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Program Change: P01331

Program Title: Chemistry Major: Forensic Chemistry Option
Undergraduate
Describe the proposed degree program change(s) in terms of how the changes differ from the program as currently approved and published in the latest WOU catalog (specify the latest catalog date).
The increased interest in forensic science as a career path, has led to a dramatic increase in academic programs offering degree options in the field of forensic investigation. However, to date, there has been a lack of standardized academic requirements that Universities are required to include when developing their curriculum (National Institute of Justice). Due to this lack of program oversight, many institutes leave their students undertrained and unprepared for real-world careers within a crime lab. Key areas of forensic investigation that are often under-represented in many academic curricula include hands-on laboratory training in the areas of Molecular and Biochemical Applications, (i.e. PCR-Multiplexing and DNA Fingerprinting Techniques), and Quantitative Chemical Analytical techniques involved in areas such as Toxicology and Drug screening. To help address these issues, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences has created the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC). FEPAC has developed curriculum standards for Universities to use as their guidelines in developing their programs and has also created a process for accreditation and certification, once the programs have been established. Students receiving their education from a FEPAC Accredited University have a significant competitive advantage in the job market upon the completion of their degree program. Thus, the Natural Science Division at Western Oregon University feels that it is imperative to address the advances in forensic education standards that have been implemented by FEPAC and other national organizations, including the FBI, to ensure that the education WOU students are receiving is of the highest quality and will provide them with the skill sets that they will require to be successful in their chosen career path. During the Spring of 2012, the Chemistry and Biology Departments at WOU began an in-depth Self-Study of the Forensic Science Emphasis Curriculum on campus to determine our compliance with FEPAC Accreditation Standards. Overall, the WOU Forensic Emphasis Program is very robust in providing the foundational education in the laboratory skill sets required for a crime lab specialist. However, we did identify some key areas of weakness within the program as well. Largely, current weaknesses within the program involve updating the current curricula to reflect the huge advances that have been made within the last decade in the biological applications of evidence analysis, especially in the areas of DNA fingerprinting and Toxicological analysis. In addition, over the past six years, WOU has developed a number of new course options in both the chemistry department and within the criminal justice department that will increase the richness of the current forensic chemistry degree option being offered. Thus, we are proposing several course changes within both the major and minor tracks within the Forensic Chemistry degree option. These include the addition of one new laboratory-based course in toxicology (CH445: Toxicology Laboratory Techniques), replacement of outdated coursework and/or coursework that does not meet FEPAC accreditation standards, and a broadening of course electives available to reflect the advances in course curriculum development and diversity at WOU over the past several years.

Describe the reasons for making this change:
The current Forensic Chemistry catalog description for the 2013-2014 academic year is found on page 45. The current listing is shown below: Chemistry major: forensic chemistry option (71-73 credits) CH 221, 222, 223 General Chemistry (15) CH 312 Quantitative Analysis (4) CH 313 Instrumental Analysis (4) CH 334, 335, 336 Organic Chemistry (9) CH 337 Organic Chemistry Lab I (1) CH 338 Organic Chemistry Lab II (2) CH 340 Elementary Physical Chemistry (4) CH 350 Chemical Literature (1) CH 407 Seminar (1) CH 409 Practicum (1) CH 450, 451 Biochemistry (6) CH 461, 462 Experimental Chemistry (4) COM 327 Communication in the Legal Field (3) MTH 243 Introduction to Probability & Statistics (4) WR 322 Technical Writing (4) Limited electives - choose one track: BI 101, 102, 103 General Biology (10) BI 211, 212, 213 Principles of Biology (10) The B.A. requires MTH 252, CS 121 or 161 and completion of the third term of the second year of a modern language course. The B.S. requires a combined 12 credit hours of course work in mathematics and computer science including MTH 252 and CS 121 or 161 For this major the six hours of writing intensive course work should come from CH 350W, CH 407W, CH 461W and CH 462W. The sequence PH 201, 202, 203 or PH 211, 212, 213 is to be completed as the LACC science requirement. HERE IS THE NEW PROPOSED PROGRAM TO REPLACE THE ABOVE LISTING: Chemistry major: forensic chemistry option (72 - 73 credits) CH 221, 222, 223 General Chemistry (15) CH312 Quantitative Analysis (4) CH313 Instrumental Analysis (4) CH 334, 335, 336 Organic Chemistry (9) CH 337 Organic Chemistry Lab I (1) CH 338 Organic Chemistry Lab II (2) CH340 Elementary Physical Chemistry (4) CH345 Intro to Toxicology (3) CH350 Chemical Literature (1) CH407 Seminar (1) CH409 Practicum (1) CH450 Biochemistry I (3) CH461 and CH462: Experimental Chemistry (4) BI211 General Biology (5) BI314 Introductory Genetics (4) MTH243 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (4) ES341 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (4 credits) Choose one of the following electives (3-4 credits) BI475: Molecular Biology (4) CH452: Biochemistry Laboratory (3) CH445: Toxicology Laboratory Techniques (3) The B.A. requires MTH 252, CS 121 or 161 and completion of the third term of the second year of a modern language course. The B.S. requires a combined 12 credit hours of course work in mathematics and computer science including MTH 252 and CS 121 or 161 For this major the six hours of writing intensive course work should come from CH 350W, CH 407W, CH 461W and CH 462W. The sequence PH 201, 202, 203 or PH 211, 212, 213 is to be complet¬ed as the LACC science requirement. PHL 251, PHL 252, or PHL 255 must be completed as the LACC Philosophy or Religion requirement. For students interested in pursuing a career as a DNA analyst, the BI475: Molecular Biology option is recommended.

For Dean Review only:
How and when will the effectiveness of these changes be determined?
In the short term, the effectiveness of these program changes will be evaluated by objective measurements of student success within the classroom. These assessment tools will include course examinations, oral and written presentations, technical writing skills, and evaluation of laboratory skill sets acquired within our programs of study. In addition, all of our graduating chemistry students from any of our emphasis areas and/or our general chemistry degree option are required to complete the American Chemistry Society Graduate Placement Exam, which allows us to evaluate our overall program goals and compare our student preparedness with other institutes of higher learning. Long term evaluation of program success will be determined by the ability of graduates from our program to be successful candidates within the job market or in advanced degree programs.

Approval Queue

Step	Approver	Decision	Timestamp
1 - Department	Arlene Courtney	Approved	October 10 2013
2 - Division	Steve Taylor	Approved	October 10 2013
3 - Division Curriculum	Michael Ward	Approved	October 23 2013
4 - Library Dean	-----------------	Approved	October 23 2013
5 - Curriculum Committee	Thaddeus Shannon	Approved	November 20 2013
6 - Faculty Senate	Thaddeus Shannon	Approved	November 22 2013
7 - Dean	Susanne Monahan	Approved	November 25 2013
8 - Provost	Stephen Scheck	Approved	November 27 2013
9 - President	LouAnn Vickers	Approved	December 02 2013

Attached Files:

forensics major online submission.docx

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