Curriculum Committee Proposal New Academic Plan
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New Academic Plan
If this new plan is not listed in the current NAU academic program inventory, then you must first complete the academic planning framework If this is a new certificate that will be eligible for federal financial aid, then please submit the gainful employment application. All Plans with CAEP designation, or plans seeking CAEP designation, must include an CAEP Accreditation Memo of Approval from the NAU CAEP administrator prior to submission.
Section I 4. Justification for new academic plan. Ensure your justification describes how the proposed plan is related to the short and long-term goals of the Academic Unit, College, and/or University. (If the justification is the same as the response to #1 of the Academic Planning Framework Full Proposal, copy and paste the response here). Informatics centers on the intersection of computational and data sciences with engineering, the natural and social sciences, the arts, and business. The analysis of large-scale data sets and associated software development expertise in this area are continuing to be central in modern interdisciplinary scholarship and practice. The formation of the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS) in the College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences (CEFNS) and NAU’s investments in building research capacity within this unit provide an important opportunity to broaden the impact of these investments to undergraduate students. We propose enabling the university to take advantage of this opportunity by developing a new Bachelor of Science in Informatics (BSI) program. The design of the BSI is driven by the following key goals: • Leverage NAU’s strengths in interdisciplinary research to provide educational opportunities for students that support professional as well as graduate study goals; • Support improvements in multiple metrics associated with university strategic goals; • Develop curricular structures that support interdisciplinary learning and foster the development of research capacity across departmental boundaries; • Efficiently leverage existing resources and course offerings, thus enabling the success of this new degree program during a time of constrained resources; and • Appeal to high-achieving students and support NAU’s recruitment efforts in building an academically-strong student body. To meet these goals, we envision a program design that provides rigorous training through a credible balance between expertise in computing and key scientific areas. The program centers on an informatics core that consists of existing coursework from computer science, mathematics, statistics, and electrical engineering. This core is complemented by a selection of cognate emphasis areas that reflect existing and emerging areas of strength for NAU. Student achievement in courses from both the core and emphasis areas in the first year determine entry into the remainder of the BSI program, and it is important to note that students who do not enter the program are very well-positioned to pursue alternative majors and remain on track for four-year graduation. While the coursework associated with the program provides students with essential expertise, a key element of the proposed BSI program is the adoption of problem-based learning through explicitly-required undergraduate research. This research element grounds the third and fourth years of the program and allows students to fuse the expertise they’ve gained in their courses through interdisciplinary application. In addition, students will contribute to the university’s research productivity by advancing their mentor’s research program, with faculty mentors being drawn from among SICCS faculty as well as faculty from our collaborators in other academic units. Problem- based learning that is structured around authentic scientific questions is particularly important in this area as it develops the type of skill set valued by employers and graduate programs alike. For the initial launch of this program, we propose establishing three emphases: Bioinformatics, Ecoinformatics, and Astroinformatics. After the program’s initial launch, we aim to continue developing additional emphases in collaboration with partner units across the institution, which is eased by a curriculum that is based on a broadly applicable informatics core and modularly designed emphases. Our proposal enjoys strong support from our collaborators in the Departments of Biological Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Mathematics and Statistics. In addition, we are also supported by the Honors College. This interdisciplinary degree program will broaden the impact of SICCS’s formation on NAU’s undergraduate students, create a program specifically aimed at high-achieving students, and complement SICCS’s and the university’s research mission. While this program will certainly support students should they elect to move on to graduate study, it will also provide strong professional and career preparation for entering the workforce. Establishing this program will also directly support increases across a range of Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) performance measures, such as the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded and undergraduate enrollment. Our proposed design exhibits the following key features: • Milestoned and selective: Study in the BSI program begins with a year-long pre-major course sequence consisting of computing, mathematics, statistics, and emphasis-specific coursework that predicate entry into the program; • Preserving of student success: Pre-major coursework draws on early components of existing degree programs. As a result, students failing to meet requirements for admission to the BSI remain on track for timely graduation in other degree programs (e.g. B.S. in