................................ 51
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. 52
List of Appendices .......................................................................................................... 53
Abbreviations
ACS
COTS
CTL
CWU
FTE
FTEF
FTES
GEAR UP
GC
GRE
NCATE
NIH
NMR
NSF
PANWAT
SEOI
SOURCE
STEP
TA
TOEFL
WCCTA
American Chemical Society
College of the Sciences
Center for Teaching and Learning
Central Washington University
Full Time Equivalents
Full Time Equivalent Faculty
Full Time Equivalent Students
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs (US Department of Education)
Gas Chromatography
Graduate Record Examination
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Institutes of Health
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
National Science Foundation
Pacific Northwest Association of Toxicologists
Student Evaluation of Instruction
Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression
Science Talent Expansion Program (NSF program)
Teaching Assistant
Test of English as a Foreign Language
Washington College Chemistry Teacher’s Association
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Program Review Self Study
Department of Chemistry
Year 2004-2005
I. Department Mission and Goals
A. Departmental Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Chemistry at Central Washington
University (CWU) is to send into society thoughtful, creative, and informed
people grounded in the principles and applications of chemistry.
B. Overview and Context
The Chemistry Department houses a dynamic and dedicated faculty whose
common goal is to offer students the best possible education in the chemical
sciences. We offer a variety of programs including Bachelors of Science degrees
in Chemistry and Biochemistry Specialization, Bachelors of Arts in Chemistry
and Chemistry Teaching, minors in Chemistry and Chemistry Teaching, and a
Masters of Science degree in Chemistry. We are a small department that serves
our own majors and minors, other departments’ needs, and the General Education
Program. The department consists of eight faculty representing seven full time
equivalents with expertise in all major areas of the chemical sciences: analytical,
biochemistry, chemical education, inorganic, environmental, organic, and
physical. Three and a half staff including a stockroom manager, a staff
supervisor/lab manager, a secretary, and a half-time instrument technician support
the faculty. For the past three years, the department has employed a full-time non
tenure-track position and last year hired an additional full-time non tenure-track
person to replace faculty on professional leave.
The department resides in a modern science facility with technology rich
offices, lecture rooms, laboratories, and research space. Over one million dollars
worth of scientific equipment is used in support of the educational enterprise and
the pursuit of scholarly work.
The chemistry department contributes significantly to the university by
1) providing quality scientific training to an increasing number of majors and
minors, 2) serving the needs of the General Education Program and providing a
foundation in chemistry for majors in other departments, 3) fostering strong
undergraduate and graduate research programs, 4) training teachers grounded in
content and inquiry-based learning, and 5) conducting rigorous, externally funded
scholarly programs. These contributions are highly valued by the faculty and
staff of our department and we strive to excel in each.
C. Programmatic Goals
The goals of the Chemistry Department reflect short term and long term
planning efforts on the part of the faculty and staff. The goals are intended to
provide the direction necessary to achieve high-quality education for students and
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a quality working environment for our faculty and staff so that we may effectively
carry out our mission.
Goal 1. Offer excellent instruction in chemistry to meet the needs of the variety
of undergraduate and graduate students the department serves.
a. Offer expanded opportunities for students to take general education and
specialized course work in chemistry.
i. Schedule general education courses throughout the academic year.
b. Offer chemistry course work directed to the needs of students who will
apply chemistry in the understanding of disciplines such as Biology,
Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geology, and Professional
Programs (Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, etc.).
i. Maintain communication with the other science departments and
professional schools to ensure that our course work is meeting the
needs of the other programs.
ii. Continue offering chemistry courses during summers to allow students
to complete chemistry and professional program requirements in a
timely manner.
c. Maintain and continually improve on a chemistry curriculum that fosters a
quality and up-to-date education for chemistry students.
i. Continue to seek and obtain American Chemical Society (ACS) degree
certification. Obtain certification within the next three years.
ii. Continually engage in critical discussion of departmental courses,
curricular objectives, and student achievement.
iii. Increase the number of tenure-track faculty to better serve the
increasing number of students.
iv. Enhance the support and foster the appreciation for undergraduate
research. Enhance opportunities for undergraduate research by seeking
sources of funding to support summer research.
v. Continue to incorporate the use of state-of-the-art instrumentation in
the chemistry curriculum. Obtain support for updating and maintaining
instrumentation.
vi. Continue to offer upper division electives.
vii. Expand co-operative education and internship opportunities for
students.
d. Refine and promote the delivery and exchange of chemistry curricula
through the mode of distance education.
i. Continue offering the distance education classes already in place.
ii. Identify unmet regional needs.
iii. Identify opportunities to bring instruction to CWU through distance
education.
iv. Identify sources of external funding.
e. Enhance the interdisciplinary scope of our programs and activities.
i. Enhance collaborations with other CWU departments on campus, such
as Biology and Geology.
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ii. Work with faculty from other CWU departments and other experts to
offer specialized courses in chemistry.
f. Pursue external funding to promote programs of common interest.
Goal 2. Maintain and update instrument, equipment and computing resources
for the quality instruction of graduate and undergraduate students.
a. Implement curricular revisions incorporating computer-aided delivery of
instruction in both lecture and laboratory courses.
i. Continue to develop and test computer-aided labs.
b. Maintain and upgrade existing instruments
i. Instrument Tech shall be responsible for periodic maintenance of
instruments, keep them operational and advise on new instrument and
software upgrades.
ii. Upgrade instrument computers and specific software.
iii. Use Information Technology Services (ITS) to aid in the setup,
upgrade and operation of computing in the facility.
c. Pursue funding sources for upgrades and new equipment purchases in both
the undergraduate and graduate laboratories.
d. Facilitate the intra- and inter-departmental sharing of equipment.
i. Instrument Technician will establish clear user guidelines and train
new operators.
e. Pursue more space to satisfy individualized instruction (research) needs.
Goal 3. Increase the quality and diversity of undergraduate majors in the
various chemistry programs.
a. Increase recruiting of high school students.
i. Increase outreach to regional high schools.
ii. Participate in the NSF-STEP Summer Science Institute.
b. Increase the enrollment of community college transfer students.
i. Visit community colleges for recruitment.
ii. Maintain existing distance education collaborations with regional two
year colleges.
c. Emphasize opportunities for student involvement in chemistry.
i. Offer and publicize chemistry-related activities, including chemistry
club.
ii. Encourage employment as chemistry undergraduate teaching assistants.
iii. Offer tours of chemistry-related industries, universities, and national
laboratories.
iv. Maintain an active seminar program.
v. Identify regional and national employment opportunities for chemistry
graduates.
vi. Invite visitors from industry, national labs, and universities to talk to
students about employment possibilities.
vii. Make connections with university, industry, and national lab student
internship programs.
d. Improve the visibility of the chemistry staff and department.
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i. Attend regional, national and international meetings of chemistry-related
professional organizations.
ii. Publicize accomplishments.
iii. Increase outreach to local and regional high school science teachers.
iv. Increase the frequency of communication with peers at other
institutions.
v. Continue to be involved in CWU activities including university-level
committee participation.
vi. Continue to develop chemistry client-server electronics platforms
including web pages and interactive curricula content.
vii. List the department in various guides to undergraduate programs.
viii. Increase publication rate.
ix. Visit other chemistry departments regionally, nationally and
internationally and give research seminars.
Goal 4. Maintain a high quality graduate program in chemistry.
a. Work with the administration to develop commonly agreed upon
guidelines concerning acceptable graduate and undergraduate research
student credit hour generation and distribution.
b. Maintain a strong curriculum.
i. Offer a core of regularly scheduled graduate courses.
ii. Offer viable program choices to graduate students in both course and
research opportunities.
iii. Promote collaboration in research and course development between
chemistry faculty and faculty in other departments by offering a
program that is rigorous but flexible.
c. Increase the chemistry faculty by two tenure-track positions.
d. Facilitate adjunct faculty appointments.
i. Identify and employ scientists in the region, especially Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory, interested in teaching graduate
courses.
e. Provide financial support for graduate assistantships.
i. Obtain institutional commitments for additional graduate
assistantships.
ii. Obtain external funding to support graduate assistantships.
iii. Work with the Graduate Studies Office and the Graduate Council to
increase the stipend offered to graduate students in chemistry.
f. Increase graduate enrollment.
i. Enhance liaisons with community colleges and regional universities,
through collaborations, speaker exchanges, and exchange of senior
lists.
ii. Participate in graduate recruiting events, such as graduate recruiting
breakfasts hosted by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
iii. Continually update and improve the graduate brochure.
g. Develop tools to assess the effectiveness of the graduate program.
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Goal 5. Maintain an enthusiastic, active faculty.
a. Recognizing that service and scholarship contributions by faculty are key
to the vitality and growth of a department, work towards filling all fulltime teaching positions with tenured or tenure-track faculty.
b. Recruit, then hire, quality faculty using institutional and departmental
goals as a guide.
c. Work toward and then maintain reasonable teaching loads that recognize
the time required for excellence in classroom and laboratory teaching, as
well as thoughtful and effective supervision of undergraduate and graduate
research students in a laboratory science.
d. Aid faculty in maintaining a continuing growth of knowledge of their field
and new developments in teaching methodology.
i. Offer new faculty "start up" funds and time to initiate programs of
scholarly work.
ii. Offer encouragement, and seek to offer monetary support, for travel to
workshops, professional meetings, etc.
iii. Encourage and facilitate applications for professional leave.
iv. Offer recognition of professional efforts.
v. Refine the Chemistry Department tenure and promotion guidelines
document.
vi. Work toward a system of regular post-tenure review that rewards
contributions in the areas of teaching, service and scholarship.
e. Encourage faculty communication.
i. Maintain an active seminar program.
ii. Encourage intra- and inter-departmental multidisciplinary teaching and
research endeavors.
f. Facilitate efficient use of faculty time.
i. Maintain long-term planning with respect to teaching loads, schedules,
service assignments, departmental projects, etc.
Goal 6. Maintain an enthusiastic, active staff.
a. Maintain a highly qualified and well-trained support staff.
b. Provide staff opportunities for continued growth of knowledge in their
field.
i. Encourage staff to participate in workshops, appropriate professional
meetings, and trainings.
ii. When feasible allow release time for job related training.
iii. Provide regular professional development funding for staff to attend
workshops, appropriate professional meetings, and trainings.
c. Evaluate staff annually with emphasis on professional growth and mutual
feedback.
d. Solicit staff input on departmental decisions.
i. Include staff in department meetings.
e. Allow for flexible working hours when feasible such as during summer
quarter.
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Goal 7. Serve the academic community and the general public through
scholarly research and service activities.
a. Foster laboratory and field-oriented research programs that involve the
students of Central Washington University through experimentation and
grant writing.
i. Target and submit proposals to grant programs at Research
Corporation, the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research
Fund (ACS-PRF), the Henry and Camille Dreyfus Foundation, the
National Science Foundation-Research at Undergraduate Institutions
(NSF-RUI), the National Institutes of Health – Academic Research
Enhancement Award (NIH-AREA) and the U. S. Departments of
Agriculture, Defense, and Energy.
ii. Continue to engage undergraduate and graduate students in faculty
laboratory research programs.
b. Serve on national, regional or local boards concerned with professional
and/or research activities.
i. Maintain memberships in professional organizations such as the
American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Society of Toxicology (SOT).
ii. Increase activity in professional organizations by serving as officers,
committee chairs and members.
iii. Host the regional American Chemical Society Undergraduate
Research Conference and the Washington College Chemistry Teachers
Association (WCCTA) Conference as needed.
c. Actively produce and disseminate teaching and research related materials
at professional meetings and in peer-reviewed literature.
d. Provide consulting services in areas of expertise.
e. Provide editorial services for scholarly journals.
f. Provide educational programs for the community.
i. Participate in outreach efforts to the K-12 schools.
ii. Present scholarly work to non-expert audiences such as the Central
Adult Lifelong Learning (CALL) group.
iii. Provide hands-on workshops to students at events such as Expanding
Your Horizons in Science and Math.
g. Maintain state certification of the Environmental Testing Laboratory in the
Department of Chemistry and assess the feasibility of expansion.
D. Centrality/Essentiality
1. Centrality to the University’s Mission
Central Washington University’s mission is to prepare students for responsible
citizenship, responsible stewardship of the earth, and enlightened and productive
lives. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni serve as an intellectual resource to
assist central Washington, the state, and the region in solving human and
environmental problems.
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Scientific literacy allows for responsible citizenship, responsible
stewardship of the earth and enlightened and productive lives. The chemistry
department provides educational programs that result in scientifically literate
graduates. A fundamental knowledge of chemistry is important in developing a
scientific philosophy, in understanding the impact that humans have on the earth,
and in understanding life and the human body. The department offers courses to
all CWU students in the applications of chemistry in their world. Faculty,
students, and alumni actively participate in solving human and environmental
problems through scientific chemical research.
2. Promotion of University Strategic Goals within the Department
Goal I: Provide for an outstanding academic and student life on the Ellensburg
campus.
The Chemistry Department offers programs designed to give students
experience in all areas of chemical sciences. The department excels at providing
students with hands-on laboratory experience using state-of-the-art equipment.
