Proposed Revisions to the ACS Guidelines Proposed Revisions to the ACS Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs: for Undergraduate Programs:

Motivation, Changes, and PossibilitiesMotivation, Changes, and Possibilities

William F. Polik

Hope College

ACS Committee on Professional Training, ChairMACTLAC, Fall 2006

ACS Committee on Professional Training

ACS Bylaws

The SOCIETY shall sponsor an activity for the approval of undergraduate professional programs in chemistry. The Committee on Professional Training...shall act for the Board and Council in the formulation and implementation of the approval program...

The goals of the approval program shall be:

(a) promoting and assisting in the development of high standards of excellence in all aspects of post-secondary education and undertaking studies important to their maintenance

(b) collecting and making available information concerning trends and developments in modern chemical education …

ACS Committee on Professional Training

ACS Bylaws

The SOCIETY shall sponsor an activity for the approval of undergraduate professional programs in chemistry. The Committee on Professional Training...shall act for the Board and Council in the formulation and implementation of the approval program...

The goals of the approval program shall be:

(a) promoting and assisting in the development of high standards of excellence in all aspects of post-secondary education and undertaking studies important to their maintenance

(b) collecting and making available information concerning trends and developments in modern chemical education …

Approval Program, Surveys and Reports, Resources

Committee Members

Dr. William F. Polik (Committee Chair)HOPE COLLEGE

Dr. F. Fleming Crim (Vice Chair)UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON

Dr. Ruma BanerjeeUNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - LINCOLN

Dr. Charles E. Carraher, Jr.FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

Dr. Joseph S. FranciscoPURDUE UNIVERSITY

Dr. Cornelia D. GillyardSPELMAN COLLEGE

Dr. Carlos G. GutierrezCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY - LOS ANGELES

Dr. Erik J. SorensenPRINCETON UNIVERSITY

Dr. George WilsonUNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

Dr. Diane M. Bunce (consultant)CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

Dr. Edward N. Kresge (consultant)EXXONMOBIL CHEMICAL COMPANY

Dr. Jeanne E. Pemberton (consultant)UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Cathy A. Nelson(Committee Secretary, non-voting)AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Dr. Suzanne HarrisUNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

Dr. Ellen A. KeiterEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

Dr. John W. KozarichACTIVX BIOSCIENCES

Dr. Cynthia K. LariveUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

Dr. Margaret V. MerrittWELLESLEY COLLEGE

Dr. Nancy S. MillsTRINITY UNIVERSITY

Dr. Joel I. ShulmanUNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Surveys and Reports

Annual Report of Graduates

www.chemistry.org/education/cpt

C&E News

Surveys and Reports

www.chemistry.org/education/cpt

Resources

Directory of Graduate Research(free on the web)

Planning for Graduate Workin Chemistry

(new edition on the web)

Planning for a Career in Industry

www.chemistry.org/education/cpt

Approval Program

• 634 approved programs (196 research universities, 114 comprehensive universities, 324 baccalaureate colleges)

• The ACS (through CPT) approves programs; the department chair certifies majors

• Benefits of ACS-approval:

– Institution: public recognition of an excellent program

– Department: document capabilities and leverage resources to meet discipline-wide standards

– Faculty: professional development opportunities

– Students: participation in department with excellent capabilities ands resources; external recognition of high quality degree

– Industry & Grad Schools: students and employees come from high quality chemistry program

Rationale for Change

• Chemistry is changing– Interaction with other disciplines

– More complex problems

– Techniques and technology

– Globalization

• Education is changing– Pedagogy reflects new research in how students

learn (e.g., inquiry-based and active learning, team experiences)

– Increasing student diversity (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity and educational background)

• Guidelines must change to maintain utility and relevance

Guidelines Revision Process

• 2005: Broad call for public comment on ACS Guidelines and possible directions for revision

• 2006: In response to comments from community, CPT drafts and publicizes proposed revisions to the ACS Guidelines

• 2007: Informed by comments on proposed revisions, CPT drafts and publicizes draft of new ACS Guidelines

• 2008: New ACS Guidelines are released

Goals of Current Revision

• Simplify the ACS guidelines and procedures for approval of chemistry programs

• Provide greater flexibility to approved departments for designing certified degrees

• Encourage innovation and improvement in curriculum and pedagogy by approved departments

• Define faculty and infrastructure attributes that support excellent undergraduate chemistry programs

1999 Biochemistry

2003 Chemistry Education

Option

2008

Overview of Proposed ACS Guidelines

Program Organization• Autonomous unit with control over

faculty selection, curriculum, etc.

