Interdepartmental (BIO/CHM/HPR/PSY)
___________________
Department/Unit
College Priority No.
Program title: Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience
Dean's signature:_______________________________________________________
Dean's signature:_______________________________________________________
Dean's signature:_______________________________________________________
Check one of the following:
___ NON-DEGREE PROGRAM
X DEGREE PROGRAM
(degree, curriculum, major, minor, concentration,
graduate option and graduate emphasis)
Submission date: 3-20-98
Check year of proposed implementation:
date of enrollment of first class:
___97-98
x 98-99
___99-2000
___2000-2001
I. Description of Proposed New Program,
including objectives and activities.
The proposed Neuroscience Program for Central Michigan University is a multidisciplinary program, integrating courses from four departments: Biology, Chemistry, Health Promotion and Rehabilitation, and Psychology. The core curriculum of the proposed program will be a combination of foundation courses, of which many are currently required for majors in Biology and Psychology (see Appendix A). The major objective of the proposed Neuroscience Program is to provide students with the requisite academic background, technical skills, and hands-on research experience that will allow them to successfully compete for neuroscience-related jobs in the private and public sectors, or to gain admission to high-quality graduate or professional schools. Students in the proposed program will receive a solid theoretical foundation, as well as gaining high-level technical skills and extensive research experience. Students who complete this program will receive excellent training for technical and/or research positions in either the private or public sectors, including jobs as technicians or research assistants in pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, or hospitals. In addition, the Program will provide excellent preparation for students who go on for graduate training in neuroscience, physiology, toxicology, anatomy, neuropharmacology, neurochemistry, neuropsychology, and other related disciplines. Finally, the Program will also complement the curriculum of students who are preparing for further study in professional schools, such as medical, veterinary, dental, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, or physician assistant programs.
The Program is designed to meet these objectives by providing all students with a solid core curriculum, along with sufficient flexibility to allow each student to tailor their coursework to meet their individual objectives. Because many of the required courses for the Program are also required for a major in Biology or Psychology, it will be possible for interested students to major in one of these disciplines (or a related pre-professional area) in addition to obtaining a major in neuroscience. A double major may be advantageous to some students who are applying for certain jobs or for further graduate or professional training.
In addition to the coursework, other critical activities in the proposed Program include a Senior Research Project and participation in a Neuroscience Research Seminar. Students will be required to complete a research project as part of their required coursework (PSY 496 or BIO 403) and will be required to present their research in the Neuroscience Research Seminar. These activities will integrate what the student has learned in his or her courses with the hands-on research experience they have acquired. The project will culminate in a major paper and oral research presentation, which will provide students with an excellent capstone experience. In addition to presenting their research results in the Neuroscience Research Seminar course, each student will be required to publicly disseminate their findings through publication or presentation at a local (e.g., CMU Student Research and Creativity Exposition), regional, national, or international conference.
II. Rationale for Program: please address the evaluative guidelines which will be used by Academic Planning Council. (copy attached)
1. Mission of the University
The goals and activities of the proposed Neuroscience Program are consistent with the mission of Central Michigan University. Of the goals listed in the CMU Mission Statement, the objectives of the proposed Neuroscience Program are most closely aligned to goals 1, 2, 5, and 9.
The first goal in the CMU Mission Statement is to "provide a quality, liberal undergraduate education designed to serve as preparation for a thoughtful life of service to the community, and as a base for future academic and professional work." The proposed Neuroscience Program is in concert with this goal by providing students with a relatively broad background in science within an interdisciplinary context and perspective. It will foster high-level academic skills that extend well beyond the rapidly changing course content. Specifically, students will develop the skills to adapt new information and emerging methodologies and technological advances in rather diverse areas of science and successfully integrate them to help solve both academic and practical problems in our society.
