geology program review self study fall...

10/24/2011, 5:17 PM

GEOLOGY PROGRAM REVIEW Self Study Fall 2010

A. Program Description: Geology is the study of the earth. Areas of study include volcanoes, earthquakes and seismology, the Geologic Time Scale and the formation of the earth, petrology (rocks) and minerals, hydrology, erosion, oceanography (including beach systems), environmental geology, glaciers and Ice Ages, groundwater, deserts, etc. For those interested in pursuing a 4-year degree in Geology, the first two years of a geology degree generally consist of Physical Geology 1 (lecture and lab), Historical Geology 3 (lecture and lab) and physics, chemistry, math and general breadth requirements. Mineralogy/Earth Materials is also a required lower division geology course at some 4-year schools. Geology is an applied science and the third and fourth years of the typical 4-year geology program focus on geology courses which apply the scientific concepts and principles that the student learned in the first two years. All potential geology majors should consult the current college catalogues for the requirements of the geology degree at the school to which the student wishes to transfer.

Geology Program Review Fall 2010

last updated 10/24/2011 5:17 PM

Since the last Program Review Self Study (Spring 2006), the LPC Geology program has offered the following courses:

• Physical Geology 1 (lecture) • Physical Geology 1 Laboratory • Oceanography Geology 12 (lecture) • Oceanography Geology 12 Laboratory • Geology 9 World Geology Colloquium • Historical Geology 3 (lecture) • Historical Geology 3 Laboratory

The Geology 1 (Physical Geology) and Geology 12 (Oceanography) courses fulfill the general breadth requirements for most Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees. The Geology 1 lecture and 1 lab courses together provide prospective geology majors with their first required geology course fundamentals. Similarly, the Oceanography Geology 12 lecture and lab courses provide potential Oceanography students with their first required oceanography course fundamentals. The Geology 1 lecture and lab courses are required for the Oceanography degree and for many Environmental degrees. The Oceanography courses are required for the Marine Biology degree.

LPC geologist Ruth Hanna (on the left) showing a student

how to use a Brunton (a geologic compass) which measures the spatial orientation of rock strata.



The LPC Geology Program is a collection of geology lectures and labs for geology majors as well as non-science majors. Lecture and lab courses are offered separately in order to maximize student scheduling options; students may take the lecture course without concurrent enrollment in the lab course. Students may complete the lab course either concurrently with the lecture or in any following term. Because most careers in Geology and Oceanography require a minimum of a 4-year bachelor’s degree, almost all LPC geology majors are prospective transfer students. Most of the LPC geology and oceanography students are non-science majors fulfilling their science breadth requirement. The breadth of the required introductory fundamentals of the Geology and Oceanography courses make these courses naturally suited for both non-science and science majors. The Physical Geology 1 course covers the basic fundamentals of the Earth and why it looks and behaves the way that it does. Topics include Plate Tectonics (which everyone already thinks that they know), Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Seismology, Hydrology (including Rivers, Groundwater, Glaciers, Ice Ages, etc.), Geologic Time, Landslides, Minerals and Rocks, Where to Build a House…and Where Not To Build a House, etc. This course is a required foundation for geology majors and, at the same time, is a college-level science course that non-science majors can appreciate and use for the rest of their lives.



The introductory Oceanography course (Geology 12) covers the basic fundamentals of the geology, physics, chemistry and biology of the ocean. The course naturally breaks into 3 sections. The first section, Marine Geology, includes plate tectonics, the formation of the oceans, basic sea floor rocks and resources. The second section, Ocean Physics and Chemistry, includes seawater chemistry, sound and light in the ocean, waves, currents, tides, tidal waves, etc. The third section, an Introduction to Marine Biology, includes familiarity and recognition of the basic types of marine life, where they live and how they are specially adapted to their aquatic environment. This Oceanography course serves as a perfect precursor to the LPC Marine Biology 5 course.

.



The Historical Geology 3 is a required course for Geology majors. Geology 3 is the second course in the standard sequence for a Geology degree. Historical Geology covers the Geologic Time Scale, radiometric (absolute) age-dating, relative age-dating, the history of the earth (including the life) through time as shown by the rock and fossil records, and methods of interpretation. At Las Positas College, Historical Geology 3 lecture and lab courses are offered as campus enrollments allow. Community college campuses who are able to offer this every year typically offer twice the number of sections of Geology 1 than LPC currently offers. As a result, smaller colleges, such as LPC, typically only offer Historical Geology every few years, as enrollments and budgets allow.

Mammoth bone fossil found on the LPC Campus.

Earth Materials (formerly called Mineralogy) is a lower division geology course at a few 4-year colleges and universities. The Earth Materials course has Geology 1 and college Chemistry as prerequisites. As a result, this course is rarely offered at community colleges, as there is not a large enough pool of qualified students to draw from. I have not heard of any of the Bay Area community colleges being able to offer this course over the 19 years that I have been teaching at Las Positas College.



B. Program Mission The mission of the LPC Geology Program is to provide high quality, transferable geology courses • for geology and oceanography majors • that satisfy the Physical/Natural Science portion of the G.E. requirements for most

4-year colleges • that satisfy the A.A. and A.S. degrees • that satisfy IGETC, CSU and UC transfer requirements • that provide information relevant for informed decision-making regarding

earthquake preparedness, flood plains, landslides and other geohazards as discussed in the Geology and Oceanography courses.

