THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

Senate Document Number     3506S

 

Date of Senate Approval      04/13/06  

 

 

 

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

APC Document  26:                  Adding CHEM 222, 231, 232, 236, 237;

                                                Adding CHEM 406, 407, 408, 418;

                                                Change course description and credit hours for CHEM 428, 429

 

Effective Date:  Fall, 2006

 

1.  Add:   On page 79, new course, CHEM 222:

 

            222       Organic Chemistry Laboratory (2)

An introduction to modern organic chemistry laboratory techniques including contemporary synthesis, isolation, purification, and characterization methods. Course is intended for students pursuing a degree in chemistry or a career in the health professions. Prerequisites: CHEM 111, 145, and 231. Fall.

 

Impact:  More flexibility for students and more efficiency for the Chemistry Department.

 

Rationale:  The curriculum currently has the organic laboratory and lecture administratively built into the same course. This means the allowable limit on laboratory enrollment necessitates limiting the enrollment in the lecture. With the lecture and laboratory contained in one course, students must currently withdraw from the entire course, even though they are performing satisfactorily in the laboratory, and only need to withdraw from the lecture. Requiring the first semester of organic lecture as prerequisite for the lab allows students to be more efficient and perform better. It also allows them to gain experience in the lecture before committing to a lab experience that they may not need if they decide to no longer pursue their original area of study. More information regarding this addition is provided in a comprehensive rationale at the end of the document.

 

 

2.  Add:   On page 79, two new courses, CHEM 231 and CHEM 232:

 

231, 232  Organic Chemistry I and II (3, 3)

An introduction to modern organic chemistry, including contemporary discussions of structure, properties, synthesis, and mechanisms. These courses are intended for students pursuing a degree in chemistry or a career in the health professions. CHEM 231 prerequisite: CHEM 132. CHEM 232 prerequisite: CHEM 231. CHEM 231: Spring. CHEM 232: Fall.

 

Impact:  More flexibility for students and more efficiency for the Chemistry Department.

 

Rationale:  The curriculum currently has the organic laboratory experience for each organic course built into the same course as the lecture. This means the allowable limit on laboratory enrollment necessitates limiting the enrollment in the lecture. This change allows students to take the organic laboratory at a later date, after they have gained a substantial background in organic chemistry. It also allows the department to advise students to take organic chemistry as their second chemistry course without overburdening the department’s limited resources. More information regarding this addition is provided in a comprehensive rationale at the end of the document.

3.  Add:  On page 79, new course, CHEM 236:

 

            236       General Chemistry II (3)

A general chemistry course with topical coverage including, but not necessarily restricted to chemical equilibria, electrochemistry, acid-base theory, oxidation-reduction concepts, aspects of chemical thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Emphasis is placed upon quantitative problem solving. This course is intended for students pursuing a degree in chemistry or a career in the health professions. Prerequisites: Completion of a high school chemistry course, and a satisfactory score on the Chemistry Placement Examination; or CHEM 132. Pre- or corequisite: MATH 167. Spring.

 

Impact:  More flexibility and a better pedagogical experience for the students.

Rationale:  The second semester of general chemistry, CHEM 144, is currently taken after CHEM 132, and immediately before organic chemistry. Although this has been a normal order of coverage for decades in chemistry departments around the country, the order does not make good pedagogical sense. The material covered at the end of CHEM 132 is ideally suited to be covered immediately before enrolling in organic chemistry, while the material covered in the second semester of general chemistry is ideally suited to be covered directly before enrolling in inorganic and physical chemistry, two junior-level courses. Equally important is the recognition nationally that organic chemistry is more applicable to the majority of the student audience, biology and environmental studies majors, and pre-health students than second semester general chemistry and should be incorporated into a student’s education at an earlier point. The addition of the course allows this to happen. The course being offered at three credit hours also brings this lecture in line with what is done elsewhere around the country. More information regarding this addition is provided in a comprehensive rationale at the end of the document.

 

 

4.  Add:  On page 79, new course, CHEM 237:

 

            237       Analytical Chemistry (2)

A laboratory-based course with emphasis on quantitative analyses including gravimetric, volumetric, electrochemical, and spectrometric analyses. Laboratory experiments are evaluated on technique, accuracy and precision. Topics covered include sampling and sample preparation, acid-base and redox equilibria, thermodynamic properties of ionic solutions, and experimental statistics. Prerequisite: CHEM 145. Pre- or corequisites: CHEM 236 and MATH 191. Spring.

 

Impact:  Strengthens a current weakness in the educational experience of UNCA chemistry majors by bringing their analytical chemistry experience in-line with national trends.

 

Rationale:  The analytical program at UNCA is inconsistent with current modern analytical chemistry. Our new analytical chemist is modernizing and strengthening the analytical experience by adding this course to the curriculum.

