Meeting Minutes: Committee on Biological Sciences
Academic Advisory Committee
for the Biological Sciences
March 19, 1999
Georgia Perimeter College,
Clarkston Campus, Room L4190
Attendees:
| Regents | Dorothy Zinsmeister |
| Ga. Tech | Thomas Tornabene |
| Georgia State | No representative |
| MCG | No representative |
| UGA | William Barstow |
| Ga. Southern | John Averett |
| Valdosta | David Bechler |
| Albany | No representative |
| Armstrong Atl | Ron Beumer (Substitute for Kenneth Relyea) |
| Augusta | Emil Urbanm |
| Clayton | Rebecca Halyard |
| Columbus | George Stanton |
| Fort Valley | Clinton Dixon |
| Georgia Coll/St U | No representative |
| Georgia Southwestern | Elizabeth Elder |
| Kennesaw | Ralph Rascati |
| North Georgia | Joseph Biesbrock |
| Savannah | Harpal Singh |
| Southern Polytech | Bill Burnett |
| State U of West GA | Greg Stewart |
| ABAC | Ray Barber |
| Atlanta Metro | No representative |
| Bainbridge | Nancy Goodyear |
| Coastal Georgia | Eugene Keferl |
| Dalton | John Lugthart |
| Darton | Jeffery Hill |
| East Georgia | No representative |
| Floyd | Michael Windelspecht |
| Gainesville | Caywood Chapman |
| Georgia Perimeter | Betty Molloy |
| Gordon | Steve Greenwald |
| Macon | Eric Sun |
| Middle Georgia | John Pasto |
| South Georgia | Terry Harrington |
| Waycross | No representative |
The meeting was called to order at 12:45 p.m. by Betty Molloy and introductions were made. Materials related to degree requirements and Area F were distributed prior to the meeting.
Transfer Issues:
Dorothy Zinsmeister spoke about issues related to transfer credits. She noted in particular that all Departments should be in compliance with provisions made by the Advisory Committee. She also noted that for each campus there is an Ombudsperson who should be the final authority on transfers and that we should be in contact with that person about special issues related to biology.
Elizabeth Molloy spoke of other problems related to Area F. The question was raised about whether it would be better to have Physics or Organic Chemistry in the first two years. Valdosta State and Augusta State expressed no preference. The remainder preferred Organic. No institution preferred Physics to Organic Chemistry.
Discussion followed about the level of Organic Chemistry. It is taught at the 3000 level in 8 institutions and at the 2000 level in 6. Greg Stewart, West Georgia, suggested that students planning to transfer there should check with them about specific requirements related to Organic Chemistry and Cell Biology.
Further comments related to Physics requirements are as follows:
Institutions requiring Calculus based Physics:
University of Georgia
Georgia Tech
Savannah State
Institutions accepting Geology as an alternative to Physics:
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southwestern
West Georgia
Armstrong Atlantic has no Physics requirement and Kennesaw requires only one semester.
Transfer of General Biology: The University of Georgia requires a course for biology majors. Biology 1107 and 1108 are generally transferable.
CPC deficiencies:
Most institutions recommend students make up deficiencies in areas by requiring students to take a one semester course in the area in which they are deficient. The course should be one not required for their major. Some institutions, e.g., Brunswick, encourage the students into Chemistry.
New teacher preparation guides:
Broad field certification presents a problem in that it can't be done in the allotted hours. Greg Stewart, West Georgia, distributed a possible curriculum of 25 hours that might serve as an alternative. A general option seems to be a two-field certification with first-field in the major and second-field in the minor (12-15 hours).
Elections:
Ralph Rascati, Kennesaw State Univ., Chair-Elect.
Executive Council members were as follows
Caywood Chapman, 2-year institutions
Elizabeth Elder, 4-year institutions
David Bechler, Universities
Online and Distance Learning:
Each institution noted its activity and interest in online and other courses. Interest was mixed, but everyone agreed that they were difficult to do well and required a heavy investment of time. The need for assessment of these courses was mentioned. The question was raised as to whether this is a better way of teaching and whether we are really reaching more people? The University System is moving toward Web-CT based courses and away from GSAMS.
Request for Proposals:
Dorothy Zinsmeister noted that there would be a request for proposals for initiatives by Academic Advisory Committees. We should start to act now. A committee was formed to consider ideas. Members are:
Rebecca Halyard
Greg Stewart
Jeff Hill
George Stanton
Bill Barstow
SOTAB:
The meeting remains strong. The poster session was a success and will likely continue. The meeting next year will be on 21 and 22 January 2000. The organizing committee would welcome ideas for topics.
Future Meetings:
It was proposed that next year's meeting be held at a State park or a similar facility.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
John E. Averett
Department of Biology
Box 8042
Georgia Southern University
912-681-5487
fax 912-681-0845