• that assist students in their development of academic, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills



The college’s mission is as follows:

Las Positas College is an inclusive, learning-centered institution providing educational opportunities that meet the academic, intellectual, career-technical, creative, and personal development goals of its diverse students. Students develop the knowledge, skills, values, and abilities to become engaged and contributing members of the community.

How does your program’s mission support the college’s mission? As stated in above, LPC Geology Program is a lower division, transferable science course that satisfies the GE requirements for the A.A., A.S, and lower division GE natural/physical science requirements at most 4-year colleges and universities. In addition, the geology courses offered at LPC also serve geology and oceanography majors by providing them with the first courses required for their majors. The lab courses allow students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The wide variety of geologic examples discussed throughout the intro geology courses exposes students to geohazards around the world, as well as how these issues are dealt with by different cultures and different peoples.



Program Analysis • Course Offerings (Refer to “Total Courses Offered” and “Total Sections Offered” on the

Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet.)

F05 S06 F06 S07 F07 S08 F08 S09 F09 S10 F10

Total Courses Offered 5 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 5 5 4

Total Sections offered 11 11 11 12 10 12 12 13 13 13 12

Day 8 8 8 9 8 8 9 9 9 9 8

Evening 2 2 2 2 0 2 1 2 1 1 1

Online (DE) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3

Typically the Geology Program offers 5 courses: Geology 1 (lecture), Geology 1 Laboratory, Oceanography Geology 12 (lecture), Oceanography Geology 12 Laboratory, Geology 9 World Geology Colloquium, with Historical Geology 3 offered as enrollments allow (e.g., in Spring 2008) For Fall 2010, Geology 9 was cut due to campus budgetary issues. And for Spring 2011, both Geology 9 and a lecture section of Geology 12 were cut due to campus budgetary issues. Enrollments for both of these courses has been solid, with full classes, and the classes will be added back into the schedule when the campus budget permits.

Geology Program Section Reduction due to Budget Cuts F’09-S’10 F’10-S’11 Difference

# Geo lectures 14 13 -1 # Geo labs 10 10 0

# Geo colloquia 2 0 -2 Total 26 23 -3

Geology Program CAH Reduction due to Budget Cuts

F’09-S’10 F’10-S’11 Difference CAH Geo lectures 42 39 -3

CAH Geo labs 22.5 22.5 0 CAH Geo colloquia 4 0 -4

Total 68.5 61.5 -7 (-10.2%)

10/24/2011, 5:17 PM

From Fall 2009-Spring 2010 to Fall 2010-Spring 2011, the Geology Program offerings were cut by more than 10%, or 7 CAH (more than 2 standard 3-hour lecture sections). These courses were filling in prior years (the geology lecture sections typically fill to 45 students, and the geology colloquium typically had around 24 students (equivalent to a full laboratory section)). Geology 9 is a crucial course in the LPC Geology course offerings, and needs to be restored to the campus schedule as soon as budgetary restraints permit. Geology 9

• Serves ‘at risk’ students o DSPS students, EOPS students, non-science-major, those-who-fear-science, non-

traditional age students, etc. o Entices otherwise completely DE students on to the campus and into a classroom with

other students, and improving their successful completion of their geology course. o Geo 9 is typically the reason that these students succeed,

and even excel, in their other geo class(es)

• Students who take Geology 9 score an average of 10% higher (or more) in the Geology 1 lecture and lab courses.

Module 3 Exam Averages

in Geo 9

not in Geo 9ALL

75.0%

80.0%

85.0%

90.0%

Series1 79.9% 90.8% 78.5%

ALL in Geo 9 not in Geo 9

• Geology 9 allows the students access to instructor presentations of hundreds of

geologic slides and other geologic visual images for which there is no time in the regularly scheduled Geology lectures

• The Geology 1 course has too much content to be covered in the 3-unit scheduled lectures. There are many topics, visuals and materials for which there is no time to share them with the students. Geology 9 provides this crucial weekly scheduled time.



• Geology 9 serves prospective geology majors o there is no other reliable venue in a lower division program o allows students weekly scheduled time with the instructor and other students who are

also interested in the topic of geology • Geology 9 allows the instructor a chance to work with students in a setting that is not

provided by the other geology course offerings

Module 6 Exam Averagesin Geo 9

not in Geo 9

ALL

75.0%

80.0%

85.0%

Series1 77.9% 87.5% 76.4%

ALL in Geo 9 not in Geo 9

• Geology 9 rounds out and completes the LPC Geology Program in a way that isn’t

accomplished by the lower division geology courses that we can offer. Community colleges rarely get to offer courses like Historical Geology or Earth Materials (the enrollments are typically too low due to the prerequisites), and as a result, the LPC Geology 9 course provides the geology program with a wonderfully useful geology course where students can learn more geology and work with other students and the instructor on geology topics that would not otherwise be available.