Students have multiple options for undergraduate research experiences. The
department is currently seeking American Chemical Society program
accreditation. Department faculty members provide both academic and career
advising to all Chemistry majors as they progress through their major. Faculty
also serve as advisors to student clubs including the Chemistry Club, the Science
Education Club, and the Pre-Pharmacy Club.
Goal II: Provide for an outstanding academic and student life at the university
centers.
The Chemistry Department currently offers Organic Chemistry via
distance education technology to CWU-Yakima and CWU-Wenatchee. Organic
Chemistry is a second year sequence required for chemistry and biology majors.
This offering is particularly important for students planning to transfer since
Yakima Valley and Wenatchee Valley Community Colleges do not offer this
sequence. Department faculty have also been in communication with Edmonds
Community College about the possibility of a Chemistry Education major at
CWU-Lynnwood. The department will continue to support programs at
university centers as the need arises and if appropriate resources are available.
Goal III: Develop a diversified funding base to support our academic and student
programs.
Chemistry Department faculty have been active in seeking and obtaining
external funding in support of individual research efforts, department curriculum
efforts, and university priorities. Department faculty have garnered over two
million dollars in the last five years as principle investigators (PIs) or co-PIs from
agencies and businesses including the National Science Foundation (NSF),
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Research Corporation, OSRAM SYLVANIA, M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust,
National Park Service, the Higher Education Coordinating Board and The Camille
and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. Detailed information about faculty grant success
is located in Appendix I.
Faculty have worked in less tangible ways to increase the funding base for
programs. They have worked closely with the CWU University Relations Calling
Connection Program to provide information to enhance their fundraising efforts.
They have worked closely with the Office of Admissions as part of a Natural
Science Recruitment Committee to recruit students into the natural sciences in
general and chemistry in particular. Several members of the department have
participated in the NSF Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP) as coPrincipal Investigators, an assessment expert, freshman science series instructor,
and summer science institute instructors. The department’s energetic faculty and
broad expertise has increased student participation in research and increased
enrollments in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.
Goal IV: Build mutually beneficial partnerships with industry, professional
groups, institutions, and the communities surrounding our campus locations.
The Chemistry Department maintains several partnerships with
constituents in industry, professional groups, institutions and the local
community. The department is a member of the Washington College Chemistry
Teachers Association (WCCTA). Several faculty attend the WCCTA annual
meeting each year. Members of the department belong to the regional American
Chemical Society section (Puget Sound Section), and maintain professional
relationships with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), OSRAM
SYLVANIA, the Pacific Northwest Association of Toxicologists and the National
Park Service (see Appendix II A). All of the department faculty engage in
research collaborations with individual scientific colleagues at other academic
institutions in the United States and abroad.
Locally, the department faculty, staff, and students work with K-12
students and teachers by participating in outreach activities as well as hosting oncampus events. The department participates each year in Expanding Your
Horizons, Multicultural Experiences in Math and Science, the summer science
institute as part of STEP, GEAR-UP 6th grade campus visitations and many
others. See Appendix II B for a listing of Chemistry Faculty K-12 and
community outreach activities.
Goal V: Strengthen the university’s position as a leader in the field of education.
The Chemistry Department offers a major and a minor in Chemistry
Teaching designed to prepare secondary teachers in chemistry. The department
has one half-time faculty member dedicated to chemical education who plays a
leading role in the administration of the University’s Center for Teaching and
Learning (CTL) by serving on the CTL Advisory Board and the CTL
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. In the fall of 2004 the department will
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add a second half-time position in chemical education to strengthen our ties with
the Science Education Program. Members of the department have served on
statewide committees dealing with transfer agreements for articulation of preservice science teachers, standards setting for the new WEST-E exit exam for
teachers in chemistry, and development of writing in the content rubric (State
Writing Project).
Goal VI: Create and sustain productive, civil, and pleasant campuses and
workplaces.
The Chemistry Department consists of dedicated, talented, and collegial
faculty and staff working toward program quality and professional growth. We
are a relatively small department (7.0 FTEF) that participates widely in college
and university decision-making bodies including Faculty Senate, Graduate
Council, CTL Advisory Board, Employee Council of Civil Service Employees,
SOURCE committee and the COTS Undergraduate Research Committee among
many others. The department embraces a gender diverse workplace as
exemplified by a 50% female faculty and a 75% female staff. Department
members also represent several different socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic
backgrounds. Many in the department have accomplished educational and
research goals by working in foreign countries. This diversity contributes to a
quality workplace. Faculty have actively participated in programs that value
diversity and create opportunities for underrepresented minorities such as the
McNair Program, Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Math, Multicultural
Experiences in Math and Science, and the STEP Program.
3.
Promotion of College of the Sciences Mission within the Department
The mission of the College of the Sciences is to provide students with knowledge
and skills in the behavioral, natural, and social sciences. This knowledge is
intended to enable students to better understand the physical and social world in
which they live, to become more effective in their human relationships, and to
sustain their state and nation in the demanding years ahead. The primary focus of
the College is excellence in instruction, with the recognition that teaching,
research, and service are interdependent activities.
The Chemistry Department promotes the mission of the College of the
Sciences (COTS) and the University through its programmatic goals. The
Chemistry Department provides students with knowledge of their natural world
through degree programs in chemistry and by participation in the General
Education Program at CWU. Chemistry courses and programs offer students the
opportunity to learn about the physical make up of the world in which they live.
This education gives students the scientific literacy and, in particular, the
chemical literacy to effectively sustain their state and nation. Faculty participate
with students in laboratory and educational research to improve the world
including such wide ranging outcomes as enhanced drug design, better display
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technology, cleaner air, and improved student learning. It is the emphasis on
faculty and student partnerships, accompanied by high quality instrumentation
that allows the Chemistry Department to provide excellent instruction at both the
graduate and undergraduate levels. The rigor and quality of our programs prepare
students for the demanding years ahead whether they choose graduate school, a
career in chemistry, or informed citizenship.
E.
Departmental Governance System
The Chemistry Department consists of seven full-time equivalent faculty,
several adjunct faculty, and 3.5 classified staff. The Department Chair oversees
all of the department personnel. The department has a Staff Supervisor who
manages staff positions. The department employs many students as research
assistants, teaching assistants, stockroom assistants, and office assistants who are
supervised by faculty and staff. The organizational chart below depicts the
relationships as they were during the 2003-2004 academic year with updates to
2004-2005.
1. Chair
2001-2004 Martha Kurtz , Associate Professor (1/2 time Science Ed)
2004-2005 Carin Thomas, Associate Professor (1/2 time Associate Dean)
2. Tenure-Track Faculty
Eric Bullock
Assistant Professor
JoAnn DeLuca
Professor
Anthony Diaz
Assistant Professor
Levente Fabry
Assistant Professor
Anne Johansen
Assistant Professor
David Lygre
Professor
Martha Kurtz
Associate Professor (1/2 time Science Ed)
Sabbatical 2004-2005
Tim Sorey
Assistant Professor (1/2 time Science Ed)
2004-2005, first year of appointment
Carin Thomas
Associate Professor (1/2 time Associate Dean)
3. Non Tenure-Track and Adjunct Faculty
2003-2004
2004-2005
Marci Bailey, FTNTT
Wajdi Zoghaib, FTNTT
Kalyn Owens, FTNTT
Gabor Konya, FTNTT
Jeff Owens, Adjunct
Ted McConnaughy, Adjunct
4. Staff Supervisor
Cynthia Kuhlken
Scientific Instructional Supervisor
a. Staff
Lisa Stowe
Secretary Senior
i.
Student Office Assistant
Heather Hinerman
Tony Brown
Scientific Technician II
i. Student Stockroom Assistants
Various
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Ying Qi
Engineering Technician II (1/2 time Biology)
Resigned in August 2004
2004-2005
A search is in process for two staff positions to be
shared among Biology, Chemistry, and Geology:
Engineering Technician II (1.00) and
Engineering Technician I (0.75)
5. Student Teaching Assistants
Various, approximately 20 per quarter
Committees
The department has formed several committees to assist in formulating
department policy and governing the work of the faculty and staff. The following
are active committees within the department:
Department Committee of the Whole – All Chemistry faculty and staff meet once
each week to discuss department business. These meetings consist of information
items, reports from department representatives (e.g., Faculty Senate), committee
reports, and action items. Business includes strategic planning, curricular
improvements, resource use, student scholarships, department policy, and
prioritization of work. Committee recommendations are discussed and approved
or sent back to committee. The faculty feel strongly that the staff should
participate in appropriate decisions of the department. Staff do not vote on
faculty issues or curricular issues and they do not participate in chair elections.
Personnel Committee – Ideally this committee consists of at least three tenured
faculty excluding the Department Chair. The committee reviews faculty
performance for reappointment, promotion, tenure, merit, and post-tenure review
and makes recommendations to the Dean of COTS. Because of the relative youth
of the department, it has been difficult to staff this committee with tenured
faculty. Tenured faculty of other closely related departments have been asked to
serve for promotion and tenure decisions in the past, however, merit and
reappointment evaluations have often included experienced tenure-track faculty.
Undergraduate Committee – This committee considers all issues related to
chemistry undergraduate programs including General Education curricula. The
committee discusses and brings to the Committee of the Whole proposals related
to curricula, program goals, and assessments. The committee reviews and reports
the results of program assessments including ACS standardized exams, end-ofmajor portfolios and alumni surveys.
Graduate Committee - This committee considers all issues related to the
chemistry graduate program. The Graduate Program Coordinator chairs the
committee. The committee discusses and brings to the Committee of the Whole
proposals related to curricula, program goals, and assessments. The committee
reviews graduate student applications and requests Teaching Assistantships from
the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
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Safety Committee- This committee is responsible for the safety policies of the
department. They keep abreast of new federal and state regulations and advise the
department on appropriate responses.
Instrument Technician Committee – The Engineering Technician II (working title
is Instrument Technician) is currently a position shared by the Biological Sciences
Department and the Chemistry Department. This committee with members from
both departments oversees the workload and addresses any issues related to this
position.
Other duties – Other duties are assigned to facilitate smooth running of the
department. These include such assignments as Seminar Coordinator, Teaching
Assistant Orientation, Library Representative, Faculty Senate Representative,
Webmaster and Student Scholarship Coordinator.
II. Chemistry Program Descriptions
A. Programs Offered
The Chemistry Department offers several academic programs to students of
Central Washington University. The catalog description for the Chemistry
Department can be found in Appendix III. The following descriptions outline the
department’s contributions in each of the various programs.
1. Undergraduate Programs
The Chemistry Department offers four undergraduate degree programs: B.A.
in Chemistry, B.A. in Chemistry Teaching, B.S. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Chemistry
with Biochemistry specialization. These broad-based chemistry degree programs are
designed to effectively generate well-prepared, self-sufficient learners, teachers and
problem solvers that are successful in pursuing graduate degrees as well as securing
employment in the various fields of chemistry. The department also offers two
minors: Chemistry and Chemistry Teaching.
Students completing any of the four undergraduate chemistry major programs
will:
 Know the standard technical information and be able to perform experimental
techniques of general, organic, analytical and physical chemistry.
 Be able to speak and write clearly in the language and style of the discipline.
 Demonstrate quantitative problem-solving skills. This includes having a firm
foundation in the fundamentals and applications of the necessary mathematics,
physics and statistics as it applies to experimental design and data analysis.
 Be able to use computers and discipline specific software.
 Be able to retrieve and critically analyze chemical literature.
 Be aware of current health and safety protocols that are an integral part of the
discipline.
 Be able to work effectively in group situations.
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Bachelor of Arts: Chemistry – The B.A. curriculum in Chemistry gives students the
basic core of chemistry content while allowing some flexibility in upper division
science elective courses. The degree prepares students to pursue careers in any
chemical field. The B.A. satisfies the prerequisites of some graduate schools, but
students intending to pursue graduate work are encouraged to obtain the B.S. degree.
Bachelor of Arts: Chemistry Teaching – This B.A. degree prepares students to teach
chemistry in the secondary schools. The Chemistry Teaching major provides students
with a broad background in chemistry and is designed to meet the Washington State,
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and National Council for
Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. Once the department has
obtained ACS accreditation for our B.S. program, we can apply for certification of
our teaching major.
Bachelor of Science: Chemistry – The B.S. curriculum in Chemistry prepares students
for graduate school or a career in chemistry. The B.S. degree also provides
appropriate training for pre-professional programs. The program contains a high
level of chemistry content including courses in all traditional branches of chemistry.
One year of physics and two quarters of calculus are required. The American
Chemical Society provides national recognition and certification of this degree and
the Chemistry department is currently taking steps to attain such certification.
Bachelor of Science: Chemistry with Biochemistry Specialization – This B.S.
curriculum in Chemistry prepares students for graduate school or a career in
chemistry with emphasis on biotechnology and professional health fields. The
program contains courses in all traditional branches of chemistry and includes a group
of courses with significant molecular sciences content from the biological sciences.
One year of physics and two quarters of calculus are required. After the department
has obtained American Chemical Society accreditation for the B.S. degree in
Chemistry, application can be made for certification of the Biochemistry
Specialization B.S. degree.
Minors in Chemistry – The Chemistry minor curriculum allows maximum flexibility
for students to tailor their program to meet their professional goals and to align with
their major program goals. The Chemistry Teaching minor allows students pursuing
a teaching degree in another science to add an endorsement in chemistry.
