BCCAT CHEMISTRY ARTICULATION COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes from May 6 th, 2010 Camosun College, Interurban Campus Regrets: Judith Wallace, Vancouver Community College; Cindy Broberg, Northern Lights College; Annie Prud Homme Genereux, Quest University; Karioka Mirski, Coquitlam College. Attendees: Jimmy Lowe, BCIT; Neil Meanwell, Camosun College; Blair Surridge, Camosun College; Tony Cusanelli, Capilano University; Lyndia Susag, College of New Caledonia; David Dick, College of the Rockies; Brenda Louie, Columbia College; Randy Alex, Douglas College; Jennifer Au, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Brian Carr, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Andrew Mosi, Langara College; Sherrie Wang, North Island College; Reto Reisen, North West Community College; Sandra Kenefick, Okanagan College; Elizabeth Lund, Selkirk College; Ken MacFarlane, Simon Fraser University; Bruno Cinel, Thompson Rivers University; Norm Reed, Thompson Rivers University; Christina Mohr, Thompson Rivers University; Craig Montgomery, Trinity Western University; Les Burtnick, University of British Columbia; Derek Gates, University of British Columbia; Stephen McNeil, UBC Okanagan; David Fenske, University of the Fraser Valley; Margot Mandy, University of Northern British Columbia; Sandy Briggs, University of Victoria; Sandra Patrick, Vancouver Island University; Duane Friesen, Vancouver Island University. 1) Meeting called to order by Chair Jimmy Lowe (BCIT) 2) Welcoming address given by Randy Genereux, Dean of Arts and Science (Camosun College). 3) Items to be added to the agenda. a. Discussion of chemistry courses designed specifically for engineers- Brian Carr (Kwantlen). b. Association of the Chemical Profession of BC (ACPBC) Sandy Briggs, University of Victoria. 4) Approval of the agenda approved unanimously. 5) Approval of the minutes of the 2009 UT Chemistry Articulation Meeting approved unanimously
6) Presentation on the new Chemistry Integrated Resource Package (ChIRP) given by Derek Gates, University of British Columbia. The initiative to produce an in-house textbook for first year chemistry at UBC arose from a feeling that students were being overwhelmed by so much information being available, both from comprehensive textbooks and on-line. The initial project has been to produce an instructional package for Chem 121, the first half of first year chemistry. Work is underway on the second semester of first year, but will not be ready until the Winter semester, 2012. The book is designed to not only be a text but also a workbook, with students expected to bring it to class. It has been professionally produced by Pearson Education. It currently costs about $60. Data from student performances for the Fall semester of 2009 showed a significant improvement over the previous year. A greater percentage of students passed Chem 121 than in the previous year. Interestingly there wasn t a greater failure rate in Chem 123, the second half of first year chemistry. 7) BCCAT Agenda items Jimmy Lowe (BCIT) a. A new version of the Articulation Committee Companion is available on-line at http://www.bccat.ca/articulation/resources/ b. Briefly described the roles of the Institutional Contact Person (ICP) and Transfer Credit Contact (TCC) in helping with articulation and transfer matters. The names of ICPs and TCCs are available on BCCAT s website. c. There will be a Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) this September or October of ICPs, SLPs and Chairs. Jimmy Lowe or Neil Meanwell will attend. d. Want again to bring to the committee s attention to the backlog of courses which are pending in terms of transfer credits. An up to date list (as of April 20 th 2009) has been distributed. Please work at clearing this backlog. If anyone knows of any courses which are not included on the list, please contact BCCAT e. To help reduce the number of situations where transfer is denied because of inadequate content and detail in the course outlines being sent to receiving institutions BCCAT has a transfer-friendly course outline form available on-line at http://www.bccat.bc.ca/articulation/resources/ f. Alberta is going to be included in the BCCAT system and Athabasca University is the first Alberta institution to be included.
7) Presentation by Bruno Cinel: TRU-Open Learning First Year Lab Courses a. Details of the new lab courses, Chem 164 and Chem 165 were presented. b. Chem 164 and Chem 165 are equivalent to first year college chemistry laboratory courses. Development emphasised need to give students the same experience as in a first year laboratory. c. Lab kits provide everything to perform the labs at home. Safety is emphasised. Instructional videos accompany the kits. d. Course mark includes lab reports, pictures of experimental set ups, and a final lab exam invigilated online. e. Nine students have already enrolled in the course and several have already successfully completed it. Questions: Sherrie Wang (NIC) enquired about cost ($659) and disposal of chemicals and equipment all chemicals designed to be safely disposed of at home and most equipment not designed to be re-used. Some glassware could be used again. Les Burtnick (UBC) While appreciating the level of self-motivation of the students, expressed concern over their preparedness to take 2 nd year lab courses, in that they would not be familiar with operation of fumehoods etc. 8) Chemistry for Engineers (listed under AOB on the agenda) Brian Carr (Kwantlen Polytechnic University) recently attended the 2010 Engineering Articulation Meeting. On the agenda was an item where the engineering faculty stated that they believe the one-semester chemistry course for engineers offered by many of the Colleges is simply too challenging for its students. Simply they regard that in many cases too much material is being presented for a one-semester course. Also they found that there were large variations in the course contents. They urge the colleges offering these courses to contact UVic and UBC so that they can determine exactly the material they want taught with a view to streamlining the courses.
