Biology Program Review: Lessons Learned

1. Biology Program Review: Lessons Learned Brenden Rickards, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, STEM Gloucester County College April 20, 2012

2. Project Goals • The Associates in Science (A.S.) Biology Program was evaluated based on four major aspects: • Does the program satisfy the New Jersey General Education Foundation goals • Does the program support the long term educational goals of Gloucester County College • How effective is the curriculum in providing students training to transfer to four year institutions • How effective is the program in preparing students for a career in the biological sciences including, but not limited to, biological research, the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology or health care

3. Project Overview • Review the history of the A.S. Biology Program at Gloucester County College from 1973 to present • Evaluate the Program with NJ General Education Foundation goals • Assess classroom and scheduling needs • Evaluate transferability • Program Learning Goals (Outcomes) Assessment Plan and Assessment Results • Program and Course Outcomes support college Institutional Learning Goals • Program Assessment

4. A.S. Biology History • 1973: program instituted to provide students with two years of training in the Biological Sciences for transfer to four year institutions or universities • Program revisions ongoing include organic chemistry, ecology and cell and molecular biology, and technical and scientific writing course requirements • Program supports the mission of Gloucester County College by providing a viable transfer degree option for students interested in science • Program enrollment has dramatically increased over the past several years • The program currently provides the first 2 years of scientific and general education courses required by most four year institutions. • The Biology courses are integral components of many other degree options, most notably, Chemistry and Allied Health programs at Gloucester County College

5. A.S. Biology mission • To provide students with training to build a solid knowledge and technical foundation in the Biological Sciences • To prepare students to either enter the workforce upon their graduation or to prepare them to transfer directly into a four-year institution or university • To prepare students for future educational opportunities and careers in • general biology • biotechnology • environmental management and conservation • biochemistry • science education • pharmacy and pharmacology • forensic science • scientific writing and/or scientific illustration • medicine and allied health fields such as nursing

6. A.S. Biology supports the college mission • The program provides education by highly trained faculty culminating in a degree opportunity • The Biology courses provide an essential educational opportunity supporting both Gloucester County College’s educational goals and New Jersey’s general education goals for scientific reasoning in college education • The core Biology course curriculum courses are integral courses for students pursuing their A.S. degrees in Chemistry, the Pre-Pharm.D. Option for the Chemistry Degree, Marine Science, and Equine Science. • Associated Biology courses are vital to preparing students for Nursing and other Allied Health programs • Biology courses are integrated into the core curriculum of every division at Gloucester County College to support New Jersey’s general educational goal of scientific reasoning

7. Total A.S. Biology Program Fall Enrollment

8. A.S. Biology History: Lessons Learned • The A.S. Biology program has undergone several revisions since its inception in 1973 • The A.S. Biology Program strongly supports the mission of Gloucester County College by providing a viable transfer degree option for students pursuing future careers in science research, industry, health care, pharmaceuticals and many other related fields. • Program enrollment has dramatically increased over the past several years • Outreach efforts designed to recruit women to the sciences have led to an increase in women enrolling as Biology majors at GCC • The program currently provides the first two years of scientific and general education courses required by most four year institutions. • The Biology courses are integral components of many other degree options, most notably, Chemistry, Education and the Allied Health programs

9. A.S. Biology supports NJ General Education Foundation A.S. Degree option goals

10. A.S. Biology supports GCC Institutional Outcomes and Goals

11. Biology course offerings and enrollment Total Biology Sections offered Total student enrollment

12. Course Scheduling and organization • Scheduling tools now used to offer the large numbers of sections of biology classes: • We now have some classes using a dry lab which has tables, power for microscopes, and 12 laptops that can be moved in on a cart • Faculty have change their delivery from an integrated lab/lecture teaching approach to separating lab and lectures into different classrooms • Lecture classes for two sections are often combined into one larger room to free up space for another lecture and/or laboratory • Hybrid delivery options of many courses are now being offered • Accelerated hybrid and traditional courses are now being offered • For Summer, several summer sections of Science labs begin earlier in the calendar year to accommodate three summer terms of 5 week classes. • Schedules have been revised to use the lab classrooms daily • Weekend sections of classes are offered to use the lab space daily