2. Graduate Program
The graduate program in chemistry is tailored to satisfy individual student
aspirations and is designed to provide knowledge, skills and discovery within the
chemical sciences. The program prepares candidates for professional employment in
chemistry careers including industry, consulting, and government, and for teaching at
the community college or secondary level. Additionally, the program provides a
foundation for further graduate studies beyond the M.S. level in chemistry and related
fields. Chemistry graduate students may focus their studies in any of these major
15
areas: biochemistry; organic, physical, analytical or inorganic chemistry; and
chemistry education.
Emphasis in a specific area is achieved through graduate research and
enhanced by appropriate course work and seminars. The department utilizes state-ofthe-art laboratory facilities with an array of modern instrumentation and
computational capabilities.
The graduate program is relatively new and small but growing. The Graduate
Program Coordinator has worked diligently to increase awareness of the program
including arranging faculty seminar exchanges, recruiting at national meetings, and
making university administration aware of the limitation the teaching assistant stipend
places on us. The current stipend is not competitive with other similar institutions in
the state and restricts our ability to attract students to our program.
Faculty are eager to mentor graduate students and to serve as members of their
thesis committees. Chemistry Department faculty regularly serve as members of
thesis committees for students in other graduate programs including Biological
Sciences, Geological Sciences, Exercise Science and Education.
3. General Education
The Chemistry Department serves the General Education Program by offering
three courses: CHEM 101, 111 and 181. CHEM 101 is an elective in the General
Education requirement for Applications of Natural Sciences. This course treats
social, ethical, economic, or technological implications of natural phenomena.
CHEM 111 and 181, and their associated laboratory courses, meet the General
Education requirement for a Fundamental Discipline of Physical and Biological
Sciences. These courses provide basic methods for describing and comprehending
the natural world. Average annual enrollments in CHEM 111 and 181 have increased
from 230 to 260 in the last five years while those in CHEM 101 have decreased from
204 to 106, probably due to other attractive electives in the Applications of Natural
Sciences General Education program.
4. Teacher Preparation
The Chemistry Department offers both a major and a minor to students
planning on teaching at the secondary level. Our General Education courses serve to
give basic chemical knowledge to other pre-service teachers including Elementary
Education majors who get the Science Education minor and pre-service teachers
earning a Middle Level Math Science minor. Three graduate courses, offered when
sufficient interest exists, address chemical education at higher levels.
Having multiple endorsements in the science areas enhances employment of
science teachers in our region. For that reason, the department offers a Chemistry
Teaching minor, which in the past resulted in a Supporting Endorsement in
Chemistry. Beginning in Fall 2005 students will be required to pass an exit exam to
be endorsed in Chemistry. The minor will provide the requisite knowledge and skills
in chemistry to students who get a teaching major in another science discipline.
5. Service to Other Programs
The Chemistry Department plays a large role in support of other programs.
16
Table 1 demonstrates the importance of chemistry courses to other programs showing
the total number of students enrolled in each support course per year. Although
chemistry majors are not disaggregated from this data, they represent the clear
minority in lower division courses.
Table 1. Student Enrollment in Service Courses
Course
1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002
111*
247
245
237
111Lab*
240
238
223
112*
54
44
34
112Lab*
51
41
33
113*
53
29
32
113Lab*
48
29
32
181
214
194
229
181Lab
204
178
215
182
149
118
154
182Lab
145
114
156
183
113
105
123
183Lab
103
96
123
345
16
13
12
361
104
89
94
361Lab
89
77
88
362
88
89
71
363
23
35
39
363Lab
18
28
29
431
40
32
44
431Lab
28
18
30
432
22
18
30
*Course not applicable to chemistry major programs.
2002-2003
248
247
60
60
37
35
212
202
146
140
136
122
15
125
125
127
68
58
36
27
28
2003-2004
258
257
55
54
53
49
260
253
174
166
156
135
10
115
110
107
46
38
70
55
52
The following descriptions identify the programs that depend on the department’s
offerings:
CHEM 111-113 series: One course (or more) in this sequence is required in certain
programs of Biological Sciences, Nutrition, Industrial and Engineering Technology,
Safety and Health Management, and preparation for allied health science programs
such as dental hygiene and nursing.
CHEM 181-183 series: The general chemistry 180-series is required for all chemistry
majors. One course (or more) in the sequence is required in certain programs of
Biological Sciences, Geological Sciences, Physics, Industrial and Engineering
Technology, and preparation for professional health science programs such as
medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and veterinary medicine.
CHEM 361-363 series: The organic chemistry 360-series is required for all B.S.
chemistry majors. The first two courses in the CHEM 360-series are required for all
17
B.A. chemistry majors. One course (or more) in the sequence is required in certain
programs of Biological Sciences and preparation for professional health science
programs such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.
CHEM 431-432 series: Two courses in the biochemistry 430-series are required for
all B.S. chemistry majors. One course (or more) in the sequence is a requirement or
elective in certain programs of Biological Sciences and preparation for professional
health science programs such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, and
veterinary medicine.
As a comparison to the service courses shown in Table 1, the following is a list of
courses that are required for and populated mostly by chemistry majors.
CHEM 251 Quantitative Chemistry
CHEM 350 Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 380-series, Physical Chemistry
CHEM 473 Transition Metals
CHEM 452 Instrumental Analysis
CHEM 388 Chemistry Colloquium
CHEM 488 Chemistry Colloquium
6. Summer Session
The Chemistry Department summer program has two components:
coursework of a service/general education nature and research opportunities for
science majors.
The summer course offerings are severely limited by the Washington state
requirement for self-support, and to a lesser extent, by the department's desire to offer
courses for chemistry majors and minors during the academic year in order to fully
document FTE generation in those courses. Experience has shown that adequate
student enrollment numbers in CHEM 111, Introduction to Chemistry, and CHEM
112, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, along with the associated laboratory courses,
financially justify the summer offerings. Students take these courses to satisfy
general education requirements, or to satisfy requirements within their major (see
above description in Service to Other Programs section). CHEM 111 also serves to
prepare students for the year-long general chemistry sequence (CHEM 181, 182,
183). Summer session provides summer earnings for one or two (often adjunct)
faculty. Little, if any, income is generated for the Chemistry Department from
summer revenue.
For chemistry majors, minors, and graduate students, summer offerings are
limited to opportunities for involvement in faculty mentored research. Laboratory
research in chemistry is a time intensive enterprise, well suited to the summer
months. During the last five years, four to six faculty members and 10 to 20 students
have been involved in research during the summer. Students receive credit in CHEM
495, Senior Research or CHEM 595, Graduate Research, or are paid as laboratory
assistants, depending on the project and faculty mentor. Faculty are either paid
through research grants or work without pay. Faculty typically are not paid by the
18
University for independent study credits generated. Little, if any, income is typically
generated for chemistry department coffers.
B. Currency of Curricula
The B.S. in Chemistry conforms to the recommendations of the American
Chemical Society (ACS), with whom certification is currently being sought. The
process of ACS certification requires a formal assessment of the curriculum included
in a self-study document that was submitted to ACS in spring 2004. The department
hosted a formal site visit by Dr. Phil Reid, a representative of the Committee on
Professional Training, in November 2004 and anticipates information on the status of
our application in March 2005. Chemistry department program currency is ensured
through the faculty's involvement in fundable scholarly activity, through the annual
updating of courses to meet modern trends, and through the continuous examination
of curricular issues that occur in discussions or workshops at professional meetings
(e.g., yearly Washington College Chemistry Teacher’s Association meeting,
American Chemical Society National meeting, and Biennial Conference on Chemical
Education). American Chemical Society national standardized exams are also used at
the close of several courses to assure currency and adherence to national chemistry
educational standards. The Chemistry Teaching major reflects national trends and
standards prepared by the NSTA, NCATE, and the State of Washington.
Recently, the Undergraduate Committee proposed changes to the B.S. in
Chemistry to improve the curriculum relative to national standards. The physical and
inorganic chemists suggested a merging of the two labs into one integrated lab, in
response to a national trend to provide a more interdisciplinary experience for
graduates. In addition, the B.A. in Chemistry Teaching degree has integrated an
undergraduate research experience requirement to meet new state and national
standards.
The curricula for introductory courses, which are taught by several faculty, are
developed through consensus and with the oversight of the department Undergraduate
Committee. The newest editions of standard textbooks are used in all instruction.
Curricula for upper division service courses is developed through discussions of the
department Undergraduate Committee and the Department Committee of the Whole
in consultation with faculty in the served departments. Such discussions have led to
three major changes within the last decade. The department updated its coverage and
offerings in biochemistry and inorganic chemistry, making them 400-level courses
(CHEM 431 and 432, and CHEM 473, respectively). The department also
reconfigured the lecture course content and laboratory requirement for the organic
chemistry series (CHEM 360 series) to enable non-major students to complete the
first two quarters and receive good preparation for the Biological Science major. The
reconfiguration of organic chemistry allowed the department to streamline its
curriculum and remove three courses, CHEM 311, CHEM 312, and CHEM 362
Laboratory, which are no longer offered.
The content for lecture courses in chemistry is fairly standard as evidenced by
the similarity of the available textbooks. In the laboratory, it is easier to document a
pattern of change over time. Lab manuals for most of our courses are written by our
19
own faculty and are updated and improved quarterly to incorporate more active
learning pedagogies, modern content, and advanced technologies.
Faculty have worked consistently to ensure the currency of the graduate
program curricula. The Chemistry Graduate Program was reinstated one year prior to
the beginning of the review period in 1998-1999. Faculty members of the department
have rigorous research programs, involving both graduate and undergraduate
students. They attend national and international meetings to keep abreast of recent
trends in their fields. All graduate courses are under continuous review by the
graduate committee to ensure that they incorporate recent scientific discoveries made
in the field. Seminars by outside speakers also expose students to other areas of
research and scientists from other universities.
C. Curriculum Review
All faculty are members of either the undergraduate or graduate curriculum
committees, which meet regularly to discuss the effectiveness of the curricula in
attaining our stated departmental goals. These committees review the curriculum and
propose changes, which are then presented to the department as a whole during weekly
department meetings. In August 2003, the department held an all-day retreat to discuss
the content of all courses taught in the department in order to streamline the curriculum
and to ensure that all educational goals were being met as efficiently as possible.
A subcommittee of the Chemistry Department, involving the instructors of a
given course, typically meet to review the text being used. In some cases the
departmental Undergraduate Committee also reviews the course. The usual approach is
to select representative chapters for analysis. In addition, information is included from
student evaluations each quarter in each course that include comments about the text
and instruction. Major criteria in textbook selection include clarity of explanations,
writing style, appropriate rigor, accuracy, coverage, student learning objectives, and
usefulness of homework and other exercises. Associated laboratory courses are also
reviewed, taking into account the philosophy of the course, national trends, local needs,
student evaluations, and the relationship of the laboratory to lecture content. Chemistry
laboratory exercises are modified regularly to reflect these considerations.
Curriculum review of the graduate program falls under the purview of the
Graduate Committee, which is typically comprised of the Graduate Program
Coordinator and at least three tenure-track faculty in chemistry. Criteria for review
emphasize rigorous and modern training for graduate students through course work and
research. A secondary goal is to allow as much flexibility as possible so that students
may develop specialized knowledge within the field. Additional feedback is provided
through informal exit interviews with graduates. In 2002, the department made
substantial changes in our graduate program to achieve these goals. These changes
included the introduction of several new courses, as well as a re-design of the program
that gives students more opportunities to take graduate courses in disciplines outside of
chemistry.
D. Effectiveness of Instruction
Effectiveness of instruction is measured similarly for all courses and instructors.
Effectiveness of methods, both innovative and traditional, used by each faculty member
20
is under continuous self-evaluation. During the last week of every course, including
laboratories, each faculty member has a colleague or staff member administer a Student
Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI). These evaluations consist of 29 questions to be rated
from 1-5 (with 5 being excellent and 1 being very poor) as well as written comments
under the headings: "What aspects of the teaching of this course do you feel were
especially good?" and "What changes could be made to improve learning in this
course?" A summary of this data is provided to the instructor, the Department Chair,
and the Dean.
Tenure-track faculty are evaluated annually by the Personnel Committee using
material supplied by the faculty member. These materials include course syllabi,
exams, assignments, and results of student evaluations. In addition, annual peer
evaluation of instruction is conducted for both tenured and tenure-track faculty. At
least once a year, each faculty member receives a class visitation by either the
Department Chair or another faculty member. The reviewer then writes a letter
reporting on a critical analysis of the effectiveness of instruction. Both the SEOI's and
the visitation letter go into the instructor's performance review file. Every year, the
Department Chair and Personnel Committee review this file and evaluate the faculty
member's teaching as a whole, commenting on the effectiveness of the teaching as well
as recommendations for improvement.