9) Institutional Reports BCIT Jimmy Lowe as per written report Camosun College Neil Meanwell as per written report. Capilano Univeristy Tony Cusanelli the department is part of a University wide review of space allocation. The lab space is currently being used to the maximum and he is hoping that the review will actually result in a positive outcome for the department. College of New Caledonia Lyndia Susag as per written report. College of the Rockies David Dick - College-wide enrolments were up about 10% but there was no real increase in chemistry. As of January 2010 the College has a dual admission agreement with TRU whereby students can enrol simultaneously at both institutions and complete up to 30 credits at the College of the Rockies before completing their studies at TRU. A new course, Introduction to Environmental Chemistry, Chem 100 was successfully offered for the first time this past year but found the chosen text by Baird and Cann was too advanced, considering students only require Chem 11 as a prerequisite. Columbia College Brenda Louie stated that the enrolments for the Summer semester were for the first time higher than those of Fall or Winter. Actually stopped taking applications from overseas students for Summer courses. There has recently been a strong influx of students from India. Weak math skills amongst many students has led to the introduction a non-credit basic algebra course in summer it has 75 students enrolled. Coquitlam College Karioka Mirski (sends her regrets) as per written report. Douglas College Randy Alex added that there was some concern regarding enrolments for the 2 nd half of first year UT chemistry (Chem 1210) which have fallen off significantly in the last two years. The offering of a full second year organic chemistry program in an accelerated format during the summer was partly initiated because of concerns over falling enrolments in summer organic chemistry (first half), which were only ~50% full the last two years. Chem 1108 is being offered as a hybrid (a combination of online and in-person) course this fall. Kwantlen Polytechnic University Jennifer Au - currently looking at developing the upper level chemistry courses required for the anticipated B.Sc. Chemistry Minor Degree, which will require around 15 credits at the upper level. Enrollments for the Spring/Summer organic chemistry courses at Richmond are significantly higher than in previous years.
Langara College Andrew Mosi the department is currently looking for a new text for 1 st year chemistry (currently using Olmsted and Williams). The department received a new GC/MS last May. North Island College Sherrie Wang as per written report. Northern Lights College Cindy Broberg (sends her regrets) as per written report. Okanagan College Sandra Kenefick as per written report Quest University Annie Prud homme Genereux (sends her regrets) as per written report. Selkirk College Elizabeth Lund the college has endured two years of serious cuts. College-wide enrolments are up strongly this year (around 16%) but chemistry dropped from 70 last year to around 62 this year. Simon Fraser University Ken MacFarlane the new laboratory on the Surrey campus will be used to teach first year labs as well a 2 nd year organic chemistry. The department is currently in the process of renewing its analytical chemistry equipment and has already received 2 new AA spectrophotometers, a GC/MS and a TGA. Questions: Jimmy Lowe (BCIT) what text is used for Science 300? No text. Andrew Mosi (Langara College) how long has chemistry been offered at the Surrey camous? Since 2006, with travel to Burnaby for labs. Brian Carr (Kwantlen Polytechnic University) do you expect enrolments to increase at the Surrey campus with the opening of the new laboratory? Yes, very likely. Thompson Rivers University Bruno Cinel and Norm Reed a new course numbering system is to be introduced soon, with codes going from three digits to four digits. The fourth digit identifies the mode of delivery face to face, open learning, or lab course. Open Learning Organic Chemistry Norm Reed Chem 240 and Chem 241 have only recently returned after being dropped a few years earlier in favour of courses in other programs (despite the fact they were highly successful offerings). Enrolments in the Open learning Courses are steadily increasing with 69 students enrolled in first year and 27 in 2 nd year organic. Enrolments at TRU have been increasing with around 250 students enrolled in first year and 120 students in 2 nd year organic.
