Academic Program Review Committee Report
Department of Biology
June 15, 2006
Subcommittee:
Michael Eriksen, Chair
Philo Hutcheson
Irene Duhaime
Approved by CAP: June 28, 2006
Biology Department Profile for FY 2003-2005
Faculty and Staff
Over the three-year review period, FY 2003-FY2005, the number of tenured or tenure-track faculty in the department ranged from 31 to 34, and the department had from 11 to 14 full-time non-tenure track faculty, including instructors, lecturers, and clinical and research faculty. (Numbers in this paragraph and in the table below are derived from Table B-1 of the Department’s report, although it should be noted that numbers in the text of the department’s report (bottom p.4 and Figure B1A referenced in that text) are different (some higher, some lower) than those found in or derived from Table B-1.)
Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty, FY 2003-2005, by Faculty Rank
Rank / FY 2003 / FY 2004 / FY 2005Professors / 13 / 13 / 14
Associate Professors / 12 / 14 / 13
Assistant Professors / 6 / 6 / 7
Total / 31 / 33 / 34
Of the tenured and tenure-track faculty over the review period, an average of 14 were female and 5 were minorities (all were Asian); the Department was successful in hiring an increased number of female faculty members during the study period. The non-tenure track faculty included 4 to 7 females and 2 minorities (1 Asian, 1 Black). The department also employed 1 to 2 visiting lecturers during the study period. As the department notes in its report (p.5), ethnic groups were underrepresented during the study period, as the department had only one African-American faculty member (non-tenure track) and 5 to 7 faculty members of Asian descent (most were tenured or tenure-track).
Of the tenured and tenure-track faculty, on average 19% are at the rank of assistant professor, 40% at associate professor, and 41% at the professor rank. The Department reports that some associate professors and one professor joined the Department at that rank and are not yet tenured, thus a larger proportion (31%) of the tenure-track faculty are untenured than the rank distribution might suggest.
The department faculty includes two with major administrative responsibilities: an Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Vice President for Research (2004-05).
There are 13 staff positions in the department: 1 administrative assistant, 5 administrative specialists, 1 administrative coordinator, 1 business manager, 1 graduate coordinator, 1 facilities coordinator, 1 systems analyst, 1 accountant, and 1 supply manager.
Credit Hour Production by Level and Faculty Type
At the undergraduate level, students may declare as Biology majors at any level. There is fluctuation of majors among freshmen and sophomores, and about one-third of Biology majors are seniors. Average enrollment over the 3-year period was 1540 majors in the BS program. By 2005, there were 1607 undergraduate majors. However, the average graduation rate (degrees conferred) was only 108 per year over the study period. The department report provides an alternative count of majors using end-of-semester data, and notes that semester counts of majors are consistently about 20% lower than yearly counts of majors. However, the report does not explain the low graduation rate (relative to either count of majors) beyond stating that increasing numbers of seniors could indicate bottlenecks in completing degree requirements (p.6).
At the graduate level, there was an average of 161 MS students per year and 103 PhD students, with average graduation rates of 42 and 10 per year, respectively. The Department reported that its Ph.D. graduation rate was somewhat higher than the national average (57 percent compared to approximately 50 percent) and the time to completion for the Ph.D. was less than the national average. The Department anticipates shorter time-to-degree completion rates at the graduate level in view of the fact that an increased number of new graduate students are in the early stages of their graduate work and thus not reflected in graduation numbers.
