American Chemical Society
Undergraduate Curriculum
and the ACS Guidelines
Anne McCoy
Ohio State
Clark Landis
University of Wisconsin
The evolution of the ACS approval process:
Moving beyond the 2008 Guidelines
ACS Committee on Professional Training
April 8, 2013
Three Main Categories of the
Curriculum
1. Introductory chemistry experience
2. Foundation course work
3. In-Depth course work
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Three Main Categories of the
Curriculum
1. Introductory chemistry experience
• Purpose: to prepare students for foundational
coursework
• General Chemistry may be one full year, one semester,
or even waived for very well-prepared students
• Requirement: None. ACS guidelines are mute due to
the diversity of institutional requirements and students
2. Foundation course work
3. In-Depth course work
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Three Main Categories of the
Curriculum
1. Introductory chemistry experience
2. Foundation course work
• Purpose: to provide breadth and a foundation for in-depth
coursework
• Requirement: one semester coursework in the five major
areas of chemistry – analytical, organic, physical,
inorganic, biochemistry
• Courses may span and integrate more than one major
area
3. In-Depth course work
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Three Main Categories of the
Chemistry Curriculum
1. Introductory chemistry experience
2. Foundation course work
3. In-Depth course work
• Purpose: Integration and deeper investigation of
foundation topics
• Requirement: Four one-semester course equivalents of
in-depth courses. May be a second semester course
following a foundational experience (e. g., Organic
Chemistry II or Physical Chemistry II)
• May support a specialized degree track (e. g., forensic
chemistry) or integrate multiple foundation areas
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Laboratory Experiences in the
Chemistry Curriculum
• Purpose: provide training in experimental techniques, data
collection, and analysis
• Requirements: Each student MUST have
• 400 hours of laboratory experience beyond introductory
chemistry laboratory
• Laboratory experience spanning at least 4 of the 5 foundation
areas
• Experience with the synthesis of molecules, measurement of
properties, hands-on use of a variety of modern instruments,
and data analysis and modelling
• Research can serve as part of the laboratory hours. Research
may count as an in-depth course if a comprehensive written report
is produced.
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Cognate Courses and the
Curriculum
• Purpose: to ensure adequate foundations in
mathematics and physics for in-depth chemistry
coursework
• Requirements: Each student MUST complete
• the equivalent of two semester courses of calculus
• the equivalent of two semester courses of physics
with laboratory
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
1. Requirement of a broadly defined capstone
experience for certified majors
2. Clarification of expectations of laboratory experience
at the introductory level
3. In rare cases, decrease the minimum number of
foundation courses taught annually from five to four
4. Specify that the requirement of four in-depth courses
encompass at least 12 semester hour equivalents
5. Encourage departments to incorporate emerging
areas (e. g., green/sustainable chemistry) into the
foundation and in-depth courses
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
1. Requirement of a broadly defined capstone
experience for certified majors
•
Goal – provide students with the opportunity to
synthesize the knowledge and skills developed across
the curriculum
•
Action – establish mechanisms for a capstone
experience:
• Capstone course or substantive • Independent research
experience in an existing course
experience with a research
report
• A seminar course that
emphasizes student skills
• A mentored teaching experience
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
2. Clarification of expectations of laboratory experience
at the introductory level
•
Goal – To address the potential impact of on-line
learning and virtual laboratories on the preparation of
students prior to taking Foundation courses
•
Action – No additional requirements are anticipated.
But the committee will expect that students will have
significant, hands-on laboratory experience prior to
starting foundation courses. Virtual laboratories may
provide a useful supplement but should not replace
hands-on experiences.
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
3. In rare cases, decrease the minimum number of
foundation courses taught annually from five to four
• Goal – To enable small departments to offer ACS
approved programs without delaying student
graduation
• Action – In rare cases, allow departments to teach just
four foundation courses per year, so long as a regular
and stable biennial schedule can be developed for the
fifth course that enables student to complete the
certified degree requirements in five years
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
4. Specify that the requirement of four in-depth courses
encompass at least 12 semester hour equivalents
•
Goal – To clarify the guideline requirements with
respect to the instructional time expected for in-depth
coursework
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Proposed Changes to ACS
Guidelines Regarding the
Curriculum
5. Encourage departments to incorporate emerging areas
(e. g., green/sustainable chemistry) into the foundation
and in-depth courses
• Goal – To provide the flexibility that enables departments to
innovate and the curriculum to evolve in the pursuit of excellence
• Action – Introduce new language into the requirements that
“encourages departments to integrate modern topics in chemistry
into both foundational and in-depth experiences. In-depth courses
that fall outside of, or integrate, the traditional subdisciplines are
encouraged.”
• Possible Examples – courses in bioanalytical chemistry, chemical
biology, green/sustainable chemistry, nanochemistry, polymer
chemistry, and toxicology.
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Curricular Discussion Questions
•
•
•
Group 1:
–
What role should general chemistry play in the approved curriculum?
–
How do we address on-line courses and virtual laboratories?
–
Are expectations for introductory courses different from foundation and in-depth course?
–
Which ACS requirements can be satisfied by an on-line or virtual experience?
–
What is your/your department’s experience with on-line course and virtual laboratories?
Group 2:
–
What specialized courses and/or emerging areas could be represented as in-depth
coursework?
–
Are there areas that programs should be required to expose students to? What would be
the implications of introducing such requirement?
Group 3:
–
The White Paper includes a description “in-depth” laboratory courses.
• Are there areas of confusion or ambiguity in these descriptions?
–
Is your institution using or considering laboratory courses that integrate (i) synthesis,
characterization, spectroscopy, and computational modeling or (ii) inorganic, organic, and
physical? How do we assess these?
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