13. A.S. Biology Program Transferability • The program has shown to be accepted for transfer to many institutions • Students have succeeded at schools such as University, Rutgers University, TCNJ, Stockton, Temple and Penn State, among others • Rowan University • Direct feedback from the institution, instructors and from former students indicates that, while our students are generally extremely well prepared, they have traditionally been weak in Cell and Molecular Biology. • In response, new curriculum was developed in 2011 to address this issue • Courses transfer to variety of places

14. Student feedback • Students report very successful transfer and completion of baccalaureate degrees to other institutions including • Rutgers University – Camden • Rutgers University – New Brunswick • Rowan University • Richard Stockton College • The University of Pennsylvania • Thomas Jefferson University • Temple University • The curriculum is very effective in providing students training to successfully transfer to four year institutions

15. A.S. Biology Program Evaluation: Lessons Learned • The A.S. Biology program satisfies the New Jersey General Education Foundation goals • The core curriculum required trains students in five of GCC’s core competencies: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy, Mathematical Reasoning, Teamwork, Computer and Technological Literacy, and Communication • The program is very weak in student learning GCC’s core competencies of Awareness of the Arts, Community Skills and Personal Skills with the degree dependent upon students choosing elective courses to satisfy their training • The curriculum offers many general education courses for students • Faculty are very dedicated to updating curriculum of existing courses and adding new courses • Program courses are equivalent to almost every Biology program for the first two years of the curriculum • The total sections of Biology courses running per year has increased from 107 during the 2006-2007 academic year to 132 during the 2009-2010 academic year • Enrollment in Biology courses has also dramatically increased from 2514 students during the 2006-2007 academic year to 3133 during the 2009-2010 academic year (a 24.6% increase) • The Biology course offerings are very transferrable to other NJ institutions • The Biology program is very transferrable with several direct articulation agreements • Direct feedback from students indicates that the program is succeeding at preparing them for their transfer to four year institutions

16. A.S. Biology Program Learning Goals/Outcomes • Students who have completed the Biology program will be able to: • Goal 1: Demonstrate application of theoretical concepts and fundamental principles in the biological sciences, including use of the scientific method • Goal 2: Conduct background research on life science topics to make educated conclusions and demonstrate ability to access and assess information including understanding of basic concepts, processes and keywords necessary to explore topics • Goal 3: Communicate with others in written and oral form and present life science information effectively • Goal 4: Operate basic laboratory equipment successfully including microscopes, measurement devices, and computer technologies • Goal 5: Apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to solving biology-based problems including utilizing statistics and graphical analyses

17. Program Learning Matrix: When are the skills for achieving success actively learned?

18. Program Learning Matrix: When are the skills for achieving success actively learned?

19. Program Learning Matrix: When are the skills for achieving success actively learned?

20. Program Learning Matrix: Lessons Learned • Our courses meet the NJ General Education Foundation General Education goals as laboratory science general education courses • Our courses are required in other degrees at GCC • The program provides students in depth opportunities to achieve many of GCC’s core competency institutional learning goals including Critical Thinking/Information Literacy, Mathematical Reasoning, Teamwork, Communication Skills and Computer/Technology Literacy • The program is dependent upon students choosing electives allowing them the opportunity to develop our core competencies in the avenues of Awareness of the Arts, Community Skills and Personal Skills • The skills and knowledge necessary to successfully achieve our Program Goals are learned and developed during the first year of study and then applied during the second year

21. A.S. Biology Program Learning Goals/Outcomes Assessment Plan

22. A.S. Biology Program Learning Goals/Outcomes Assessment Plan

23. A.S. Biology Program Learning Goals/Outcomes Assessment Plan

24. Act: Assessment outcome: program learning goal #3 • Goal #3: Communicate with others in written and oral form and present life science information effectively • Assess student progress in required oral presentations in first year and second year courses • Assess written communication: • Student success in preparing in depth scientific laboratory reports in two separate 200 level courses • Full laboratory reports using formats common in the peer-reviewed primary literature are assigned in these courses • Average success rate: 52.3% in one course, 50% in the other • ACT: Plan to institute more training in preparing formal laboratory reports including data presentation and interpretation into BIO 101 and BIO 102. • ACT: Update curriculum to add Scientific and Technical Writing to required A.S. Biology degree courses

