1. The new ACS MSN requirement - yet another argument for meaningful communication among 4-year and 2-year institutions.
BCCE 2016, UNC, Greely, Colorado, August 1st
Ron W. Darbeau. Ph.D.
Professor & Dean, College of STEM
The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith

2. What is the requirement?
“Recognizing that the synthesis, analysis, and physical properties of small molecules give an incomplete picture of the higher order interactions that occur in macromolecular, supramolecular, mesoscale, and nanoscale systems, the principles that govern these systems must be part of the curriculum required for certified graduates. This instruction must cover the preparation, characterization and physical properties of such systems. At least two of the following four types of systems must be covered: synthetic polymers, biological macromolecules, supramolecular aggregates, meso- or nanoscale materials. Coverage of these topics may be distributed across multiple courses, in which case it should constitute the equivalent of approximately one-fourth of a standard semester course.”

3. Results of a CPT short survey on Polymer* Chemistry
Demographics:
79% BS; 42% had 6-8 faculty/34% had 9-12 faculty; 33% graduate 0-10 majors/ 24% graduated majors
Pertinent Data:
22% of respondents offer a stand-alone polymer course
Of these, 90% offer only a single course and for 94% of them, it is not required for certification
Of programs without a dedicated polymer course, 90% were not planning to create one and 94% of them had no other unit on campus that offered a course
In 56% of respondents, polymer chemistry was taught in Foundation courses
* A proxy for MSN: well-established sub-discipline to which most chemistry academicians have been exposed, most likely to find faculty trained in this area, easy to train faculty in this area, requires little infrastructure

4. coverage of Polymers in Foundation Courses
<1 lecture/lab
~1 lecture/lab
2-3 lectures/labs
More than 3
Analytical
76%
17% 6%
<1%
Biochemistry
25%
41%
Inorganic
58%
29% 9% 3%
Organic
28%
36%
27%
Physical
53%
32%
13% 2%

5. The status quo @ 4-year Institutions?
1. Generally, biological macromolecules are covered adequately in approved programs
Some, though not all, intro organic courses (typically Orgo I) cover polymers.
Coverage varies from part of a single lecture to more than three lectures in alkene chemistry and condensation chemistry.
Limited coverage in physical chemistry and even more so in inorganic chemistry.
4. Scattered, sparse coverage in analytical chemistry
Sometimes there is a stand-alone course in polymer chemistry – typically an elective

6. The status quo @ 2-year Institutions?
Not all institutions cover Foundation courses – rarely is there coverage of in-depth courses beyond Orgo II.
Some, though not all, intro organic courses (typically Orgo I) cover polymers.
Coverage varies from part of a single lecture to four or five lectures in alkene chemistry and condensation chemistry.

7. The Challenges Opportunities PT 1: 4-YEAR
Taking a long, honest, introspective look at the program and …
Deciding which aspects of “scale” other than macro (biochem) might be covered.
If others, deciding on faculty needs (new hires? retraining?), infrastructure (lab courses/research?), curriculum (where, how and when?).
Deciding which aspects, other than biological macromolecules (yep, biochem, again), will be covered.
Deciding on faculty needs (new hires? retraining? buy in?), infrastructure (lab courses/research?), curriculum (where, how and when?)
Getting faculty buy-in, determining implementation timeline(s).
Examining/designing protocols for handling transfer students interested in certification.
Having meaningful conversations with established feeder programs to ensure that students transfer with minimal turbulence.

8. The Challenges Opportunities PT 1: 2-YEAR
Taking a long, honest, introspective look at the program and …
Deciding which aspects of “scale” (other than some macro/biochem in Orgo II?) might be covered.
If others, deciding whether the faculty pool (FT and PT) possesses the expertise to teach the material
Deciding which aspects (other than biological macromolecules) might be covered.
Deciding on faculty expertise, infrastructure (lab courses/research?), curriculum (where and how?)
Examining/designing protocols for handling students interested in certification who transfer into and out of the program and who matriculate to 4-year programs
Having meaningful conversations with established receiver programs to ensure that students transfer with minimal turbulence.

9. The 2 to 4 year transition There are no relevant issues if …
the 2-year school (a) does not offer Foundation courses (b) offers Foundation courses with all MSN content required by receiver schools
the receiver 4-year program teaches an appropriate, required, stand-alone course for certification
Potential problems arise if …
the 2-year school offers foundation courses with little or no MSN content: there is the potential that students taking these courses, then transferring out, will not be on the path to certification.
4-year programs use only the distributed model involving Foundation courses; there is the potential that transfer students will be ineligible for certification unless they repeat the Foundation course(s).
Now, maybe this is OK as long as students are aware and are not interested in certification. However, approved programs MUST show a path for certification for its majors – all of them.

10. PotentiaL Solutions
The central issue is to have meaningful, collaborative discourse between feeder and receiver programs about how best to jointly meet the needs of those students seeking certification.
2-year programs may include sufficient content of synthetic polymer chemistry in Orgo I (alkenes) and Orgo II (condensation) in lecture and labs. This will ensure that the only course their students would need to take, upon transfer, is Biochem to meet the requirement (although not necessarily the graduation requirement).
Given that Orgo is the likely place that 2-year schools may cover polymer, 4-year programs could make sure that they have sufficient coverage in the other foundation courses (probably P. Chem and Analyt., possibly Inorg) so that with biochem, they will still have 1/4 semester
4-year programs might offer an appropriate, stand-alone, “catch-all” elective course that (transfer) students may take. This course could be 1-, 2- or 3-credit and could be offered in intersessions and/or summer. There are likely to be Financial aid issues, however.
4-year schools - either alone, or in conjunction with their 2-year partner(s) - might offer recitation-type, make-up sessions for transfer students who have not met the MSN content. These students can be identified during advising. The “sessions” may be taught by FT or PT faculty, Adjuncts or Visiting faculty or by senior students vetted by the department.
4-year schools - either alone, or in conjunction with their 2-year partners - may develop mandatory online instruction and assessment in the relevant MSN content that all incoming transfers without prior exposure would be required to take.

11. Solutions at UAFS and at MSU
Both institutions are fortunate to have on staff, faculty with expertise in nanochemistry and polymer chemistry.
At McNeese: Stand-alone, elective Polymer Chemistry course (P. Chem) to be replaced by a required, team-taught, 3-credit, in-depth course covering Nano to Polymer.
At UAFS we are:
(1) removing biochemistry content (~ 3 lectures) from Organic II and modifying the sequence content to include polymers (alkene and condensation), AND
(2) developing a required, team-taught, 3-credit, in-depth course covering Nano to Polymer.