The Chemistry Department has met weekly since September to review curriculum and assess its program. One result is the revised assessment plan given below. Changes from our previous plan are set in italics for emphasis.

The Chemistry Department strives to accomplish its goals within the context of the institutional mission. The mission of St. Ambrose University is to provide quality instruction in the liberal arts along with pre-professional and career preparation. The University stresses excellence in teaching and learning, and research is encouraged. The University also strives to create an atmosphere that fosters development of the student intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically, and physically.

The Chemistry Department's goal is to educate chemistry majors who are sufficiently knowledgeable and adaptable to compete successfully in graduate programs, to assume appropriate responsibilities as bachelor's level chemists, or to teach competently at the secondary level. The Department also strives to encourage both ethical and social responsibility.

1. To provide the student with both a theoretical and practical knowledge of the four main areas of chemistry: inorganic, organic, analytical and physical, and offer laboratory experiences enabling the student to obtain the skills needed in a modern chemical laboratory;

2. To develop the student's written, oral, and computational abilities;

3. To develop the student's ability to access the chemical literature;

4. To develop the student's ability to devise and conduct experiments either in a research or industrial setting;

5. To develop the student’s awareness of chemical hygiene issues, including safety and hazardous waste management; and

6. To encourage the student to consider the social and ethical responsibilities of a chemist.

Objective 1: To provide the student with theoretical and practical knowledge...

All courses are aimed at theoretical and practical knowledge, and most provide extensive laboratory experiences.

Outcome assessment in the courses:

1. Examinations created and evaluated by the instructor-- all courses

2. ACS standardized tests: 105 or 106, 208, every year; and 303, 313, and 314 periodically

3. Peer review by the department's faculty of examinations created by the instructor every five years.

Objective 2a: To develop the student's written communication abilities.

All courses include some aspect of written communication in homework sets, short response papers, and essay exam questions; all lab courses emphasize written communication in lab reports and/or lab notebooks. WI-350 specifically emphasizes written communication.

Outcome assessment in the courses:

1. Lab reports or lab notebooks evaluated by the instructor: 105, 106, 209, 210, 301, 303, 311, 313, 314, 319, 321, 333, 428, and 440

2. Term paper evaluated by instructor: 150, 303, 321, 333

3. Papers evaluated for University writing competency requirement by several members of the Chemistry faculty: WI 350

4. Research report evaluated by several members of the Chemistry faculty: 428 and 440.

Objective 2b: To develop the student's oral communication abilities.

All courses include some aspect of oral communication in the discussion that occurs in classrooms and labs. Some courses emphasize oral communications through more formal presentations.

Outcome assessment in the courses:

1. Oral presentation evaluated by instructor: 311, 321, and 350

2. Oral presentation of research/internship evaluated by several members of the chemistry faculty: 428 and 440.

Objective 2c: To develop the student's computational abilities.

1. Examinations created and evaluated by instructor – 105, 106, 301, 303, 313, 314, 319, 321, and 333

2. Computer Assisted Computation evaluated by instructor – 105, 106, 301, 313, 314

3. Lab reports or lab notebooks evaluated by instructor – all lab courses.

Objective 3: To develop the student's ability to access the chemical literature.

Many lab courses use library skills for comparison of experimental results to literature results and/ or searching for methods and techniques. Some courses emphasize use of the literature in the discipline for essays or term papers. WI-350 emphasizes all aspects of using the chemical literature.

Outcome assessment in the courses:

1. Ability to find literature results for comparisons evaluated by instructor: 105, 106, 209, and 210

2. Ability to find experimental techniques in the discipline of the course evaluated by instructor: 303

3. Ability to research the literature for a term paper or research paper evaluated by instructor: 303, 321, 333, and 428

4. Ability to use a variety of sources evaluated by instructor: WI 350.

Objective 4: To develop the student's ability to devise and conduct experiments ...

All lab courses teach techniques needed to become a researcher and some lab courses emphasize independent design of an experiment.