Computer Science or Biology for students in the Bioinformatics emphasis) and are well positioned to augment their degrees with informatics-related minors. • Problem-based: The BSI strongly integrates interdisciplinary research as a core element of the program, with research projects—mentored by a research-active SICCS faculty member or affiliate—providing opportunities for authentic problem-based learning. This structure provides students the opportunity to stand out in the job market and be highly-competitive for either employment or a broad range of graduate programs. • Interdisciplinarily integrated: The BSI reflects the interdisciplinary nature of informatics practice and research by building an integrated degree program that credibly balances core and emphasis expertise to a much greater extent than through currently available means (for example, by combining a natural sciences major with a computer science minor or vice versa). • Efficient: With a curriculum that is based on an integrative synthesis of existing coursework and leveraging existing faculty research activities, the proposed program minimizes the need for additional resources. From a structural perspective, the BSI degree program also provides an important pathway to interdisciplinary study that is currently lacking. While students may pursue expertise in applications of computing within current curricular structures by combining a major in a primary discipline and a minor in a secondary area (i.e. a major in computer science with a minor in one of the natural sciences or vice versa), this combination is heavily imbalanced and commonly results in self-taught skill sets that lack appropriate depth in the secondary discipline. Pursuing a double major is one way to address this challenge, but scaffolded curricular structures commonly result in graduation timelines that extend past four years. The proposed BSI program provides a balanced interdisciplinary curriculum that remains completable in four years. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM The proposed BSI program aims to support a number of institutional goals and regional workforce needs while strengthening SICCS’s research-focused mission. Contributions to Institutional and ABOR Goals The proposed degree program is strategically crafted to strengthen SICCS’s research mission, support important University strategic goals, and increase performance measures (http://nau.edu/Strategic-Planning/Goals-and-Strategies). More specifically, the proposed program is aimed to: • Support the goal of “promot[ing] high levels of student access, engagement, achievement, and affordability” by creating a degree program for high-achieving students in a cutting-edge area with high employability and significant future growth potential. These means adopt the strategy of “improv[ing] student learning and achievement.” • Support the goal of “expand[ing] the boundaries of knowledge to improve lives” by focusing on developing an undergraduate degree program with interdisciplinary research at its core. By strongly adopting research-centric elements, such as a multi-year research capstone and direct mentorship by research-active faculty, this program adopts the strategy of “generat[ing] nationally recognized science, art, and scholarship.” The proposed program’s focus on inter- disciplinary research combining computer science with the natural sciences in current research areas adopts the strategy of “provid[ing] cutting-edge training and learning opportunities to students.” Establishing this degree program have a direct positive impact on a number of ABOR performance measures (http://nau.edu/Strategic-Planning/Performance-Measures), including the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded and undergraduate enrollment by offering a new degree program that is likely to be particularly appealing for high-achieving students, and the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in high-demand fields by focusing on areas of significant workforce need (see following section for more details). Contributions to the State and Nation The increasing centrality of data-intensive analysis and software development for engineering and scientific work continues to reinforce the importance of developing informatics training programs, such as the one proposed here. Since informatics—and its associated sub-disciplines of computer science and data analysis—have long been identified as key areas of national workforce needs (Lacey, T., and Wright, B. Occupational employment projections to 2018. Monthly Labor Review 132, 11 (2009), 82–123; President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Engage to excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Tech. rep., Feb. 2012) the undergraduate program proposed has the potential to make important contributions to the State and Nation’s workforce demands. The BSI program will also join existing undergraduate programs in related areas in supporting ongoing efforts to grow and diversify Arizona’s economy in informatics-centric areas, which have been identified as critical to the State’s future (azcommerce.com/industries/technology-innovation, aztechcouncil.org/serving-arizona/aztc-foundation). PROGRAM NEED Based on our research, the degree program we propose is unique among other state and regional university offerings, distinguished in content by its emphasis on balancing computer science with science expertise and in design by the centrality of undergraduate research and a focus on high- achieving students. Our analysis of related programs focuses on examining undergraduate degrees at public institutions with a general focus on informatics as a broad and interdisciplinary field, and omits significantly more specialized offerings, such as degrees in Biomedical Informatics from University of Arizona or Bioinformatics from University of California. Arizona University of Arizona (UA) offers