M.S. and Ph.D. Enrollment, Graduation Rate and Time-to-Degree
FY 2003-2005 Averages
M.S. / Ph.D.Enrollment / 161 / 103
Graduation Rate / 42 / 10
Time-to-Degree reported by Dept. / 2.4 / 5.9
Credit hour generation by level, averaged over the 3 year period, appears in the following table:
Average Credit Hour Generation (2003 hours—2005 hours)
Faculty Type /Undergrad Core / Undergrad Lower Division / Undergrad Upper Division / Graduate
Tenure-Track / 576 (383-694) / 1153 (754-1781) / 3237 (3509-3083) / 8804 (8552-9118)
Non Tenure-Track / 3708 (2704-4437) / 5287 (4482-5724) / 4094 (3459-4506) / 697 (440-831)
PTI / 294 (222-354) / 172 (0-360) / 1104 (855-1413) / 364 (299–464)
GTA (PhD student) / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Other / 6265 (5088-8104) / 24 (0-72) / 182 (113-252) / 467 (64-667)
The three year review period saw a 6% decrease in the percentage of core credit hours being taught by tenure-track faculty, and a decrease of 12% in percent of upper division undergraduate course credit hours taught by TT faculty. During the same period, there was a 92% increase in lower division undergraduate course credit hours taught by TT faculty and a 4% increase in graduate course credit hours taught by TT faculty. Reliance on non-tenure track faculty for credit hour generation increased by 36% over the study period, with a large increase (47%) in the percentage of undergraduate core credit hours taught by NTT faculty and increases of 28% and 30%, respectively, in undergraduate lower division and upper division course credit hours taught by NTT faculty. The two introductory courses for majors as well as most of the 4000-level courses for majors are taught by tenure-track faculty members.
It should also be noted that the Biology Department uses Graduate Laboratory Assistants (GLAs) to teach labs, although those data are not disaggregated in the self-study.
Faculty Scholarly Productivity and Funding
Over the review period (FY2002-FY2004 was used to measure faculty productivity), the faculty published 244 refereed articles, reviews and chapters. Tenure-track faculty averaged 2.2-2.6 publications per year per faculty member. Additionally, faculty members made 505 presentations or invited presentations to professional meetings, workshops and colloquia (non-GSU). 89% of the tenure-track faculty had at least one refereed publication during the review period.
The department generated over $44 million in external support over the three-year study period. 95% of the faculty generated external support in at least one of the three years, and tenure-track faculty averaged $374K-$477K per faculty member per year over the three years. The Biology Department leads a multi-university NSF center grant providing approximately 4 million dollars annually to GeorgiaStateUniversity; a member of the Department is Project Director of that center grant and at least 12 biology faculty members are actively involved with and receive support from the center. The median external support per tenure-track faculty member over the period was $190K. It is laudable that many faculty members were substantially and consistently involved in obtaining external funding, as 78% of faculty members had funding of at least $100,000 in at least two of the three years of the study period (or in their only year of employment, for first-year faculty members).
Faculty Service
Department faculty members are active in university and professional service. Two faculty members serve in major university/college administrative roles, and others serve on the University Senate. Faculty members are referees for peer-reviewed journals, with memberships on 16 editorial boards and extensive participation as referees for peer-reviewed journals on an ad hoc basis, and they review grant applications for funding agencies, including NIH and NSF.
Noteworthy Departmental Features
Department of Biology faculty members direct five interdisciplinary centers: Biotechnology and Drug Design, the Center for Environmental Sciences, the Center for Neural Communication and Computation, the Center for Brain Science and Health (faculty member with joint appointment with Psychology), and the NSF-funded multi-university Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, as well as the University’s two new interdisciplinary Areas of Focus (Brains and Behavior and Molecular Basis of Disease). The department is unusual in having two areas of focus. The Centers have been reviewed; those reports are attached as appendices.
Degree and Certificate Programs
The Department of Biology offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs. B.S. students with a Major in Biology may choose among four concentrations (introduced in 2002-03), in Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Behavior, or Pre-professional Programs/Physiology, or may take General Biology Studies (no concentration). Students may participate in the Undergraduate Research Program after completion of core requirements. Students who wish to minor or double major in biology must take 15-18 hours in courses in biology.
The M.S. program in Biology offers five concentrations: Applied and Environmental Microbiology (AEM), Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry (MGB), Neurobiology and Behavior (N&B), Bioinformatics, and Biotechnology.
The doctoral program (Ph.D. in Biological Sciences) offers specialized programs of study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Physiology, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry with interdisciplinary specialization in bioinformatics, and Neurobiology and Behavior.