Outcomes assessment in the courses:

1. Ability to design and conduct short experiments on a specific topic evaluated by the instructor: 105 and 106

2. Ability to use a variety of experimental techniques to identify an unknown material or quantity evaluated by instructor: 106, 210, 301, 303, 311, 319, and 333

3. Ability to conduct research evaluated by several faculty and/or cooperating chemist in industry: 428 and possibly 440.

Objective 5: To develop awareness of chemical hygiene issues …

Recognizing that chemistry can be dangerous if not practiced properly, our department places great stress on chemical safety and hygiene in all laboratory courses.

Outcomes assessed in the courses:

1. Ability to identify and handle potential biological and chemical hazards, to apply OSHA safety rules and utilize the hazard reporting system evaluated by instructor through exams and lab practicals: 110

2. Ability to work safely in the laboratory and adherence to proper disposal methods evaluated by instructors through observing students in all lab courses

Objective 6: To ... consider the social and ethical responsibilities of a chemist

All lab courses emphasize the fundamental responsibility of a scientist to present an accurate accounting of experimental results, even if indicative of an experimental "failure." Some courses also promote discussion of societal issues.

Outcomes assessment in the courses:

1. Treatment of societal issues evaluated by instructor: 105 and 106 (such as: greenhouse gases and acid rain, and nuclear issues), 110 (safe use and responsible disposal of materials), 319 (biotechnology), and 333 (environmental issues)

2. Responsible behavior in reporting data and results and in exhibiting safe lab procedures evaluated by the instructor in all lab courses.

 

Documentation of student learning related to the departmental objectives is accomplished by creating the following files containing several indicators of learning. (Note: In 1997, we proposed keeping the following materials in student portfolios. The following reflects the actual organization of the materials.)

1. A file for each chemistry major (maintained by the advisor) containing transcripts of grades earned in courses as well as available ACS test scores.

2. Files of ACS comprehensive examination test scores maintained by instructor.

3. Files of copies of papers and evaluations in WI-CHEM 350, CHEM 428 and /or CHEM 440 maintained by the instructor.

4. Listings of placement information concerning graduate school or employment kept by the advisor.

5. File of the results of an alumni survey conducted by the department in 1996 kept by Dr. M. Legg.

The rationale for selecting these indicators is as follows:

The ACS comprehensive exams, administered to students in several courses, provide information on the comparison of each student's achievement with other undergraduates. Since the number of chemistry majors is too low to provide meaningful information in advanced courses, the success in achieving Objective 1 is not based primarily on ACS exams. Instead, instructors use the ACS exams to measure learning in those courses with higher enrollment. Even though the students are not majors, the exams allow instructors to compare student learning in their courses to those at other institutions and to note variations over time.

In WI-CHEM 350, CHEM 428, and CHEM 440 several chemistry faculty assess the competency level of our students in written and oral communication. Reviewing files of these materials enables us to evaluate writing competencies of our majors.

Placement records indicate whether students completing the chemistry major are accepted into graduate programs, positions in industry and/or secondary education.

Alumni survey at ten year intervals evaluate the overall program in meeting the educational needs of our students. The survey instrument has been developed in cooperation with the Office of Assessment. Using the instrument as often as we had planned (on three year cycles) is not useful since less than 10 students graduated since the last program review. A more formal survey may be useful for the next program review. We also maintain communication with many of our graduates and ask them informally to evaluate their undergraduate preparation.

During the year prior to the next program review by the Educational Policies Committee, the Chemistry Department faculty re-examines the previous five year review document and analyzes the portfolios for Chemistry majors, files of ACS comprehensive examination test scores, files of papers, placement information, and any alumni survey results to assess areas of strengths and weaknesses in the major curriculum with regard to the departmental objectives. Discussions and decisions regarding both the objectives and curriculum revisions needed to improve instruction are used in the program review process.

The advisor monitors the progress of individual students and provides on-going feedback to the student, indicating both the student’s strengths and areas where further improvement is needed.

