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Biology

Introduction

Mission

Curriculum

Assessment Plan

Learning Goals

Data

Self-Study
Academic
Program
Teaching
& Learning
Research &
Creative Activities
University &
Community Services
Special
Accomplishments
    Department of Biology

Learning Goals

Goals for each facet of the mission statement are listed in priority order.

  • To support the development of students as informed, socially responsible members of society.
    1. Guide critical evaluation of information.
    2. Share an awareness of current events and issues in biology.
    3. Emphasize connections between the study of biology and other areas of human activity.
    4. Emphasize individual and collective responsibility for preserving biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems.
    5. Encourage participation in community activities and service learning related to biology.

  • To offer a high quality undergraduate major program that provides both a broad foundation in biological sciences and an opportunity for specialized training.
    1. Maintain a faculty committed first and foremost to high quality teaching and learning
      • That encourages the use of technology and innovative or alternative pedagogy.
      • That engages student in research experiences both as part of course laboratories and independent projects.
    2. Build a sufficient core of tenured and tenure-track faculty
      • That responds to changing needs of the Department, the discipline, and the community.
      • To replace faculty lost through retirements or resignations.
      • To achieve an 80/20 ratio of full-time to part-time faculty sufficient to effect the Department's program, provide student advising and mentoring, and participate in governance.
    3. Address deficiencies or weakness in the core curriculum and concentration curricula identified through outcomes assessment by designing or redesigning courses and to encourage new course offerings as fields and faculty expertise grows and changes.
    4. Work diligently to find ways to address the critical immediate space and equipment needs and to actualize the new science building which will house the Biological Sciences Department to provide laboratories, equipment, and ancillary facilities to further the teaching of state-of-the art biology.
    5. Encourage group study and peer-teaching and learning by providing formalized space for these activities in the new biology facility.
    6. Continue to expand opportunities and acquire resources for undergraduate research in biology and interdisciplinary science including workload credit for faculty who supervise student research.
    7. Encourage academic enrichment opportunities for students such as service learning, internships, cooperative education, summer programs, and study at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

  • To provide substantial support in the preparation and evaluation of pre-health professional students and secondary school science educators.
    1. Maintain current information on health professional school and credential requirements.
    2. Continue to participate in the evaluation of health professional school applicants through faculty participation as members of pre-health professional interview committees and to seek clerical support for the process.
    3. Continue to participate in the evaluation of single subject credential applicants.
    4. Provide training in pre-health professional advising and single subject evaluation for faculty not currently involved in the processes to more evenly distribute the workload associated with these activities.
    5. Work with the new Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) Director for Student Services to develop college-wide support for pre-health professional and single subject students, faculty advisors, and the evaluation process.
    6. Continue to provide faculty advisors for pre-health professional clubs and work with the clubs to coordinate activities that overlap club interests.
    7. Continue to facilitate internships in health and educational settings for career exploration.

  • To provide training for students pursuing a minor in Biological Sciences or the Issues in Natural Resources Management Certificate.
    1. Continue to discuss course work requirements for the minor to determine if the requirements can be further broadened to make it more attractive to students in a greater number of majors.
    2. Evaluate the viability of the Certificate in Issues in Natural Resource Management and explore alternative ways to achieve the objectives of the certificate.

  • To offer a high quality graduate program that provides advanced academic and research training in biology.
    1. Encourage and support faculty participation in teaching and mentoring at the graduate level by means of
      • Clarifying the RTP document to acknowledge that activities involved in mentoring graduate students in a primary research environment (e.g., training on and offsite, taking graduate students to conferences, facilitating the advancement of their careers) are valued equally with primary faculty research that leads to peer reviewed publications.
      • Giving assigned time credit to faculty who are mentoring graduate students and having the assigned time adjusted for the number of students mentored.
      • Providing faculty who supervise graduate students with appropriate primary research resources (e.g., space, equipment, safety measures, infrastructure support).
    2. Encourage and support student participation in graduate level research by means of
      • providing adequate space for graduate student research, including space in the new biology facility
      • seeking to expand the level of funding available to support graduate students.
      • Strengthening relationships with industry, government, and other academic institutions to provide research and career opportunities for graduate students and to inform our preparation of them for their careers.
      • Acknowledging their contribution to the department by assigning mailbox and photo space to graduate students upon their acceptance by a major advisor.
    3. Strengthen the curriculum of the graduate program by
      • Implementing the new concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology and moving towards the establishment of an MS in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
      • Enhancing the curriculum in the Biological Conservation Concentration.
      • Maintaining the currency of the curriculum through continued contacts with the community.
    4. Continue to provide the opportunity to obtain experience in college-level biology teaching through the Graduate Teaching Associate Program.
    5. Improve graduate student advising by
      • obtaining permanent assigned time for the Graduate Program coordinator
      • exploring the idea of having an entry orientation session for graduate students.
      • soliciting comments from graduate student alumni to learn more about the strengths and deficiencies in the Graduate Program.
      • Providing opportunity for feedback and evaluation from current graduate students,
      • Revisiting the Graduate Program admission and requirements process.
      • Supporting interdisciplinary research within the Deparment and College (e.g., MBIG).
      • Developing a mandatory academic advising requirement for graduate students.

