4. Criterion 1. Response ID:132; Data

Transcription

1 Response ID:132; Data Instructional Program Criteria and Template Name of Person Completing this Report : David Larson Title of Person Completing this Report : Department Chair -- AGES College or Unit : CLASS Report No. : CLASS 5 Programs Included : Environmental Studies B.A. (with 3 Options), Minor Total number of service courses 7 2. Please use Tables 1-6 to prepare your write-ups for the questions in this background information section (up to 250 words in total). I. Environmental Studies began 35 years ago as a program designed to provide an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary overview of the environmental field coupled with an in-depth study of one discipline involved in environmental issues. In the early 1980s the Department of Geography took on administrative responsibility for Environmental Studies. The program evolved to include courses from multiple departments across campus. Effective Fall 2013, Anthropology merged with Geography & Environmental Studies, forming the Department of AGES. TT faculty headcount for G&ES was 6 from 1999 to Including lecturers, the present headcount is 8, equivalent to every year since Due to faculty assigned time and research leaves, the Total Instructional FTEF has averaged 4. II. Environmental Studies offers upper- and lower-division GE courses in the areas of Social Science (D) and Science (B). We proudly provide breadth education focused on environmental literacy and sustainability. III. Environmental Studies majors are required to take 6 core courses with the prefix ENVT, meaning they are taught by faculty in the home department. Majors also take courses in a minimum of 8 other academic programs on campus, thereby preserving the program's multidisciplinary character. IV. Environmental Studies contributes 7 service courses to the Environmental Science program in the College of Science and courses for Liberal Studies. V. Environmental Studies offers classroom-based lecture-lab courses, seminars, and off-campus field courses. ENVT 2000 is taught in the online format once per quarter. VI. The only LD course is ENVT UD courses include lecture, lab, field, seminar. 4. Criterion 1 I. Institutional Learning Outcomes: (70%) Provide evidence to support current and/or planned alignment for each ILO (no more than 60 words for each ILO) 1. Graduates of CSUEB will be able to think critically and creatively and apply analytical and quantitative reasoning to address complex challenges and everyday problems SLO 3 for ENVT BA: Communicate clearly and persuasively concerning a range of environmental issues orally and in writing and to critically analyze environmental impact reports, statements and assessments. SLO 4 for ENVT BA: Apply scientific reasoning and quantitative and statistical methods applicable in the environmental field.

2 2. Graduates of CSUEB will be able to communicate ideas, perspectives, and values clearly and persuasively while listening openly to others SLO 3 for ENVT BA:Communicate clearly and persuasively concerning a range of environmental issues orally and in writing and to critically analyze environmental impact reports, statements and assessments. 3. Graduates of CSUEB will be able to apply knowledge of diversity and multicultural competencies to promote equity and social justice in our communities 4. Graduates of CSUEB will be able to work collaboratively and respectfully as members and leaders of diverse teams and communities 5. Graduates of CSUEB will be able to act responsibly and sustainably at local, national, and global levels 6. Graduates of CSUEB will demonstrate expertise and integration of ideas, methods, theory and practice in a specialized discipline of study. SLO 1 for ENVT BA: Demonstrate knowledge, skills and sensitivities needed to perform effectively as an environmental professional individually and in a team setting. SLO 5 for ENVT BA: Understand the practical/field dimensions of a range of Bay Area environmental issues and their linkages to regional, national and global processes critical to sustainable development. SLO 1 and SLO 4 for the ENVT BA as shown for ILO #1 above. SLO 2 for the ENVT BA: Demonstrate a basic understanding of politics, law, economics, ethics, biology, chemistry, geography and geology as they apply to the environmental studies field. II. Shared Strategic Commitments: (30%) Environmental Studies (ENVT) engages in all Shared Strategic Commitments, especially academic quality, sustainability, and STEM: ENVT graduates routinely continue to Masters degrees and careers in the field, our faculty disproportionately participate in clusters, FLCs and PEIL, and one received the University's Outstanding Professor Award in ENVT has a high percentage of sustainability-focused courses equipping students to think and act sustainably; the capstone requires project work enhancing campus sustainability. Faculty promote sustainability on/off campus and deliver the Certificate in Sustainable Resource Management. Though in CLASS, ENVT has a STEM core and offers environmental resource analysis, impact assessment, energy and water management. Faculty conduct research, consult and publish in vital STEM areas including water resources, climate change, renewable energy, and erosion. 5. Criterion 2 I. FTES, Number of Majors, and Number of Degrees Awarded ENVT Transfer the 5-year average and the quartile for total FTES from the total program table only to the table below. 5-Year Average Quartile Remedial 0.00 Lower Division 36.91