The second goal in the CMU Mission Statement refers to offering "in-depth undergraduate programs in which students can begin to master an academic field, including its particular research practices, and as appropriate, become prepared to practice a profession." The addition of the Neuroscience Program will help fulfill this mission, by offering a growing number of students and prospective students a new educational program that will better prepare them for their varied roles as future professionals in neuroscience or related areas (e.g., neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychophysiologists, etc.). As our society increases its demand for specialized training in emerging neuroscience-related disciplines, there will be an increasing need for students to have an in-depth focus in neuroscience-related areas, in addition to a broad scientific and liberal undergraduate education. The proposed Program is designed to offer students the opportunity to focus on coursework and research that are most germane to neuroscience-related areas.
The fifth goal in the CMU Mission Statement refers to contributing "to the general advancement and dissemination of knowledge by stimulating and supporting the research, scholarship, and creative activities of its students, faculty, and staff." The strong emphasis on research in the proposed Program is consistent with this goal. All graduates of the proposed Neuroscience Program will have completed at least one major research project that will be publicly disseminated. This is a vital component to any research-intensive program, and the proposed Program will heavily emphasize this critical aspect of each student's educational experience.
The ninth goal in the CMU Mission Statement refers to employing "the latest electronic technologies for the processing and dissemination of information; provide access and training in the use of such technologies to all students, faculty, and staff; and develop new modes of instruction and educational outreach using such technologies." The proposed Program will demand highly sophisticated technical skills and expertise in the use of state-of-the-art technology by the students, faculty, and staff in the Program. Because the field of neuroscience is on the cutting-edge of technological advancements, students will become familiar with using computerized equipment and instrumentation for data collection, analysis, and dissemination of their results. Both the Brain Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychology and the Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Biology are equipped with a vast array of advanced technological equipment and instruments. Students in the Program will use these highly sophisticated, digitized instruments to make a variety of measurements that are needed in neuroscience research, ranging from monitoring behavioral changes to microscopic examination of chemical changes that occur in a single nerve cell.
2. Academic Priorities
As an interdisciplinary major, the proposed program in neuroscience stems primarily from two "Category 1: High Priority" programs (as listed in the "Program Review--Phase II of the Division of Academic Affairs" on January 25, 1995). Both the Biology and the Psychology undergraduate programs received this high priority distinction. The rationale for the Biology rating was: "priority program within the department; central to the university mission; increasing student demand." The rationale for the Psychology rating was: "central to the university mission; strong liberal arts program; largest authorized major on campus; high market demand." In addition, both the Department of Biology and the Department of Psychology have been "Centers for Excellence" at CMU. Both of these departments strongly support the development of the Neuroscience Program, and both departments are committed to ensuring that the Program will maintain the highest standards.
3. Quality
The proposed Program will maintain the high standards of quality that have been a tradition among all faculty members who will be participating in the proposed Program. The curriculum for the proposed program is composed of courses taught by faculty members in the Biology, Chemistry, Health Promotion and Rehabilitation and Psychology departments. The faculty members from these departments who will be teaching the courses in the proposed Program have excellent reputations as teachers, researchers, and mentors. The co-directors of the proposed program (Dunbar and Scheide) both have strong credentials in teaching, research, service, and grantsmanship. The co-directors have been successful in placing their students in prestigious doctorate programs and have earned excellent reputations for training students.
The present facilities and equipment are adequate to start a high quality undergraduate program in neuroscience. Both co-directors and many of their colleagues who will be involved in the Program have been successful in obtaining funding for equipment that is used in undergraduate teaching and research. The library resources are also adequate for the proposed program. The library presently subscribes to most of the major journals for biology (309 journals), chemistry (132 journals), and psychology (204 journals). The offerings in these areas are extensive because all three of these disciplines have active graduate programs. In addition, the library already subscribes to many of the major journals in neuroscience. The current holdings in all of these areas are rather extensive. Presently, there are approximately 12,000 volumes in Biology, 16,000 volumes in Chemistry, 20,000 volumes in Psychology, and there are already over 700 volumes in Neuroscience. In addition, the database and search vehicles that are available through the library augments the current offerings. With online capabilities through the internet and current databases through Medline and PsychLit, there is sufficient technology to conduct rapid literature searches. In addition. the library offers an inter-library loan service for literature that may not be available in-house.
