American Chemical Society Undergraduate Curriculum and the ACS Guidelines Anne McCoyClark Landis Ohio State University of Wisconsin The evolution of the ACS approval process: Moving beyond the 2008 Guidelines ACS Committee on Professional Training April 8, 2013

American Chemical Society 2 Three Main Categories of the Curriculum 1.Introductory chemistry experience 2.Foundation course work 3.In-Depth course work

American Chemical Society 3 Three Main Categories of the Curriculum 1.Introductory chemistry experience Purpose: to prepare students for foundational coursework General Chemistry may be one full year, one semester, or even waived for very well-prepared students Requirement: None. ACS guidelines are mute due to the diversity of institutional requirements and students 2.Foundation course work 3.In-Depth course work

American Chemical Society 4 Three Main Categories of the Curriculum 1.Introductory chemistry experience 2.Foundation course work Purpose: to provide breadth and a foundation for in-depth coursework Requirement: one semester coursework in the five major areas of chemistry – analytical, organic, physical, inorganic, biochemistry Courses may span and integrate more than one major area 3.In-Depth course work

American Chemical Society 5 Three Main Categories of the Chemistry Curriculum 1.Introductory chemistry experience 2.Foundation course work 3.In-Depth course work Purpose: Integration and deeper investigation of foundation topics Requirement: Four one-semester course equivalents of in-depth courses. May be a second semester course following a foundational experience (e. g., Organic Chemistry II or Physical Chemistry II) May support a specialized degree track (e. g., forensic chemistry) or integrate multiple foundation areas

American Chemical Society 6 Laboratory Experiences in the Chemistry Curriculum Purpose: provide training in experimental techniques, data collection, and analysis Requirements: Each student MUST have 400 hours of laboratory experience beyond introductory chemistry laboratory Laboratory experience spanning at least 4 of the 5 foundation areas Experience with the synthesis of molecules, measurement of properties, hands-on use of a variety of modern instruments, and data analysis and modelling Research can serve as part of the laboratory hours. Research may count as an in-depth course if a comprehensive written report is produced.

American Chemical Society 7 Cognate Courses and the Curriculum Purpose: to ensure adequate foundations in mathematics and physics for in-depth chemistry coursework Requirements: Each student MUST complete the equivalent of two semester courses of calculus the equivalent of two semester courses of physics with laboratory

American Chemical Society 8 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 1.Requirement of a broadly defined capstone experience for certified majors 2.Clarification of expectations of laboratory experience at the introductory level 3.In rare cases, decrease the minimum number of foundation courses taught annually from five to four 4.Specify that the requirement of four in-depth courses encompass at least 12 semester hour equivalents 5.Encourage departments to incorporate emerging areas (e. g., green/sustainable chemistry) into the foundation and in-depth courses

American Chemical Society 9 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 1.Requirement of a broadly defined capstone experience for certified majors Goal – provide students with the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge and skills developed across the curriculum Action – establish mechanisms for a capstone experience: Capstone course or substantive experience in an existing course A seminar course that emphasizes student skills Independent research experience with a research report A mentored teaching experience

American Chemical Society 10 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 2.Clarification of expectations of laboratory experience at the introductory level Goal – To address the potential impact of on-line learning and virtual laboratories on the preparation of students prior to taking Foundation courses Action – No additional requirements are anticipated. But the committee will expect that students will have significant, hands-on laboratory experience prior to starting foundation courses. Virtual laboratories may provide a useful supplement but should not replace hands-on experiences.

American Chemical Society 11 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 3.In rare cases, decrease the minimum number of foundation courses taught annually from five to four Goal – To enable small departments to offer ACS approved programs without delaying student graduation Action – In rare cases, allow departments to teach just four foundation courses per year, so long as a regular and stable biennial schedule can be developed for the fifth course that enables student to complete the certified degree requirements in five years

American Chemical Society 12 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 4.Specify that the requirement of four in-depth courses encompass at least 12 semester hour equivalents Goal – To clarify the guideline requirements with respect to the instructional time expected for in-depth coursework

American Chemical Society 13 Proposed Changes to ACS Guidelines Regarding the Curriculum 5. Encourage departments to incorporate emerging areas (e. g., green/sustainable chemistry) into the foundation and in-depth courses Goal – To provide the flexibility that enables departments to innovate and the curriculum to evolve in the pursuit of excellence Action – Introduce new language into the requirements that “encourages departments to integrate modern topics in chemistry into both foundational and in-depth experiences. In-depth courses that fall outside of, or integrate, the traditional subdisciplines are encouraged.” Possible Examples – courses in bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology, green/sustainable chemistry, nanochemistry, polymer chemistry, and toxicology.

Curricular Discussion Questions Group 1: –What role should general chemistry play in the approved curriculum? –How do we address on-line courses and virtual laboratories? –Are expectations for introductory courses different from foundation and in-depth course? –Which ACS requirements can be satisfied by an on-line or virtual experience? –What is your/your department’s experience with on-line course and virtual laboratories? Group 2: –What specialized courses and/or emerging areas could be represented as in-depth coursework? –Are there areas that programs should be required to expose students to? What would be the implications of introducing such requirement? Group 3: –The White Paper includes a description “in-depth” laboratory courses. Are there areas of confusion or ambiguity in these descriptions? –Is your institution using or considering laboratory courses that integrate (i) synthesis, characterization, spectroscopy, and computational modeling or (ii) inorganic, organic, and physical? How do we assess these? American Chemical Society 14