3 Upper Division 7.00 Graduate 0.00 TOTAL FTES B. Number of Majors, Options and Minors (for information only) Major Option 5-Year Average Quartile 1 ENVT BA ENVT BA ENVT BA Environ & Society ENVT BA Physical Env ENVT BA SRM ENVT MINOR C. Number of Degrees Awarded (30%) Major Option 5-Year Average Quartile 1 ENVT BA ENVT BA ENVT MINOR

4 D. Data in Table 7 DO NOT reflect the structure of the multidisciplinary Environmental Studies program. Only courses with the ENVT prefix, taught by faculty in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, are included in the data. ENVT curriculum includes 5 LD and 5-6 UD courses taught in other academic programs. For example, Environmental Law (POSC), Environmental Ethics (PHIL) Environmental Economics (ECON). A more accurate Fall FTES for the "program" would include a total for all ENVT majors in our core courses taught in Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Geology, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Statistics etc. Furthermore, and most critically, the ENVT curriculum is constructed in a manner that all but one UD core course with the ENVT prefix is taught in Winter and Spring Quarters and thus not reflected in the Fall-only data. Table 9's 5-yr degree data are skewed low. Data from 4 years of now-discontinued Options are not included. Internal demand comes from the Environmental Science program in the College of Science and the university's GE program (Science, Area B6), (Social Science, Area D) via the "Energy & Society" and "Intro to Environment" courses, respectively. Both feature considerable course content in sustainability. The ENVT program provides our graduates with a broadly based foundation for recognizing, assessing, and solving environmental problems at local, regional and global scales. Majors are provided a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the environment and its modification by humans. Our graduates are employable in positions emphasizing environmental impact assessment, natural resources management and GIS/mapping (Criterion 3). II. California State Jobs Projections for Each Program (35%) Programs TOTAL Jobs for each program from worksheet in Appendix 3 1 ENVT

5 B. Please discuss the selections you made for the total jobs in your worksheet in Appendix 3 Graduates of our Environmental Studies program have sought and found employment in both the public (local, state and federal government) and private (environmental consulting firms) sectors (see Criterion 3, IV, 5). The private sector, in particular, has shown considerable cyclic behavior over the past 6-8 years. So much of the environmental profession is directly linked to construction projects (CEQA is a state law); when the economy shriveled all manner of big projects were furloughed or cancelled. Our program modified the ENVT curriculum to cross-train students in GIS and cartography so as to better prepare them for potential employment in the mapping professions. The COEP does not reflect the fact that professional positions identified in the Job Projections categories are more common in the Bay Area. 6. Criterion 3 1a. List average teaching evaluation scores (average for questions 1-8 of the teaching evaluation questionnaire) for all program faculty in Fall, Winter and Spring Quarters of the academic year. On-Ground Course Evaluations Dept Mean (Q1-8). Transfer Data from Table 11 On-line Course Evaluations Dept Mean (Q1-8) Fall Winter 2013 Dept Spring 2013 Dept b. System for continuous improvement of teaching First, everyone teaching classes is made aware of the results of their course evaluations on a regular basis. Suggestions for improvement, if needed, are made by the chair. Classroom visits by a peer, for example, can provide on-site evaluation if that is thought to be helpful. All lecturers are reviewed annually by both a faculty committee and the department chair who submit meaningful evaluations identifying strengths and weaknesses. Second, course critiques are solicited during exit interviews of seniors. Helpful information is shared with regular and part-time faculty so as to make improvements in the curriculum. 2. Teaching awards, teaching grants, and recognitions Environmental Studies faculty have been selected to serve in the faculty in Residence (FIR) program and have made contributions