Staffing Resources

F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

FTE faculty 1.93 2.08 1.87 2.22 1.78 2.15 2.08 2.22

Full-time 1.03 1.18 0.97 1.17 1.23 1.10 0.93 0.87

Part-time 0.9 0.9 0.90 1.05 0.55 1.05 0.85 1.20

Overload 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 0.15

% Full-Time ( no overload) 53% 57% 52% 53% 69% 51% 45% 39%

Discipline Coordinator

Faculty: The Geology total FTEF vacillates above and below 2 FTEF. During years when cuts are required, the FTEF drops below 2, and in years when courses are allowed to be added back in, the FTEF rises slightly above 2 FTEF. Another full-time faculty will not be required before the FTEF rises sufficiently above 2.5-3 FTEF to provide a stable workload for a second faculty member. Classified: Prior to November, 2009, the Geology Program had 15-25+ hours/week of student assistants to support the Geology labs (e.g., for the maintenance and upkeep of tens of thousands of student-use specimens). The high variability in quality (and quantity) of qualified students assistants dictated that these functions and responsibilities would be better served by qualified, permanent classified staff. In addition, the growth of the Geology program, in both materials and lab sections, made the establishment of a Geolab tech a necessity. As of November, 2009, the Geology Program has classified lab tech support for 75% time over the 10-month academic Fall-Spring calendar. Without such qualified, competent support, hundreds of thousands of dollars of laboratory student-use specimens would rapidly become unusable. Without the Geolab Tech, it would not be logistically possible to allow the students to use and work with the thousands of lab specimens that are employed each semester. The lab tech must coordinate between the multiple lab sections that each use the Geology & Oceanography materials on different timelines and schedules each term. Such coordination and maintenance of materials was not possible with student assistants. Since Nov 2009, the Geolab Tech, Carol Edson, has created dozens of new lab sets for students to study and practice with, in addition to dozens of new quiz and exam sets. In addition, the Geolab tech supports the Oceanography courses, and Geotech Edson has



ensured that the Oceanography lab materials are maintained and improved each semester. Of note, ocean floor maps of San Francisco Bay were acquired and then laminated to preserve their usefulness for many years to come. Similarly, several Geology lab sets of maps and materials were laminated to preserve their quality of use for future students. There is no tech coverage during the evenings or summer sessions. Eventually, when the campus grows sufficiently, and the state and campus budgets recover, coverage for the evening and summer sessions should be pursued (most likely, in concert with other physical science programs). Discipline Coordinator: The Geology Program needs funding support/release time for a discipline coordinator at the equivalent of 3Ahours/week. The single full-time faculty must complete Program Review reports, oversee and implement program SLOs, adjunct evaluations, coordination between geology staff and other science staff, Geology program development and maintenance, in addition to campus committee meetings, teaching classes, and instructional and professional development. For “single-faculty-programs”, there is no rotation of responsibilities, program oversight or report compilation and production. Nor is there any release from other campus committee responsibilities. As a consequence, release time for the single Geology faculty is crucial to the long-term health and maintenance of the program.



Staffing Resources (continued): The People & Faces of the LPC Geology Program

Full time Geology Faculty: Ruth L. Hanna Adjunct Geology Faculty: Robert LaChappelle, Oliver Christen, Ferdinand Oberle Geology/Oceanography Technician: Carol Edson

Geotech Carol Edson

on the edge of Haleakela Crater, at a little over 10,000 feet elevation.

In the background are the silhouettes of shield volcanoes Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Carol signals all is ‘OK’ when she snorkels among the fishes of Honolua Bay, Maui. The high density of fish (in the background of the photo) make this bay like an aquarium!

Carol has worked for the LPC Geology program for 8 years. Carol is an R.N. (registered nurse), with a B.S. in sociology, and an avid interest in natural science and education. Without her persistent, meticulous attention to detail, the thousands of specimens used by the LPC geology students each term would quickly become unusable.



From left to right: Ruth Hanna (full-time geology faculty),

Carol Edson (geology/oceanography technician), Shauna Edson (professional geologist and LPC alumnus),

Linda Adams (LPC geology alumnus)




Geologist Ruth Hanna after hiking 2 miles over old lava flows to get to the edge

of the most recent flow as it advances forward.

Kilauea volcano, the Big Island of Hawaii.

To the right, Ruth inspects some soft coral off a reef wall drop-off of the western Pacific islands of Palau. Ruth has been the full-time geology faculty at LPC for the past 19 years. Ruth graduated from UC Davis, with an M.S. in Geology, and an emphasis in geophysics, and then worked for an oil company and an engineering firm before joining LPC to build and develop the Geology Program, which has since doubled in size (# sections offered) and expanded to include online distance education courses.




Above, Geologist Bob LaChappelle

stands alongside a basalt yardang in Death Valley, California (yardang is a term for a wind-sculpted erosional remnant/pillar).

To the right, Bob prepares to rappel into the crater of a volcanic cinder cone..

Bob has been an adjunct geology

faculty member at LPC for many years. Bob had a career in business before deciding to pursue geology, and then graduated from San Francisco State with a Master’s degree in geology.




Geologist Oliver Christen perched on petrified wood outside the Cincinnati Crown Observatory.

Oliver has been an adjunct geology faculty member at both LPC and Chabot for many years. Oliver has a Master's degree in Geology,

and is an adjunct geology faculty at several Bay Area colleges.