Although the present facilities are adequate for a small number of students during the initial stages of the implementation of the proposed Program, there will be a need for additional laboratory space and equipment as the Program grows. Presently, the Brain Research Laboratory is equipped to handle only a small class size (no more than 15 students at one time). However, there is an increasing need to accommodate 20 more students, and this need will become more acute when students opt to major in neuroscience. The Department of Psychology has requested permission to hire an additional faculty member who would contribute to the development of the proposed Program. The addition of another behavioral neuroscientist is needed to help cover existing course offerings in the Department. The expectation is that the new hire would need laboratory space for teaching special laboratory classes and for supervising student research, as well as conducting his or her own research projects. The addition of a new faculty member and additional laboratory space would ensure the high quality of the Program would not be compromised when the projected growth in the number of neuroscience majors occurs. In addition, it would ensure continuity when other core faculty members obtain a reduction in teaching load when they successfully compete for research grants, when they take sabbatical leaves, leaves of absence, or other similar circumstances.
4. Resources
The major resource needs for the proposed Neuroscience Program will be start-up funds and laboratory space for a new faculty member who would actively participate in the Program. The Department of Psychology has placed hiring a behavioral neuroscientist, who also would contribute to the proposed Program, as one of the Department's priorities. The new hire would replace one of our retiring faculty members (Bowlby) and would teach courses that were previously taught by Dr. Michael Kent (who is now Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Services). In searching for outstanding candidates for this position, it will be necessary to offer competitive start-up funds and sufficient laboratory space to attract the very best people. Reconverting Rowe 205 back into laboratory space is one suggested option to solve the need for laboratory space. It would cost approximately $75,000 to make this conversion. An additional $25,000 would be needed for start-up funds.
5. Impact
When fully operational, the Program is expected to graduate approximately 30 students each year. It is anticipated that nearly half of these students will have an additional major in some related area. The Program would positively impact a large number of faculty and students indirectly, and would bolster current programs at the University in two important ways. First, it would attract a new group of excellent students who want to major in neuroscience, but presently opt to choose other schools because CMU does not offer this major. The addition of high caliber, and highly motivated students would enhance the level of discussions and performance in the biology, chemistry, health promotion and rehabilitation, and psychology courses that they would be taking. Secondly, the interdisciplinary nature of the program would bring faculty members from the different disciplines closer together and would foster more inter-departmental cooperation and collaborations. This has a positive impact on both faculty and students involved in several different programs.
6. Cost Effectiveness
The major cost of the Program will be the one-time cost of setting up a neuroscience laboratory for a new faculty member, who will be a primary faculty member in the Program. As indicated above, this new faculty position has already received high priority in the Psychology Department, and as a replacement of a retired faculty member, would not constitute a new cost for the proposed Program. The cost would be further mitigated if the College and Department contribute some of the start-up funds for this new position. Additional funding for remodeling may become available from a National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement grant that will be submitted if this Program is approved by CMU. Thus, the total cost may be well under the $100,000 requested. Given this, and the high impact that the Program would offer to CMU, the cost effectiveness would be very favorable.