6 (e.g. leading workshops) to the Faculty Learning Center. Internal teaching grants have been acquired. A $50,000 PEIL grant to support sustainability initiatives at the university produced significant results in A member of the Geography & Environmental Studies faculty was the recipient of Cal State East Bay's Outstanding Professor Award in One of our lecturers has been recognized with the Outstanding Faculty Award at the Concord campus 3. Faculty-supervised student projects Directed Study courses supervised by regular faculty have been used to advantage by Environmental Studies majors. Internships (ENVT 4910) and Co-Op Education (ENVT 3898) are the common vehicles for this. For example, students working in conjunction with faculty and U.S. Geological Survey staff to sample water quality in the East Bay. Public Works and Environmental Services Departments in Bay Area cities commonly employ our students in both paid and unpaid internships. Profs. Woo and Larson codirect CSUEB's chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geographical Honor Society, which also accepts Environmental Studies students with significant coursework in Geography. 4. Other evidence of quality indicators related to instruction that may not be listed elsewhere, including, for example, rigor of course syllabi and assignments, faculty diversity within the program Michael Lee, who commonly teaches online classes, earned an Online Teaching Certificate from our university. Gary Li, who teaches courses in Geographic Information Systems, is an authorized instructor for ESRI, the world's leading developer of GIS software. He teaches workshops on and off campus to practicing professionals. Throughout the Environmental Studies curriculum, which includes courses in 10 or more academic programs, emphasis is placed on the ability to think critically, and apply analytical and quantitative reasoning to assess problems across various geographic scales and seek sustainable solutions. There is diversity within the program: One female and two Asian American faculty. 1a. TT faculty contributions Total Number Average per TT Total Number Average per TT Total Number Average per TT Total Number Average per TT Total Number Average per TT Peer reviewed journal publication, juried exhibitions, juried/reviewed and commissioned/presented creative activities and performances, book chapters, books Peer reviewed proceedings, conference presentations, abstracts, and non-refereed publications, non-juried and self-produced creative and performance activities Number of TT faculty in Table1 in supplemental data package * b. Comment on contributions in professional achievement by TT and FERPs (up to 50 words) All tenure-track faculty are members of national academic associations and/or professional societies. One is an elected fellow of the California Academic of Sciences. Faculty produce consulting reports, contributions to environmental impact reports, and various other forms of so-called gray literature that is not represented in the above table. 1c. Comment on contributions in professional achievement by lecturers and FERPs (up to 50 words)

7 Lecturers have served on M.A. thesis committees at CSU East Bay and at other Bay Area universities. One long-time lecturer for our environmental impact analysis course served two terms as president of the Bay Area chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals. Another is a water resources analyst for EBMUD. 2. List significant examples for the following (up to 100 words): Scott Stine: Comer Science and Educational Foundation $8,250 (2008); Consultant to the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District; Consultant to the mono lake Committee; Adjunct Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (2011-present) David Larson: California Air Resources Board -- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Grant $150,000 (2011) Michael Lee: CSUEB PEIL Grant, $50,000 ( ); Chancellor's Office Campus as a Living Lab Grant, $12,000 (2013) Karina Garbesi: 2012 Taylor Technical Talent Award of the Illuminating Engineering Society; [Grants totaling $4 million while on leave at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab ( ) 3. List significant professional activities (up to 100 words) Michael Lee: Invited Keynote Presenter, University of Chile Sustainability Symposium (2012); Keynote Panel on STARR at AASHE Conference (2012); Reviewer, Journal of Applied Geography (2012) Scott Stine: Fellow, California Academy of Sciences (since 1992); Reviewer for the National Science Foundation; Reviewer for: Quaternary Research, Quaternary Science Reviews, The Holocene, Boreas; Presidential Plenary Lecture to the California Geographical Society (2011); Appeared in the PBS Documentary: "Elements" (2012) Gary Li: Member, Water Resources and Policy Initiative, CSU ( ); ESRI Authorized Instructor Karina Garbesi: Member, Board of Directors, WECARE Solar (2010-present) David Larson: Reviewer, University of California Press (2010), Oxford University Press (2011) 1. Describe the relevancy of your program as it aligns with internal and external needs (up to 100 words). Specifically, emphasize evidence of the following: Significant revisions were made to the Environmental Studies curriculum subsequent to suggestions offered by the 5-year program reviewer in Overall number of units in the major was shaved to 93 from 107, thereby reducing time-to-degree by the equivalent of 1 quarter. The number of Options were cut to 3 from 5 (2011). Potential course substitutions were built into the upper-division core via an either/or option, thereby removing additional obstacles to degree. New courses are added when new faculty expertise arrives on campus. Results from student exit interviews have spurred curricular modifications. Alignment with university needs remains a high priority. 2. List/describe innovations of the program curriculum (up to 100 words). Specifically emphasize the following: Environmental Studies embraced the opportunity to be the university's primary home for sustainability-centered curriculum. Both the Sustainable Resources Management Option and a stand-alone Certificate in SRM, available to majors and non-majors alike, are gaining traction. Environmental Studies has long been aligned with technology associated with mapping, measurement, and quantitative assessment in lab classes as well as in two field courses, which consist of upwards of 160 hours of teaching and learning at mainly off-campus locations. One lower-division and one upper-division course is offered online; more are planned. A2E2 funding has made possible the purchase of new and innovative field equipment. 1. Accreditation, licensure, and external recognitions; list/describe the following (up to 100 words): Neither the department nor the Environmental Studies program specifically is subject to accreditation or licensure. 2. Effectiveness and sufficiency of current resources; list/describe the following (up to 100 words): The most important facility belonging to Geography & Environmental Studies is its dedicated GIS Lab: 21 workstations equipped with software specific to the curriculum of both disciplines. Most of our "technology and techniques" courses are taught there. Environmental Studies maintains an impressive and growing collection of equipment and instrumentation used for measurement and observation by students in environmental field courses. Some pieces of equipment are numerous enough for one-to-one ratio for student use; others must be shared by 2 or 3 students working together. The Library's collection of books, periodicals, videos and other media relevant to ENVT is superb. 3. Student advising, experiential learning, internships, co-op, service learning; list/describe the following (up to 100 words):