Geologist Ferdinand Oberle on a geologic job site in Owen’s Valley, California,

with the Sierra Nevada Fault as a backdrop. Ferdinand has a Master’s degree in Geology,

and has been an adjunct LPC geology faculty member for several years.

He is currently working as a professional geologist, based out of Berkeley, and working on

geologic job sites throughout California.



Linda Adams,

a dedicated LPC Geology alumnus who fell in love with Geology at LPC and then turned every vacation into a geology field trip. Linda became an LPC math tutor, and also volunteered

countless hours to the LPC geology program and its students. Linda passed away a few years ago, and her presence is sorely missed.

Her memory lives on with some of the beautiful specimens that she and her husband, Glen, donated

to the LPC Geology rock and mineral displays.



Physical Resources(Refer to the Master Plan and/or your last Program Review.) The current physical space (buildings and classrooms) are generally sufficient for the current geology program. Before the implementation of Online Distance Education courses, a large lecture hall would have been necessary to boost program productivity WSCH/FTEF. With the implementation of online Geology courses, the current LPC Geoscience lecture room, with a capacity of 50 students, is more than sufficient for the Geology Program on-campus lectures. The Geo lab room is currently sufficient for the Geology and Geography lab offerings. Geology/Geography lab offerings could increase by 4 or 5 additional sections per term without the need for an additional lab room. The Geology lecture room (1826) needs upgrading and updating for the computers and projection equipment. The Geology lab room (1828) recently received this upgrade, and the lecture room will hopefully be done in the next year or so. As the Geology rooms are not part of the remodel of the Science Building associated with the new construction (Part II), the upgrading of the AV & electronics in Rms 1826 & 1828 are separate from Science Building Part II funds. Geoscience materials and equipment are stored in Rooms 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1824. These storage spaces are currently well filled and well used by the Geoscience programs (Geology/Geography/Oceanography). As long as these storage spaces remain available to the Geoscience programs, there is sufficient space for program materials.



Technology Resources • The Geology Program employs and utilizes the technology and equipment in Rooms 1824, 1826,

1828 and 1829. • The Geology Program utilizes the Geoscience (Geology/Oceanography/Geography) lecture and

lab rooms. • Rm 1828 is the laboratory room for the Geosciences that includes a geologic petrographic

microscope with video camera, along with all other basic classroom instructional technology (see below).

• Rm 1826 is the core lecture room for the Geosciences that includes a geologic petrographic microscope with video camera, along with all other basic classroom instructional technology (see below).

• Rm 1824 is a central work area, which includes 8 student-use computers, 2 science staff technician computers, weather station computers and equipment, a campus copier, a TV and VCR, a geochron, etc.

• The Geology Program employs and utilizes all of the instructional technology currently available. Examples include: computers, computer ceiling projector, CD-ROMs and DVDs, slide projector, petrographic microscope with dedicated video camera, overhead projector, scanner, document projector, microphone, etc.

• The Geology Program also includes o Web sites and web pages for students, created by their geology instructors o The integration of Online Blackboard Software into traditional class programs o An offering of Geology 1 through the Online Distance Education format

• The Geology lecture room (1826) needs upgrading/updating of the AV & computer equipment. The Geology rooms (1826 & 1828) are not part of the remodel associated with the new construction (Science Part II), however, the classroom AV & computer equipment are slated for upgrading and replacement in order to provide consistency of equipment throughout the Science Facility.

An LPC Geology student working on a geology assignment Of special note, the LPC Geology Program extends heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the dedicated and competent LPC IT and computer support staff. Without their continuous support, much of what we provide to the students would not be possible.



Fiscal Resources (Attach Discipline Annual Budget.) In prior years, the Geology budget was $3800/year, and these funds were typically depleted before the Spring term. Due to severe budgetary issues this Fall 2010, all campus supply budgets were reduced to 22% of prior years. As a result, the current Fall 2010-Spring 2011 Geology budget is approximately $836. When the campus budget allows, the Geology program budget will need to be restored to prior levels (or perhaps higher to replace materials that have degraded past usability during the sparse budget years). As the college’s enrollments grow, the Geology program will grow and add lab sections. Additional lab sections will require an increase in the yearly supply budget (above the previous $3800/year). The following data is from the Enrollment Management Committee:

Geology FTEF (Total) FTES

WSCH /FTEF

2008-2009 Academic Year 4.5 82.48 557

Credit FTES Apportionment (08/09): $4,564.83 Average Cost Per FTEF (08/09): $45,000 Total FTEF Cost (08/09): $ 202,500.00 Total FTES Revenue (08/09): $ 376,507.18 Difference: $ 174,007.18

The Physical Geology 1 lab uses a collection of rocks and minerals that requires continual upkeep and maintenance, as well as continued replacement of materials that are damaged beyond repair. The Oceanography lab requires basic materials such as sea salt, sea floor rocks, refractometers, pH meters, triple-beam balances, microscopes, litmus paper, etc. Lab scales and glassware also require upkeep, maintenance and/or replacement when damaged.



