THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 1392S Date of Senate Approval 3/5/92 Signature of Senate Chair __________________________ Date________ Action of Vice Chancellor: Approval _______________________________ Date________________ Denied _______________________________ Date________________ Reasons for denial and suggested modifications: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statement of Faculty Senate Action: APC Document #12: Changes in Chemistry Program Description Effective Date: For catalog and implementation, Fall 1992. DELETE: (on pages 73 -74) the text beginning with the first paragraph on page 73 under Chemistry (after faculty listing) through the second paragraph on page 74 ending immediately before the section "Declaration of Major in Chemistry". REPLACE with the following: Degrees offered by the Department of Chemistry prepare students for advanced studies in chemistry and related disciplines such as medicine, pharmacy, or veterinary science, and careers as chemists in government, industry or teaching. The curricula developed by the Department of Chemistry reflect the standards set by the American Chemical Society (ACS) which are accepted by virtually every Chemistry Department at competitive colleges and universities across the country. Because the department is small, Chemistry majors receive much individual attention from faculty and have laboratory experiences not usually available in undergraduate courses. In addition, most majors perform research as part of their studies and this experience develops independent and creative thinking. The student may elect one of three degrees: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science with concentration in Clinical Chemistry. The Bachelor of Science degree is accredited and certified by the American Chemical Society and fully prepares students for graduate studies in chemistry or professional careers in the chemical industry. ACS certified degrees are often highly valued by employers of chemists and graduate schools. The Bachelor of Arts degree allows the student more flexibility in course selections and is, therefore, advantageous for some pre- professional programs. Students seeking teacher certification must complete, at a minimum, the B.A. requirements listed under Teacher Certification in Chemistry, but may elect to complete the required courses listed under the Bachelor of Science degree. The department also offers a joint program with North Carolina State University in Chemistry and Textile Chemistry (see under Joint Programs). Major in Chemistry for the Bachelor of Science Degree I. Required courses in major - 44 hours, including: CHEM 141, 142, 221, 222, 223, 231, 232, 321, 332, 341, 342, 412, 413, 421, 432; and two courses chosen from CHEM 322, 323, 422, and 424. II. Required courses outside major - 20 hours, including MATH 191, 192, 291 (MATH 394 if also highly recommended for those planning to go to graduate school in chemistry); PHYS 221, 222. III. Foreign language requirement - GERM 110, 120 are recommended to meet the foreign language requirement. (GERM 210 and 220 are also highly recommended for those planning to go to graduate school in chemistry). IV. Other departmental requirements - Written comprehension examinations in the fields of general, organic, analytical, inorganic, and physical chemistry; advanced chemistry, verbal, quantitative, and analytical Graduate Record Examinations. Major in Chemistry for the Bachelor of Arts Degree I. Required courses in the major - 32 hours, including: CHEM 141, 142, 221, 222, 223, 231, 232, 321, 323, 331, 332, 412, 413. II. Required courses outside the major - 16 hours, including MATH 191, 192; PHYS 221, 231, (or 222). III. Restricted electives - 12 additional semester hours selected from Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics, excluding those courses listed in I or II above. IV. Other departmental requirements - Same as in III and IV under Bachelor of Science degree program above. Major in Chemistry for the Bachelor of Science Degree with a Concentration in Clinical Chemistry. I. Required courses for the major - 41 hours, including: CHEM 141, 142, 221, 222, 223, 231, 232, 321, 323, 331, 332, 432, 443, 444. II. Required courses outside the major - 25 hours, including: MATH 191, 192; PHYS 221, 231 (or 222); BIOL 105, 338. III. Other departmental requirements - Same as in III and IV under Bachelor of Science degree program above. Note that the B.S. degree in Clinical Chemistry is specifically designed to prepare the student for graduate studies in Clinical Chemistry or other medically-related fields. Teacher Certification in Chemistry I. Required courses in the major - 32 hours, including: CHEM 141, 142, 221, 222, 223, 231, 232, 321, 323, 331, 332, 412, 413. II. Required courses outside the major - 34 hours, including ASTR 105, BIOL 105, ENVR 105, MATH 191, 192; PHYS 221, 231, (or 222); SOC 240; and those requirements indicated under the Education section of the catalogue. III. Other departmental requirements - Same as for the Bachelor of Science degree program. Students seeking certification in Secondary Comprehensive Science (as distinct from Chemistry) must complete the requirements listed above as well as ATMS 103 and ENVR (BIOL) 241. Students pursuing middle school certification must complete the requirements and ATMS 103. It is also recommended that those desiring to teach at the middle school level have a second area of concentration, preferably Mathematics. Further, in some cases it may be advantageous that some or all of the requirements of the B.S. degree be pursued, rather that the B.A. degree. For further information and specific requirements for teacher certification, students must contact the Department of Education. Impact:The changes in the catalogue for the B.S. degree, the B.A. degree, and B.S. degree with Clinical Chemistry are made only to clarify the programs as they already exist and have for several years. The descriptive comments