Chemistry Discipline Transfer Group
Report of Activities
June 2003

1. Activities

The Chemistry Discipline Transfer Group met for the first time along with several other disciplines at a meeting held on April 19, 2002.  A summary of the meeting is attached to this report.

On October 10, 2002, a leadership subcommittee of the MnSCU Chemistry Discipline Group met to review the issues identified at the spring meeting as well as to plan the agenda for a November 22 meeting of the entire Chemistry Discipline Group.  The group decided that the bulk of the November 22 meeting should be devoted to reviewing and classifying courses from MnSCU community colleges and state universities.  At this time, John Hansen from Southwest State University took over as facilitator of the chemistry group.

Thirteen representatives of MnSCU chemistry programs, including four from state universities, attended the November 22 meeting.  The issues identified at April meeting were discussed along with the workplan to address them.  The group came to a consensus on the following:

First, the second item identified as a transfer problem at the April meeting, that is too great a variety in chemistry curricula, is not really a problem.  In fact, any attempt by this group to attempt to impose uniformity would be regarded by most institutions as an unwarranted intrusion on academic freedom.  Problems which are perceived to originate in this area are probably more likely related to lack of adequate information on the part of students and advisors regarding chemistry courses and their transferability.  If the remaining two issues are addressed adequately, problems related variety in curriculum should be minimized.  Thus, this issue should be dropped as a separate chemistry transfer agenda item.  Further activities should concentrate on addressing the other two issues.

Second, there already exists a broad uniformity in the nature of the lower-division chemistry courses taken by chemistry and other science majors.  It should be possible to place courses at the various institutions into categories and create master course equivalency lists for these categories.  Courses on each list should freely substitute for any of the others on the same list.  The existence of such lists should address any existing transfer problems, provided they are readily available (on a Web site for example) and well-publicized, and if there is a mechanism for continuing maintenance and updating.

Third, for courses that fall into the categories identified by the group, issues related to course numbers, names, and number of credits, should not present transfer problems.  For example, the sophomore-level organic chemistry sequence may have a 300 number at some institutions and a 200 number at others.  The number of credits may also vary.  Nevertheless, as long as the course meets the standards universally recognized among chemists as an organic chemistry course, it should freely substitute for any other.

Fourth, the course categories most often used for transfer are:  (1) a one-year sequence of general chemistry for science majors; (2) a one-year sequence of sophomore level organic chemistry; (3) a lower-level general, organic, biochemistry course (commonly abbreviated GOB); and (4) courses identified as satisfying general education requirements.  There are a variety of other lower-division courses, especially at the larger institutions, such as forensic chemistry or environmental chemistry.  However, these serve special roles in the curriculum or as service courses for other programs and are not usually taken with the expectation that they will transfer.  Transferability of these is best dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  There also exist preparatory or remedial courses at many institutions.  These courses never count as part of a major’s curriculum, nor as part of the requirements of other programs, and so should never be candidates for transfer.  All of these, along with upper-division major’s courses, were deemed to be outside the scope of this group’s tasks.

The group felt that the GOB courses require further discussion.  There are standard texts for GOB courses and it may be taught in a one-semester or a two-semester version.  GOB is a service course for a number of programs, the most important of which is nursing.  Unfortunately, there is a wide variety of chemistry requirements among nursing programs.  Some require a two-semester GOB and others a one-semester GOB.  Some are very restrictive about which GOB courses they will accept, insisting on explicit evidence of coverage of certain topics.  Finally, some nursing programs require no chemistry at all.  This variation makes it very difficult for chemistry programs, particularly small ones, to offer suitable transfer courses for nursing students.  Because it is not part of a chemistry major’s curriculum, there is very little that a committee of chemists can do to improve transferability.  What can be done, however, is to gather information on specific chemistry requirements of the disciplines which use this course and disseminate that information to chemistry programs within MnSCU.

Regarding general education courses, the universal opinion of the group was that any chemistry course offered at any community college or state university which satisfies that institution’s general education requirements in science should be substitute as a general education course at any other institution subject to laboratory requirements.  A relevant piece of information regarding any of these courses is whether they include a laboratory component.