During the program review, the faculty considers the effectiveness of our method of assessing the major and proposes appropriate changes to Educational Policies Committee.

The Chemistry Department has considered results from ACS standardized exams, review of exam content in all majors’ courses, the quality of student papers written in majors’ courses, placement information, and review of standards and current practices in our field as part of the present departmental self-study. In addition, the 1997 program review and the Vision 2000 process included items that we intended to improve, and we examined the progress made toward reaching those goals.

In use of computer technologies during the past five years, we achieved the goal of revising instrumental analysis and quantitative inorganic analysis to include problem solving using spreadsheets. Molecular modeling is used in organic chemistry. MathCAD and Spartan software are used extensively in physical chemistry. All of the specific goals outlined were met and we continue to update our courses.

Another goal was to provide students with more training in environmental and safety issues and more extensive practice in some modern laboratory techniques. In the past five years, environmental chemistry has become part of the curriculum. Biochemistry laboratory was added and provides familiarity with modern methods in this discipline. The laboratory safety course has incorporated more problem solving and greater awareness of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) information. The construction and use of vacuum lines still needs to be incorporated into inorganic and physical laboratories.

Based on peer review of course examinations in 1997, we also decided to implement some additional curricular changes:

· We have achieved the goal of placing greater emphasis on the theories underlying instrumental analysis.

· Laboratory Safety (CHEM 110) is providing students with more experience in interpreting MSDS forms. Also, greater emphasis is placed on learning to approach open-ended problems, to analyze potential situations relating to lab safety and to formulate a response. Practical experience in using and maintaining safety equipment such as fire extinguisher, emergency showers, and hoods is being added to the course.

· We are not yet teaching sufficient electrochemistry in advanced courses. Currently, we are working on changing the topics and the order of coverage in instrumental chemistry to overcome this problem.

In 1997, we also identified some areas for improvement in writing of papers. These areas have all been addressed and we have noticed an improvement students' ability to word process using specialized characters such as superscripts, subscripts, and symbols. Graphing for all courses is done using spreadsheets. Students are using the literature more often and citing sources more often and accurately. We are generally making progress in this area and will continue to emphasize these areas.

The scores of our students in ACS exams administered during the past five years are summarized in the following table. In General Chemistry I, the results are mean percentage of answers correct since the test was not standardized against a larger group. In the other courses, the mean percentile is given in comparison to the standardizing group.

In the past several years, the California Chemistry Diagnostic exam has been administered as a pre-test and the ACS General Chemistry exam administered as a post-test at some colleges in the Iowa General Chemistry Network. SAU students score on average about 15% lower than Iowa State students on the pre-test (SAU 48%, ISU 65%) and comparable to students at Community Colleges. By the post-test, the gap between SAU and ISU is lowered to about 6% and SAU students are above the Community College students. These results in General Chemistry I are very consistent over 7 years, even though the teaching methods varied. Faculty often worry that using more active learning strategies lead to reduced coverage and therefore decreased test results. The consistency indicates that the methodology doesn't change the class average on this measure of learning. This finding is consistent with other studies on learning in general chemistry. The chemical education literature indicates the changing of pedagogy is not often reflected in an achievement test like the ACS exam but rather in changes revealed through attitude surveys and longer retention of material.

Organic Chemistry II had a large improvement when the instructor actively reviewed for the comprehensive exam in spring 2001. In Biochemistry, the results show sufficient levels of achievement since the ACS examination is for a full year course rather than a one-semester course. Therefore, the exam covered more topics than were taught in our course. Instrumental Analysis scores reveal the problem of small class size in advanced classes. In spring 1998, the class consisted of three outstanding students and in spring 2000, none of the four students were outstanding. In general, the ACS exam results were very similar to the results found in the 1997 program review. Since the scores seem very influenced by reviewing, size, and composition in advanced classes, we propose to continue using the ACS exam as one general indicator of learning for General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry and use the exams periodically in advanced courses.

