ACTIONS (& INTENTIONS ….) Products (& Reflections …) NW-PULSE @ NW Biology instructors Conference 2015 What Is Our PULSE? Concordia University Portland Rici Hallstrand, Mihail Iordanov, Kaycee Gillespie VISION – Renew and realign the biology curriculum to create a vibrant education to help students achieve their professional goals. Photos should be at least 300dpi, but not more than 5-12 mgs each. Your poster is set to be enlarged 200% so do not change the page size to fit another poster size. Posters (3’ x 4’) will be printed at WWU using the same purchase order at the same time. Please email your poster as a PPT file to by Joann Otto at WWU by April 20, 2015. Please contact Joann Otto (Joann.Otto@wwu.edu) with questions about poster printing. Also please put your institution “logo” on your poster. Please note that this template is provided to simplify your effort to prepare a poster for the NW Biology meeting. You can change the font size, colors, column widths, add photos, institutional logos, graphics, etc. This template can also be used as a starting point and you can be as creative as you want in your poster. However, we would like to have all of the posters the same size and we will be printed at the same time, at the same print shop in order to easily pay for printing with one purchase order. MAIN GOAL– Introduce and analyze biology curriculum against the Vision & Change matrix ACTIONS (& INTENTIONS ….) BARRIERS & CHALLENGES Products (& Reflections …) Ideas of the V&C document were shared with the Dean. Initiated discussion of departmental structure based on conversation with our mentor. Shared proposal of new biology curriculum structure to the department. Old ways die hard CU is amidst a university wide reorganization, and creates university wide tension. Academic advising was centralized – changed level of interaction with biology majors Fragmented sense of vision within the department. Following intense discussion the department decided to remain a multidiscipline department. We have decided to scale down our goal to a more manageable one; create a practicum prep & understanding the major course. STRENGTHS & LEVERAGE SUSTAINABILITY Combined Math/Chemistry/Biology department. Ability to communicate easily and effectively amongst disciplines. Supportive Dean with an open door policy. Also easy to communicate with. RESOURCES & ALLIES Continuing dialogue with the NW-PULSE, NW-BIO, and/or other local, regional or national networks. Developing positive working relationships with related programs at CU (nursing and ESS) and academic services (student advising) NW-PULSE collaborations (NW-PULSE cohorts 2). Local professional alumni Supportive Dean FUTURE GOALS Short-term Goals: analyze the program against the V&C matrix Long-term Goals: revise biology curriculum & formalize SURI (Summer Undergraduate Research Institute) This work was supported in part by an NSF RCN UBE award # 1345033.