The effectiveness of instruction is also indicated by results of standardized
American Chemical Society exams where appropriate. These exams are administered
during the final exam period in the following courses: CHEM 183, 251, 363, 381, 432,
452. Students typically perform at the national average on these exams.
1. Instructional Methods
The Chemistry Department faculty display the scholarship of teaching, in part,
through the wide range of instructional methodologies used. Different instructors
use different combinations of tools in teaching their classes. These tools reflect the
philosophy of the course in general, the nature and level of the students involved,
and the skill and experience of the instructor in using particular tools. Table 2
summarizes the modes of instruction used in chemistry courses. Most courses
involve some lecture component, but instructors also use in-class experimental
demonstrations, group discussions, activities, quizzes, and a wide range of
information technology based approaches. Many courses also have an associated
laboratory section in which students typically work both independently and in
collaboration to apply their chemical knowledge and produce results using modern
instrumentation and associated computer technology. Some courses use a seminarstyle approach in which students read, present and discuss current research articles
or other readings. Students participate in group projects that culminate in written
and/or oral presentations to meet one of the department’s program goals.
The department is particularly proud of the integration of teaching and research
through our active undergraduate and graduate research programs. Many of our
students collaborate with faculty on various research projects. Students present
their results at the annual campus-wide SOURCE and Conference of Graduate
Student and Faculty Scholarship events as well as at regional, national, and
international conferences.
21
22
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Teaching Experience
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Individual projects
Small Group
Discussions
Group or Class Projects
Seminar/Lit Review
Field Trips
Instrument Technology
Laboratory
Title
Contemporary Chemistry
Introduction to Chemistry
Introduction to Chemistry Lab
Introduction to Organic Chemistry
Introduction to Organic Chemistry Lab
Introduction to Biochemistry
Introduction to Biochemistry Lab
General Chemistry
General Chemistry Lab
General Chemistry
General Chemistry Lab
General Chemistry
General Chemistry Lab
Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative Analysis Lab
Environmental Chem (lecture & lab)
Inorganic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry Lab I
Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry Lab II
Physical Chemistry Thermodynamics
Physical Chemistry
Physical Chemistry Lab I
Physical Chemistry
Physical Chemistry Lab II
Colloquium – poster presentation
Biochemistry I, Macromolecules
Biochemistry Lab
Biochemistry II, Metabolism
Instrumental Analysis
Instrumental Analysis Lab
Transition Metal Chemistry
Colloquium – oral presentation
Laboratory – Experience in Teaching Chem
Undergraduate/Graduate Research
Introduction to Research
Current Topics in Chemistry
Advanced Biochemistry
Biochemical Toxicology
Teaching Chem at the Comm. College
Atmospheric Chemistry
The Chemistry of Natural Waters
Organic Reaction Mechanisms
Physical Organic Chemistry
Advanced Synthetic Methods
Topics in Solid State Chemistry
Chemical Kinetics
Quantum Chemistry
Graduate Student Seminar
Information Technology
CHEM
101
111
111 L
112
112 L
113
113 L
181
181 L
182
182 L
183
183 L
251
251 L
345
350
361
361 L
362
363
363 L
381
382
382 L
383
383 L
388
431
431 L
432
452
452 L
473
488
492/592
495/595
503
505
511
512
542
551
552
561
562
563
571
582
583
589
Lecture
Table 2. Modes of Instruction Used in Chemistry Courses.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2. Information Technologies Used
Department faculty regularly utilize a range of information technologies to
foster student learning. Due to the abstract nature of our discipline, information
technology is particularly important for faculty to convey chemical concepts and
ideas. The resources that are routinely used in the department are: PowerPoint
presentations; web pages with course information, activities, practice tests and
supplementary links and materials; CDs accompanying textbooks; educational
videos; and the campus-wide Blackboard program for course structuring and tests.
Discipline specific software for molecular representation and modeling, such as
ChemDraw, Spartan and Gaussian, and symbolic logic programs for problem
solving, such as Mathcad, are also incorporated into the curriculum for student use
in a number of courses. Computer facilities with discipline-specific software as
well as standard spreadsheet, word processing and internet browsers are available
and essential for students and faculty to accomplish their work in the chemistry
department.
Students use many of these information technologies for in-class presentations.
The undergraduate curriculum includes two required Colloquium classes: CHEM
388 in which students prepare posters on various topics in chemistry for end-of-thequarter presentations to the department, and CHEM 488 in which students give oral
PowerPoint presentations to the department on a topic from a literature search or
their own laboratory research. In all cases the students make use of the information
technologies outlined above.
Students taking general chemistry have access to computers on their lab bench
that are interfaced with probes to assist in the collection of physical data. Few
chemistry programs across the country have the resources to incorporate technology
at such an early juncture in the students’ academic experience. As they progress
through laboratory courses in the major, students experience increasing instrument
technology sophistication culminating in the instrumental analysis course, CHEM
452 and 452 laboratory.
In addition, the department offers distance education courses in organic
chemistry using our Science Building facilities for the benefit of students at
regional community colleges.
E. Measures of Quantity
Measures of quantity include the number of Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES)
served by the department (Table 3), Percent Change in FTES over the review period
(Table 4), and the number of graduates from chemistry degree programs (Table 5). The
CWU Office of Institutional Research provided data for these tables. The number of Full
Time Equivalent Faculty (FTEF) in Chemistry over the review period is also shown in
Table 6. The data in Table 6 were provided by Dean Miller of the College of the
Sciences.
23
Table 3. Annual Average Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES) by Department,
College, and Level: Academic Years 1998-1999 through 2003-2004
Chemistry Department
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
Lower Division
92.4
114.4
97.7
110.7
110.0
119.3
Upper Division
31.7
34.1
31.0
34.9
45.6
48.2
Graduate
4.0
5.7
4.7
3.1
3.7
3.8
Overall Average
128.1
154.1
133.4
148.7
159.2
171.2
Total Credits
5,706
6,849
5,932
6,644
7,110
7,649
Attempted
College of the Sciences
1998-99
1,308.5
1,029.2
155.0
2,492.7
109,848
1999-00
1,355.0
1,019.5
159.0
2,533.5
111,621
2000-01
1,340.8
1,012.0
146.5
2,499.3
110,271
2001-02
1,418.2
1,047.4
119.8
2,585.4
114,541
2002-03
1,491.4
1,122.3
126.5
2,740.2
121,411
2003-04
1,584.6
1,218.6
142.9
2,946.1
130,433
Central Washington University
1998-99
Lower Division
3,239.6
Upper Division
3,866.6
Graduate
360.8
Overall Average
7,467.0
Total Credits
330,601.0
Attempted
1999-00
3,352.6
3,731.8
366.4
7,450.8
329,789.0
2000-01
3,392.4
3,571.7
323.9
7,288.0
323,105.0
2001-02
3,645.1
3,689.5
336.9
7,671.5
340,165.0
2002-03
3,858.6
3,906.2
341.1
8,105.9
359,648.0
2003-04
4,021.7
4,254.9
372.8
8,649.4
383,631.0
Lower Division
Upper Division
Graduate
Overall Average
Total Credits
Attempted
24
Table 4. Percent Change in Average Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES) by
Department, College, and University Level: Change Over The Review Period
1998-99
200304
92.4
119.3
29
Upper Division
31.7
48.2
52
Graduate
4.0
3.8
-7
128.1
171.2
34
Lower Division
Chemistry
Department
Overall Average
%
Change
1998-99 2003-04 % Change
College of the
Sciences
Lower Division
1,308.5
1,584.6
21
Upper Division
1,029.2
1,218.6
18
155.0
142.9
-8
2,492.7
2,946.1
18
Graduate
Overall Average
1998-99 2003-04 % Change
Central
Washington
University
Lower Division
3,239.6
4,021.7
24
Upper Division
3,866.6
4,254.9
10
360.8
372.8
3
7,467.0
8,649.4
16
Graduate
Overall Average
25
Table 5. Chemistry Degrees Conferred, 1999-2000 through 2003-2004.
1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- Total
Degree
Major &
2000
2001 2002 2003 2004
Level
Specialization
B.A.
B.A.
B.S.
B.S.
M.S.
Chemistry
Chemistry Teaching
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Total Bachelors Degrees
Minor
Minor: Teaching
Total Minors
Chemistry
Total Masters Degrees
4
2
5
0
11
14
0
14
0
0
2
2
4
3
11
14
0
14
2
2
1
0
1
9
11
16
2
18
3
3
2
0
6
3
11
19
4
23
1
1
3
0
5
5
13
27
3
30
0
0
12
4
21
20
57
90
9
99
6
6
Analysis of Tables 3 and 5 shows the department to be relatively small in terms of
graduates with an increasing number of total FTES served over the review period. The
total FTES reflects the trend in the university with the majority of the FTES generated
by the department in the lower division category where we offer general education and
service courses. Much of the upper division FTES may represent students who are
acquiring a chemistry minor, data that is listed in Table 5. It should be noted that the
decline in the number of conferred Masters Degrees the last two years was the direct
result of the loss of three research-active faculty in 2001. These faculty members had
graduated 2 Masters students and had commitments from 3 additional incoming
students before they left CWU. We have made a substantial recruiting effort since
2001, and there are currently 6 students enrolled in the Masters program with two
expected to graduate in winter 2005.
Analysis of the percent change in FTES over the review period shows that FTES
growth trends in chemistry outstrip trends at the college and university levels (Table 4;
% change calculated by the chemistry department). Particularly startling growth is
observed in upper division chemistry courses. Chemistry upper division courses
increased 52% in FTES while COTS grew 18% and the university overall grew 10%.
These data most probably reflect the Chemistry Department’s ability to retain lower
division students in programs and highlight its ability to recruit two-year college
transfer students and chemistry minors. Lower division course FTES growth in
chemistry is not as remarkable as upper division growth, however, it consistently
exceeds college and university growth by 8 and 6 percent, respectively. Clearly,
chemistry FTES growth has outpaced university growth over the last five or six years.
Within this same time frame, the Chemistry Department experienced a decrease in
Tenure Track faculty lines. The physical chemist who retired in 1999 was not replaced
in the following year. However, in October 2004, Provost Soltz and Dean Miller
approved the Chemistry Department’s search request for a tenure track position in
Physical/Analytical Chemistry. This increase in faculty resource will help to alleviate
pressure that the department is experiencing in upper division course enrollment.
Overall FTEF during the review period has remained stable (Table 6; next page) even
as some chemistry faculty have been reassigned to administrative duties, clearly
indicating administrative support for faculty positions of FTNTT and Adjunct status.
26
Table 6. Numbers of Full Time Equivalent Faculty (FTEF) in Chemistry according
to Adjunct, Full Time Non-Tenure Track (FTNTT) and Tenure Track (TT) status:
Academic Years 1999-2000 through 2003-2004.
Faculty
Type
Adjunct
FTNTT
TT
Total
1999200020012002200300 FTE 01 FTE 02 FTE 03 FTE 04 FTE
Faculty Faculty Faculty Faculty Faculty
1.42
1.00
6.50
8.92
0.58
1.00
7.50
9.08
0.51
2.00
4.50
7.01
0.53
2.00
6.00
8.53
Growth:
2003-2004/
1999-2000
Growth:
2002-2004/
1999-2001
0.20 -1.22
14% -0.63
37%
2.00 1.00 200% 1.00 200%
7.25 0.75 112% -0.38
95%
9.45 0.53 106% -0.01 100%
F. Measures of Efficiency
The Chemistry Department has dedicated much time and effort to maximizing the
efficiency in our instruction. We have structured our labs to maximize faculty
efficiency while continuing to maintain a safe learning environment. Faculty members
are assigned three concurrent 24-student laboratory sections. An undergraduate
teaching assistant is assigned to each section. This arrangement not only maximizes
faculty efficiency, but also provides students the opportunity to further their education
by serving as teaching assistants.
One measure of instructional efficiency is class size. Average class sizes in the
department, the college and the university are given in Table 7. The CWU Office of
Institutional Research provided data for this table.
Table 7. Average Undergraduate Class Size by Department, College, and
University Level.
Chemistry Department
1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
Lower Division
44.2
59.0
52.4
59.2
58.9
63.9
Upper Division
24.1
25.2
21.8
22.4
30.4
32.0
36.5
44.2
38.1
40.8
45.1
48.5
Overall Average
College of the Sciences
1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
Lower Division
38.0
40.8
40.0
44.4
43.7
43.2
Upper Division
19.9
20.4
19.0
22.2
22.5
23.3
27.0
28.2
26.8
30.8
30.8
31.1
Overall Average
Central Washington University
1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
Lower Division
31.5
32.3
31.9
34.8
34.6
35.6
Upper Division
20.3
19.6
19.1
21.3
22.3
22.9
24.1
24.1
23.6
26.2
27.0
27.6
Overall Average
27
Analysis of Table 7 shows the Chemistry Department has an average class size
consistently above both the college and university average for both lower and upper
division courses. The data for lower division chemistry courses are most striking and
indicate that Chemistry Department lower division courses contribute significantly to
increasing COTS class size averages over the university’s averages. In 2003-2004, the
average Chemistry lower division class size was 56% larger than the average COTS
class and 76% larger than the average university class. For upper division courses in
2003-2004, average chemistry upper division class size was 37% larger than the
average COTS class and 40% larger than the average university class. Class sizes have
continued to grow without growth in faculty resource. The department faculty have
been very conscious of the increased class sizes and have struggled with the educational
impact it has on our students. Continued growth in FTES without additional faculty
resource has already begun to impact upper division chemistry laboratories in a serious
and negative way as we struggle to balance excellent teaching and learning with
budgetary restraints.
