| Initiative Title | Full-Time Biology Faculty Position |
|---|---|
| Submitted in Previous Year(s) | 2018 |
| Critical Information, Notes, Justification, Rationale | A new faculty position is required to support expanding instructional offerings to accommodate student needs. This position would allow the Department to increase its offering of 'in-demand' courses such as 'Introduction to Biology' (BIO 110) and 'Human Biology' (BIO 115) as well as to offer more DL sections of departmental offerings. Additionally, the requested position would support new instructional initiatives such as offering flexibly scheduled, accelerated, half-semester courses to enable pre-Health Profession students to meet programmatic entrance requirements in a shorter period of time. The position will also support our plan to develop a 'Horticulture' certificate program - either because the new hire would have a strong botanical foundation (an ideal situation) or because it would allow refocusing of our present botanist's teaching assignments. The Biology Department offers a Liberal Arts - AS degree in Natural Science in conjunction with SEA (Science, Engineering, Architecture) and Math. The Department also offers supporting coursework to a large cohort of students preparing for AAS degrees in a variety of Health Profession Programs. Prior to acceptance in specific allied health programs these students are considered to be in a 'Pre-Med' pathway administered by the Biology Department. Additionally, the Biology Department offers a wide range of General Education courses taken as science electives by students pursuing various liberal arts degree programs. Data from the 2016 'Transfer Activity Report' produced by Institutional Research shows that over a six-year period (AY 2010-2011 through AY 2015-2016) there were 524 degrees awarded through the AS Natural Science Program and 240 (45.8%) of these graduates continued their education following transfer to a four-year institution. Moreover, the the date show a 44% increase in graduates when data from the first two years (AY 10-11 and AY 11-12) are compared with data from the most recent years, AY 14-15 and 15-16. This increase is all the more remarkable as it is occurring during a time (post 2011-12) when institutional enrollment is falling! Institutional Research ('Sections and Capacities Report') data spanning the years 2010-2017 shows constant high-level demand for our courses with 1306 students enrolled in Fall 2016 and 1444 in Spring 2017. Currently, only 47% of departmental coursework (on average 120 course sections/semester) is taught by FT faculty teaching 'on-load' highlighting the need for an additional faculty member; particularly for day sections where qualified adjuncts are hard to find. |
| Consequences of this initiative not being funded | At present there is existent demand for more coursework to be offered at Newburgh and during evening/Saturday periods at both campuses that can not be accommodated. Needs are particularly critical in areas of Anatomy and Physiology, Human Biology and General Biology I. Simply put, if more sections were offered they would fill. Due to the high-level of specific knowledge required to teach these classes it is difficult to recruit, mentor, train and retain qualified adjuncts (although we have 20-25 adjuncts teaching on a regular basis). The requested position would allow the Department to develop and enhance curricular initiatives (flexible scheduling, Horticulture, DL, etc.) that otherwise will be more limited in scope. During AY 2018-2019 the Biology Department was able to hire a FT, temporary faculty member to address critical needs. This position is currently shared with the Clinical Laboratory Science Department so while it cannot fully address our needs, it has allowed us to offer additional day and evening sections of A & P critical to meeting student needs. We hope to mke this a permanent position based fully in the Biology Department for maximum impact. |
| Department Goals | |
| Programs | AS Math Science |
| Locations | |
| Estimated Completion Date | 08/01/2019 |
| Will this initiative span multiple budget years? | Yes |
| Importance | High |
| Funding Source | Capital Budget |
| Created | 11/26/2018 2:12 pm |
| Updated | 11/26/2018 2:30 pm |
| Goal | How will the initiative support this institutional goal? |
|---|---|
|
Allow the department to offer more coursework to meet existent needs. Allow development of new initiatives: flexible scheduling, accelerated programming, Horticulture Certificate Program |
| Action Step | Responsible Party | Order |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Develop and publish Position Description, 2. Form a Search Committee, 3. Conduct the Search | Biology Department Chair and Biology Search Committee | 1 |
| Outcome | Order |
|---|---|
| Enhanced student learning opportunities | 1 |
| Method | Description | Other Method | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | Enter other assessment method | *Gathering student feedback resulting from student course evaluations. *Classroom evaluations and PRT process for retention. | Biology Department Chair and Biology PRT Committee |
| INITIAL YEAR COST: | $80,436.00 |
|---|---|
| RECURRING COST: | $80,436.00 |
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| None required (existent office space, computer/printer) | $0.00 |
|
|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary per Table C-1 of Faculty Contract | $80436.00 / 80436.00 (1st year) |
|
|
| TOTAL: | $80,436.00 / $80,436.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
| Need | Cost (Initial/Recurring) | Supporting Departments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $0.00 / $0.00 | ||
This initiative is not ready for prioritization.
| Date | Department Name | Status | Cost to Date | Funding Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No results found. | |||||