Needed Geology Program Materials: ITEM # EACH TOTAL VENDOR

lat long globes 15 $ 60.00 $ 900.00 Wards mineral replacements 1200 up to $50 $ 3,000.00 to be determined white 12x12x12 boxes 1 case $ 40.00 $ 40.00 Papermart geology calendars 12 $ 10.00 $ 120.00 Calendars.com soil,sand and gravel set 3 $ 25.00 $ 75.00 Wards laptops 7 $1,500.00 $10,500.00 HP

Needed Geology Equipment and Materials (cont) • plastic table top protectors • Volcano Surtsey DVD • petrographic microscope service • dissecting scope service • color printer (replacement) • laser jet color cartridges • black and white printer (replacement) • planetary globes • geology flyer printing • example rocks and minerals: o low SG mudstone non fizz o no sheen hard slate no incl. o granular good green olivine o Citrine with conc. Fx o bladed stibnite o yellow limonite not scorialike o small ptygmatic folds o garnet dodecahedrons o botryoidal hematite o red bedded chert o labradorite

Materials to be purchased (in the future) for a Mineralogy/Earth Materials course: Petrographic Microscopes $50,000; Mineral Samples $50,000; Thin Sections $30,000



Students Enrollments (Refer to “Total Majors in discipline,” “Enrollments,” and “FTES” on the Discipline/Cluster

Data Sheet. Also refer to the Enrollment Management Report.)

F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

Program Access

Campus Wide Total Majors 7667 7737 8179 8251 8794 8904 9455 9501

Total Majors in discipline 6 4 3 4 6 2 6 8

New Majors (new students) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Transferred Majors 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Returning Majors 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0

Enrollments 417 413 394 422 417 454 451 511

FTES 37.51 32.56 33.40 36.78 35.80 40.03 38.43 41.59

> Total Geology enrollments increased 22% between Fall 2005 to Spring 2009 (from 417 to 511). > The number of Geology majors is typical for a 2-year school that can only offer lower-division transfer courses. Most Geology majors discover Geologic Science when they originally take Geology 1 to fulfill their GE Physical/Natural Science Breadth requirements for a non-science degree. After discovering Geology, most students then explore the idea of pursuing a major in Geology, without declaring Geology as a major at LPC. > LPC has successfully graduated students who took their first few Geology courses at LPC and then went on to complete four-year degrees in Geology and now work as professionals in the field of Geology. Examples include: two former students who work at a local Geologic firm in Dublin, at least two former students who work at the USGS (United States Geological Survey), and another is shown below.



o Demographics (Refer to “Gender,” “Race/Ethnicity,” “Registered Learning Disability,” and

“Educational Goal” on the Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet.)

The data for the Geology Program is essentially the same as that for the Las Positas campus as a whole, for Gender, Race/Ethnicity, etc.

F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009 Gender All LPC Male 44% 46% 47% 46% 47% 47% 46% 47% Geology Male 44% 44% 49% 40% 46% 46% 49% 50% All LPC Female 56% 54% 53% 54% 53% 53% 54% 53% Geology Female 56% 56% 51% 60% 54% 54% 51% 50% Race/Ethnicity All LPC White 59% 58% 55% 53% 52% 52% 52% 52% Geology White 67% 57% 58% 63% 62% 57% 64% 59% All LPC Asian 13% 14% 15% 16% 15% 16% 16% 17% Geology Asian 8% 10% 16% 13% 10% 14% 12% 17% Hispanic 14% 13% 16% 15% 16% 16% 16% 16% Geology Hispanic 13% 15% 11% 12% 12% 13% 14% 13% All LPC African American 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 5% 5% 4% Geology African American 3% 6% 1% 3% 7% 3% 1% 3% All LPC Other 3% 3% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% Geology Other 4% 5% 5% 3% 4% 5% 4% 3% All LPC Unknown/Decline to state 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7% Geology Unknown/Decline to state 5% 8% 9% 7% 5% 7% 5% 6% All LPC Registered Learning Disability 478 552 543 543 519 489 487 458 Geology Registered Learning Disability 7 10 9 10 10 7 10 10 Educational Goal All LPC BA after completing AA 39% 39% 41% 40% 43% 41% 45% 44% Geology BA after completing AA 48% 51% 49% 50% 51% 54% 55% 57% All LPC BA without completing AA 14% 15% 15% 15% 15% 14% 16% 16% Geology BA without completing AA 18% 19% 22% 23% 15% 15% 19% 19% All LPC 2 yr Assoc without transfer 9% 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 6% Geology 2 yr Assoc without transfer 9% 4% 5% 6% 7% 4% 3% 5% All LPC Job related goal 11% 12% 11% 11% 11% 12% 11% 10% Geology Job related goal 6% 5% 4% 5% 4% 5% 5% 2% All LPC Personal development 7% 8% 7% 8% 6% 7% 6% 6% Geology Personal development 2% 4% 3% 4% 1% 1% 2% 1% All LPC Undecided goal 20% 19% 19% 19% 19% 19% 17% 17% Geology Undecided goal 17% 17% 17% 13% 21% 21% 16% 16%



o Student Success (Refer to “Program Success” on the Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet.)