Curriculum• Foundation and in-depth courses• Degree tracks (replace options)• Laboratory experience• Undergraduate research

Student Skills• Ask questions, design, interpret experiments• Communicate orally and in writing• Work in a team• Work safely• Exhibit ethical scientific conduct• Lead and innovate

Pedagogy• Many approaches that are integrative,

challenging, and engaging

Faculty• Minimum number (4 or 5?)• 15 contact hours maximum• Use of adjunct faculty

Infrastructure• Instrumentation (NMR required)• Computation and software• Chemical information resources• Physical plant and chemical safety

Evaluation• Description of “degree tracks” (curriculum implementation)• Exams and syllabi from defined in-depth courses• Discussion of process skill instruction• Description of most recent self-assessment

2008

Program Organization

Curriculum

Student Skills

Pedagogy

Faculty

Infrastructure

Evaluation

Proposed Curriculum Changes

Core and advanced course requirements will be replaced by...•Foundation Coursework: Beyond introductory chemistry, five one-semester foundation courses that provide breadth of coverage in each of the five major areas of chemistry: analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical•In-Depth Coursework: Four semester courses (totaling at least twelve semester credit hours) that further develop or integrate topics introduced in foundation courses

In-depth courses have a foundation course pre-requisite, or contain a significant amount of chemistry that is necessary for a degree track

500 total lab hour requirement will be replaced by...

ACS-defined option degrees will be replaced by...

• At least 180 hours in foundation courses, and 400 total hours beyond introductory chemistry• Coverage of all 5 foundation areas

Undergraduate research producing a comprehensive written report can be counted toward in-depth laboratory hours

• Department-defined degree tracks: a specialized curriculum meeting foundation, in-depth, and laboratory requirements and focuses on:

– Chemistry, or– A specific chemistry sub-discipline, or– A chemistry-related interdisciplinary area

Other Proposed Changes

Self-Evaluation:• An excellent program regularly evaluates the effectiveness of its curricular and

pedagogical efforts and uses the evaluation results to further improve itself• Departments will be asked to summarize their most recent self-evaluation and

outline their plans for acting upon the resulting recommendations

Student Skills and Pedagogy:• Curriculum should develop skills that students need to become successful

professionals:Ask questions and design experiments Exhibit teamworkand interpret results Work safely and

ethicallyCommunicate orally and in writing Lead and innovate

• Pedagogy should be integrative, engaging, and inclusive; students should learn both chemistry content and skills

Faculty and Infrastructure:• Five full-time faculty members (teaching expertise in 5 areas, meet contact hour

limit, allow for professional development, limit use of adjunct/part-time faculty)• Few infrastructure changes (NMR, computational capabilities, chemical

information resources all required)

Summary

• Five one-semester foundation courses in five areas of chemistry, and four semesters (twelve semester credit hours) of in-depth courses

• Departments create and define degree tracks

• Students skills that prepare them to become professional chemists

• Regular self-evaluation of chemistry program for the purpose of continual improvement

1999 Biochemistry

2003 Chemistry Education

Option

2008 Flexibility Innovation

2008

Questions and Answers

• Comments and/or questions about proposed changes– Curriculum– Student Skills– Faculty and Infrastructure– Program Self-Evaluation

• Comments or questions about revision process

• How would your current chemistry curriculum fit within the proposed new ACS guidelines?

• What curricular innovations could you implement within the proposed new ACS guidelines?

What New Curriculum Innovations What New Curriculum Innovations Could be Supported by the Could be Supported by the Proposed ACS Guidelines?Proposed ACS Guidelines?

Small Group Discussion

and

Reporting Out

MACTLAC, Fall 2006

Thoughts on Innovation

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

– Michelangelo

“The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B.”

-- James Yorke, mathematician

Curricular Innovation ?

General Chemistry I and II

Core:

Organic Chemistry I

Organic Chemistry II

Analytical Chemistry

Instrumental Analysis

Physical Chemistry I

Physical Chemistry II

Inorganic Chemistry

Advanced:

Biochemistry

Advanced Elective

Current Guidelines Proposed Guidelines

General Chemistry I and II

Foundation:

Organic Chemistry I

Analytical Chemistry

Physical Chemistry I

Inorganic Chemistry

Biochemistry

In-Depth:

Organic Chemistry II

Instrumental Analysis

Physical Chemistry II

Advanced Elective

A Thermodynamics Analogy

G = H – TS

ACS Certification

FoundationCourse Work

In-Depth Course Work

and Degree Track

Flexibility

(from John Kozarich, CPT member)

Plans of Implementation

PLAN A:

• Map current curriculum onto new guideline structure

• Imperfect fit but serviceable

• Hopefully a temporary solution

PLAN B:

• Revamp curriculum to reflect chemistry profession and improve student learning

• Will take time and stages to implement

• Ultimate goal of new guidelines

A Paradigm Shift

•Shift curriculum responsibility from ACS to departments

•Redefine how chemistry is taught– New courses and textbooks– New course sequences, degree tracks– Changes to general chemistry– Can the foundations of organic and physical

chemistry be laid down in one semester?

•Create a new vision of an ACS-certified chemist

Let’s Innovate !

• Small group discussion: 30 minutes– Form small groups in assigned rooms– Introduce selves– Select Time Keeper and Secretary

• What innovations could be introduced into your curriculum under the proposed new ACS guidelines?

• Reporting out: 20 minutes– Return to Science Hall 105– Secretary reports one significant idea