G. Assessment of Students and Programs
1. Admission-to-Program Assessment
Before beginning the initial required course for all undergraduate degree
programs, CHEM 181 General Chemistry, students must have successfully completed
high school chemistry and demonstrate a minimum proficiency in mathematics by
qualification for pre-calculus. Registration for all subsequent required chemistry
courses depends on successful completion of at least one chemistry prerequisite course.
Admission to any of the four majors requires a meeting with a chemistry advisor.
Chemistry Teaching majors must also meet with an advisor in the Education Program.
Students entering the graduate program are assessed through (a) transcripts of
their undergraduate coursework; (b) standardized testing (GRE general test for all
applicants, GRE subject exam if deemed appropriate, and TOEFL exam for foreign
applicants); (c) three letters of recommendation from faculty familiar with the
applicant’s knowledge and abilities; and (d) a written statement from the applicant
describing their goals and future plans. The Graduate Committee reviews applications
and recommends action.
2. End-of-Program Assessment
Before they graduate, students are required to assemble an exit portfolio
containing the following items:
 A copy of transcripts plus a list of courses not yet completed.
 A list of ACS exam scores.
 A copy for a lab report demonstrating writing skills and use of the computer.
 A copy of an abstract for the CHEM 488 seminar, including literature
correctly cited.
 A resume.
 A copy of a research lab report if research was conducted.
28
The Undergraduate Committee reviews these portfolios at least once every three
years. Results of the review are communicated to the department as a whole including
recommendations for change.
The primary data used in assessing the graduate program success is the placement
of graduates after leaving the program. Over the past five years, every graduate from
chemistry department programs has either entered the workplace in chemistry or
entered a doctorate program (Table 11 B).
3. Post-Graduate Assessment
Post-graduate assessment is accomplished through three- and five-year alumni
surveys administered by the Office of Institutional Research. Appendix IV (A)
contains the latest data from these surveys. The data indicate that 75% of the students
surveyed were “very satisfied” with the quality of their major, their ability to apply
quantitative principles and problem solving skills, and “mostly satisfied” with their
readiness for their career. In the most recent survey of graduating seniors (Appendix
IV (B)), students were 100% satisfied with the science laboratory instruction they
received which speaks to the department’s excellent program and facilities. Although
these surveys provide useful information about university programs as a whole, the
chemistry department recognized the lack of specific information about chemistry in
particular and developed an assessment policy that incorporates specific department
generated alumni surveys. The Undergraduate Committee is in the process of
developing an appropriate survey.
The department secretary maintains a database that contains information on
students’ post-graduation activities, which contains placements of those who maintain
ties with the faculty and staff. Appendix V summarizes the career and graduate-school
placements of graduates for whom the department currently has information.
Current assessment data for the graduate program is the placement of students
after leaving the program. The Graduate Committee is charged next year with
evaluating the possibility of developing an alumni survey.
4. Faculty Involvement in Assessment
All faculty are involved in all aspects of curriculum and program assessment.
Reports and proposals from the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees are reviewed
by the Committee of the Whole. Action is taken based on faculty consensus.
The focus of graduate work in chemistry is the research project culminating in a
written thesis. Thus, the quality of student seminars, as well as the quality of the
written thesis and oral defense, are the primary means of assessing a student’s
development. The faculty mentor plays a critical role in guiding the student through his
or her research project, from experimental design to analysis, interpretation and
dissemination. The student’s graduate committee plays a similar role, although to a
lesser extent.
5. Program Assessment
The Chemistry Department undergraduate programs are assessed using a variety
of internal and external tools. The department is in the process of seeking program
certification from the American Chemical Society (ACS) and has recently developed an
29
integrated Physical Chemistry/Inorganic laboratory course in part to fulfill the
requirements of the ACS certification. Faculty also use ACS national standardized
exams at the close of several courses in the chemistry curriculum (e.g., CHEM 183,
251, 363, 381, 432, 452). Comparing ACS exam scores of CWU students to the
national norms allows faculty to determine the strengths and weaknesses of content
area covered in each course.
All instructors participate in the SEOI program each quarter. The instructors,
personnel committee, and chair review each report. The relevance of the CWU
chemistry course work in specific subject areas is assessed at different levels by
administering standardized subject exams as provided by the ACS. Course objectives
and learner outcomes are required on all course syllabi. Throughout the year, the
Undergraduate Committee and individual faculty with specific concerns bring
curriculum changes, resource requirements, and other programmatic changes to the
attention of the department at weekly meetings.
An example of using assessment results to change program curriculum was the
inclusion of the colloquium courses as an end-of-the-major assessment. Alumni
surveys indicated that students did not feel comfortable with the development of their
oral skills. CHEM 388 and 488 curricula were updated to provide experience in
presenting scientific data in both written and oral forms. These courses also play a
significant role in accomplishing the program goal of information literacy.
One goal of the chemistry faculty for the coming year is improving assessment
techniques for the graduate program. Presently, the primary mechanism for assessing
program quality is through evaluation of the students thesis work (written and oral
defense) by the thesis committee. Appendix VI contains a representative master’s
thesis from the chemistry program written by Anthony Brown who graduated in 2002.
It is a goal of the department to create improved mechanisms of feedback to the
Graduate Committee, as well as the development of more defined assessment tools.
6. Steps to Ensure Appropriate Assessment
The department as a whole discusses assessment activities, their progress,
strengths, and weaknesses. These are regular items on department meeting agendas to
ensure that these activities are accomplished. The department also considers feedback
from employers of our graduates, research advisors of students who continue to pursue
advanced degrees, and alumni of our programs.
The Graduate Committee must develop specific assessment guidelines that are
consistent with the goal of producing knowledgeable students capable of independent
work in the field. New assessment tools must also be developed and may include (a) a
formal exit interview; (b) an alumni survey; and (c) a formal report of a student’s thesis
to the department’s Graduate Committee.
III. Faculty
A. Faculty Profile
The Chemistry Department has eight tenure track faculty who are highly dynamic
individuals representing all basic sub-disciplines within the field of chemistry: analytical,
biochemistry, chemical education, environmental, inorganic, organic, and physical. The
30
faculty are dedicated to excellence in teaching, superior scholarly work, and extensive,
broadly applied service. Two faculty in the department currently have half-time
assignments in chemistry: one is reassigned half-time to the Dean’s office as the
Associate Dean for Resource Development and the other has a permanent half-time
position in the Science Education Program. In addition, the department routinely
employs several adjuncts and, for the three years 2001-2004, one full-time non tenuretrack line.
As a group, the Chemistry Department faculty are also gender and ethnically diverse.
According to data from the CWU Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), the CWU
Chemistry faculty cohort meets and exceeds gender and minority diversity requirements.
The department boasts 42% female and 11% Hispanic faculty (OEO data target 30% and
3%, respectively). In addition, approximately 50% of the department faculty are
bilingual.
The department has experienced a large turnover of faculty in the last five years.
Retirement and other professional or personal opportunities account for the turnover in
tenure-track positions. Due to the timing of the resignations and the nature of the budget
during this time, one-year non tenure-track employees have filled many tenure-track lines
over the five-year period of this review. The department’s non-tenure track faculty
profile completely turned over during summer 2004; one adjunct and two new full time
non-tenure-track faculty were hired. In addition, during summer 2004, Tim Sorey was
appointed to a half-time time tenure track position in Chemistry with a half-time
appointment in Science Education. Tim Sorey is currently in the first year of his
appointment. Most notably, in October 2004, Dean Miller and Provost Soltz authorized a
tenure track position in Physical/Analytical Chemistry. This position accounts for one of
two new tenure track faculty lines that were available in the College of the Sciences. A
jubilant search committee quickly organized within the Chemistry Department and began
the search process.
Table 8 summarizes a number of performance measures for Chemistry Department
tenured and tenure track faculty over the last five years. The table reflects the high
degree of activity of these tenure track faculty and contains data only for the faculty that
are currently in the department. It is impossible to retroactively construct the activity of
faculty who are no longer part of the department but who were employed by CWU during
a portion of the review period. The first row of the table indicates the number of faculty
represented in the data for that year. Note that in 1999-2000 the work of only four
faculty is represented.
31
Table 8. Faculty Performance Measures of Scholarship, Service and Student
Research Mentoring
Scholarship measures
Total faculty incl. in data
1999- % of 2000- % of 2001- % of 2002- % of 2003- % of 5-yr
2000 faculty 2001 faculty 2002 faculty 2003 faculty 2004 faculty total
4
5
6
7
8
annual % of
faculty
avg
Abstracts presented
11
75
3
40
7
67
5
57
13
75
39
8
88
Add'l conferences attended
3
75
5
60
3
50
9
71
15
75
35
7
88
Peer-reviewed publications
2
50
3
40
1
17
3
50
4
38
13
3
75
Peer-reviewed publications
with undergraduates
Peer reviewed publications
with graduate students
External grants written
research
External grants funded
research
External grants written
curriculum-infrastructure
External grants funded
curriculum-infrastructure
Internal grants written
research
Internal grants funded
research
Internal grants written
curriculum-infrastructure
Internal grants funded
curriculum-infrastructure
Department committees
1
25
2
40
1
17
1
17
1
14
6
2
57
0
0
1
20
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
14
2
25
3
20
3
17
8
71
12
63
28
6
63
1
25
2
20
2
17
5
50
3
25
13
3
63
3
25
2
20
3
17
6
29
3
14
17
3
25
3
25
1
20
1
17
2
29
1
14
8
2
25
0
0
2
20
2
17
0
0
8
75
12
2
88
0
0
1
20
0
0
0
0
6
75
7
1
75
3
50
0
0
2
33
3
17
2
29
10
2
43
2
50
0
0
2
33
2
17
2
29
8
2
43
17
100
16
100
23
100
23
100
30
86
109
22
100
College committees
6
100
12
100
7
83
7
83
10
86
42
8
100
University committees
5
50
7
40
12
67
15
71
14
63
53
11
75
Community service
14
75
12
80
12
33
16
57
20
57
74
15
71
Professional org.
Committee
Leadership position in
professional org.
Participation on proposal
review panel
Invited seminars
1
25
2
40
1
17
2
33
3
38
9
2
50
2
50
2
40
2
33
2
33
3
38
11
2
50
1
25
1
20
1
17
1
17
0
0
4
1
14
4
25
2
40
6
50
4
43
8
63
24
5
88
Manuscripts reviewed
1
25
0
0
1
17
6
33
10
63
18
4
75
Textbooks reviewed
1
25
2
40
1
17
1
17
2
29
7
1
43
Grant proposals reviewed
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
33
4
29
6
1
57
Involvement in external
tenure reviews
Supervision of SOURCE
presentations
Undergraduate student
projects
0
0
0
0
1
17
0
0
2
29
3
1
14
1
25
2
40
2
33
2
29
6
63
13
3
75
14
75
8
80
18
67
18
86
21
75
79
16
88
32
B. Faculty Professional Records and CurriculumVitae
Chemistry Department faculty Curricula Vitae and 5-year Structured Performance
Records are provided in Appendix VII A and B.
C. Teaching Effectiveness
The Chemistry Department measures teaching effectiveness in two ways: Student
Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI) results and peer review.
1. Student Evaluation of Instruction – SEOI scores for the Chemistry Department as
a whole, College of the Sciences as a whole, and University as a whole, as
provided by the Office of Institutional Research, are given in Table 9 for the
Effectiveness of Instructor. Chemistry course content is rigorous and requires
substantial quantitative reasoning skills of students. Despite the demanding
nature of chemistry course content and potential for student dissatisfaction due to
the course difficulty, the SEOI data indicate that chemistry faculty as a whole are
delivering effective instruction. Chemistry values in Table 9 are consistently at or
above a value of 4, on a 1 – 5 scale in which 5 is rated “most” effective. The
trend in the table shows an increase over the four-year period from an academic
year average of 4.1 in 1999-2000 to 4.4 in 2003-2004. Since 50% of current
chemistry faculty are new hires during the review period, this trend probably
represents an improvement in faculty as they gain expertise in teaching.
2. Peer Review – Tenured and tenure-track faculty seek out regular peer review of
their instruction as a means to document effectiveness and to gain ideas for
improvement. The review generally consists of a class visitation and follow-up
conversation, but may also include extensive evaluation of course materials (e.g.,
syllabi, exams, textbook). Faculty peer evaluations of chemistry faculty are
presented in Appendix VIII.
Table 9. SEOI Data for Effectiveness of Instructor:
Comparison of Chemistry, COTS and University values.
Fall
Winter
Spring
4.0
4.2
4.1
1999-00
Chemistry
4.2
4.2
4.3
The Sciences
4.3
4.3
4.3
CWU
2000-01
Chemistry
The Sciences
CWU
2001-02
Chemistry
The Sciences
CWU
33
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.1
4.3
4.3
4.1
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.2
4.3
4.1
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.3
2002-03
Chemistry
The Sciences
CWU
2003-04
Chemistry
The Sciences
CWU
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.5
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.3
4.5
4.4
4.4
D. Scholarship
Chemistry Department faculty consider scholarship of paramount importance as
evidenced by their record in measures such as mentored student research, peer-review
publication, and grant writing. As shown in Table 8 faculty have presented at
national and international conferences, authored peer-reviewed publications including
papers with CWU student co-authors, and received external funding. Considering the
turnover in faculty and the youth of the department in general, this record is
substantial. Over the last five years the faculty have garnered over 2 million dollars
in external funding (see Appendix I). As of September 2004, almost one million
dollars in requests to external federal and private agencies were pending. Chemistry
faculty have also enjoyed over $80,000 of support from CWU internal granting
mechanisms during the review period (Appendix I). The department values inquirydriven research that involves CWU students and recognizes that such work may result
in longer timeframes between publications, especially when most of the work is done
in conjunction with undergraduate students.