Geology Program Success F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

Course Success (A,B,C,CR) 72% 77% 74% 78% 72% 70% 76% 70%

Course Non-Success (D,F,NC) 16% 15% 14% 9% 12% 17% 11% 14%

Withdrew 12% 9% 12% 13% 16% 13% 13% 15%

Course Retention 88% 92% 88% 87% 84% 87% 87% 84%

The Geology Program Success numbers generally range between 70-78%, which is slightly higher than the overall campus success rate numbers of 68-71% between Fall 2005-Spring 2009.

Course Success

(A,B,C,CR) F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

sum for

sorting

Geology 72% 77% 74% 78% 72% 70% 76% 70% 589%

Chemistry 78% 70% 57% 74% 72% 74% 78% 80% 583%

Engineering 61% 67% 76% 78% 62% 71% 72% 67% 554%

Geography 72% 70% 70% 68% 67% 70% 67% 69% 553%

LPC Campus-Wide 69% 71% 67% 69% 68% 69% 69% 69% 551%

Bioscience Cluster 72% 73% 59% 65% 64% 66% 61% 66% 526%

History 62% 61% 58% 56% 50% 55% 49% 56% 447%

Astronomy-Physics 55% 51% 50% 55% 43% 59% 53% 61% 427%

Math 51% 53% 51% 49% 51% 52% 49% 53% 409%



o Program Efficiency (Refer to “Program Efficiency” on the Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet.)

The Geology Program efficiency numbers are generally high for a physical science that runs laboratory sections and the WSCH/FTEF ran between 562-612 for Fall 2007-Spring 2009.

Program Efficiency F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

Fill rate (census) 100% 78% 89% 92% 103% 92% 97% 93%

WSCH per FTEF 589.76 476.44 544.72 500.23 612.45 569.77 562.17 568.34

WSCH 1140 991 1,017 1,109 1,092 1,225 1,171 1,260

FTES 37.51 32.56 33.40 36.78 35.80 40.03 38.43 41.59

o Other (This may include student input, college assessment score success, pre-requisite or co-requisite success

data, state and/or federal mandates and other relevant information.)

o



Student Learning Outcomes o Course Level Student Learning Outcomes

The Geology Program has followed the directions and guidelines for SLO’s that were sent out in May 2007 by the SLO Chair, Lauren Hasten. Specifically, this SLO Cover Letter & Planning Document detailed the following directions and timelines:

o Fall 2007 – planning semester where “Disciplines will develop an SLO Plan for a total of 10 courses (write SLO's, design assessments, develop rubrics, and enter these in to eLumen)”

Geoscience Discipline = Geography and Geology (each of these two areas is too small by itself, having less than 10 courses each, and only 1 full-time faculty for each).

SLOs were entered into Elumen for each Geology course o “Starting Spring 08, each discipline will implement their SLO assessment plans for 2 new

courses each semester. Starting Fall 08 each discipline will be assessing four courses per semester. Disciplines will "rotate in" 2 new courses each semester while 2 other courses go out of rotation.”

2 new courses/semester, split evenly between Geology and Geography The Geology schedule for SLO rotation is shown in the table below

The Plan for Geology (following the directions given):

F07 (Accred Surveys)

S08 (Self

Study)

F08 (Self-Study)

S09 (Re-visit SLO

Plan)

F09 (Site Visit) (Prog Rev)

S10 (Prog Rev) F10 S11 F11 S12 F12

GEOL 1 Lecture

(new)

(repeat)

(new)

(repeat)GEOL 1 Lab

new

(repeat)

(new)

(repeat)

(new)

(repeat)

GEOL 12 Lecture

(new)

(repeat)

(new)

(repeat)GEOL 12 Lab

(new)

(repeat)

(new)

(repeat)

(new)

GEOL 3 Lecture

(new) not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd ?GEOL 3 Lab

(new) not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd not offrd ?

GEOL 9 2 new not offrd not offrd ?



The Geology Program has actually conducted (and input into campus Elumen SLO software) more SLOs than in this original plan: Geology 1 (lecture and online): • Petrology SLO Assessment, 5 sections, twice: Spring 2009 & Fall 2009 • Plate Tectonics SLO Assessment: 2 sections, twice: Fall 2010 & Spring 2011 Geology 1 Laboratory: • Hardness SLO Assessment: 3 sections, twice: Spring 2008 & Fall 2008 • Mineral ID Properties Assessment: 3 sections, twice: Spring 2010 & Fall 2010 Geology 12 (lecture): • Seawater Phys. & Chem. SLO Assess: 2-3 sections, twice: Smr ‘09, F’09 & S’10 • Plate Tectonics SLO Assessment: 2 sections, twice: Fall 2010 & Spring 2010 Geology 12 Laboratory: • Marine Unit Conversion SLO Assessment: 2 sections, twice: Fall ‘08 & Spring ‘09 Historical Geology 3 (lecture): • Geologic Time Scale SLO Assessment: Spring 2008 • Not offered again since Spring 2008; typically only offered every few years Historical Geology 3 Laboratory • Radiometric Dating SLO Assessment: Spring 2008 • Not offered again since Spring 2008; typically only offered every few years Geology 9 World Geology Colloquium • Mass Wasting SLO Assessment: Spring 2010 • Hillside Geology SLO Assessment: Spring 2010 • Not offered the year following Spring 2010, so neither Geo 9 SLO assessment could be followed up on o For each course, the same SLO was run in all sections. Sections taught by adjunct were

included, with the leadership of the full-time faculty and the support of the lab technician (as the adjunct contracts do not require them to participate in SLO activities).