for all programs have been changed to more clearly indicate the advantages of certain programs for particular academic and career goals. Since these changes are for clarification purposes only, there should be no effect on the resources of the Chemistry Department or other departments. The change for middle and secondary certification students more clearly outlines the required courses in the major. The "12 additional hours" of science or mathematics electives has been deleted and ASTR 105 has been added to the required courses outside the major. In addition, ENVR (BIOL) 241 is eliminated from the Middle School Program. There are no changes in the Comprehensive (Chemistry) Science Certification Program. Given the foregoing and history of few chemistry certification students, there should be no deleterious effect upon the Department of Chemistry. Further, replacing PHYS 105 (error in catalog relative to PHYS 103) with ASTR 105 should have no negative impact upon the offering department, inasmuch as (a) that department is responsible for PHYS 105 and ASTR 105, (b) both courses are included among the University's general education offerings, and (c), the ratio of science certification students to total enrollees would present a negligible number. As to the impact upon the Department of Education, without doubt, the current program - particularly with reference to additional hours in the major - is much stronger and serves to better prepare teachers for eliminating some of the prevailing problems in science education. However, see Rationale. The Joint Program in Pre-Medical Chemistry has been deleted from the description because it no longer exists. Rationale: The rewritten text is designed to more clearly represent the requirements for various majors in chemistry. This will assist students and advisors in planning schedules and fully understanding requirements for each program. The descriptive comments about the various tracks will help students choose the most appropriate major. The B.S. program in chemistry is typical for B.S. programs in chemistry at other academically competitive schools which have certification by the American Chemical Society (ACS).A listing of the schools which are ACS certified is attached as the appendix. This certification specifies and delineates certain course and topic requirements. In addition, it specifies hours of lecture and laboratory for each area of chemistry, as well as mathematics and physics. This certification is the standard of excellence for chemistry programs. UNCA has only recently been recertified or re-accredited by ACS in 1989 (originally certified in 1981). Any lowering of the standards for our B.S. program would cause us to lose this accreditation. Schools of highest academic standards invariably have ACS certified chemistry departments, and it would be a loss to the entire institution if the Chemistry Department were unable to maintain these standards. Experience has shown that chemistry majors from this department are very well-prepared for graduate studies or employment. Students whose degrees are not ACS certified (or who at least have a comparable program) will usually be required to take additional undergraduate level courses by graduate schools in chemistry prior to beginning their graduate studies. In addition, many employers preferentially hire students with ACS certified B.S. degrees. As a single example, Oak Ridge Laboratories in Tennessee preferentially hires B.S. degrees which are ACS certified and has a higher entry level salary scale for ACS certified majors. The Department of Chemistry has a very good reputation for the quality of its graduates and many graduates from the department have expressed their appreciation for the rigors of the B.S. programs (not usually until after graduation when they are employed or in graduate school). Even though this is a difficult program, a substantial proportion of majors choose the B.S. degree, realizing the advantages that this will afford them later. Even when completing the B.S. degree in chemistry (the 64 total required hours for the major includes 12 hours of General Education requirements) and all other General Education requirements, students still have 21 hours of elective courses with no restrictions. The Chemistry Department also offers two degrees which require less course work in chemistry (a minimum of 32 hours) - the B.A. degree and the B.A. degree with Teaching Certification. These degrees are appropriate for students who are more interdisciplinary in their interests or needs. The B.A. program is ideal for pre-medical students or other pre-professional degrees. It is also useful for students who wish to combine their chemistry background with more of a managerial career. Some students who enjoy chemistry a great deal also find that they cannot complete some of the mathematically-rigorous upper- level chemistry courses and will opt to change from a B.S. degree to a B.A. degree. These students will still have the opportunity to pursue careers as chemists. The general change in the Teacher Certification major would effect closer compliance with the mandate from UNC General Administration regarding number of hours required for graduation. That it does not represent total compliance is the result of need to maintain some degree of equality essential to satisfying, as nearly as possible, standards established by the pertinent learned societies and accrediting agencies. Indeed, it is this need which underlies the request to delete PHYS 105 as a requirement, substituting ASTR 105. Though the courses are entirely different in primary focus and coverage, both present those basic principles of physics essential to the prospective teacher. In addition, the change would eliminate the one concern expressed by NCATE and the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction; that is, there should be no doubt that all science certification students receive exposure to an appropriate level of study in astronomy.