a Bachelor’s of Applied Science (AS) in its UASouth campuses. All AS degrees share a common six-course core with Informatics being among the degree’s emphases—within the Informatics emphasis, students may also select a track from the following options: Educational Technology, Information Management, Software Development, and Systems Administration. When compared to UA’s emphases that are focused on career paths within general-purpose computing application domains, our proposed program is differentiated by its emphasis on the application of computing to the sciences and cutting-edge research problems. We also note that our envisioned program is specifically aimed to support high-achieving students interested in engaging in research as early as possible rather than the general student population. Arizona State University (ASU) offers a Bachelor’s in Informatics focused on preparing students for careers in developing software for various domains. This degree consists of a computer science core that addresses mathematical foundations, programming, and data structures alongside electives in web-based systems and human computer interaction. The degree supports digital culture studies, enterprise informatics, game informatics, and geo-informatics focus areas. Similar to the UA degree, most of the emphases of the ASU offering are focused on general computing application domains. While the geo-informatics focus area of the ASU Informatics degree is closely related to our vision of natural science cognate areas, our proposed degree program is differentiated by a focus on multiple natural science areas in addition to the distinguishing focus on undergraduate research. California The California State University system does not offer related undergraduate programs. In the University of California system, only the UC Irvine (UCI) campus offers an undergraduate degree in Informatics with two available specializations: Human-Computer Interaction and Organizations and Information Technology. Though it includes elective coursework from social sciences and public health, the UCI degree program is primarily oriented toward software engineering specializations. Our focus on scientific applications and a research-centric student experience distinguishes our proposed program. Nevada
Utah There are no related offerings at Utah State University and University of Utah. Colorado The Colorado State University system does not offer related undergraduate degrees. The University of Colorado Boulder campus offers a Bachelor’s in Information Science, which focuses on human-data interactions and the analysis of large-scale digital media. Compared to this program’s focus on social aspects of computing, our proposal program is differentiated by its focus on the application of computing to the sciences. New Mexico There are no related offerings at University of New Mexico or New Mexico State University. 5. New academic plan purpose statement. Resources, Examples & Tools for Developing Program Purpose Statements The Bachelor of Science degree in Informatics aims to prepare students to apply their informatics expertise to an emphasis area of interest. By providing a broad foundation in computing and data analysis, consisting of computer science, programming, software engineering, statistics, and mathematics expertise, with in-depth study in an emphasis area, this program prepares graduates for a broad range of interdisciplinary careers in industry, government, and academic organizations or further post-graduate study. This program focuses on the practical application of computing and data analysis expertise to a broad range of domains. Study in this program is initially grounded in rigorous coursework that gives students the opportunity to master foundational computing and data analysis skills as well as gain in-depth knowledge in a scientific area closely associated with their emphasis, i.e. biology for the bioinformatics emphasis, ecology for the ecoinformatics emphasis, and astronomy for the astroinformatics emphasis. Continued study in the Informatics program is focused on undergraduate research and problem-based learning closely supervised by a faculty mentor with specialized expertise. Students in the bioinformatics emphasis will focus on applications and building expertise in cellular and molecular biology, including genetic and genomic analyses and the study of microbiology and disease mechanisms. Students in the ecoinformatics emphasis will have opportunities to study ecosystem and microorganism dynamics with applications in conservation and managing global environmental change. Students electing the astroinformatics emphasis will focus on applications in solar system mechanics, object motion, and observation and imaging analyses. During their junior and senior years in the program, students will embed in the research lab of a faculty mentor working in problems appropriate to each student’s emphasis and research interests. As a member of a collaborative research group, students will have the opportunity to strengthen their computing and data analysis skills, gain extensive hands-on experience in informatics applications and emphasis-appropriate tools and methods, and develop innovative methods to help answer critically-important scientific questions. Furthermore, this experience will result in tangible outcomes, such as software packages and tools, scientific papers, and conference presentations, all of which support students’ future careers goals in either industry, government, or academia and post-graduate study. Our program is strengthened by our broad range of collaborations and partnerships with many other academic units and research centers, including: Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, and School of Forestry. Our faculty also work with regional research collaborators such as Translational Genomics Research Institute, Northern Arizona Healthcare and Flagstaff Medical Center, North Country HealthCare, U.S. Geological Survey, and Northern Arizona Planetary Science Alliance. 