7. Alternative Programs
Presently, there are few alternatives to the proposed Program at CMU. Students with interests in neuroscience currently major in biology, chemistry, or psychology. However, they often are lacking the interdisciplinary perspective and experiences that would significantly enhance their undergraduate training in neuroscience. In addition, it is often difficult for students to receive adequate preparation in neuroscience through the traditional major in biology, chemistry, or psychology. Specifically, many psychology majors can not fulfill all the requirements of a psychology major and still obtain sufficient background in the areas of biology and chemistry, from which extensive coursework has become a growing expectation for admission into graduate programs in neuroscience. Similarly, students majoring in biology or chemistry find it difficult to complete all of the required courses for their major and also obtain the expected background in psychology. This is particularly difficult for students who decide they would like to pursue an advanced degree or career in neuroscience when they are already juniors. These advanced students often have to choose whether to stay an additional year or two in order to obtain adequate preparation in neuroscience or to make significant changes in their goals and aspirations, which can be quite disconcerting and frustrating for them. Presently, less than half of the students who are interested in neuroscience are able to fit in all of the necessary courses to adequately prepare them for neuroscience-related jobs or for further graduate study. The proposed Program remedies this situation by providing a comprehensive curriculum that provides adequate preparation in all these areas, and that can be completed within a two-year time period. Those students who have extensive coursework in-chemistry, biology, and/or psychology and who desire to pursue advanced training or a career in neuroscience will now have the option to pursue a double major (e.g., a major in biology and a major in neuroscience) to increase their marketability.
The proposed Program would be the first undergraduate program in Michigan
that has a neuroscience designator. Michigan State University offers a
neuroscience specialty area within their Psychology Department, and Wayne
State University has a biopsychology specialty area within the Psychology
Department. In addition, Grand Valley State University offers both a B.A.
and a B.S. degree in Biopsychology. However, all of these programs are
considerably different than the proposed Program, both in scope and in
the types of courses that are required. The proposed Program has a broader,
more interdisciplinary scope and requires more courses in biology and chemistry
than the programs at MSU and WSU, and more advanced coursework in biology,
chemistry, and psychology than is required in the Biopsychology Program
at GVSU. The distinguishing feature of the proposed Program is its multidisciplinary
approach and its emphasis on providing students with a more comprehensive
background in the biological and chemical aspects of neuroscience. The
programs at MSU and WSU, as part of the Psychology Department, focus more
on the behavioral aspects of neuroscience. The program at GVSU has a broader
scope than those at MSU and WSU, but does not offer some of the higher
level courses that are required in the proposed Program (e.g., PSY 587,
Functional Neuroanatomy and BIO 591, Neurophysiology). Thus, the proposed
Program differs on several important dimensions, when compared to existing
programs at other universities in Michigan, and would be the first program
in Michigan to offer a B.S. degree in Neuroscience.
III. Performance Measures
A. For each year, estimate the total number of
students enrolled:
___ 97-98 25 99-2000
10 98-99 40 2000-2001
B. How will the effectiveness of this program
be assessed?
The primary measure for program effectiveness will
be the percentage of graduates from the
Program that are either gainfully employed in neuroscience-related
area, or who have been
admitted to a graduate or professional school. A
realistic expectation would be that 80% of the
graduates from the Program should have jobs or be
in graduate or professional school within
three years of graduating from the Program. In addition,
criteria used to evaluate all programs at
CMU will be used and carefully monitored as measures
of the effectiveness of the Program. Such
things as graduation rates, student satisfaction,
employer ratings of our graduates, and success
rates of our Program graduates in graduate and professional
schools will provide further
measures of the effectiveness of the Program.
IV. Estimated cost of program: please identify as base expense
(B) or
one-time expense (1T).
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| Faculty FTE (number) | ||||
| Support Staff
a) number b) type c) cost |
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| CWS (number and cost) | ||||
| Other compensation (number and cost) including GSA | ||||
| Supplies and equipment
a) description b) cost |
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| Remodeling and space
a) description b)cost |
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Describe the assumptions of these budget costs, e.g., Why will x faculty be needed, etc.
Remodeling a small classroom into a neuroscience laboratory will cost
approximately $75,000. A portion of the cost assumes a need for rather
extensive plumbing adaptations that will be necessary for wet lab preparations.
A significant proportion of the cost will be supplying the laboratory with
standard laboratory furnishings, such as sinks, freezer, refrigerator,
laboratory benches, shelves, etc. The one-time start up costs of $25,000
would be used for specialized equipment needed by the newly hired behavioral
neuroscientist. This is the minimal amount that is typically offered to
newly hired neuroscientists.