The Department offers these concentrations at each level (B.S., M.S. and Ph.D.). As noted above, concentrations have been offered at the B.S. level only a few years, and it is too early to determine the impact of the concentrations at the undergraduate level. All of the Ph.D. students must select a concentration in one of four areas: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, and; Neurobiology and Behavior.
Student and Graduation Numbers by Program
The average numbers of majors (freshmen through seniors) over the three-year period were: B.S. – 1541 (1213 on a semester basis), M.S. - 161, and Ph.D. - 103. The department experienced increases in undergraduate majors and credit hour production, increases in Ph.D. majors, and slight decreases in M.S. majors, as shown in the following table:
Majors/Admitted Students and Degrees Conferred
FY 2003-2005, by Program Type*
FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005
Program / Majors / DegreesConferred / Majors / Degrees
Conferred / Majors / Degrees Conferred
BS* / 1446
(1139) / 92 / 1568
(1237) / 111 / 1608
(1264) / 121
MS / 163
(159) / 38
(39) / 163
(162) / 44
(43) / 158
(156) / 44
(40)
Ph.D. / 93
(94) / 5
(5) / 105
(105) / 13
(13) / 112
(111) / 13
(13)
Total / 1702 / 135 / 1836 / 168 / 1878 / 178
*Sources in department’s self-study report include OIR, department-calculated end-of-semester counts of B.S. majors (in parentheses), and department-tracked majors and degrees conferred for M.S. and Ph.D. programs (in parentheses).
Average Number of Degrees Awarded Per Year
The average number of degrees awarded per year over the three year period was B.S. - 108, M.S. - 42, and Ph.D. – 10, with degrees conferred increasing over the review period at all levels, as shown in the above table. The number of B.S. graduates seems low relative to the number of B.S. majors, which was acknowledged and discussed in the department’s report. As noted above, the department offered alternative (lower) counts of number of majors, and stated that increasing numbers of seniors might indicate bottlenecks in completion of degree requirements, but did not offer further explanation of low graduation rates.
Quality of Graduate Students by Program
During the study period, M.S. and Ph.D. students entered the program with an average verbal-quantitative combined GRE score of 1021 (V441, Q580) and 1136 (V495, Q641), respectively. These score averages can be compared to the average of all students in the College of Arts & Sciences (1128) and the University as a whole (1111). Students are actively involved in research, presenting at conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and winning honors.
Service Course Offerings
Service courses offered by the department include BIOL 1107K-1108K, an Area D non-majors core course sequence; BIOL 1110K/1120K, required for College of Health and Human Science professional degree programs; and BIOL 2300/2310, which are required by CHHS programs but can also be taken for Area D credit by both Biology majors and non-majors from other departments. Overall, enrollment in the department’s service courses increased during the study period.
II. ASSESSMENT
2.1 Quality of Instruction, Research, and Service
Instruction
The self-study reported one Learning Outcomes Assessment, in September 2005. That Learning Outcomes Assessment Report examined courses taught during Summer Semester 2005. The assessment focused on four areas central to the study of biology: Scientific Inquiry; Communication; History, Nature and Impact of Biology, and; Content in Biology. At the undergraduate level, for over 90% of the outcomes measured over 70% of the students met or exceeded expectations. There was, however, a general lack of material addressing the history, nature and impact of biology, and in upper level courses there were few items that addressed Scientific Inquiry. A Fall 2004 survey of the undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni and alumnae indicated that the respondents thought that the programs were academically challenging and the faculty members were committed to working with the students. As noted below, there was substantial concern about academic advising at the undergraduate level.
Faculty Productivity
Faculty productivity in terms of publications and grants was notably high throughout the review period. Almost 90 percent of the faculty had at least one refereed publication in the review period, and the tenure-track faculty averaged, annually, between 2.2 and 2.6 publications per faculty member. The tenure-track faculty averaged, annually, between $374,000 and 477,000 in external funding, comparable to its three peer programs at University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, and FloridaStateUniversity
The Department’s grants accounted for 27 per cent of the University’s grant monies in the review period, and the last time there was a rating of NIH-funded departments (2002), The Department ranked 28th out of 256 similar departments (including departments in universities with medical schools).
