SACS Reaffirmation
| Objective | G1 O1 | |
| The program will consistently strive to improve the quality of its program by making adjustments to its curriculum as needed. Associated Goals: Goal 1 - Quality of Program |
| Indicator | G1 O1 I1 The department will, as needed, seek input from a variety of sources, including Professional Advisory Councils and Student Advisory Councils, and will use that input as the basis for modifying the curriculum. |
| Criteria | G1 O1 I1 C1 Curriculum will be modified in response to input |
| Finding | GEL Curriculum Quality Council (now disbanded) plus phone and e-mail inputs received. Curriculum to be reviewed. |
| Finding | GEL program Quality Curriculum is too narrowly conceived. Major overhaul of curriculum required to more squarely face petroleum/energy industry foci. |
| Action | Program Quality Poor responses for broad survey. This will be replaced by targeted surveys by phone and e-mail to specific constituencies |
| Objective | G1 O2 | |
| The Department will seek to ensure that the quality of our instruction is rated as satisfactory or better by our students. Associated Goals: Goal 1 - Quality of Program |
| Indicator | G1 O2 I1 The Department uses the IDEA evaluation system as well as peer-evaluation. |
| Criteria | G1 O2 I1 C1 The scores on the IDEA form (summary score) must be rated consistently as "average" or above, and the peer evaluations must be deemed acceptable by departmental peers. |
| Finding | Teaching Quality All GEL faculty have at least one course per semester in the satisfactory gray band on the IDEA form. |
| Action | Teaching Quality IDEA instrument mandated by University therefore we will continue to monitor our performance by this means. Exit data give more information about overall outputs of faculty and will be exploited more fully in the future. |
| Objective | G1 O3 | |
| The department will strive to enhance the quality of instruction through the use of appropriate technology in the classroom and during lab activities. Associated Goals: Goal 1 - Quality of Program |
| Indicator | G1 O3 I1 In the past 5 years, the department has spent about $100,000 on audiovisual teaching equipment for our classrooms, and more than $170,000 on field equipment. The remote sensing lab contains about 12 computers with monitors worth about $30,000. The GIS lab just received (2007) an upgrade in computers and software worth $30,000. |
| Criteria | Classroom Technology All teaching, research and offices to be equipped with modern, effective technology |
| Finding | Classroom Technology All classrooms, labs and offices fully equipped. Tech support no longer in-house and proposal for sharing at College level to be prepared. |
| Action | GEL classroom technology All facilities fully equipped. Need for a College TECH already proposed to Dean Hebert. This is the only way to keep in front of specific needs. |
| Objective | G1 O4 | |
| The department will strive to enhance the quality of instruction through the use of field trips. Associated Goals: Goal 1 - Quality of Program |
| Indicator | G1 O4 I1 The Department will seek to increase the number of field trips offered to our students |
| Criteria | Field Teaching Measurable increase in field components to all courses, including a newly developing capstone "Field Camp: course |
| Finding | GEL Field Work All courses include a field element. Modular "Field Camp" to be discussed as a future expansion and changed timing of file training |
| Action | GEL Field Teaching Field element already included in all upper level courses. Field camp course to form a central skeleton of field experience distributed throughout degree program. Proposal development underway for field camp courses. |
| Objective | G1 O5 | |
| The department will increase the availability of its courses and its visibility by offering web courses. Associated Goals: Goal 1 - Quality of Program |
| Indicator | G1 O5 I1 The Department will add to and/or maintain the number of its web-based courses |
| Criteria | GEL web courses Addition of web-based lecture and lab courses beyond existing GEL133 |
| Finding | GEL Web Courses No increase in GEL web courses |
| Indicator | G2 O1 I1 Successful completion of major requirements and major electives |
| Criteria | G2 O1 I1 C2 Almost all majors in the geology program will complete their field camp with a grade of B or better. * This is an external validation given that our students take field camp through other universities. |
| Finding | Field Camp Success ALL GEL majors have complete external field camps with a grade B or better. |
| Action | GEL web courses Distance course offerings will be reassessed in the context of the impending major refocusing of the GEL curriculum. |
| Objective | G2 O1 | |
| Geology students will successfully complete courses that encompass the breadth of the discipline. Associated Goals: Goal 2 - Understanding of Discipline |
| Indicator | GEL Breadth Of Discipline Consider requiring all GEL majors to pass Texas professional Geologists exam as an external verification process. |
| Criteria | Profession Geologist exam majority of majors pass the professional geologists exam |
| Finding | GEL Discipline Breadth Presentation from officer of the Texas Board of professional Geologists convinces us that their exam is not broadly enough relevant. This measure will be terminated. |
| Action | GEL Discipline breadth Seems adequate given the narrow form of the major. However, will be drastically modified in the future given the proposed expansion and separation of Geology from Geography. Program revision has commenced. |
| Objective | G3 O1 | |
| The Department will seek modify its curriculum as needed in order to meet this goal. Based on input from our advisory councils and other sources, the department determined that it needed to add the following courses to its curriculum:
a) Added Remote Sensing - added 2005
b) Hired a new faculty line for purposes of teaching remote sensing
c) Added course a Geochemistry course in 2006
d) Added course dealing with energy and the environment in 2006
e) Proposed a Forensic Geology course in 2007
f) Proposed a Basin Sea Level geology course in 2007
g) Proposed a Methods in Applied Geophysics course in 2007
h) Added new faculty line to teach geophysics
Associated Goals: Goal 3 - Professional and Technical Skills |
| Indicator | G3 O1 I1 The success of our program, as defined in terms of the success of our graduates, is measured using an Alumni Survey that is given periodically. |
| Criteria | Instructional Technology All labs and lecture rooms equipped. |
| Criteria | P&T Skills Geochemistry added. Forensic Geology added. Basin/Sea Level added. Intro. geophysics added. |
| Finding | P&T Skills Alumni input has been eclipsed by expansion and necessary recasting of the whole curriculum. Revision underway. |
| Action | P&T Technical Skills Major revision of whole program underway. All the linked issues will flow into this revision. |