V. How will these resources be obtained?
A. Faculty FTE
1. New FTE positions
to be created:
How:
____Increased enrollment at CMU
____New initiatives
____Grants/gifts
____Other
Please describe rationale for above response:
No new FTE will be requested for the proposed Program. However, the hiring of a new faculty member to replace one of the retired faculty members in the Psychology Department will be expected to contribute to the proposed Program.
2. FTE to be obtained through reallocation:
x within department/unit
____ within college
____ between colleges
Please describe the proposed reallocation. What is to be reduced?
See response to #1 above.
What impact will this have on that unit/dept/program/ college?
The addition of a new behavioral neuroscientist has already been indicated
as a high priority need by the Department. The faculty member will teach
courses in the Department which are currently taught by temporary instructors
(e.g., PSY 587, PSY 687, & PSY 588). Additionally, the new hire will
contribute to supervising undergraduate and graduate research, mentoring
of undergraduate and graduate students, serving on thesis and dissertation
committees, serving on Departmental, College, and University committees,
obtaining external funding, and engaging in scholarly activity. Because
these latter duties are not normally expected of our temporary hires, the
addition of the new faculty member will have an enormously positive impact
on the Department, College, and University.
B. Other staff position
1. New staff positions to be created:
____ Increased enrollment at CMU
____ New initiatives
____ Grants/gifts
____ Other
Please describe rationale for above response:
2. Staff FTE to be obtained through reallocation:
____ within college
____ between colleges
Please describe the proposed reallocation. What is to be reduced?
C. Resources for CWS, other compensation (including GSA), supplies and equipment.
1. Amount of new resources: $25,000
How:
____ Increased enrollment at CMU
x New initiatives
_ x Grants/gifts
____ Other
Please describe rationale for above response:
See rationale in Section IV above.
2. Amount of resources to be obtained through reallocation ____________
____ within department/unit
____ within college
____ between colleges
Please describe the proposed reallocation.
What is to be reduced?
What impact will this have on the unit/dept/program/college, the university?
Core Courses (39 credit hours)
Required (27 credit hours)
PSY 100 (3) Introduction to Psychology BIO 101 (3)General Biology
PSY 387 (3) Behavioral Neuroscience BIO 392 (4) Mammalian Physiology
PSY 588 (3) Functional Neuroanatomy BIO 591 (3) Neurophysiology
PSY 400 (2) Neuroscience Seminar -OR- BIO 497 (2) Neuroscience Seminar
PSY 211 (3) Intro Psych Stats -OR- BIO 500 (3) Biological Statistics -OR- HPR 544 (3) Biostatistics
PSY 496 (3) Directed Research -OR- BIO 403 (3) Undergraduate Research
Electives (12 credit hours)
Anatomical/Cellular courses (minimum of six credit hours):
HPR 214 (3) Human Anatomy BIO 337 (4) Comparative Anatomy
BIO 218 (3) General Zoology BIO 534 (3) Endocrinology
BIO 324 (3) Cell Biology BIO 552 (4) Transmission Electron Microscope Technique
BIO 326 (4) Genetics BIO 554 (4) Scanning Electron Microscope Technique
Behavioral/Psychopharmacological courses (minimum of six credit hours)
HPR 235 (3) Psychoactive Drugs BIO 518 (3) Animal Behavior
PSY 382 (3) Perception PSY 5xx (3) Psychophysiology
PSY 383 (3) Learning and Memory PSY 587 (3) Physiological Psychology I
PSY 384 (3) Behavior Analysis HPR 597 (3) Physio Responses to Abused Substances
Additional Program Hours (12-23)
CHM 120 (4) & 127 (1) -OR- CHM 131 (4) & 132 (4) -OR-
CHM 161 (5) & 211 (4)
-AND- CHM 342 (4) -OR- CHM 345 (3), 346 (3), & 349
(2)
-AND- CHM 421 (3) -OR- CHM 521 (3) & 522 (3)