.
Service.
The biology faculty is heavily involved in service, especially to the metropolitan community and the professional community. Two-thirds of the tenure-track faculty members review for journals, half review for national and international granting agencies, and 40% are active in professional organizations. Of special note are the outreach programs, including the BioBus; from the fall of 2001 through the fall of 2004 the BioBus program made 730 trips involving approximately 60,000 students in more than 20 counties in Georgia.
.
2.2Centrality of Programs
Biology as an undergraduate major is clearly central to the University, as are the master’s and Ph.D. programs. In addition, the Department’s Centers and interdisciplinary efforts are indicators of the centrality of the study of biology at a research university.
Three programs targeted in the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan require key contributions by the Biology Department. These are: strengthening the interdisciplinary Molecular Basis of Disease and Brains and Behavior Areas of Focus; participating in biotechnology-related economic development through Collabtech, Venture Labs, and the new Science Park as well international agreements such as the joint GSU-Cairo University M.S. in BioTechnology, and; increasing University external funding to $100 million in 2010 given the Department’s record in securing external funding.
2.3 Viability of Programs
Both the growth of enrollment at all degree levels as well as the Department’s efforts to sustain broader relationships with other programs such as Nursing and its contribution to pre-medical studies indicate its viability. In the case of the former, total credit hour generation by the Department rose from 34,887 in FY2003 to 37,937 in FY2005. In the case of the latter, the sustained shortage of nurses in the state and nationally, as well as the continuing interest of undergraduate students in pre-medical studies, indicate the potential for continued growth of credit hours.
2.4 Strategic Focus (Comparative Advantage)
In terms of degree programs, the external reviewers stated that the M.S. in biology is the only program of its kind in the Atlanta area. The external reviewers also noted that the Ph.D. programs are targeted at areas of growth both nationally and internationally. In addition, the external reviewers suggested that the BSL4 facility is unique for a university in the United States.
2.4.1 Strengths.
The faculty has secured more external funding than any other Department faculty at the University; according to the external reviewers the faculty has in fact competed well with faculty members at medical schools for grants and in research productivity. In addition, the faculty has been very productive in terms of publications.
Biology continues to be one of the top instructional credit hour generators at GeorgiaStateUniversity. During the review period, the Department had a larger percentage of African American students among its undergraduate majors and graduate students than the university.
The service rendered by most if not all of the tenure-track Biology faculty members at GeorgiaState is extraordinary, with substantial commitments outside the University. The external reviewers identified the outreach programs, including the BioBus, are innovative and highly commendable.
2.4.2 Weaknesses.
The weaknesses discussed below are in the context of a successful, large department.
In terms of the faculty, on the basis of the self-study and the external reviewers report, it is clear that there are two areas that require attention. First, the Biology faculty is not diverse in terms of African-American faculty members. Second, the external reviewers were firm on the matter of the near absence of organismal biology (ecology, evolutionary biology, plant biology, etc.) and the need to begin hiring faculty members in that area.
Two of the four current concentrations in the Biology Department degree programs-- Applied and Environmental Microbiology as well as Cell and Molecular Biology and Physiology—need additional faculty members.
Finally, in terms of the faculty, the salary levels of the Lecturers are low and a cause for concern; the external reviewers stated that their salaries were typically lower than those for Georgia public school teachers.
In regard to students, although the Department has evidenced a clear commitment to undergraduate research, expansion of that program would further engage students as well as advance the size of the pool for potential graduate students at GSU and biology programs elsewhere. Many classes are large, and if student interest in biology increases, the Department will face both staffing and, probably, additional retention problems. Other than a goal to recruit more tenure-track faculty members to teach additional sections of courses for majors, it is not clear how the Department will address increased enrollments.