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Program Change:
P00820
Program Title: Chemistry
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).
To The WOU Curriculum Committee,
The Chemistry Department proposes to develop a Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Emphasis Track to serve as a pre-professional option for students interested in applying for Pharmacy School, Medical School, Dental School, or continuing on to Graduate School in focus areas such as Medicinal Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cancer Research, Toxicology, and Pharmacology. Students selecting this emphasis will complete a major in Chemistry and the minor in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology to complete their degree program. The new minor program proposal has been submitted concurrently with this application. In total (major + minor), students within this program will achieve 64 credits of chemistry coursework that is comparable with our existing Chemistry Major - Forensic Science Emphasis. Students will also complete 39 credits of biology coursework, 12 credits of physical science, and 16 credits of math and computer sciences to meet pre-requisites required for professional degree programs.
This degree track complements the Pharmacy Program at Oregon State University, by providing undergraduate education in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, toxicology, and drug design that will be the continued focus of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs. Thus, an undergraduate education with a focus area in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology will make WOU students more competitive in the application process for Pharmacy School as well as other professional programs. To ensure that the new emphasis courses are of high quality, Dr. Patricia Flatt has been collaborating with Dr. Gary DeLander, the Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at OSU to develop course syllabi and content (New course proposals have also been submitted concurrently with this application.)
The purpose of developing this emphasis track is to diversify course offerings and provide access to specialized fields of study related to healthcare. Job growth centered around the healthcare industry is estimated to generate 3.2 million new jobs between 2008 and 2018, or 22% of all anticipated new jobs (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). This is largely in response to the nations rising elderly population. Thus, WOU has an obligation to provide educational tracks to ensure that WOU graduates will be competitive within this job market. With very little overhead (no new hires; no additional office or lab space required; and only an increase in 7 credit hours of new coursework) we can facilitate the development of this pre-professional program.
Student polling within the Natural Science Division, the Health Sciences, Pre-nursing, and Psychology indicates that there is strong interest in the major emphasis program with approximately 35% of BI 211 students and 35% of CH221 students expressing high interest in pursuing this major degree option if it is offered next fall (i.e. up to 44 students may enroll in the program in the fall of 2011). If student growth rates continue at the 18 to 20% annual increases seen between 2008 and 2010 within the Natural Science Division, the emphasis program would be predicted to recruit 70-100 majors over the next 5 years.
Thank you for your considerations in accepting this application.
Describe the reasons for making this change:
Current Catalog Description is on pages 51 and 52 of the current course catalog (2010-2011 Academic Year) Note: The following catalog description WILL NOT replace the existing catalog descriptions within the Chemistry Department, but will be added to the existing materials.
CHEMISTRY MAJOR : MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACOLOGY OPTION
The focus of this program is to apply chemistry to the study of biologically and clinically active substances. It is multi-discliplinary degree plan designed for students interested in applying for Pharmacy School, Medical School, Dental School, or Graduate School. Course study will focus on biological and pharmacological interactions of drugs and natural substances, drug design, structure-activity relationships, enzymes and receptors, and drug development.
CHEMISTRY CORE (75 credits)
Course Number Course Title Credit Hours Frequency___
CH221, 222, 223 General Chemistry 15 twice annually
CH312 Quantitative Analysis 4 annually
CH313 Instrumental Analysis 4 annually
CH334, 335, 336 Organic Chemistry 9 annually
CH337, CH338 Organic Chemistry Lab 3 annually
CH340 Elementary Physical Chemistry 4 alternate years
CH350W Chemical Literature 1 annually
CH407W Seminar 1 annually
CH450, 451 Biochemistry 6 annually
CH461W, 462W Experimental Chemistry 4 annually
PH201, 202, 203 General Physics 12 annually
or PH211, 212, 213
BI 334, 335 Adv Human Anat. and Phys 8 annually
BI 336 Human Histology and Phys. 4 annually
The B.A. requires MTH 251- Calculus I, MTH252 - Calculus II, and CS 121 ¿ Computer Applications or 161 ¿ Computer Science I, as well as the 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 251, 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 BI 211, 212, 213 - Principles of Biology is to be completed as the LACC science requirement. Pre-professional students should take EC 201 - Introduction to Microeconomics or EC202 ¿ Introduction to Macroeconomics as part of their LACC requirements. Students selecting this major must complete the Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Minor (Natural Science Track) and maintain a C average in their major and minor coursework.
For Dean Review only:
How and when will the effectiveness of these changes be determined?
Assessment methodologies for the program will utilize multiple strategies. Individual courses will be monitored through embedded assessment regimes that include term examinations that test for knowledge of the field, critical thinking, and the ability to evaluate data and draw conclusions. Other forms of embedded assessment include the use of clicker technology (http://www.turningtechnologies.com/) within the classroom to evaluate student learning, and assignments evaluating oral and written communication skills, creative thinking, experimental design and data analysis.
The Chemistry Department has also developed capstone courses that evaluate student mastery of expected outcomes within the department. For example, the CH350W Chemical Literature Course teaches students how to read and evaluate primary research articles. Writing intensive aspects of this course include detailed literature reviews and evaluation. Within this course critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical abilities can be evaluated. The CH407W Seminar Course focuses on the presentation and communication of scientific information, both in written and oral format. Each Chemistry Major is required to present a 1 hr lecture/research seminar on a chemistry topic of their choice in an open format during the Spring Academic Showcase held each year on the WOU campus to celebrate academic excellence within the WOU student body. The CH461W and CH462W Experimental Chemistry Courses provide upper division chemistry students with hands-on application based projects. Within these courses, students are responsible for developing and testing hypotheses, collecting and evaluating data, troubleshooting experimental design, maintaining a laboratory notebook, and writing up a final report of their scientific project using a peer-reviewed journal format.
In addition each graduating Chemistry Major must complete a chemistry exit exam. The exam was developed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as a `Diagnostic of Undergraduate Chemistry Knowledge¿ and includes and in depth evaluation of general, organic, physical, biological, and analytical chemistry. The exit exam allows our department to monitor and compare the success of our students against the national average.
Enrollment within the program will be monitored and compared with overall enrollement rates in the Traditional Chemistry and the Forensic Science Emphasis Majors to evaluate student interest within the program.
Following graduation, student success and employment status will be tracked through a volunteer questionnaire/survey form. Results of the survey will be evaluated and disseminated on the Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Emphasis Program Website to provide information about the program to future prospective students.
Approval Queue
| Step |
Approver |
Decision |
Timestamp |
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1 - Department |
Arlene Courtney |
Approved | January 25 2011 |
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2 - Division |
Steve Taylor |
Approved | January 25 2011 |
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3 - Division Curriculum |
Laurie Burton |
Approved | January 31 2011 |
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4 - Library Dean |
Laurie Burton |
Approved | January 31 2011 |
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5 - Curriculum Committee |
Robert Monge |
Approved | February 15 2011 |
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6 - Faculty Senate |
Gavin Keulks |
Approved | March 08 2011 |
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7 - Dean |
Stephen Scheck |
Approved | March 15 2011 |
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8 - Provost |
Kent Neely |
Approved | March 16 2011 |
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9 - President |
Dianna Nickelson |
Approved | March 17 2011 |
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Attached Files:
