1. Describing Your Geoscience Program: A Visualization
On a big post-it note, describe the geoscience program at your institution.
Geoscience at <name of your college/campus>
Illustrate the structure, components, and size of your geoscience program as it is (even if different from how it might be “on the books”).
Focus on courses, not extracurricular activities
Add geoscience courses taught by other programs/departments and indicate that in your visualization
Indicate programs that require or recommend one or more of your courses
Include number of faculty
Illustrate the various student pathways and touchpoints as students pass through the geoscience program, noting any known patterns about these passages. For example, students:
completing a transfer pathway in geoscience - include the most common transfer schools
completing an AAS or a workforce degree or certificate program
completing other degree programs that require or recommend a geoscience course
fulfilling gen ed requirement(s)
Consider how you might use the resulting visual to introduce your program to your administrator and others.

2. Geosciences at Highline College
Pathway
Touchpoint
Transfer to a 4YCU geoscience program in Washington, most
often CWU and WWU
General education
(math/science, lab, science requirement)
Transfer not in geoscience
Geology Program
Typically no Assoc. Degree
Students often take a second 100-level geology course. They can take courses in any order.
Supporting science courses
(Math, Chem, Physics)
One-credit field courses
Mount St. Helens
Seattle Fault
Geology of the Cascades
Puget Sound Geology
Seattle Landslides
Fire, Fault and Floods
(many students take several or even all)
100-level courses with lab: Geology and the Environment, Physical Geology, Intro to Paleontology, Local Environmental Issues
100-level courses (no lab): Shaping the Earth, Earthquake!, Geologic Catastrophes, Global Climate Change and Introduction to Field Methods
100-level Cooperative experience (Internship)
Second geology course
First geology course
Geoscience Courses in Other Departments:
Oceanography, Global Environmental Issues; Physical Geography
Faculty – 1 tenured, 1 non-tenured full-time, 2-3 adjunct

3. Faculty – 1 tenured, 1 non-tenured full-time, 2-3 adjunct
Geosciences at Highline College:
Geology Program
Pathway: Students take 2+ Geology 100-level courses (any order)  Supporting science courses (math, chem, physics) skip the assoc. degree transfer to 4YCU in Washington (most common destinations are CWU and WWU )Bachelor’s degree
Faculty – 1 tenured, 1 non-tenured full-time, 2-3 adjunct
Geology Courses Students often take two 100-level geology courses. They can take courses in any order.
100-level courses with lab: Geology and the Environment, Physical Geology, Intro to Paleontology, Local Environmental Issues
100-level courses (no lab): Shaping the Earth, Earthquake!, Geologic Catastrophes, Global Climate Change and Introduction to Field Methods
100-level Cooperative experience (Internship)
One-credit field courses many students take several or even all: Mount St. Helens; Seattle Fault; Geology of the Cascades; Puget Sound Geology; Seattle Landslides; Fire, Fault and Floods
Geoscience Courses in Other Departments: Oceanography, Global Environmental Issues; Physical Geography
Touchpoint: Student takes one lab science or science to fulfill general transfer degree requirement  student transfers not in geoscience field to a 4YCU

4. Reflection questions Which pathway or touchpoint is most successful?
Which needs most attention?
Is there a pathway you wish existed?
Although you don’t have the data with you, can you estimate which pathways or touchpoints drive your enrollment most?