College of Charleston, B.S., A.B., Environmental Geosciences
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ACAP, 3/25/2021 2.j NEW PROGRAM PROPOSAL FORM Name of Institution: College of Charleston Name of Program (include degree designation and all concentrations, options, or tracks): Environmental Geosciences B.S, A.B. Program Designation: Associate’s Degree Master’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree: 4 Year Specialist Bachelor’s Degree: 5 Year Doctoral Degree: Research/Scholarship (e.g., Ph.D. and DMA) Doctoral Degree: Professional Practice (e.g., Ed.D., D.N.P., J.D., Pharm.D., and M.D.) Consider the program for supplemental Palmetto Fellows and LIFE Scholarship awards? Yes No Proposed Date of Implementation: August 2021 CIP Code: 40.0699 Delivery Site(s): College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, Main Campus Delivery Mode: Traditional/face-to-face Distance Education *select if less than 25% online 100% online Blended/hybrid (50% or more online) Blended/hybrid (25-49% online) Other distance education (explain if selected) Program Contact Information (name, title, telephone number, and email address): Timothy Callahan, Ph.D. Professor and Chair of Geology and Environmental Geosciences. 843- 953-5589. [email protected] Institutional Approvals and Dates of Approval (include department through Provost/Chief Academic Officer, President, and Board of Trustees approval): Department 08/18/2020 Dean, School of Sciences and Mathematics 08/20/2020 Office of Institutional Effectiveness 08/21/2020 Office of the Provost 09/02/2020 Faculty Curriculum Committee 09/13/2020 Budget Committee 09/21/2020 Academic Planning Committee 09/24/2020 Faculty Senate 10/06/2020 Board of Trustees 10/16/2020 1 ACAP, 3/25/2021 2.j Background Information State the nature and purpose of the proposed program, including target audience, centrality to institutional mission, and relation to the strategic plan. Nature and Purpose of Environmental Geosciences As society faces increased environmental pressures and a larger need for knowledgeable and trained geoscientists and geologists, we will be able to help meet this future demand. The proposed Environmental Geosciences major will offer an interdisciplinary curriculum that will help them prepare for the challenging nature of environmental problems including climate change, emerging pollutants, alternate energy resources, and sustainable solutions. Environmental Geosciences majors will gain a strong “systems approach” knowledge base and problem-solving skills that will allow them to apply their coursework and experiential learning experience to solving problems in many different fields. Currently, the College of Charleston's faculty in Geology and Environmental Geosciences offers degrees in Geology (B.S. or B.A.), and the structure of the Geology programs makes environmentally-focused courses available to those students as electives. We have developed a core curriculum that is timely, that draws from key themes in growing career areas, and builds on the interests of students to develop skills and the knowledge-base to be leaders in environmental fields of the Geosciences. Central to Institutional Mission and Strategic Plan This program directly matches the mission of the College of Charleston's newly adopted strategic plan: “a public university grounded in the principles of the liberal arts and committed to developing ethically centered, intellectually versatile, and globally fluent citizens who create innovative solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges”(http://www.cofc.edu/strategicplan/strategic-plan-framework- 050620-v3.pdf, May 2020). Environmental Geosciences issues and problems are inherently global in nature, and our institution has faculty with active teaching and research programs in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia who will serve the new program's students. Specifically, this program will help achieve 3 of the 5 strategies that pertain to our new strategic plan's "Academic Distinction" goal: Strategy 3: Identify and develop signature undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs and institutes that will advance our profile as a national university. Strategy 4: Make experiential learning a differentiator of the College of Charleston educational experience. Strategy 5: Support and incentivize faculty to lead the way in implementing innovative teaching models and contributing to cutting-edge research. Target Audience This will be the first Environment-related undergraduate major at the College of Charleston. We currently have the Environmental and Sustainability Studies minor (ENVT), whose students may be interested in adding the Environmental Geosciences major. We also plan to market our courses to ENVT students as elective courses, when appropriate. We also aim to increase the diversity of our programs (our existing programs are the Geology B.A. and Geology B.S.) by increasing our marketing activity to raise awareness about the Geosciences as a discipline. A formal degree program in Environmental Geosciences will attract high school students who are aware of, and experienced in environmental and earth science. Furthermore, transfer students and military veterans often obtain background coursework and training that can serve as a foundation for Geosciences degree programs. For example, Trident Technical College (TTC) has Environmental Health and Safety courses that provide professional training in 1) occupational safety and 2) hazardous waste 2 ACAP, 3/25/2021 2.j management, which are two examples of useful courses for careers in Environmental Geosciences. We plan to serve such transfer students from TTC and other institutions. Assessment of Need Provide an assessment of the need for the program for the institution, the state, the region, and beyond, if applicable. As previously stated, the Mission Statement of the College of Charleston's newly adopted strategic plan reads "a public university grounded in the principles of the liberal arts and committed to developing ethically centered, intellectually versatile, and globally fluent citizens who create innovative solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges." Since no bachelor's degree program focused on "environmental" issues exists at the College of Charleston, this new Environmental Geosciences program will be a critical reinforcement of the institution's mission and strategic plan. Based on a November 2017 survey of Geology alumni, College of Charleston graduates have found employment in the private sector and government agencies, and a significant number of these jobs are in the environmental sectors: e.g., environmental consulting firms, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the SC Department of Natural Resources (and analogous agencies in other states), and the US Geological Survey, for example. Our graduates in such environmental-related sectors reported specific elective coursework--at the College and elsewhere--that assisted in their career development. Survey respondents from our Geology graduates also reported their post-baccalaureate experiences in graduate programs with emphasis on environmental specialty areas: e.g., climate change, environmental pollution, and hydrology, for example. Included with this proposal, please find industry support letters from the Charleston Waterkeeper, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR), South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium; SCS Engineers, Inc., and Charleston County. In the section below on Employment Opportunities, data from various sources demonstrate the demand for this program, including SCWorks.org, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network, the American Geosciences Institute, and US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Transfer and Articulation Identify any special articulation agreements for the proposed program. Provide the articulation agreement or Memorandum of Agreement/Understanding. N/A 3 ACAP, 3/25/2021 2.j Employment Opportunities State National Expected Expected Number of Employment Number of Employment Occupation Jobs Projection Jobs Projection Data Type and Source Environmental Scientists and 17% growth 8% growth Specialists 720* (2016-2026) 92,000 (2018-2028) SCWorks.org; O*NET 8% growth 7% growth Hydrologists 130 (2016-2026) 7,100 (2018-2028) O*NET Geological Sample 20% growth 7% growth Test Technicians 60 (2016-2026) 17,400 (2018-2028) O*NET Environmental Science and Protection 14% growth 9% growth Technicians 250 (2016-2026) 38,000 (2018-2028) O*NET *As of August, 8, 2020 there were 627 open positions on SCWorks.org under the heading of “environmental” or “environmental science”. The projected increase is 17% for these jobs. Supporting Evidence of Anticipated Employment Opportunities Provide supporting evidence of anticipated employment opportunities for graduates. SCWorks.org: There is a high demand for environmental professionals in South Carolina. SCWorks.org is the State’s largest workforce development database. A query, run on August 8, 2020 with "environmental" keyword in the job title and with a Bachelor’s degree as a requirement or preference yielded 627 open positions and despite the current employment impact due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Position titles available included: Environmental and Recycling Coordinator Health, Safety and Environmental Coordinator, Director Safety Health Environmental, Environmental Project manager, Environmental Health Manager, Assistant Director of Environmental Services, Environmental Scientist, Supervisor of Environmental Services, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Services Tech, Environmental Services Aid, Associate Director of Operations and Sustainability Coordinator,