Questions Reto Riesen (NorthWest Community College) : Is the 2 nd year organic offered on-line? No. Sherrie Wang (NIC): Are other OUL courses allowed a different amount of time to 2 nd year organic to complete? No, all on-line courses have the same amount of time for completion. Trinity Western University (TWU) Craig Montgomery organised a very successful Chemistry High School Competition during Fall 2009. A total of 10 teams from 8 schools competed. University of British Columbia Les Burtnick textbook changes include a custom edition for Chem 123 (second half of first year chemistry), taking relevant chapters from Petrucci looks like volume B of the special edition. Chem 154 (Chemistry for Engineering) now uses Chemistry for Engineers: an Applied Approach, by Shultz, rather than Petrucci. In relation to the previous discussion regarding chemistry courses for engineering students, it should be noted that UBC, after consultation with Chemical Engineering, has streamlined Chem 154 over the last few years (since 2008) the syllabus is posted on-line. It is possible that some colleges are still not aware of these changes. The separation of laboratories from lectures will occur for third year courses in the Fall 2011, and some 2 nd year courses (likely organic) may follow suit in the near future. Enrolments in Chem 121 (September) increased from 1800 in 2008 to around 1950 in 2009. There were around 250 students enrolled in Chem 111 and 750 in Chem 154. Questions Stephen McNeil so all 3 rd year courses will have separate labs? (Derek Gates) Correct. The students will still do overall the same number of laboratory hours as before. Stephen McNeill will these changes add credits to the degree program? (Derek Gates) No. There will be other changes. Credits for some other courses, most notably Chem 425 (Integrated Chemistry Laboratory), may be reduced. Andrew Mosi Is your Summer Chem 235 full? (Les Burtnick) Yes, it is already waitlisted. Ken MacFarlane do students completing a Chemistry major at UBC need more than 120 credits? (Derek Gates)Yes, currently they need 126 but the target is to reduce it to 123.
Bruno Cinel do you expect to separate all of your labs from lectures? (Derek Gates) 1 st year definitely not; 2 nd year will likely only be for the organic courses in order to aid students who take Chem 233 (Organic Chemistry for the Biological Sciences) and Chem 235 but later decide they want to specialise in Chemistry and who are currently asked to do the whole of Chem 203 and Chem 204, significantly delaying their progress. UBC Okanagan Stephen McNeil have overhauled the Environmental Chemistry degree program mainly to take advantage of a number of excellent courses now offered through the Earth and Environmental Sciences department. UNBC Margo Mandy as per written report. UVic Sandy Briggs steady enrolments in 1 st year chemistry: around 800 in Chem 101 and 670 in Chem 102. The department is looking for a new external cahthe University has a new Dean of Science as of July 1 st : Robert Lipson from the University of Western Ontario. University of the Fraser Valley David Fenske reports very healthy enrolments at the 1 st and 2 nd year levels but maintaining good enrolments in 3 rd and 4 th year has been a challenge, with some courses in the 3-6 range and threatened by cancellation. The current Summer offerings are for Chem 11/12 equivalents, both first year chemistry courses (in accelerated mode), and the first half of 2 nd year organic. All courses are essentially full. The department is considering switching from using UBC s two split texts for first year to Petrucci with the enhanced organic. Apparently some instructors are not happy with the organic selections in the current texts. Questions: Jennifer Au how many students graduated from the Chemistry degree program this year? Answer: about 15-16 with a Chemistry Minor and 3 with a Chemistry Major. Vancouver Community College Judith Howard (sends her regrets) as per written report. Vancouver Island University Duane Friesen VIU is facing a major budget shortfall. Duane has recently become Chair of the department, replacing Sandra Patrick. VIU has a new Dean of Science and Technology, Greg Crawford, formally of Humboldt State University, California. A search is currently underway for a new VP academic. Enrolments in chemistry remain very strong. Interest in chemistry has been stimulated by a strong chemistry club as well as undergraduate involvement in the Applied Environmental Chemistry lab overseen by Erik Krogh and Chris Gill, who are also supervising two Masters students jointly with UVic.
Northwest Community College Reto Riesen no written report submitted. Gave a brief overview of the Science Department at the Prince Rupert Campus of the college. He is the only faculty who teaches chemistry at that campus. 10) PD Presentation by Tark Hamilton, Department of Chemistry and Geoscience, Camosun College: Gas Hydrates: Energy Potential, Geological Settings, Carbon Cycle/Climate Issues and Possible Applications. 11) AOB Sandy Briggs (University of Victoria): Association of the Chemical Profession of BC (ACPBC) now has over 100 members. New members are welcome and please pass the message on to your colleagues. 12) Next year s articulation meeting: Kwantlen College, Richmond Campus (Jennifer Au) Following Year: Undecided. 13) Meeting adjourned.