o Each term, the summary data for all Geology SLOs conducted were collected in a summary table and presented for all Geology faculty to assess (both full-time and adjunct).

o Spring 2008: SLOs were conducted in all 3 sections of Geology 1 lab, the Geology 3 lecture and the Geology 3 lab.



o Fall 2008: A new SLO was conducted in all sections of Geology 12 lab, and the Spring 2008 SLO was repeated in all Fall 2008 Geology 1 lab sections. Summary data for all sections (both semesters) was made available to all geology instructors.

o Spring 2009: A new SLO was conducted in all 5 sections of Geology 1 lecture (including the online DE sections), and the Fall 2008 SLO was repeated in all Spring 2009 Geology 12 lab sections. Summary data for all sections (both semesters) was made available to all geology instructors.

o Fall 2009: A new SLO was conducted in all sections of Geology 12 Oceanography lecture, and the Spring 2009 SLO was repeated in the Fall 2009 Geology 1 sections. Summary data for all sections (both semesters) was made available to all geology instructors.

o Spring 2010: A new SLO was conducted in all Geology 1 lab sections, and the Fall 2009 SLO was repeated for all Spring 2010 Geology 12 Oceanography lecture sections. Summary data for all sections (both semesters) was made available to all geology instructors. In addition, 2 new SLOs were run in the Geology 9 colloquium course.

o As of Spring 2010, all active Geology courses that have been offered at LPC through Spring 2010, had at least one SLO entered into elumen for all sections of that course the term it was assessed by the SLO process.

o After Fall 2010, all Geology courses offered will have had 2 SLOs conducted and input into the campus SLO elumen software (for courses that have been run more than once over the past several years).

o Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Analysis:

Responses to SLO data depended on the course, the assessment and the instructor. For all SLOs that were run in multiple sections, the summary pre and post test data was shared between all instructors who conducted that SLO, as well as with all other geo faculty and staff. In several cases, the SLO pre and post test data confirmed that students are learning the requisite material in their geology course. Pretest data confirmed that most students did not know this material and posttest data validated that the majority of students had successfully learned the material in question. For example, for the Fall 2009 Geology 1 lecture SLO on Basic Petrology, average pre-test scores ranged between 10-16% correct, whereas average post-test scores ranged between 90-94% correct, with increases in score ranging between 78-94%.



As another example, for the Spring 2010 Geology 1Lab SLO on Mineral Identification Properties, average pre-test scores ranged between 24-31% depending on the section, whereas post-test scores ranged between 80-93% correct depending on the section, with average increases in scores ranging between 50-69%. There were only a few instances where post-test scores were not significantly different from pre-test scores. Each of these instances were handled as deemed appropriate by the instructor(s). Of note, in some cases the same course was not taught by the same instructor the following term, which did not allow for the instructor who conducted the SLO the first semester to follow up with revisions the next term. In other cases, the course was not offered the next semester (e.g., Historical Geology 3 and 3L, and Geology 9 for Fall 2010), and this did not allow the instructors to conduct revisions to the SLOs the following term. Of note, adjunct geology instructors participated in the SLO data acquisition process, however, the current faculty contract does not require their participation in the SLO process. As stated above, the summary data was made available for all geo faculty, and individual faculty followed up as appropriate. Of particular note, in one instance, the SLO questions were revised for clarity and the revised SLO assessment applied the following term. Specifically, the computational essay-type questions were reformatted to a multiple-choice format. Many folks consider multiple-choice to be easier, and it is often called ‘multiple guess’. However, the results for the multiple choice format were essentially the same as the results for the essay format of the same questions. While these results did not show a difference in student performance, they did provide validity of the multiple choice format (it was not demonstrably easier, or harder, than the essay format). In summary, the SLO process has been implemented and employed for all geology classes currently offered by the LPC Geology program. All geology faculty (both full and adjunct) have participated.

Example of data collected and shared between instructors for a Geology SLO assessment: Data was tabulated for each question, pretests and posttest data was compared. In the example below, the Geology 1 Lab had overall pre-test scores of 3.1% correct, with no students getting question 3 correct on the pretest. For the post-test, there was a 91.5% increase in student scores, and 84.6% of the students answered question 3 correctly. This



data demonstrates that students are learning the content of this SLO assessment in this course.

pretest #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

TOTAL

CORRECT

geo 1 lab weds 1 1 0 1 1 4

number of students

who took this test 26 26 26 26 26 130

% correct 3.8% 3.8% 0.0% 3.8% 3.8% 3.1%

POSTtest #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

TOTAL

CORRECT Increase

in score

(post-test

compared

to pre-

test)

geo 1 lab weds 26 24 22 25 26 123

number of

students who

took this test 26 26 26 26 26 130

% correct 100.0% 92.3% 84.6% 96.2% 100.0% 94.6% 91.5%

• Curriculum Review (To provide supporting documentation, attach the curriculum

spreadsheet Curriculum Revision Template - AM - 2008.xls if you have already completed it or obtain

the curriculum revision template from Dr. Machamer and complete it.)