During the current self-study, we shared with each other copies of all exams given in our majors’ courses. Our intent was to ascertain in what courses particular topics were being presented and in what depth, whether there was duplication or overlap in coverage, whether appropriate prerequisites were in place for each course, and whether the acquisition of factual knowledge was being complemented by development of critical thinking skills among students.

This review indicated that we were generally meeting our goals and expectations. However, a few problem areas became apparent and several changes will be implemented:

· General Chemistry will decrease its treatment of organic chemistry to reinstate the material on Gibbs free energy. This topic comes late in the semester in the current textbook and has been getting minimal coverage.

· Currently only Organic Chemistry I is required for biology majors. Since discussion of chirality, which is an important concept in biology, is not covered until second semester, the instructor will discuss with the biology faculty the topics that they would prefer to have covered in the first semester. This dialogue may lead to a change in the material presented in each semester.

· In the analytical sequence, (Chem 301-303), the instructors are moving to use of a common textbook and we will return to a course schedule with both semesters of analytical taught in the same academic year on a two-year cycle. This should help in having a greater continuity in topics and additional time to devote to electrochemistry.

· Coverage of kinetics in Physical Chemistry II is still too low. Kinetics at an advanced level is being covered in Biochemistry and Advanced Inorganic Chemistry. The instructor of Physical Chemistry II will decrease the coverage of quantum mechanics to add more kinetics, especially when the students are not exposed to kinetics in these other courses.

 

We reviewed student papers written in our chemistry literature, research, and internship courses from 1997 to 2001. The review indicated that writing abilities are generally satisfactory. The level of professional presentation using the appropriate chemical symbolism and quality graphics has dramatically improved in comparison to the papers from the previous program review. The students' abilities to cite the literature accurately are also very improved. The quality of writing is certainly of college level. We are pleased that our concerted efforts to require higher quality writing and presentation starting in General Chemistry have been effective. One area that will receive more emphasis is changing the student's style to a more concise wording.

The American Chemical Society publishes guidelines for undergraduate professional education in chemistry and accredits undergraduate departments. Our department does not meet the standards required for ACS certification of our major due to issues like the number of faculty, number of graduates, and library holdings. However, we strive to hold our BS major as close as possible to the curricular design for ACS certification. Recently, the ACS has required 3 credits of Biochemistry in the curriculum. We have not changed our BS to require Biochemistry. Instead, Biochemistry is still one of the possible choices for the required advanced elective course.

To see how our curriculum for the BA and BS tracks compared to other colleges, we examined the catalogs of about 40 colleges and universities in the Midwest for BA and BS requirements as well as concentrations in Environmental Science and Biochemistry. Our curriculum is comparable to the two tracks offered at these institutions. We found a few differences – some surprising.

· Few colleges have a course requirement in chemical safety. We consider this course essential in the preparation of future professionals in our field.

· Few liberal arts colleges have majors in Environmental Science or Biochemistry. This situation is similar to our ability to support majors in these fields.

· Several programs had lower levels of math and physics as co-requisites for the degrees. This made us analyze our requirements for Calculus and to propose a revision of our requirement for the BS. Requiring Math 191 and 192 is consistent with the practice at many other institutions and recognizes that both BA and BS students are successful in Physical Chemistry.

Review of these materials and discussion of standards lead to only one change – reducing the math co-requisite requirement in the BS track to two semesters of calculus.

Since 1997, seven students have graduated with a BA or BS degree in chemistry and one student entered pharmacy school after her junior year. Two have attended graduate school, one in Environmental and one in Drug Design. The other 6 students had immediate placement in industrial jobs. We are very happy with this placement record and only wish more students would desire to be chemists!

The current assessment indicates that the Chemistry Department achieves its objectives for teaching and learning. Our chemistry majors are successful in both graduate programs and industry. We have indicated a few areas to improve in content coverage and will continue to strive to learn and implement effective teaching strategies.

Relation of the Chemistry Department’s Curriculum to the Goals for General Education

 

The ways in which our courses strive to meet the general education goals is indicated in tabular fashion on the following page.

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