25. 1st year Biology Course outcomes linked to GCC Core Competency learning goals NOTE: Program Goal #3 Assessment at 100 level course: 70.8% achieving success in oral communication

26. 1st year Biology Course outcomes linked to GCC Core Competency learning goals

27. 2nd year Biology Course outcomes linked to GCC Core Competency learning goals NOTE: Program Goal #3 Assessment at 100 level course: 70.8% achieving success in oral communication; at 200 level: 86%

28. 2nd year Biology Course outcomes linked to GCC Core Competency learning goals NOTE: Program Goal #3 Assessment at 200 level course: 52.3% achieving success in written communication

29. 2nd year Biology Course outcomes linked to GCC Core Competency learning goals NOTE: Program Goal #3 Assessment at a second 200 level course: 50% 52.3% achieving success in written communication (52.3% in the other)

30. A.S. Biology Program Learning Goal #3 Assessment: Lessons Learned • Goal #3: Communicate with others in written and oral form and present life science information effectively • Average success rate for oral communication at 100 level course: 70.8% ; at 200 level: 86% • Students are progressing from 100 to 200 level courses in their presenting scientific information orally • Average success rate for written communication of scientific data: 52.3% in one course, 50% in the other • ACT: Plan to institute more training in preparing formal laboratory reports including data presentation and interpretation into BIO 101 and BIO 102. • ACT: Update curriculum to add Scientific and Technical Writing to required A.S. Biology degree courses • These plans have been completed and we will re-assess in 2013

31. A.S. Biology supports Institutional Learning Goals: Lessons Learned • Students are achieving success in learning and applying course specific GCC Core Competencies as they progress through the program • They are succeeding at a higher rates as they progress from BIO 101 to BIO 102. • They are developing skills to analyze data and apply their critical thinking skills as they then progress into the 200 level courses • Outcome: our courses are training our students to achieve the institutional learning outcomes in each course as they progress through the program.

32. Course Assessment: Hybrid Course Delivery is Successful for Select Science Courses

33. Program Assessment: A.S. Biology Degrees Conferred

34. Program Assessment • Degrees conferred increase – Why? • An increased need for individuals trained for careers in health care and biological research • Continued course development and the rapid expansion of the course offerings and programs by the STEM Division • The implementation of the NJ STARS program drawing excellent students to the GCC campus • The addition of new full time Biology faculty to the Science division over the past decade • The increased recruitment of women in the sciences

35. A Model of Student Success using New Jersey’s Success Model tracking the 2003 A.S. Biology Cohort from 2003-2009

36. Program Assessment: Student Outcomes and Feedback • Student graduate examples: • A physician with their own practice • Medical Student at UMDNJ • Medical Student accepted at several schools for 2012 • One former student enrolled in Ph.D. Zoology program • Four former students enrolled in Pharm.D. Programs • Numerous students enrolled and completed Nursing and other Allied Health Programs

37. Program Assessment: Lessons Learned • Much course level assessment has been done by faculty, but the program has lacked a formal assessment process for evaluating student success in achieving program goals • We have developed several plans to implement beginning in the Fall 2011 semester aimed at beginning to assess student success in achieving program goals • Program goal #3 (Communicate with others in written and oral form and present life science effectively) has been assessed and plans are in place to increase student success in achieving this goal. • Students are showing progress in achieving success regarding college Core Competency learning outcomes as they progress from their first year to their second year required Biology courses • The number of graduates from the Biology program has increased over the past few years, but only ~10% of students initially identifying themselves as Biology majors successfully complete their A.S. Biology degree. • The low graduation and retention rates may be due to students changing their majors to the general A.S. Science degree option to further tailor their education to what they need for transfer. Data on students changing majors needs further evaluation.