E. Service
The Chemistry Department faculty participate fully in service activities at all
levels including department, college, university, local, and state. Table 8 indicates
the numbers and types of committees faculty served on over the last five years. The
Department provided faculty representatives on eight college and eleven university
committees, on average per year. Committee service for the department has remained
high throughout the review period, despite the fact that the department was often
working with high percentages of non tenure-track faculty. Department faculty have
been willing to serve the university in administration as well with one faculty member
reassigned half-time as the Associate Dean for Resource Development and one
serving as the Science Education Program Director.
In addition to service within the university, the department faculty serve in the
local Kittitas County community and on state and national committees and boards.
One member of the department is the Treasurer of PANWAT (Pacific Northwest
Association of Toxicologists), one is the Treasurer of the local chapter of the honor
society Phi Kappa Phi, one has consulted with local residents about their water
quality, one has served on the Ellensburg School District Science Adoption
committee, and one serves on the dissertation committee of a student at the University
of Washington. The majority of tenured and tenure-track faculty have either given
invited seminars, reviewed journal or textbook manuscripts, or reviewed grant
34
proposals. As a service to the regional chapter of our national organization, the
department hosted the ACS Puget Sound Section Undergraduate Research
Symposium in Spring 2004.
F. Student Research Supervision
The Chemistry Department faculty value the experience gained by students
who participate in research. To that end, faculty spend an inordinate amount of time
supervising student projects. The nature of chemical lab work requires close
supervision by faculty mentors. Safety and data accuracy are of extreme importance
when conducting chemical experiments. Many projects require substantial
knowledge and understanding of advanced chemical principles and laboratory skills.
Faculty dedicate their time to ensure effective instruction and successful completion
of student projects. Undergraduate and graduate student research projects taking
place over the last five years are listed in faculty CVs and structured performance
records (Appendix VII).
The department feels strongly about the undergraduate research experience as
evidenced by the requirement for tenure that faculty publish work conducted with
students at CWU. Despite this feeling, we have not made undergraduate research a
requirement for graduation due in large part to the number of majors we have in
relation to the number of faculty and to the intensity of work required for each
project. Depending on the faculty member and the project, different numbers of
undergraduate students can be mentored during a given quarter, but the average is
approximately three.
Graduate student theses represent a slightly different scenario. The level of
knowledge is increased and so is the experience of the student. Each year there are
fewer graduate students in the program than there are faculty wanting to mentor.
Comparatively low graduate stipends make it difficult to compete with other schools
for students. However, we have had several outstanding graduate students mentored
by our faculty. The faculty also serve on thesis committees of students in other
departments.
Students have presented the results of their work at SOURCE (28
presentations), the CWU Conference of Graduate Student and Faculty Scholarship (4
presentations), at national meetings (10 presentations), at regional meetings
(10 presentations), winning awards in many cases (see Appendix IX (A through F)).
They have been supported by grants from the CWU Office of Undergraduate
Research, the College of the Sciences, and externally funded faculty research grants.
The faculty are proud of the results of these projects and the maturity of our students
in garnering their own support, carrying out their projects, and winning presentation
awards for their work.
IV.
Students
A. Majors
The Chemistry Department offers four degree options: B.A. Chemistry, B.A.
Chemistry Teaching, B.S. Chemistry, and B.S. Chemistry with Biochemistry
Specialization. The number of majors declared over all four college years (freshman to
35
senior) in spring 2004 was 77 (data from department secretary). The distribution of these
students among the four degree options as shown below indicates that the Chemistry BS
degree programs are quite popular.
Number of declared majors
B.A. in Chemistry,
8
B.A. in Chemistry Teaching,
6
B.S. in Chemistry,
22
B.S. in Chemistry with Biochemistry Specialization,
41
The class distribution of the 77 chemistry majors in Spring 2004 was:
Seniors:
43
Juniors:
25
Sophomores:
8
Freshman:
1
The department also supports several other majors by offering two minors in chemistry.
In spring 2004, 65 chemistry minors were declared, including 58 chemistry minors and 7
chemistry teaching minors.
The number of chemistry degrees conferred over the last five years is given in Table
5. During the review period the number of minors graduating and chemistry bachelor
degrees conferred have increased, particularly in the latter years. However, only 30% of
the declared chemistry major seniors graduated in spring 2004. This may indicate that
students require more than four years to finish their degrees or that they change their
major in their senior year. In any case, the observed increase from 11 graduates per year
in 2000-2003 to 13 graduates in 2004 may indicate the beginning of a growth trend. The
department expects the numbers of graduates to continue to rise in concert with the
expanded enrollment and the increase in declared chemistry majors. The numbers of
majors may also rise in response to two explicit efforts to recruit students into the natural
sciences: the STEP program and the COTS ad hoc committee to recruit more students
expressing an interest in the physical sciences (chemistry, geology, and physics). These
programs will also assist the Chemistry Department in retaining students as these students
will likely be more prepared for a rigorous physical sciences program.
The department would like the cohort of chemistry graduate students to grow to
approximately six to twelve. We have averaged 2-3 over the last several years. More
growth is expected in upcoming years due to a more permanent faculty, efforts to
increase student stipends to a competitive level, and increased external grant success
funding student stipends.
B. General Education and Service Courses
Chemistry plays a major role in providing Service and General Education courses to
the students of CWU. Table 10 shows the number of these course offerings each quarter,
as well as the total number of students served each year. Note that the Chemistry
Department serves other programs by offering a wide range of courses (general, organic,
and biochemistry) taught at both the lower and upper division level, as well as
environmental chemistry. For the General Education program, the chemistry department
offers three types of lower division general chemistry.
36
Table 10. Number of General Education and Service Courses Offered in Chemistry
General Education
1999-2000
F W S
CHEM 101
1
1
CHEM 111
1 1
1
CHEM 111Lab
5 4
2
CHEM 181
2 1
CHEM 181Lab
7 2
Total sections
15 8
4
Total sections per year
27
Total students per year
665
2000-2001
2001-2002
F W S
F W S
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
5
2
4
4
3
2
1
2
1
6
2
7
3
15 9
4 16 9
5
28
30
588
643
2002-2003
2003-2004
F W S
F W
S
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
4
5
3
4
2
1
2
1
6
3
8
3
14 9
6 17 8
6
29
31
610
624
Service
1999-2000
2000-2001
F
W S
F W S
CHEM 111
1
1
1
1 1
1
CHEM 111Lab
5
4
2
5 5
2
CHEM 112
1
1
CHEM 112Lab
2
2
CHEM 113
1
1
CHEM 113Lab
2
2
CHEM 181
2
1
2 1
CHEM 181Lab
7
2
6 2
CHEM 182
2
1
2
1
CHEM 182Lab
5
2
4
2
CHEM 183
1
2
1
2
CHEM 183Lab
1
4
2
4
CHEM 345
1
1
CHEM 361
2
2
CHEM 361Lab
2
3
2 3
CHEM 362
2
2
CHEM 363
1
1
CHEM 363Lab
1
1
CHEM 431
1
1
CHEM 431Lab
2
1
1 1
CHEM 432
1
1
Total sections
23 24 15 17 18 14
Total sections per year
62
49
Total students per year
1123
1011
37
2001-2002
F
W S
1
1
1
4
4
3
1
2
1
2
2
1
7
3
2
1
6
2
1
2
1
5
1
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
17 21 17
55
1099
2002-2003
F W S
1
1
1
4
4
4
1
3
1
2
2
1
6
3
2
1
5
2
1
2
2
4
1
2
3
3
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
12 22 17
51
1238
2003-2004
F
W S
1
1
1
5
3
4
1
3
1
2
2
1
8
3
2
1
6
2
1
2
2
6
1
2
3
3
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
21 23 18
62
1356
C. Student Accomplishments
The accomplishments of our students are a source of great pride in the Chemistry
Department. Students annually present at SOURCE and regularly win presentation
awards. During the review period chemistry students have won two oral presentation
awards, two poster presentation awards and an honorable mention (Appendix IX (A)).
Students have also presented at regional and national meetings including the ACS
National Meeting, Northwest Regional ACS Meeting, Murdock College Science
Conference, ACS Puget Sound Section Undergraduate Research Symposium, Council
on Undergraduate Research conference and the Pacific Northwest Association of
Toxicologists annual meeting.
Chemistry Department graduates have been successful in obtaining industrial
positions, teaching positions, admittance to graduate school, and acceptance to
professional programs. Table 11 shows total placements for undergraduate and
graduate students during the review period. Specific placements are shown for each
graduate student in Table 11 B. Appendix V details specific placements for
undergraduates.
Students who have matriculated with baccalaureate degrees from the Chemistry
Department have entered Ph.D. programs at the following institutions: University of
Illinois, Indiana University, University of Montana, University of Oregon, Ohio State
University, University of Washington, and Washington State University. One student
who graduated from Indiana University and who is finishing post-doctoral training at
Los Alamos National Laboratories, is currently applying for chemistry faculty
positions in the Pacific Northwest.
The Chemistry Department also sends high quality students to professional
schools of medicine, pharmacy, optometry and dentistry and to Ph.D. programs in the
health sciences. Most of these students have been undergraduate researchers in
chemistry faculty laboratories. Saundra Schoenberg entered the Toxicology Graduate
Program at Vanderbilt University. Ben Howie and Kent Zettel entered Loma Linda
School of Medicine and the School of Medicine at University of Cincinnati,
respectively, in fall 2004. Two other chemistry students, Scott Oltman and Sarah
Key, graduated from Optometry programs at the University of Tennessee and the
University of California Berkeley, respectively, and both have returned to Ellensburg
to practice. Dawn (Sanderlin) Ipsen completed her Doctorate of Pharmacy at the
University of Washington in 2002 and is now a practicing compounding specialist in
the Puget Sound area.
The pre-pharmacy students of CWU require a separate note to describe their
unique circumstance. Pre-pharmacy students need only to complete prerequisites to
enter Doctorate of Pharmacy programs. No degree is required. Dawn (Sanderlin)
Ipsen is an example of a student who never graduated from CWU. Yet she spent
several years in the chemistry department acquiring her prerequisites for pharmacy
school, participating in undergraduate research, and serving as a teaching assistant.
Such students are not counted in the measures of quantity included in this report.
They are nevertheless our loyal alumni and the Chemistry Department is proud of
their accomplishments.
38
Undergraduate Students
13
17
6
Graduate Students
3
1
2
2
Unknown
Other
Professional
Programs
Teaching
Graduate
School
Chemistry Department Graduate Placement
Industry
Table 11 A.
3
15
Table 11 B. Specific placement for Chemistry Department Graduate Students
Student Name
Year
Placement
Brenda Broers
2002
Teaching: Wenatchee Comm. College
Tony Brown
2002
Industry: Central Washington University
Marie Dunn
2002
Teaching: Yakima Valley Comm. College
Manshun Lai
2001
Industry: Cell Therapeutics
Melissa Mackey
2003
PhD Program: University of Cincinnati
Marc Walker
2001
Industry: Novartis
Award winning presentations and success after graduation reflect only a piece of
Chemistry Department student achievements. Eighteen students have received
undergraduate research grants from the Office of Undergraduate Research or the
College of the Sciences. Each year at least one and sometimes three students have
been awarded CWU Alumni Association Departmental Scholarships. The Chemistry
Club regularly receives recognition from the ACS for the service they provide.
Appendix IX (A through F) summarizes the student accomplishments in the last 5
years.
D. Advising Services
All tenured and tenure-track faculty take part in undergraduate advising. In some
cases, the department secretary who has initial contact with students, directs students
looking for an advisor to a faculty member. Students must select an official
department advisor when they apply to the major. The department secretary keeps
records on students and their advisors. Faculty typically advise students who are
interested in their area of expertise. Students must meet with an advisor prior to
being admitted to the major. The department also serves students by advising for
professional programs including pharmacy and teaching. Three of the last five years
a department faculty member has served as a UNIV 101 teacher and advisor.
Graduate student advising is carried out by the student’s faculty mentor, members
of their thesis committee, and by the Graduate Program Coordinator. All faculty
serve as members of thesis committees.
E. Other Student Services
The Chemistry Club is a service provided through the department by the students.
The Chemistry Club, a Student Affiliates Chapter of the American Chemical Society,
39
continues to grow in member numbers and enthusiasm. Students direct the club with
guidance from a chemistry department faculty advisor. The club has received
national recognition each year from the ACS for its service and educational efforts.
The club offers students experiences apart from their traditional academic activities,
such as field trips, educational outreach, fund raising, and promotional events (for the
club and for chemistry in general).