6. Student learning outcomes of the plan. If structured as plan/emphases, include for both core and emphases. (Resources, Examples & Tools for Developing Effective Program Student Learning Outcomes) Graduates of the Informatics program will be able to demonstrate the following competencies: • Identify, explain, and apply the fundamental methods of informatics, including programming, data structures, computer science, software design and development techniques and tools, mathematics, and statistical analysis. • Identify, explain, and apply the interdisciplinary combination of core informatics and specialized expertise defining one of the following emphasis areas: o Bioinformatics, emphasizing applications in cellular and molecular biology, microbiology and disease mechanisms, genetics and evolution, and genomic analyses. o Ecoinformatics, emphasizing applications in ecosystem and microorganism population and community dynamics, biological diversity and conservation, and global environmental change. o Astroinformatics, emphasizing applications in solar system mechanics and object motion, stellar evolution, astrometry, telescope-based observations, and electronic imaging. • Identify, organize, and distill scientific literature within an informatics emphasis area to effectively contextualize research questions. • Apply appropriate methods and tools to the creative execution of an investigation that addresses informatics research questions. • Engage in effective teamwork as a member of co-located and distributed interdisciplinary research teams. • Compose and engage in effective written and oral communication in informatics, including scholarly dissemination and lay-communication. Question 7 for Degree Programs only, not minors or certificates. 7. For degree programs: Attach the proposed curriculum map (example formats). Use the Curriculum Map Guidelines to ensure you have addressed curriculum mapping aspects that will be reviewed by the College Curriculum and Assessment Committees (Curriculum Map Guidelines; Reviewer’s Forms). 8. Academic Catalog text and requirements: 8a. Text to be displayed in the Academic Description field in the academic catalog (max 3 paragraphs): The Bachelor of Science degree in Informatics aims to prepare students to apply their informatics expertise to an emphasis area of interest. By providing a broad foundation in computing and data analysis, consisting of computer science, programming, software engineering, statistics, and mathematics expertise, with in-depth study in an emphasis area, this program prepares graduates for a broad range of interdisciplinary careers in industry, government, and academic organizations or further post-graduate study. This program focuses on the practical application of computing and data analysis expertise to a broad range of domains. Study in this program is initially grounded in rigorous coursework that gives students the opportunity to master foundational computing and data analysis skills as well as gain in-depth knowledge in a scientific area closely associated with their emphasis, i.e. biology for the bioinformatics emphasis, ecology for the ecoinformatics emphasis, and astronomy for the astroinformatics emphasis. Continued study in the Informatics program is focused on undergraduate research and problem-based learning closely supervised by a faculty mentor with specialized expertise. Students in the bioinformatics emphasis will focus on applications and building expertise in cellular and molecular biology, including genetic and genomic analyses and the study of microbiology and disease mechanisms. Students in the ecoinformatics emphasis will have opportunities to study ecosystem and microorganism dynamics with applications in conservation and managing global environmental change. Students electing the astroinformatics emphasis will focus on applications in solar system mechanics, object motion, and observation and imaging analyses. During their junior and senior years in the program, students will embed in the research lab of a faculty mentor working in problems appropriate to each student’s emphasis and research interests. As a member of a collaborative research group, students will have the opportunity to strengthen their computing and data analysis skills, gain extensive hands-on experience in informatics applications and emphasis-appropriate tools and methods, and develop innovative methods to help answer critically-important scientific questions. Furthermore, this experience will result in tangible outcomes, such as software packages and tools, scientific papers, and conference presentations, all of which support students’ future careers goals in either industry, government, or academia and post-graduate study. Our program is strengthened by our broad range of collaborations and partnerships with many other academic units and research centers, including: Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, and School of Forestry. Our faculty also work with regional research collaborators such as Translational Genomics Research Institute, Northern Arizona Healthcare and Flagstaff Medical Center, North Country HealthCare, U.S. Geological Survey, and Northern Arizona Planetary Science Alliance. 8b. Text (including the marketing description) to be displayed on the “Career” tab in the academic catalog (max 3 paragraphs): What Can I Do with a Bachelor of Science in Informatics? The Bachelor of Science degree in Informatics prepares students for careers in the application of technological expertise to their chosen area of emphasis. Emerging fields, such as bioinformatics, ecoinformatics, and astroinformatics, allow students to work with the latest methods and tools and support advancements in science in a variety of industry, government, and academic settings.