8 The Environmental Studies program has an unambiguous roadmap posted on the CLASS website and available in hard copy in the department office. Self-advised students thus have an unambiguous document that can guide them to their degree. Major advising in Environmental Studies is assigned to Profs. Garbesi and Larson, the chair with other faculty sufficiently cross-trained to step in when needed. Internships and co-operative education opportunities care commonly available to Environmental Studies students through agencies (U.S. Geological Survey, East Bay Regional Park District, Contra Costa County Public Works Department), city government (Fremont, Oakland) and local non-profits. 4. Assessment of learning outcomes; list/describe evidence for the following (up to 150 words): Assessment of learning outcomes suggests we can do a better job of addressing our students' awareness of the kind of positions they are qualified for if they choose not to go on to a graduate program. Our merger with Anthropology to form AGES will enable us to modify the the Environmental Studies program in ways that prepare our students for a wider array of employment possibilities. For example, training ENVT students how to be more adept at cultural resources management imperatives or in certain kinds of archaeological activities. Having just begun to function as a combined unit, AGES programs will work to create a multiyear assessment plan involving cross-listed courses. 5. Student success; list/describe the following (up to 100 words): Environmental Studies students received awards for university-centered sustainability-based projects stemming from the $50,000 PEIL grant awarded to professor Michael Lee in A sampling of Environmental Studies graduates: Mike Vukman, Senior Environmental Scientist, Stantec Environmental Consulting William Sears, Science and Policy Analyst, S.F. Public Utilities Commission Doug West, Environmental Field Technician, ECM Group, Inc. Dan Fox, Land Acquisition and Development Manager, The True Life Companies Krystal Paneuf, GIS Analyst, California Environmental Services Evelyn Munoz, Energy Manager, Facilities and Development, CSU East Bay Stefanie Olson, Environmental Compliance Inspector, Dublin San Ramon Services District Tamara Wilson, Environmental Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey 7. Criterion 4 A. You are given "% Difference" value over a 5 year period, comparing your program SFR data with systemwide averages for your program. If your program SFR is higher than the systemwide for a given year, notice that the value is presented as a positive ("+") percentage. If it is presented as a negative percentage ("-"), your program SFR for that year is lower than the systemwide average. The resulting four values are then averaged for you. Transfer the appropriate values to the template as specified. Transfer the average change SFR for lower division, upper division, and graduate SFR to the table below. Transfer Data from Table 16. Average Change SFR Lower Division -1% Upper Division 5% Graduate 68% B. In this section you will be provided with data in Table 16 that indicate any trend of your program SFR relative to the systemwide average for your program. This is presented as the number of times in 5 years that your program SFR has exceeded the systemwide SFR for your program. Transfer the trend for lower division, upper division, and graduate SFR to