Finally, regarding the general chemistry and organic chemistry sequences, the group felt that a preliminary judgment on categorizing such courses from all MnSCU institutions could be made by examining catalog copy.  The group developed broad definitions of these courses and spent the remainder of the meeting in working groups classifying these courses on the basis of catalog descriptions.

Following the November meeting, the facilitator continued the work begun by the group. In particular, information was gathered from institutions not represented, follow up inquiries were made with specific questions about certain courses, and equivalency lists of General and Organic Chemistry courses were complied.  The data concerning General and Organic Chemistry course equivalencies is currently available on Web pages maintained by the facilitator. It contains lists of course numbers, credits, and laboratory hours for all General and Organic courses along with links to catalog copy for each.  The Web pages also give general information regarding transferability of these courses.  These pages are attached to this report and may be accessed directly on the web at

http://www.southwestmsu.edu/johnhansen/transfer/GenChem.html and http://www.southwestmsu.edu/johnhansen/transfer/OrgChem.html.

The facilitator also made inquiries concerning the transferability of General Education courses.  These inquiries led to the discovery that all such courses currently transfer from one institution to another within the Science category.  The recently-developed DARS system makes all such transfers automatic within MnSCU.  Since the committee’s recommendation in this area is exactly what is currently implemented, further action on the part of the MnSCU Chemistry Programs is not necessary. 

 

2. Recommendations

The course equivalency Web pages developed by the facilitator should be transferred and maintained by the MnSCU Transfer office.

All MnSCU Chemistry programs which could potentially accept transfer should be asked to review the course equivalencies on the facilitator’s Web pages and to indicate their approval, disapproval, or partial/conditional approval.  This request should come through official administrative channels, i.e. through each institution’s transfer officer.  If needed, the facilitator can assist with this task.  The information gleaned from this review should be added to the Web pages which would then be a valuable resource for potential transfer students and their advisors.

Approved course equivalencies should be incorporated into the DARS system so that transferring students can have their General and Organic courses automatically accepted for the equivalent courses at receiving institutions.  Such automatic equivalencies already exist within the General Education courses in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.

All nursing programs in the region, in Minnesota and surrounding states, both public and private, should be surveyed to ascertain their specific chemistry requirements.  The detailed results of this survey should be made available to all MnSCU Chemistry programs in order to assist them in developing transferable GOB courses.  If needed, this survey can be coordinated by the facilitator.

MnSCU Faculty Discipline Meeting
Cragun’s Conference Center, April 19, 2002
Chemistry Discipline Report Summary

Facilitators: Wayne Haag, Jeralyn Jargo, Betsy Ingram-Diver

Transfer issue/problem one:

Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem one:

 

Transfer issue/problem two:

            Variety in chemistry courses

Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem two:

 

Transfer issue/problem three:

            Inconsistency in transfer.

Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem three:

Agenda for November 22, 2002 Chemistry Discipline Group meeting

Department/Discipline:Chemistry

Facilitator Name:John Hansen

Agenda Item	Time	Whose Responsible
Morning Coffee and Rolls	8:30 to 9:00 a.m.	Office of the Chancellor
Meeting Begins	9:00 a.m.	Lead Faculty Member
Agenda Overview	9:00 a.m.	Lead Faculty Member
Review Spring meeting and October leadership group meeting.  Discuss and revise workplan.	9:15-10:00
Discussion of trnasfer categories and procedures.	10:00-10:30
Begin work on course equivalencies with available syllabi and catalogs.	10:30-12:00
Lunch	12:00 to 1:00 p.m.	Office of the Chancellor
Discussion of issues related to nursing and other chemistry service courses.	1:00-2:00
Review and plan for further work.	2:00-3:00
Complete Expense Forms and Conference Evaluations	3:15 p.m.	Lead Faculty Member Administers
Meeting Adjourns	3:30 p.m.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Program Collaboration and Transfer
Department/Discipline Action Work Plan

Department/Discipline:Chemistry		Facilitator Name: John Hansen
Transfer issue/problems:	(1) Lack of communication; (2) Lack of consistency in transferability of chemistry courses.