8c. Text to be displayed on the “Overview” tab in the academic catalog (max 3 paragraphs): In addition to University Requirements:
Please note that you may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details. 8d. Plan requirements to be displayed on the “Details” tab in the academic catalog. If the plan requires an emphasis, include summary text for each emphasis: ADDITIONAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS Admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required. Admission is competitive and based on the following criteria:
Admission decisions that consider in-progress coursework are contingent on successful completion of this coursework as well as continued satisfaction of all other requirements. MAJOR REQUIREMENTS Preprofessional Requirements (33-36 units) Foundations:
If completing the Bioinformatics Emphasis (17 units):
If completing the Ecoinformatics Emphasis (17 units):
If completing the Astroinformatics Emphasis (14 units):
Professional Requirements (63-64 units) Core Requirements (45 units)
Emphasis Requirements (18-19 units): Select one Bioinformatics Emphasis (19 units):
Ecoinformatics Emphasis (18 units):
Astroinformatics Emphasis (19 units):
General Electives Additional coursework is required, if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit. You may take these remaining courses from any academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you. (Please note that you may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.) Additional Information Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information click on the course or see your advisor. 8e. Attributes to be displayed on the Overview tab in the academic catalog:
9. Check all campuses where the plan will be offered:
List the Statewide Campuses where the plan will be offered: Section II 10. Impacts to Other Academic Units or Programs 10a. Projected impacts to enrollments and courses in other academic units or programs: What is the expected impact on enrollments and offerings within other academic units or programs? The introduction of the BSI program will strengthen the academic and research productivity of SICCS and NAU with a minimum of impact on other academic units and programs. Our curricular plan includes coursework offered through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, more specifically MAT 226 (Discrete Mathematics), STA 275 (Statistical Analysis) , and STA 371 (Intermediate Statistics). These courses are already well-supported, offered on a frequent basis, and included as core requirements across a diverse body of degree programs at NAU. Given that our proposed cohort size is no larger than 20 students for the initial three emphasis areas, we expect that the impact of the BSI program on the Department of Mathematics and Statistics will be minimal. Similarly, our proposed emphasis area coursework leverages coursework already in place for students who are majoring in emphasis area degree program offerings, such as Biology and Physics and Astronomy, and we also do not expect this program to place an undue burden on those units.
Letters of support from impacted units are included. 11. Duplication or Perceived Duplication of Plan: 11a. Does this plan appear to duplicate other plans offered at Northern Arizona University? Yes No If so, which plan(s)? Section III Questions 12-15 for Undergraduate only: 12. A major is differentiated from another major by required course commonality: 18* units of the required coursework to complete the major must be unique, (i.e. not common or not dual use as a required element in another major), to that major. Does this plan have 18* units of unique required credit? Yes No * If there are not 18 units unique, the program will need to justify why the major is not conforming to this requirement in one of two ways:
13. An emphasis is differentiated from another emphasis by required course commonality: 15 units of the required coursework to complete the emphasis must be unique, (i.e. not common or not dual use as a required element in another emphasis), to that emphasis. Do the emphases each have 15 units of unique required credit? Yes No
14. An undergraduate certificate is differentiated from another certificate by required course commonality: 12 units of the required coursework to complete the certificate must be unique (i.e. not common or not dual use as a required element in another certificate), to that certificate. Does this certificate have 12 units of unique required credit? Yes No
16. Master’s degrees are differentiated from one another by required curriculum and course commonality: at least 12 units of required coursework to complete the degree must be unique (i.e. not common or for dual use as a required element in another degree). Does this degree contain at least 12 unique units of required credit? Yes No 17. Emphases within a Master’s degree are differentiated by required curriculum and course commonality: at least 9 units of required coursework to complete the emphasis must be unique (i.e. not common or not dual use as a required element in another emphasis). Do emphases contain at least 9 unique units of required credit? Yes No
Yes No If no, explain why this proposal should be approved. 19. If this is a thesis plan, does it require a minimum of 18 units of formal graded coursework? Yes No If no, explain why this proposal should be approved.
From: Paul G Flikkema Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 12:03 PM To: Stuart S Galland Cc: John Georgas Subject: Re: Approval Request: Informatics BS, INF 376, INF 386, INF 476C, INF 486C Hi Scott, I approve. Thanks, and have a great holiday weekend - Paul --- Paul Flikkema Real-Time Intelligent Systems & Networks Laboratory Director, School of Informatics, Computing, & Cyber Systems Professor of Electrical Engineering Northern Arizona University Effective Fall 2016 Directory: avpaa avpaa -> Academic Unit: Computer Science College: cefns type of Exams avpaa -> Ucc/ugc/eccc proposal for New Course Please attach proposed Syllabus in approved university format avpaa -> Ucc/ugc/eccc proposal for Plan Change or Plan Deletion avpaa -> Ucc/ugc/eccc proposal for Plan Change or Plan Deletion avpaa -> University Curriculum Committee Download 91.4 Kb. Share with your friends:
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