February 2012 Archives

The track recommendations passed and messages were sent to faculty and students with updated information. Thank you to everyone who participated and who continues to provide input as we work on the early part of the curriculum. Some things for which we are seeking input -

- How many hours per day is optimal for students to spend in the classroom? In laboratory or active learning settings?
- Do we need to provide incentives to course coordinators? If so, what is a good incentive for that aspect of teaching? What about increasing staff support for logistical aspects of course coordination?

minutes_02-23-12.pdf

Here are the minutes from today's meeting. We spent a lot of time discussing the current budget model and how it affects curriculum decisions. The small groups are still working on completely understanding the curriculum in the first 2 1/2 years, identifying holes and redundancies, and considering sequencing. Big questions we need to answer before we move ahead are -

- What is the best model for our curriculum and our courses - species-specific, systems-based, problems-based, or a combination of these?

- What is the maximum number of credits per semester we believe is appropriate for our students?

- How can we reassess the credit hour calculation model to ensure it at least equally rewards active learning and lecture hours?

- What kinds of incentives do we believe should be offered to course coordinators? How manageable is it to expect course coordination across departments or colleges?

We will discuss these at our next meeting, February 23. As always, happy to hear comments and answer questions - Peggy

minutes_02-09-12.pdf