Strategy One:	Create master equivalency lists.
Action Item		Timeline*	Whose Responsible
1. Define course categories.		Fall 2002 Completed	Discipline group
2. Review course descriptions of all lower-division MnSCU chemistry courses and categorize.		Fall 2002 Completed	Discipline group
3. Created equivalency lists for General, Organic, and General Education courses.		January 2003	Discipline group and facilitator
3. Collect syllabi.		January – February 2003	Facilitator
4. Disseminate recommended course equivalencies and syllabi through web site.		January – February 2003	Facilitator
5. Gather feedback from departments regarding implementation of transfer recommendations.		March 2003	Facilitator

Strategy Two:	Use chemistry discipline transfer committee to encourage continued communication concerning remaining issues.
Action Item		Timeline*	Whose Responsible
1. Commence discussion concerning GOB courses, improving communication, and a plan for maintenance of equivalency lists.		January 2003	Facilitator
2. Plan final meeting of discipline group (possibly electronic).		February – March 2003	Facilitator and leadership subcommittee
3. Develop recommendations for transferable GOB or other service courses.		Final meeting; April 2003	Discipline group
4. Develop recommendations for continuing maintenance of course equivalency lists.		Final meeting; April 2003	Discipline group

General Chemistry courses at MnSCU institutions

(Page available on the Web at http://www.southwestmsu.edu/johnhansen/transfer/GenChem.html; Web page links to catalog copy for each institution.)

This page lists all MnSCU courses which would be regarded to fit the commonly accepted definition among chemists as "General Chemistry." General Chemistry is an introductory 2-semester sequence intended for students planning to major in a science. It must have a significant laboratory component in both semesters. At some institutions, the laboratory is a separate course and at others it is integrated with the lecture course. Although a General Chemistry course can vary in credit or numbers of laboratory hours per week, it should never carry less than 8 total credits for the entire sequence. The titles and course numbers vary throughout MnSCU, often called "Principles of Chemistry." There are some MnSCU courses carrying the label General Chemistry which are not on this list because they are actually lower-level courses.

A student who completes all of the courses listed for a particular institution, including laboratories, should be regarded as satisfying any other institution's General Chemistry sequence. This applies only to the completion of the entire sequence. Although students will sometimes complete the first semester of a sequence at one institution and the second at another, this is generally not advisable because of differences in course organization among different institutions and different textbooks. Although students will often find that individual courses in a sequence may successfully transfer, this will be on a case-by-case basis and there is no general guarantee of transferability. In short, it is best to complete the entire sequence of courses at one institution to be assurred of having completed General Chemistry.

On the following list, each institution's name links to catalog copy for that institution's General and Organic Chemistry courses. Most of these are WORD documents, although some are html pages.

Institution	Numbers	Titles	Credit	Lab hours
4-year State Universities
Bemidji State	1211 1212	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	4 4	2 2
Metropolitan State	111 112	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
MSU-Mankato	201 202	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	2 3
MSU-Moorhead	150 155 160 165	General Chemistry I General Chemistry I Lab General Chemistry II General Chemistry II Lab	3 1 3 1	3 3
St. Cloud State	210 211	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	4 4	3 3
Southwest State	231 232	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	4 5	2 4
Winona State	212 213	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	4 4	3 3
2-year State Colleges
Anoka-Ramsey TC	1061 1062	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	4 4	3 3
Central Lakes	1424 1425	Chemical Principles I Chemical Principles II	5 5	3 3
Century	1041 1042	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Fergus Falls CC	1111 1112	General Inorganic Chemistry I General Inorganic Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Fond du Lac Tribal & CC	1010 1011	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Hibbing CC	1610 1611	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Inver Hills CC	1061 1062	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Itasca CC	1201 1202	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Lake Superior	1210 1211	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Mesabi Range CTC	1522 1523	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Minneapolis CTC	1151 1152	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Minnesota West CTC	1101 1102	General Inorganic Chemistry I General Inorganic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Normandale CC	1061 1062	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
North Hennepin CC	1061 1062	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	4 4	3 3
Northland CTC	1121 1122	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Rainy River CC	1090 1100	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Ridgewater	151 152	Principles of Chemistry I Principles of Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Riverland CC	1201 1202	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	4 4	3 3
Rochester CTC	1127 1128	Chemical Principles I Chemical Principles II	4 4	3 3
Vermilion CC	1522 1523	General Chemistry I General Chemistry II	5 5	3 3