The department offers several professional growth opportunities for students
through student employment. Each quarter approximately 20 students are hired to
serve as teaching assistants (T.A.s) in the undergraduate laboratories or as stockroom
assistants. These students gain valuable experience in applying the knowledge they
have gained in our programs. Students receive credit the first quarter they T.A., and
minimum wage hourly pay for subsequent quarters, with a fifty-cent hourly raise after
three quarters of service. Many students return to T.A. for four to six quarters.
V. Library and Technological Resources
A. Library requirements
The CWU Library represents an important piece in the success of the Chemistry
Department’s educational and research objectives. One of the department’s program
goals relates to information literacy, i.e., students must be able to retrieve and
critically analyze chemical literature. The department is also seeking American
Chemical Society (ACS) certification of our B.S. program. The ACS requires that (1)
Chemical Abstracts must be available, either in print or electronically. Electronic
access is currently available after 5 pm; (2) the library must provide ready access to
at least 20 refereed journals, in print or electronically. With the library's ACS
publications subscription and current print holdings this requirement is satisfied.
The following journals, not currently subscribed to, would enhance our programs
and our faculty work:
1. Journal of Research in Science Teaching
2. Journal of Chemical Education
3. Methods in Enzymology
4. Journal of Luminescence
5. Journal of Solid State Chemistry
6. Surface Science
7. Surface Science Reports
8. Applied Surface Science
9. Surface and Interface Analysis
10. Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design
11. European Journal of Organic Chemistry
12. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters
13. Synlett
The department would also benefit greatly from a subscription to SciFinder,
which is a more up-to-date and user-friendly electronic searching service.
40
The following library services are critical support to chemistry programs:
1. Interlibrary loan office
2. Journal holdings in Chemistry
3. Shared non-journal library collections with Oregon and Washington
(Summit)
4. Online database access (Web of Science, etc.)
B. Student Information Literacy Proficiencies
1. Instruction Provided
CHEM 388 and CHEM 488 are colloquium courses in which students perform an
extensive literature study on a topic of their choosing. At the end of the term they
present either a poster (CHEM 388) or an oral seminar (CHEM 488) to the faculty as
well as their peers in chemistry. They are instructed in the use of library resources,
the use of the various electronic search engines used by scientists, the difference
between peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed literature, and proper citation of the
literature. They are also taught the importance of obtaining information on a topic
from a variety of different sources. Students involved in undergraduate research
projects (CHEM 495) must also familiarize themselves with the peer-reviewed
literature related to their work.
2. Assessment of Proficiency
In CHEM 388/488, peer and faculty review are used throughout the term to assess
student information literacy proficiencies. Students are given feedback on their
progress as well as input for improvement. The quality of their presentation at the
end of the term is the final assessment tool. Students include their CHEM 488
abstract with literature cited in the end-of-major portfolio. Computer literacy is
assessed through lab reports, homework assignments, research reports, and
presentations. Students who prepare research reports in CHEM 495 must include
proper citation of the relevant peer-reviewed literature. The research mentor
evaluates this report.
VI.
Instrumentation and Facilities
Chemistry Department faculty, staff, and students are dependent on sophisticated
computer software and equipment in order to carry out the work of the discipline. Since
chemistry practice is linked to laboratory work, the department is necessarily resource
intensive.
One strength of the department is that students receive hands-on training operating
complex equipment that at other universities would be operated by graduate students or
staff. The chemistry curriculum has been written to provide students numerous
opportunities to gain experience on a wide range of instruments, from general chemistry
students who analyze samples with gas chromatographs to organic chemistry students
who use the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer). The department has
purchased robust equipment that is still technologically sound, however requirements for
computer upgrades limit our instrumentation use.
41
Appendix X contains lists of the computer and instrumentation resources available to
the department. State-of-the-art computer technology is essential to accomplish our
academic and scholarly work. Along with instrumentation, the department relies heavily
on computer resources for teaching and research. The lower division general chemistry
laboratories are outfitted with computers and Labworks interfaces that allow students to
determine physical quantities with probeware and import the data directly into
spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel for analysis. Silicon Graphics computers
with UNIX operating systems are used for molecular modeling and computational
chemistry in upper division chemistry courses. PCs are available in all student and
research labs for data analysis, graphing and statistical computation. In addition,
virtually all of the instruments are interfaced to 'dedicated' computers with instrumentspecific software.
The computer systems currently in operation are five years old, most use
Windows NT operating systems and are in need of upgrading. Also, the interface
hardware on the lower division general chemistry laboratories has been discontinued and
needs replacement. The CWU Information Technology Services Department does not
support old technologies. Upgrading chemistry computers dictates upgrading the
instrument-specific software, which adds significantly to the cost.
In an effort to maintain current computer resources in faculty and staff offices, the
department has implemented a plan to replace all office computers on a rotating basis.
The goal is to replace three each year. Two years ago the department purchased three
desktop computers. In 2003-2004, three more PCs were purchased and partially funded
by the COTS Dean’s Office. The department recycles the replaced computers, using
them for student and research labs. Through the dedication of faculty and staff, the
department has been able to adequately manage the large number of computer resources
available. However, human resources are strained and as student enrollment grows, the
department will need a computer technician to maintain the more than 250 computers,
printers and peripherals in use.
Scholarly work in chemistry requires dedicated laboratory space. With the
renovation of two Science Building spaces into research labs, the department has been
able to support its faculty in accomplishing their scholarly work. The department has
requested two tenure-track faculty lines to begin Fall 2005. As new faculty join the
department, research laboratory space will become a pressing issue. Office space is
adequate for faculty and staff, however, as the graduate program grows more graduate
student office space will need to be considered.
VII.
Reflections
A. Accomplishments and Successes
Faculty, Staff, Research and Overall Program.
1. Over the review period, the Chemistry Department has successfully hired
quality faculty for full time tenure-track and non-tenure track positions.
Although faculty turnover has disrupted departmental efficiency and
effectiveness, the department now has a core group of collegial faculty dedicated
42
to a common vision. The new faculty hires have assisted the department in
moving successfully toward a common vision.
2. The chemistry faculty and staff embrace culture and gender diversity. Recently
hired faculty members offer a diversity of experience and a global perspective to
the department. According to data from the CWU Office of Equal Opportunity
(OEO), the CWU Chemistry faculty cohort meets and exceeds gender and
minority diversity requirements. The department boasts 42% female and 11%
Hispanic faculty (OEO data target 30% and 3%, respectively).
3. Over the last decade the department has witnessed explosive growth of students
involved in undergraduate research. The Chemistry Department has built a team
of faculty who value undergraduate research as a means to educate students and
promote the academic enterprise. As a result, a significant increase in the
numbers and quality of students involved in research projects and presentations
has occurred. Chemistry students regularly present their research results at
SOURCE, regional and national ACS meetings, and other national meetings.
More students are writing and receiving undergraduate research grants and many
students have been successfully employed in summer research projects with
external support (NSF, Research Corporation, National Park Service). Many
students also share co-authorship of peer-reviewed research publications with
chemistry faculty.
4. Chemistry faculty have been productive proposal writers. Over the last five
years, the total dollars of external funding obtained by department faculty for
scientific research and curriculum development exceeds two million dollars.
Faculty have received 13 research grants and 8 curriculum grants, averaging three
grants per faculty.
5. Chemistry Department faculty have been involved in interdepartmental and
intradepartmental collaborations. These include collaborations with geological
science, computer science, biological science, and mathematics. Within the
department, faculty have collaborated on an NIH AREA proposal in
environmental research and the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust grant titled, “A
Renaissance in Chemistry Research”. Outside the department, chemistry faculty
have been active participants and co-PIs who have contributed scientific and
assessment expertise in several proposal writing and curriculum reform efforts
including NSF-STEP, NSF-CCLI, and NSF-PRISM.
6. Resource sharing. Departmental faculty share analytical instrumentation in
upper division coursework and in research and have increased access of
instrumental resources to other departments.
7. Collaborations external to the university. Several Chemistry faculty maintain
close collaborative ties with academic and industrial institutions outside of CWU.
These include research and consulting agreements with OSRAM SYLVANIA,
43
Inc. (studies of luminescent materials), with the National Center for Atmospheric
Research (modeling atmospheric iron), and on surface science projects with
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of Ulm, Germany, Western
Washington University and Washington State University.
8. Contributions to university governance. Chemistry faculty and staff have
provided a remarkable amount of service to university committees considering the
size of the department. In a period of limited tenured and tenure-track faculty
resource, chemistry faculty have contributed to an average of two university
committees per faculty member per year. Chemistry faculty and staff are good
department citizens and university team members. They have a reputation for
active leadership and are frequently requested to serve.
9. CWU relations with the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The Chemistry
Department has been instrumental in developing a positive relationship between
the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust and CWU. The relationship evolved from an
initial contact in 1996 at a Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) conference regarding a
grant proposal and has progressed toward the hosting of the Regional Murdock
College Science Symposium at CWU. Since the initial contact, CWU programs
have benefited from three major grants totaling almost one million dollars from
the Trust.
Curriculum and Students
1. Streamlined the graduate program. The graduate program has been updated to
provide more flexibility, possibilities for specialization, and more of a research
focus. Previously, graduate students were required to take coursework in each of
the major sub-disciplines in chemistry. Our new program allows students to focus
their coursework on topics relevant to their thesis research project, including
coursework outside of chemistry where appropriate. Two new courses were
added to the degree: CHEM 503, Introduction to Research, which exposes
students to the faculty and their research interests, and CHEM 505 which is a onecredit special topics course that is rotated among the faculty.
2. ACS accreditation of the B.S. in Chemistry. After intensive effort, the
department is nearing its goal of obtaining American Chemical Society (ACS)
certification of the B.S. degree in Chemistry. The ACS is an internationally
recognized professional organization with rigorous standards for certifying degree
programs. ACS certification lends important national credibility to the degree and
creates additional opportunities for students after graduation. For certification, a
detailed self-study was prepared and submitted and the department ACS
coordinator met with the ACS Committee on Professional Training at the March
2004 national conference. In November 2004, an ACS representative completed
a CWU site visit and the department is currently in the final stages of review.
44
3. A more flexible chemistry minor that serves student needs. The chemistry minor
has been updated to increase flexibility, allowing students to tailor a program to
match their career goals. The chemistry teaching minor was designed specifically
to meet state criteria for endorsement in secondary chemistry teaching.
4. New science building instrumentation brought on-line. The department has
successfully brought new Science building instrumentation online, incorporated
the instrumentation into the curriculum and research programs, and facilitated
student access to instrumentation data storage on university servers. All modern
instrumentation is driven by computer software. Over the last five years the
department has worked with university computer and engineering technicians to
setup and maintain the instrumentation.
5. Modernization of the upper division labs. With the addition of new faculty and
the new Science Building, the department has updated the upper division labs
including analytical, inorganic, organic, physical and biochemistry.
Improvements include pedagogical and technological areas such as incorporating
cooperative learning exercises into the laboratories, increasing technological and
instrumental sophistication, and modernizing current content.
6. Undergraduate research focus. One of the strengths of the department is the
dedication of the faculty to creating quality research opportunities for
undergraduates. Approximately twenty undergraduates participate in research
each year. Such research is an important supplement to student training in
chemistry, and provides excellent preparation for graduate school or work in
industry. Many of these students present posters and talks at SOURCE and at the
Murdock College Science Research Symposium, as well as at regional and
national meetings. Some of these students have also appeared as co-authors on
peer-reviewed journal publications.
7. Collaborative curriculum reform. Chemistry faculty participate as co-PIs in
collaborative efforts to reform and update the curriculum such as the NSF-STEP,
NSF-CCLI, and NSF-PRISM programs.
B. Challenges and Solutions.
1. Increasing FTES. One of the most significant challenges for the chemistry
department is continuing to accommodate growth in FTES without increasing
faculty resource. The Chemistry Department already surpasses COTS and
university averages for class size in both upper and lower division courses. In
prior years the department has greeted the challenge of increased FTES as a
happy circumstance as courses increased toward maximum enrollment. However,
in many cases maximum enrollment has been reached. The department has met
this challenge by offering more sections to serve the students. The Chemistry
Department teaches lower division general chemistry courses at maximum
45
efficiency. Lectures are filled to capacity (100 students) and the laboratories fill
at 72 (3 sections of 24 students). One faculty member teaches three concurrent
general chemistry laboratories with the assistance of 3 T.A.s.
2. Increasing enrollments in upper division laboratory courses. Within the last
year or two chemistry upper division laboratories have reached and exceeded
maximum capacity. The department has met this challenge by increasing
enrollment from 20 to 24 students. One strategy for greater efficiency is to
schedule two upper division lab sections concurrently as in the lower division
labs. The analytical chemistry lab has already been identified as a potential
laboratory space for organic chemistry labs, however lack of hood space and cup
sinks limit the room use. A remodel of this room to allow organic chemistry
instruction would assist the chemistry department.
3. Insufficient budget allocation for Teaching Assistants. The chemistry
department is efficient in offering multiple, concurrent laboratory sections,
however, this efficiency depends on hiring teaching assistants (T.A.s). The
department’s T.A. budget allocation has been $9,214 for the last decade. Over
that decade the U.S. has witnessed 7 minimum wage increases and the Chemistry
Department has grown in FTES served and lab sections offered. The department
has overspent the T.A. allocation by 72 to 100% for the last 5 years. This
challenge has been met annually by using the department’s Goods and Services
budget and by requesting supplements from the Dean and the Provost to pay T.A.
salaries.