 

 

5.  Add:  On page 80, new courses, CHEM 406, 407, and 408:

 

            406, 407, 408  Chemical Literature Research I, II, III (1, 1, 1)

Directed library research and independent study in a specialized area of chemistry, which results in a comprehensive, written report and formal research seminar at the end of CHEM 408. Students submit reports and make presentations documenting their progress at the end of CHEM 406 and 407. CHEM 406 prerequisite: CHEM 415. CHEM 407 prerequisite: CHEM 406. CHEM 408 prerequisite: CHEM 407. CHEM 406: Spring. CHEM 407: Fall. CHEM 408: Spring

 

Impact:  This change provides a more appropriate research experience for BA students, who typically are going into careers where active undergraduate laboratory research is of minimal benefit to them. It will decrease the number of students working in the department’s research laboratories, improving the experience for those who are doing undergraduate laboratory research.

 

Rationale:  Many of the students seeking a BA in the major resent having to do research and treat it as just another requirement that must be completed. Moreover, they often do not have the skills to be overly successful in the laboratory and require a substantial amount of extra time and effort from their research advisors. This typically results in frustration for all involved, including the other students working in the lab. This is not what the department wants for its students. This change allows students to participate in a scholarly activity that is more in line with their desires and skills and is more likely to produce a productive result.

 

 

6.  Delete:  On page 81, the entire entry for CHEM 416, 417:

 

     Add:      On page 81, in place of the deleted entry:

 

416, 417, 418  Chemical Research I, II, III (1, 1, 1)

Directed laboratory research and independent study in a specialized area of chemistry which results in a comprehensive, written research report and formal research seminar at the end of CHEM 418. Students also submit reports and make presentations documenting their progress at the end of CHEM 416 and 417. CHEM 416 prerequisite: CHEM 415. CHEM 417 prerequisite: CHEM 416. CHEM 418 prerequisite: CHEM 417. (An IP grade may be given). CHEM 416: Spring.  CHEM 417: Fall. CHEM 418: Spring.

 

Impact:  There is no negative resource impact for the department associated with this change. However, there is a positive impact on student morale in that they receive credit for their research effort that is more commensurate with the department’s expectation of effort and time. While the department still has the ability to give an IP grade in extraordinary circumstances, the third research course allows the department to move away from the normal issuing of IP grades, which prevent students from receiving semester honors for excellent academic performance.

 

Rationale:  A quality undergraduate research experience takes time, usually more than two semesters. Currently, many students take 416 as a first semester junior and receive an IP grade because their research has not progressed to the point where they are ready for the final research course. Adding CHEM 418 and reintroducing CHEM 415 back into the requirements will allow students to officially take a research- oriented course in five consecutive semesters and avoid the need for an IP grade. This change also brings the amount of academic credit and departmental expectations more in line with each other.

 

 

7.  Delete:   On page 81, the course description and title for CHEM 428:

                       

     Add:       On page 81, in place of deleted entry:

 

                428   Computational Chemistry (3)

An introduction to the theory and practice of computational chemistry, including molecular mechanics, semi-empirical and ab initio molecular orbital theory, density functional theory, and molecular dynamics. Prerequisite: CHEM 335. Fall.

 

Impact:  Dedicating an entire class to computational chemistry will have a positive impact on the student’s education. It also has no resource implications in that the department now has three highly qualified computational chemists capable of teaching this course whenever it is offered.

 

Rationale:  Computational chemistry has been an exploding area of chemistry for the past several years. In the current curriculum, coverage of this area is limited to part of a two-credit course. This change brings the coverage of the material more in line with the importance of computational chemistry in today’s world of chemistry. UNCA also has three excellent young computational chemists on staff, giving the institution more expertise in this area than many research institutions. Students need curricular experience in computational chemistry for research with any of these three faculty members.

 

 

8.  Delete:  On page 81, the entire course description for CHEM 429:

 

     Add:      On page 81, in place of deleted entry:

 

                429   Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (3)

Covers an array of inorganic chemical concepts including stereochemistry, structure and reaction chemistry of coordination compounds and selected compounds of representative elements, ligand field theory and electronic absorption spectra of transition metal complexes, structural and mechanistic aspects of organometallic compounds, introduction to cluster chemistry, group theory, and aspects of bioinorganic chemistry. Prerequisite: CHEM 335. Spring.

 

Impact:  No negative impact for the department. This course is already being taught and has simply been expanded by one credit hour to accommodate the inclusion of group theory.

 

Rationale:  The coverage of group theory and computational chemistry were combined into a single class a number of years ago because the department’s only computational chemist at the time was its inorganic chemist. Since then, two additional computational chemists have been hired, and the teaching of a computational chemistry course is not limited to one faculty member. Although group theory is applicable to many areas of chemistry, it is most appropriate to have it taught in an inorganic course and the additional credit hour is to accommodate this inclusion.