[Proflist] RE: Fwd: Draft Bachelor's Degree Statement
Clint Rowe
crowe at harmattan.unl.edu
Wed Oct 20 17:11:53 MDT 2004
Mohan, Rich, Alan, et al.
Isn't #5 (climate change or earth system science) an "atmospheric
science" course? If so, the proposed recommendations already have
27 hours and Rich's proposal would raise it to 30. Also, as I
suggested at the meeting, #5 is somewhat restrictive anyway and
should be rewritten to meet the goal Mohan (and his committee) said
intended they intended -- stressing the interdisciplinary aspects of
atmospheric science. Climate change and ESS are not the only areas
where this can be done. In my opinion, #5 should be moved into #1
as part of the atmospheric science curriculum rather than hanging out
with courses that might be offered by other departments, if it is to
be included at all.
In general, I agree with the ideal of a liberal education, but shouldn't
non-scientists be exposed to more than the 6-10 credit hours of science
they get as part of their "liberal" education? Asking majors to take 27
(or even 30) credits in their chosen field, plus additional classes to
provide the necessary skills (maybe 27-32 credits?) leaves around half
of their college credits as their liberal education. Granted, many
schools prescribe breadth requirements that constrain the possible
courses, but usually only within wide categories.
Just my $0.02,
Clint
On Wed, 2004-10-20 at 14:52, Richard Clark wrote:
> Hi Alan,
>
> Here's a copy of the recommendations that were made at the H&C meeting,
> including the statement on "27 hours." While I can appreciate your
> philosophical argument, and agree with it, changing the core requirements
> for a BS in atmos sci from 24 to 27 is not likely to impact the liberal arts
> core. Most, if not all, programs already have more than 27 semester hours in
> their required and electives block for the major.
>
> The rationale behind this recommendation stems from the way the semester
> hours are distributed in the revised draft - the one that Mohan presented at
> H&C. Bullet #4 specifies 3 semester hours of electives in atmos sci, and
> bullet #5 specifies 3 semester hours from the long list of what we would
> probably call electives, which also includes an undergraduate research
> experience or an internship. The group that made the attached
> recommendations argues that 3 semester hours was not enough to accommodate
> this important component of undergraduate education. Thus, we suggest
> combining bullets #4 and #5 into a 6 semester hour "electives" list, and
> adding 3 semester hours as a capstone experience. We think that given the
> trend toward capstone experiences, learning communities, and portfolios
> across the curriculum, that the capstone experience, which includes the
> undergrad research, internship, or a capstone course, would be a meaningful
> addition to the curriculum guidelines. Interestingly, the capstone
> experience is one that is coming from the general education community, not
> the disciplinary bodies. The liberal arts core is important, but in my
> opinion, this additional 3 semester hours will have no impact on its
> integrity.
> Thanks
> Rich
>
>
>
> Richard D. Clark, Ph.D.
> Chair, Department of Earth Sciences
> Professor of Meteorology
> Millersville University
> P.O. Box 1002
> Millersville, PA 17551-0302
> Tel: (717) 872-3930
> Fax: (717) 871-2079
> Email: Richard.Clark at millersville.edu
> Web: www.atmos.millersville.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan Robock [mailto:robock at envsci.rutgers.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 2:07 PM
> To: Brenda Ward
> Cc: proflist at ucar.edu; balbrecht at rsmas.miami.edu;
> bruce.berryman at lyndonstate.edu; ebierly at agu.org; Steve Colluci;
> bobe at met.fsu.edu; john.gyakum at mcgill.ca; hobgood.1 at osu.edu;
> hooke at dc.ametsoc.org; VPI at ATMOS.ALBANY.EDU; LupoA at missouri.edu;
> jmalieka at weather.brockport.edu; Ron McPherson; smeacham at nsf.gov;
> mower1rn at cmich.edu; trnathan at ucdavis.edu; Richard E. Orville;
> pickerin at atmos.umd.gov; Mohan Ramamurthy; rodi at uwyo.edu; stamm at oswego.edu;
> gstakle at iastate.edu; toon at lasp.colorado.edu; winkler at msu.edu;
> ezipser at met.utah.edu; pcornillon at gso.uri.edu; roland.list at sympatico.ca;
> jsnow at ou.edu; wetzel at dri.edu; wuebbles at atmos.uiuc.edu; walyons at frii.com;
