Date of Senate Approval 03/06/03

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 60:      Changes to Ecology and Environmental Biology Concentration Requirements.

Delete: On pg 106, the requirements for the concentration in Ecology and Environmental Biology:

25 hours distributed as follows: ENVR 332; two advanced electives in ENVR; BIOL 210 and/or 211; 11 hours of advanced Biology or Environmental Biology electives from BIOL 332, 333, 334, 335, 337, 339, 350, 351, 356; ENVR 321, 340 or 348, 341, 346, 350, 390, 432, 442, 443, 444.

Add: On pg 106, in place of the deleted entry:

29-37 hours distributed as follows: BIOL 105 or its equivalent; BIOL 210 or 211; one course from ATMS 103, ENVR 105, 338, 385, CHEM 234, PHYS 131; one advanced ENVR elective; 19 hours of Ecology and Biology electives chosen from BIOL 210 or 211(whichever is not selected above), 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 337, 348, 350, 360; or ENVR 321, 340, 341, 346, 350, 390, 442, 443, 444. At least 11 of the 19 hours must be in ENVR.

Impact:
These changes will result in some enrollment increases in courses that normally do not attract many students in the Ecology concentration (ENVR 105 and 338, ATMS 103, CHEM 234, PHYS 131). There may also be small increases in enrollment in BIOL 210 and/or 211, and small decreases in some advanced BIOL courses.

Rationale:

1. At present, the Ecology concentration requires only 25 hours, compared with approximately 30 hours required in each of the other three concentrations offered by our department. These changes reflect our intention to increase the requirements for the Ecology concentration to a level more comparable to the others. We also would like to strengthen the field ecology aspect of this concentration.

2. In addition, this proposal reflects our belief that the students in the Ecology concentration would be better served by more field courses, as well as more guidance in their course selection. At present, they are required to take ENVR 332 (Environmental Management), are allowed a choice of two advanced ENVR electives, and a choice of three advanced Ecology/Biology electives. Our proposal includes the following:

a. Elimination of ENVR 332 (Environmental Management). This course will still be required for students in the Environmental Management and Policy (formerly Natural Resource Management) concentration, and can be taken as an advanced elective by students in the Ecology concentration.

b. Decrease in the required number of advanced ENVR electives from two courses to one.

c. A new requirement of one course in a supporting physical science (geology, soils, hydrology, atmospheric science, organic chemistry, physics). This will increase the breadth of the scientific training that our students receive. However, students who lack BIOL 105 or 2 years of high school biology will need to use these 5 hours to remedy their deficiency in biology.

d. An increase in the number of hours of Environmental Biology/Ecology courses that our students are required to take, from the 11 hours (3 courses) required at the present time, to 19 hours (5 courses). Further, we propose that at least 11 of the required 19 be selected from ENVR offerings. This will ensure that students receive a broad foundation in field ecology courses, which they can supplement with advanced courses in botany, zoology, etc.