  • To recruit and retain majors particularly those from diverse backgrounds and groups underrepresented in the biological sciences.
    1. Work with University outreach to explore recruitment activities at area high schools and community colleges.
    2. Expand articulation endeavors with community colleges.
    3. Design and implement an additional Department web page and other materials promoting the benefits of majoring in Biological Sciences at CSUS.
    4. Explore establishment of undergraduate scholarships for gifted high school students and community college transfer students.
    5. Continue to support the Science Educational Equity (SEE) Program.
    6. Explore ways to successfully implement the requirement for mandatory advising in Biological Sciences.
    7. Work with College and University programs in retention efforts to foster a sense of community in the College including the development of appropriate space for student activities and academic advising in the College.
    8. Develop a list of student services resources and work with Student Services offices to streamline and coordinate services.
    9. Ensure the participation of tenured and tenure track faculty in lower division major and General Education courses and the coordination of these courses by full-time faculty.
    10. Continue to participate in freshman learning communities and freshman and transfer orientation and “Freshman Welcome Day” activities.
    11. Explore participating in the General Education Freshman Seminar (a course such as HHS 21), the development of upper division GE learning communities, and the development of biology-oriented skills seminars for majors.
    12. Continue to support student groups such as the Pre-Health Professional Student Organization, Field Biology Group, American Medical Association Student Association, Student Association of Laboratory Scientists, and Multicultural Organization of Science Students.
    13. Continue to participate in the Science Olympiad and Academic Talent Search.

  • To provide high quality academic advising.
    1. Recognize and value the contribution of faculty in providing student advising.
    2. Provide training for new faculty on academic advising.
    3. Explore ways to successfully implement the requirement for mandatory advising in Biological Sciences.

  • To provide high quality career advising.
    1. Facilitate internships by expanding partnerships with public and private agencies in the Sacramento region.
    2. Continue to pursue an active relationship with the campus Cooperative Education staff to expand opportunities for students to participate in Cooperative Education programs related to biology.
    3. Encourage students to attend the two seminar series in the Department (BIO 186A and BIO 186B) and interact with professionals in the community who present seminars.
    4. Maintain a list of alumni who work as professionals in the Sacramento region.
    5. Continue to support an annual career fair/forum.
    6. Continue to support student organizations including: PPSO, SALS,
    7. Maintain contacts with the regional workforce.
    8. Continue to offer service learning in some of our courses.
    9. Facilitate interaction of our students and faculty with the University Career Center.

  • To provide training in biology for non-biology majors.
    1. Continue to work cooperatively with those departments that require Biological Sciences courses in their academic programs to ensure that course content and scheduling is appropriate.
    2. Continue partnership efforts with the M.S. in Physical Therapy including providing courses as a service to the program, supervising Masters student research, and service on program committees, as requested.
    3. Offer and maintain currency and coordination of existing General Education courses.
    4. Continue to participate in freshman learning communities.
    5. Explore participating in upper division GE learning communities.

  • To increase public understanding of biology through community outreach.
    1. Continue to provide Biological Sciences facilities tours and off-site educational presentations for K-12 students and community groups.
    2. Continue to participate in CSUS outreach activities and the Science Olympiad.
    3. Continue to participate in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education (i.e., SCATS).
    4. Continue to provide opportunities for students to engage in service learning.
    5. Continue to work toward the development of a Center for Regional Environmental Science and Technology (CREST).
    6. Continue to provide interviews for print, radio and television media.
    7. Continue to provide expertise for the general public regarding organisms.

  • To document and preserve a record of the local biotic diversity to serve as a teaching, research, and community resource.
    1. Preserve for purposes of teaching, research and community outreach museum and living collections of representative biotic diversity.
    2. Maintain space and technical support staff sufficient for effective curation of those collections.
    3. Continue to honor the intent of the C.M. Goethe bequest through the activities of the Department Goethe Committee which manages the C.M. Goethe Arboretum and Goethe grant sponsored research in Biological Survey and Genetics.
    4. Foster faculty and student research studies that further the study of plant and animal diversity.

  • To advance the development and practice of biology through research and scholarly activity in biology and science pedagogy.
    1. Obtain adequate resources and facilities to support faculty in supervising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate student research and in individual faculty research.
    2. Expand collaborations with public (e.g. California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Criminal Justice, etc.) and private agencies (e.g. regional biotechnology companies, bioconservation groups, etc.) in support of student and faculty research.
    3. Obtain assigned time for faculty research and grant writing.
    4. Obtain institutional and system-wide travel funds for faculty to attend professional meetings.
    5. Encourage faculty to attend teaching, technology, and assessment workshops.

  • To promote professional development and productivity of faculty.
    1. Recognize and value the unique contributions and strengths of each faculty member in furthering the mission of the Department in their own way.
    2. Continue to recognize that, while faculty are evaluated in four areas in the RTP process, that yearly the emphasis on particular areas will vary during the course of a career.
    3. Continue to support junior faculty in the RTP process and assist them in defining yearly goals via Faculty Professional Development Committees established for each new tenure-track faculty member.
    4. Recognize and support faculty mentoring of student research on par with independent research and publication in the RTP process.
    5. Recognize and support faculty conducting independent research, including research in the area of science pedagogy.
    6. Recognize and support faculty providing outstanding service to the University through faculty leadership on committees and in University governance and involvement in student support services and advising activities.
    7. Recognize and support faculty providing outstanding community service through such activities as involvement in service learning, service on community boards in a professional capacity, and playing leadership roles in professional societies.