9 the table below. Transfer Data from Table 16. Trend - Number of Years Program SFR exceeded Systemwide SFR Lower Division 3 Upper Division 3 Graduate 5 II. Instructional Costs per FTES (Department Total Annual Instructional Costs/FTES College Year) (25%) Department Name Average Instructional cost per FTES Average Increase in instructional cost per FTES Department GEOG & ENVT $3, % III. Narrative (up to 250 Words) (50%) The department has been a model of stability for the period covered in this report. Two obvious trends jump out from the data: The drop in total instructional salary and Instuctional Cost per FTES during the years covered here. The disparity between $483K in and $402K in largely represents the salary of one full professor who has been on unpaid professional leave at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since early The variance in expenditures during and reflect different total salaries paid to part-time lecturers teaching some of the professor's courses. Yet because this leave has been approved by the Provost and President, the professor has remained in the department's faculty headcount statistics. She will return to the university and her previous salary in fall But the salary stability will be largely maintained as another senior professor entered the FERP in at 50% time base. In terms of trends, then, the total salary for will closely approximate the 4-year average of $444K. And the Instructional Cost per FTES will be roughly equivalent to Meanwhile, Department FTES has dropped only 8% ( ) during the time the full-time faculty memner has been on leave. Less than half of her salary was provided to the department for part-time lecturers. Normal number of sections were not offered due to insufficient funding and College Year FTES dropped accordingly. CY FTES is expected to increase with her return. This is a high quality and relatively lowcost program. 8. Criterion 5 I. Use of Existing Resources (Up to 125 words) After many years of receiving just enough resources to support (but not grow) our programs on an annual basis, we look forward to the opportunities that will spring from the merger with Anthropology to form AGES. Having a few more energetic, creative faculty joining ours will spur curricular innovation. Geography & Environmental Studies has long looked for ways to balance highenrollment courses with much smaller-enrolled field and lab courses that are integral to our programs. With a combined budget, AGES will look to showcase each of our programs in synergistic ways that would not have been possible had we remained as two stand-alone departments. One potential opportunity for growth is to offer additional curriculum online in a format conducive to larger enrollment caps. II. Impact of Declining Resources (Up to 125 words) A reduction in resources in the form of a smaller annual allocation for part-time faculty would present serious curricular challenges. We employ only three lecturers who collectively teach 15 classes annually. These offerings are integral to our programs. The loss of

10 any of them would require a significant redistribution of teaching responsibilities for regular faculty and thus a less robust curriculum. Courses that contribute to other university programs (Clusters, International Studies, Environmental Science) would be cut back. The regular faculty headcount remained at 6 from 1999 through Now we are at 5. Yet our commitment is to secure a digital archaeologist/museum director to strengthen the overall composition of AGES. The lack of a museum director/curator would adversely impact the university's connection to the region. III. Impact of Augmentation (Up to 125 words) The AGES faculty unanimously believes that for the department to thrive going forward it is essential to revitalize the Anthropology program first through the addition of a new hire with a specialization in archaeology with a 21st-century commitment to digital archaeology and an ability to become the new director of the department's Anthropology Museum. We believe the merger has put us in a stronger position to add a new faculty member to enhance an contemporize our archaeological and museum studies offerings. We are excited about the opportunity to more prominently feature the Museum as a university-community asset. One can easily envision future exhibits built around core strengths of AGES, such as sustainability and global diversity. A hybrid Medical Anthropologist/Health Geographer will be sought in IV. Additional Information (Up to 250 words) AY proved to be a momentous year for the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies as a merger with Anthropology, discussed intermittently since 2010, was put forward and approved by the Academic Senate and the President. The merger brings together three compatible disciplines which take the world throughout human history as their subject matter. All three fields of study feature an inherently interdisciplinary approach, integrating science, social science, and humanistic curriculum and scholarship. AGES became operational in Fall 2013 with a chair and associate chair. The faculty of both departments believes the strategic merger will help address resource depletion issues (most acutely the erosion of full-time faculty in Anthropology) but also create opportunities for new courses integrating faculty expertise as well as the cross-listing of existing courses, enabling their use in more than one of our majors. The return of Prof. Karina Garbesi next year from a multiyear research leave at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab promises to strengthen curriculum in energy resources and quantitative methods. In the near term, the department will continue to offer undergraduate degree-granting programs in Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies and M.A. programs in Anthropology and Geography. In AY AGES' Tenure-Track FTEF was 7.4 and total majors by headcount was 181.