> fcarr at ou.edu; Judy Curry; moore at eas.slu.edu; richard.peterson at ttu.edu;
> crowe1 at unl.edu; ahansen at stcloudstate.edu; miller at imcs.marine.rutgers.edu;
> kph at hawaii.edu; drsmith at usna.edu; Richard.Clark at millersville.edu;
> durkee at nps.mil; donna at earth.northwestern.edu; ogarcia at sfsu.edu;
> delores.knipp at usafa.af.mil; krm at nmt.edu; ehoffman at plymouth.edu;
> quinton.l.williams at jsums.edu; cejac at iastate.edu; rhmacd at wm.edu;
> wayne at mtu.edu; kirkpat at uiuc.edu; rhooper at cuahsi.org; carl at isi.edu;
> cmanduca at carleton.edu; Fred Spilhaus; fulker at ucar.edu;
> william.hoyt at unco.edu; Keith Seitter
> Subject: Re: Fwd: Draft Bachelor's Degree Statement
>
> Dear Mohan,
>
> 1. As you know, I have already made the following suggestion:
>
> I think we need to specify recommended numbers of faculty and not just
> the minimum. This would be very valuable for all departments seeking to
> hire more faculty. In other disciplines, national accredidation panels
> specify the number of faculty needed, and AMS can do a similar service
> for us. In the second paragraph from the bottom on page 4, I recommend
> the following change:
>
> "At undergraduate colleges with full-time teaching faculty, there should
> be a minimum of three faculty members, but the recommended level is five
> or more. At research universities, where faculty devote a substantial
> amount of time to graduate teaching and research as well as
> undergraduate teaching, there should be a minimum of six faculty
> members, but the recommended level is ten or more to be able to cover
> all the necessary disciplinary areas. The faculty members should have
> the expertise ..."
>
> ----
>
> 2. In addition, a resolution was passed quickly at the end of the Heads
> and Chairs meeting in Boulder last week that recommended changes in the
> statement that would require 27 credits rather than 24 credits in the
> program. I have not yet received a copy of it, but would like to
> recommend against it on a basic philosophical ground.
>
> An undergraduate liberal arts education is the last chance a student
> will have to take courses in literature, fine arts, humanities, and
> social "science." Students can specialize as graduate students or go on
> learning about meteorology in their jobs, but I would not like to
> require that they take additional courses as part of their undergraduate
> major. This will allow them to take other elective courses in subjects
> that will broaden them as people and citizens, which I think is more
> valuable than one more meteorology or related course.
>
> Thanks for considering my views. I feel more strongly about the first
> one than the second one.
>
> Alan
>
> Professor Alan Robock
> Editor, JGR - Atmospheres
> Director, Center for Environmental Prediction
> Department of Environmental Sciences Phone: +1-732-932-9478
> Rutgers University Fax: +1-732-932-8644
> 14 College Farm Road E-mail: robock at envsci.rutgers.edu
> New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551 USA http://envsci.rutgers.edu/~robock
>
>
> On Tue, 19 Oct 2004, Brenda Ward wrote:
>
> >
> >>
> >> Dear Colleague,
> >>
> >> On behalf of the Board on Higher Education of the American Meteorological
>
> >> Society, I seek your comments on the revised draft statement on the
> >> Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Science. The draft statement is
> available
> >> at:
> >>
> >>
> http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/publications/Bachelors_degree_statement_2
> 004.pdf
> >>
> >> For your background, the current AMS statement on this subject is
> available
> >> at:
> >>
> >>
> <http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/bachelor99.html>http://www.ametsoc.org/policy
> /bachelor99.html
> >>
> >> Also, please share this draft statement with colleagues in your
> department.
> >> Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. It would
>
> >> be most helpful if you can send me (mohan at ucar.edu) your comments by 15
> >> November.
> >>
> >> Thank you in anticipation,
> >>
> >> Mohan Ramamurthy
> >
--
====================================================================
Clinton M. Rowe
Associate Professor
Meteorology/Climatology Program phone:(402)472-1946
Department of Geosciences fax:(402)472-4917
University of Nebraska-Lincoln crowe1 at unl.edu
More information about the ProfList
mailing list