Organic Chemistry courses at MnSCU institutions

(Page available on the Web at http://www.southwestmsu.edu/johnhansen/transfer/OrgChem.html; Web page links to catalog copy for each institution.)

This page lists all MnSCU courses which would be regarded to fit the commonly accepted definition among chemists as "Organic Chemistry." Organic Chemistry is a 2-semester sequence intended for students planning to major in a science. It normally has a prerequisite of one year of chemistry (General Chemistry) and has a significant laboratory component in both semesters. At some institutions, the laboratory is a separate course and at others it is integrated with the lecture course. Although an Organic Chemistry course can vary in credit or numbers of laboratory hours per week, it should never carry less than 8 total credits for the entire sequence. At most institutions, the courses in the sequence are called Organic Chemistry I and II. There are some MnSCU courses carrying the title Organic Chemistry which are not on this list because they are actually lower-level courses.

A student who completes all of the courses listed for a particular institution, including laboratories, should be regarded as satisfying any other institution's Organic Chemistry sequence. This applies only to the completion of the entire sequence. Although students will sometimes complete the first semester of a sequence at one institution and the second at another, this is generally not advisable because of differences in course organization among different institutions and different textbooks. Although students will often find that individual courses in a sequence may successfully transfer, this will be on a case-by-case basis and there is no general guarantee of transferability. In short, it is best to complete the entire sequence of courses at one institution to be assurred of having completed Organic Chemistry.

On the following list, each institution's name links to catalog copy for that institution's General and Organic Chemistry courses. Most of these are WORD documents, although some are html pages.

Institution	Numbers	Titles	Credit	Lab hours
4-year State Universities
Bemidji State	2311 2371 2312 2372	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry I Lab Organic Chemistry II Organic Chemistry II Lab	3 1 3 1	3 3
MSU-Mankato	320 321 331	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II Organic Chemistry II Lab	5 2 1	3 3
MSU-Moorhead	350 355 360 365	Survey of Organic Chemistry I Survey of Organic Chemistry I Lab Survey of Organic Chemistry II Survey of Organic Chemistry II Lab	3 1 3 1	3 3
St. Cloud State	310 311	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 4	3 3
Southwest State	351 352	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Winona State	350 351	Principles of Organic Chemistry I Principles of Organic Chemistry II	4 5	3 4
2-year State Colleges
Anoka-Ramsey TC	2061 2062	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Central Lakes	2472 2473	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Century	2041 2042	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Fergus Falls CC	2224 2225	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Fond du Lac Tribal & CC	2010 2011	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Hibbing CC	2710 2720	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	2 2
Inver Hills CC	2061 2062	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Itasca CC	2201 2202	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Lake Superior	2110 2111	Elementary Organic Chemistry I Elementary Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Mesabi Range CTC	2512 2513	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Minneapolis CTC	2204 2224 2205 2225	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry I Lab Organic Chemistry II Organic Chemistry II Lab	4 2 4 2	4 4
Minnesota West CTC	2201 2202	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Normandale CC	2061 2062	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
North Hennepin CC	2061 2062	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Northland CTC	2211 2212	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Rainy River CC	2610 2620	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Ridgewater	261 262	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	4 4
Riverland CC	2201 2202 2203 2204	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry I Lab Organic Chemistry II Organic Chemistry II Lab	3 1 3 1	3 3
Rochester CTC	2127 2128	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3
Vermilion CC	2512 2513	Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II	5 5	3 3