4. Increasing costs of laboratory chemicals and supplies. Market increases in
chemicals and laboratory supplies strain the chemistry stockroom budget. The
department has met this challenge by increasing student laboratory and breakage
fees twice over the last five years. In order to keep pace with market adjustments,
another fee increase will be requested in the 2005-2006 academic year.
5. Growing the graduate program in the face of low graduate stipends. The
current graduate student stipend at CWU is the lowest in the state by a
considerable amount. Ph.D. granting institutions such as WSU and UW offer
yearlong graduate stipends in excess of $20,000 per year, although CWU does not
consider itself to be in direct competition with these schools for graduate students.
However, Western Washington University offers an academic year stipend of
about $17,000 (tuition plus salary), while CWU's offer is about $13,000. Most of
the $4,000 difference is in student salary. In addition, WWU operates on a sliding
scale in which chemistry receives the largest stipends of any department. This
puts our department at a considerable recruiting disadvantage in the region. We
have significantly increased our recruiting efforts the last three years, but the
majority of students who choose not to attend CWU state that it is because of the
low graduate stipends. We are currently working with the Graduate Office to
look at ways to improve the situation. For chemistry it is clear that fewer large
stipends is a more effective recruiting tool than more small stipends. In the
46
meantime, we also recognize the importance of obtaining external funding for
research, especially funding that provides graduate student support. In addition,
we are working to develop nationally recognized research programs through
publication and presentation at local and national conferences.
6. Release time for research. Faculty need release time to develop and maintain
their laboratory-intensive research programs. The chemistry faculty have met this
challenge by using external grants (e.g., NSF) to buy out of their teaching duties.
Faculty have also used internal CWU research and sabbatical leave mechanisms
to reallocate time for research.
7. Office space for new faculty and graduate students. The department is reaching
its limits on office space. To meet the demand for faculty office space during the
2004-2005 academic year, the chemistry graduate students were moved out of
office spaces and into a large classroom that is shared with Biology graduate
students. The chemistry T.A.s who used to occupy this large classroom have
subsequently lost their office space. The solution for the T.A.s is to have office
hours in the Science Building third floor commons or the SCI 311 conference
room.
8. Research space for new faculty. While the department believes that it is
critically important to add more tenure-track faculty, limited laboratory research
space in the science building restricts the ability to recruit new hires. Every room
designed for faculty research is in use, and some faculty have reconfigured
laboratory-teaching space for their research needs. To meet this challenge, the
department continues to evaluate ways to improve the efficiency of lab space
utilization. Ultimately, some modification or remodeling of the existing space
may be necessary.
9. Maintaining instrumentation. All faculty face challenges in balancing their
teaching, research and service loads. An additional burden on chemistry faculty is
the use of sophisticated instrumentation as part of laboratory teaching and
research. Instruments used by students during regular coursework include gas and
liquid chromatographs, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and UV-visible
spectrometers, as well as a variety of other equipment used in biochemistry,
physical chemistry and instrumental laboratory courses. These instruments
require routine maintenance, which is a faculty responsibility. To meet this
challenge, 1.75 engineering technician positions (1.0 existing and 0.75 new) have
been created and a search is underway.
10. Library Holdings. Although the CWU library provides fairly good support to
chemistry, an upgrade to the current slate of holdings is desirable. A "wish list"
has been created of journals for which various faculty would like subscriptions,
but very limited funds are available for new journal subscriptions. Another item
of interest is a subscription to a modern literature search engine, Sci Finder. This
is generally regarded as the most effective electronic database for chemists,
47
although it is too expensive to be purchased by the library or department alone
(about $25,000 per year.). We are currently looking into the possibility of pooling
our resources with other regional undergraduate institutions to create a combined
subscription.
C. Increasing quality, quantity, and/or efficiency.
1. Add two more tenure track faculty to contribute to the research-rich environment
and intradepartmental collaborations in chemistry.
2. Alter the faculty load allocation to encourage and reward scholarly productivity.
3. Recognize excellent teaching with a reward structure.
4. Encourage continued attendance of scholarly conferences that focus on teaching
excellence and modern pedagogies such as WCCTA.
5. Establish a repair and maintenance fund for analytical equipment used in the
curriculum and in scholarship. A quality program requires functional equipment.
6. Increase funding for faculty development.
7. Establish development funding for staff. Chemistry Department staff are one of
our greatest assets. Investing in their development equates to an investment in
CWU.
8. Maintain departmental collegiality and model excellence in teaching, research,
and service.
9. Increase majors by increasing excellent advising and regular scheduling of tenure
track faculty to teach the general chemistry course sequence for majors CHEM
181, 182, and 183.
10. Increase the number of graduate students by continued recruiting.
11. Maintain class enrollments at room capacity.
12. Offer upper division low enrollment elective courses every second year, e.g.,
CHEM 345 and 473.
13. Continue to offer CHEM 112 once a year (decreased from two offerings per year)
and CHEM 101 twice a year (decreased from three offerings per year).
14. Schedule concurrent upper division lab sections, e.g., organic chemistry, with one
faculty instructor and two T.A.s.
VIII. Future directions
A. Current national trends in the discipline and the department’s response.
1. There is an increased emphasis on undergraduate research at the national
level. Our response is to include more undergraduate students in existing
research laboratories, and make this an expectation for new tenure track
faculty. A complementary and supporting development within the department
has been to reinstate and expand the graduate program.
2. Another national trend is that more research is interdisciplinary, collaborative,
and/or applied (e.g., more biological - health related, material science - new
48
electronic, structural materials, nanoscience). Within the department it has
been difficult to find enough common ground with overlapping interests
because each faculty member has a separate area of specialization in
chemistry. Opportunities for collaboration within the department have
recently been explored and a grant was submitted to NIH that involves 3 out
of the 8 tenure track faculty members. Efforts have also been made beyond
the department at CWU (Geology and Biology) and off campus. The
department anticipates that new hires in chemistry will have collaborative
connections with existing research programs. Another way that chemistry has
responded to this trend of interdisciplinary collaboration has been through the
increased sharing of institutional resources across departments, facilitated by
the pooling of the 1.75 Engineering Technician positions across COTS. Our
goal is to further identify areas within the department in which collaborative
research can be nurtured. Increased numbers of tenure track faculty in
chemistry will move this effort forward.
3. We are also seeking ACS accreditation of our B.S. in Chemistry. This is an
ongoing effort that will influence the curriculum in the future, including
developing and maintaining modern laboratory exercises and equipment.
Once this degree is recognized by ACS accreditation, the department intends
to seek accreditation of two other degree programs: the B.A. in Chemistry
Teaching and the B.S. in Chemistry with Biochemistry Specialization.
B. How faculty set goals and balance teaching, research and service.
1. Faculty members set their own goals guided by department policies and yearly
reviews from the chair and the personnel committee. Balance between the
three areas, however, is difficult to reach. In order to maintain an active,
successful, externally funded research program over a faculty member’s entire
career, a modest reduction in our current teaching loads (for example, from 12
to 10 contact hours per quarter) is required.
2. Chemistry faculty envision that teaching responsibilities will be increasingly
carried out by tenured and tenure track faculty who share service obligations,
in contrast to the current situation where adjunct faculty teach many courses
but have no service or research obligations. The department would like the
majority of chemistry courses to be taught by tenured and tenure-track faculty.
While the department believes that all faculty should share the service load, it
is appropriate for newer faculty members to take on less service
responsibilities, particularly at the university level.
3. As evidenced by this review, the department faculty hold scholarship
produced with undergraduate and graduate student assistance of high
importance and, therefore, dedicate a significant amount of time to
scholarship. The department faculty also participate heavily in service to the
university and community. On top of those two endeavors the faculty believe
49
in and demonstrate teaching excellence. Balancing teaching, scholarship, and
service is difficult. Scholarly expectations and the need for active
participation in service roles leaves little time for serious reflection on
teaching practices. The department is lucky to have such dedicated
individuals that they are able to be successful in all areas, but the time
commitment necessary to achieve this state is a concern of the faculty.
C. The five-year vision for the Chemistry Department.
1. Increase tenure track faculty positions by two to create opportunities in
collaborative research and teaching and share service obligations.
2. The goal is for all classes to be taught by tenured and tenure track faculty
members.
3. With the hire of new tenure track faculty members we will need to reevaluate
and possibly remodel our facility to accommodate new faculty’s office space
and research needs.
4. Increasing enrollment requires increased efficiency in the use of laboratory
space facilitated by remodeling existing labs. In particular, chemistry needs to
accommodate increased enrollment pressure in upper division courses such as
CHEM 251, CHEM 360 series and CHEM 431. The space and time pressures
imposed by increased enrollment is exacerbated by new research active
faculty members. Remodeling existing labs to allow the scheduling of
concurrent upper division lab sections may be more cost effective than paying
for faculty to cover multiple, non-concurrent laboratory sessions.
5. We remain committed to the graduate program and will continue to seek
additional internal and external funding for graduate students. We envision a
graduate program with a larger number of graduate students.
6. Institutional commitment to maintain and update computing and
instrumentation is critical. Without this support, the equipment that is essential
to carry out the departmental mission and operations will become obsolete as
occurred in the previous science building (Dean Hall).
7. The department intends to discuss and formulate one or two areas of research
focus in the chemical sciences. The expectation is that a focus will facilitate
intradepartmental collaboration and professional growth of the faculty.
8. Due to the increased enrollment in upper division courses, the department
anticipates offering a greater variety of upper division elective courses.
D. Targeting replacement positions to optimize department goals.
1. One retirement is anticipated in the next 5 years and we anticipate that new
tenure track faculty positions will be filled in that time. These faculty
positions can be used to increase collaborative interactions in both the
teaching and research efforts. We are considering using new positions as they
become available to strengthen areas of emphasis, possibly including:
50
organic/biochemistry/biotechnology, material science, environmental
chemistry and chemical education.
E. Resources required to pursue future directions.
1. Replace adjunct positions with tenure track positions (2 positions needed).
2. Offer competitive startup packages and research space for tenure track faculty.
3. Allocate funds to improve or remodel laboratory facilities making them more
flexible and useable by more than one area of specialization within chemistry.
4. Allocate a permanent fund for T.A. salaries or increase current allocation.
5. Develop a regular schedule and permanent funds for computer and instrument
maintenance, repair, and replacement.
6. Hire a full time computer technician to assist Chemistry with discipline
specific software and computer use.
7. Hire 1.75 engineering technicians to assist Chemistry, Geological Sciences
and Biological Sciences with instrumentation maintenance and repair.
8. Decrease teaching loads to 10 contact hours per quarter.
IX.
Suggestions for the program review process or contents of the self-study.
A. The self-study would benefit from an analysis of department budget and operating
expenses.
51
Chemistry Program Review Self Study
List of Tables
Table Title
page
1. Student enrollment in service courses
17
2. Modes of Instruction Used in Chemistry Courses
22
3. Annual Average Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES) by Department,
College, and Level: Academic Years 1998-1999 through 2003-2004
24
4. Percent Change in Average Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES)
by Department, College, and University Level: Change Over Review Period
25
5. Chemistry Degrees Conferred, 1999-2000 through 2003-2004
26
6. Numbers of Full Time Equivalent Faculty (FTEF) in Chemistry
according to Adjunct, Full Time Non-Tenure Track (FTNTT) and
Tenure Track (TT) status: Academic Years 1999-2000 through 2003-2004
27
7. Average Undergraduate Class Size by Department, College and University
Level
27
8. Faculty Performance Measures in Scholarship, Service, and
Student Research Mentoring
32
9. SEOI scores for Effectiveness of Instructor: Comparison of Chemistry,
COTS and University Values
33
10. Number of General Education and Service Courses Offered in Chemistry
37
11.
39
A. Chemistry Department Graduate Placement
B. Specific placement for Chemistry Department Graduate Students
52
Chemistry Program Review Self Study 1999-2004
List of Appendices
reference
page *
Appendix Title
I
Chemistry Faculty Grant Success: 1999-2004
10
II.
Chemistry Faculty Service
A. Professional Service
B. Community or K-12 Outreach 1999-2004
10
10
III
Chemistry Programs CWU Catalog Description
14
IV
Alumni Surveys (from Institutional Research)
A. Chemistry Alumni Data from 1997 and 2001 Graduates
B. Chemistry Department Graduating Senior Data
from 2002 and 2003 Graduates
27
27
V
Career and graduate school placements of alumni
27
VI
Representative Master’s Thesis: Anthony Brown 2002
28
VII
Faculty Data
A. CVs and
B. SPRs
31
VIII
Faculty Peer Evaluation of Instruction
31
IX
Student Accomplishments
Undergraduate Students
A. SOURCE Presentations and Awards
B. COTS and OUR Undergraduate Research Grants funded
C. CWU Alumni Association Departmental Scholarships:
Chemistry Students Nominated and Awarded.
D. Chemistry Club National ACS Recognition
Graduate Students
E. Graduate Student Research Projects and Presentations
F. Graduate Student Awards
36
X
Facilities
A. Computer &
B. Instrumentation Resources
37
40
* This is the page where the appendix is first mentioned in the self-study text.
53