All active Geology course outlines were reviewed and updated (as per the 5 year cycle) in Fall 2009. Environmental Geology 5 & 7 were added.

- see attached spreadsheet (included at the end of this file) Due to campus budget cuts, neither Geology 5 or 7 is to be offered in the coming year. After the budget allows the restoration of classes that were cut from the schedule (see Section C of this report, Program Analysis, Course Offerings), then Geology 5 or 7 may be viable offerings for the LPC Geology Program.



• Interaction with Other Groups and Staff

o The Geology Program shares facilities and equipment with the Geography Program. o Geology majors require extensive math courses (up to and including at least a year

of Calculus), chemistry (Chem 1A and 1B), and physics courses. o The LPC Geology Program includes the introductory Oceanography courses. o The LPC Geology courses assist students with the development of their college-

level problem-solving and analytical skills which will help them in any further college courses and/or any job that they may have after graduation. Specific skills include observation, testing, data-gathering and analysis.

o The LPC Oceanography course is an excellent course for students to take before taking the LPC Marine Biology course

o LPC Geology courses are appropriate and recommended for students pursuing degrees in Environmental Science, Engineering, etc.

• Other. Discuss here any aspects of your program which do not fit into the categories

above, but which you feel need to be addressed.

Geology Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet F 2005-S 2009


Las Positas College Program Review F 2009 Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet F 2005-S 2009

Program: ____GEOL__________________________

F2005 S2006 F2006 S2007 F2007 S2008 F2008 S2009

Program Access

Campus Wide Total Majors 7667 7737 8179 8251 8794 8904 9455 9501

Total Majors in discipline 6 4 3 4 6 2 6 8

New Majors (new students) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Transferred Majors 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Returning Majors 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0

Enrollments 417 413 394 422 417 454 451 511

FTES 37.51 32.56 33.40 36.78 35.80 40.03 38.43 41.59

Gender

Male 44% 44% 49% 40% 46% 46% 49% 50%

Female 56% 56% 51% 60% 54% 54% 51% 50%

Race/Ethnicity

White 67% 57% 58% 63% 62% 57% 64% 59%

Asian 8% 10% 16% 13% 10% 14% 12% 17%

Hispanic 13% 15% 11% 12% 12% 13% 14% 13%

African American 3% 6% 1% 3% 7% 3% 1% 3%

Other 4% 5% 5% 3% 4% 5% 4% 3%

Unknown/Decline to state 5% 8% 9% 7% 5% 7% 5% 6%

Registered Learning Disability 7 10 9 10 10 7 10 10

Educational Goal

BA after completing AA 48% 51% 49% 50% 51% 54% 55% 57%

BA without completing AA 18% 19% 22% 23% 15% 15% 19% 19%

2 yr Assoc without transfer 9% 4% 5% 6% 7% 4% 3% 5%

Job related goal 6% 5% 4% 5% 4% 5% 5% 2%

Personal development 2% 4% 3% 4% 1% 1% 2% 1%

Undecided goal 17% 17% 17% 13% 21% 21% 16% 16%

Total Courses Offered 5 5 5 5 5 6 5 5

Total Sections offered 11 11 11 12 10 12 12 13

Geology Discipline/Cluster Data Sheet F 2005-S 2009


Day 8 8 8 9 8 8 9 9

Evening 2 2 2 2 2 1 2

Independentlyscheduled (DE) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 4

Saturday

Staffing Resources

FTE faculty 1.93 2.08 1.87 2.22 1.78 2.15 2.08 2.22

Full-time 1.03 1.18 0.97 1.17 1.23 1.10 0.93 0.87

Part-time 0.9 0.9 0.90 1.05 0.55 1.05 0.85 1.20

Overload 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 0.15

% Full-Time ( no overload) 53% 57% 52% 53% 69% 51% 45% 39%

Classified Personnel

Full-time

Part-time See the Staffing Resources discussion section of this report

Hourly

Student Assistance 10-25+ hours, variable depending on supply of qualified students

Discipline Coordinator

Program Efficiency

Fill rate (census) 100% 78% 89% 92% 103% 92% 97% 93%

WSCH per FTEF 589.76 476.44 544.72 500.23 612.45 569.77 562.17 568.34

WSCH 1140 991 1,017 1,109 1,092 1,225 1,171 1,260

FTES 37.51 32.56 33.40 36.78 35.80 40.03 38.43 41.59

Program Success

Course Success (A,B,C,CR) 72% 77% 74% 78% 72% 70% 76% 70%

Course Non-Success (D,F,NC) 16% 15% 14% 9% 12% 17% 11% 14%

Withdrew 12% 9% 12% 13% 16% 13% 13% 15%

Course Retention 88% 92% 88% 87% 84% 87% 87% 84%

Degrees Awarded

Certificates Awarded

Total LPC AA/AS Degrees 119 368 165 330 151 346 203 457

Liberal Arts & Sciences AA's 87 279 132 250 111 267 150 343

Total LPC Certificates 40 74 35 99 40 94 55 95

Geology Program SLO Summary Chart from Amber Machamer


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geology program review self study fall...

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