BUSAC Report for the Biology Division

2005-2006

Introduction:

In the attempt to better understand what students enjoyed about biology at Caltech and also determine what they felt needed improvement, BUSAC published an online survey. This report outlines the results and also includes interpretations and some suggestions based upon the responses.

Basic Questions:

  • What is your field of interest?

The interests of students pursuing a biology major varies widely. The most prevalent interests arebiochemistry, neurobiology, and developmental biology. Also, many students here are premeds.

  • Happiness at Caltech compared to happiness as a biology major

Caltech Biology Major

On average, people are happier with their major than with Caltech as a whole. However, there is a significant decrease in happiness with the biology major during students’ junior and senior years.

Structure and Content of the Biology Curriculum

  • Average Satisfaction Rating:

Although students do enjoy advanced courses, their satisfaction with introductory courses is significantly lower. It is important to note that the majority of the students that responded have not taken Bi 8 in its new form. The average satisfaction rating for freshmen is 4.25, which is higher than it is for junior and seniors (2.44 and 2.20, respectively) but lower than the average rating for sophomores (5.69). Consequently, we believe that the new form of Bi 8 is an improvement, but more changes should be made in the attempt to increase student satisfaction.

  • Would you rather have one set of general biology requirements as they exist now or would you rather have predefined suboptions?

The majority of students would prefer to have suboption guidelines for the biology major. This way, when students are interested in a particular area, they can follow a “track”. These guidelines would only be suggestions so that if students have more diverse interests, they can explore the fields they want.

  • What areas are overrepresented? What areas are underrepresented? Are any requirements inappropriate or outdated?

Under-represented Fields / Over-represented Fields / Inappropriate/Outdated Requirements
Anatomy
Anthropology
Bioengineering
Bioinformatics
Biophysics
Biotechnology
Botany
Developmental Biology
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Immunology
Physiology
Systems Biology
Zoology / Biochemistry
Microbiology
Neurobiology
(Although these were noted as over-represented, students did not want courses taken away) / Bi 8/Bi 9 -> inappropriate only because they do not adequately prepare students for the advanced courses

Students feel that biochemistry, microbiology, and neurobiology are all well represented—in fact, their representation is disproportionate compared to other fields. Macrobiology, evolutionary biology, bioengineering, biophysics, developmental biology, and botany are all examples of underrepresented fields. Currently it appears that Caltech’s biology classes focus on a rather small number of facets within the biology fields, and students would appreciate more class diversity. If there are going to be suboptions, then the need for greater diversity would be attenuated, otherwise there will be a very limited number of “tracks” for students to follow, as well as less cross-disciplinary courses available.

  • General Student Comments:
  • Suboptions would be helpful in giving students a focus. Almost 75% of the students that responded would like suboptions in some form. The majority of students prefer suboption guidelines, and we feel that this would be a great way of maintaining the freedom of the biology major while still providing students with a mechanism for focusing upon their areas of interest.
  • More classes would need to be offered in order for suboptions to work. Currently, the fields of biochemistry and neurobiology have enough classes to support a “track”; however, there need be more than just two tracks if the suboption guidelines are going to be effective. When students were asked about their interests, the other two well represented fields were medicine and developmental biology. More classes to support these interests would be greatly appreciated. Also, many of the students pointed out the lack of macrobiology courses. Consequently, even if students have an interest in macrobiology, there are simply not enough classes to support that interest.
  • There is student interest for the following suboptions: biochemistry, computational biology, molecular/cell biology, macro-biology, neurobiology. Once again, biochemistry and neurobiology are well represented, so tracks could probably be made fairly easily. Molecular and cell biology should not be too much of a problem, either. The request for macrobiology as a “track” is a testament to the lack of macrobiology classes. More specific tracks in macrobiological fields – or even the opportunity to take more macrobiological classes – would be a welcome change.

Mechanics of the Curriculum

  • Please rank your satisfaction with the schedules of biology courses and tell us about scheduling problems you have had.

The average satisfaction ranking for scheduling was 5.03. Many people cited problems with the analytical track of core—particularly the conflict between Bi 10 and Analytical Physics. It was also noted that many times biology classes conflict with each other, which limits what elective classes students can take. The final major complaint is that there is not enough to do during third term, especially during sophomore year. Many of the classes that are available have prerequisites that cannot be fulfilled until the end of second term junior year. Consequently, many biology students have very limited options during their sixth term.

Interestingly, the average satisfaction with the scheduling is higher for the freshmen and sophomores (5.50 and 5.91 respectively) than for the juniors and seniors (4.00 and 3.60 respectively). This may reflect the scheduling problems students have during the third term of their sophomore year. Since the survey was taken at the end of second term, the current sophomores have would not have gone through their sixth term yet. Still, the sophomores would have already arranged their schedules so it may instead be a reflection upon the conflicts between the higher level elective classes offered by the biology division.

  • Are classes distributed appropriately among the three terms?

The majority of the students that took the survey felt that the classes were not distributed appropriately. Although there were some complaints about how there is too much to do first term, the biggest complaint by far was the lack of options third term sophomore year.

  • Overall satisfaction with course organization:


There were not any major trends in the class averages in any of these categories. The rank for the sequence of classes was above average, while students thought the overlap was about right (not too much, nor too little). Students also had favorable impressions about how classes build upon each other. Ideally, there would be more work on classes in a series acting more as continuations of each other; however, this issue is not of major concern for the time being since there is not too much dissatisfaction.

  • What classes are overunited?

Very few students responded to this question. Three people felt that Bi 8 was overunited, and two others mentioned Bi/Ch 111. Since there were so few responses, one can reasonably infer that few students believe there are classes that are overunited, and the units for classes should not be decreased at this time.

  • What classes are underunited?

Bi 117 was the class that was most often mentioned as one that is underunited. Bi 122, 123, and 145 were also brought up frequently. The rest of the classes did not receive many votes, but here are the ones that were mentioned: Ch 3b, Bi 8, Bi 9, Bi 10, Ch 41abc, Bi 114, Bi 150, and Bi 191a.

  • General student comments
  • Professors do not seem enthusiastic about teaching low level courses. This is a problem because those courses give students their “first impression” of the biology department. Based upon those classes, they have to decide whether or not they want to continue with the biology program. If professors seem apathetic, then it is very discouraging to students
  • We need more macrobiology courses. Students reinforced the need for more diversity in the biology courses offered. In particular, students want more macrobiology courses. For a more complete presentation of this issue, please see the “Structure and Content of the Biology Curriculum” section of the report.
  • Suggestion From BUSAC

It would be beneficial if the information in the Course Catalogue was updated. Many students take Bi 8 and Bi 9 during their freshman year, and it would be helpful to include an alternate suggested schedule for those that exercise that option. That way, students would have a better idea of what they can take during different terms, especially during the third term of their sophomore year.

BUSAC also feels that all the courses that the Course Catalogue says will be offered should be offered. There have been times in the past when classes that are supposed to be offered during the school year are not (without any explanation). This is particularly important to seniors, who have to submit their schedule for the upcoming year to the schools they apply to.

Teaching and Course Specifics

  • Overall Satisfaction

In general, students feel that the professors and the advisor system at Caltech are a little above average. Although this is better than complaints, it would be better if we could see some real enthusiasm about the teaching here.

There are some serious problems with the TA system, though. This is one of the two categories that had an average lower than a five. Prevalent complaints include inconsistency in grading, badly worded problem sets, and a general sense of apathy.

  • Do advisors and professors respect your opinions?

Most students feel that the professors and advisors respect their opinions at least some of the time; however, there were some specific complaints. Many people felt that professors are far more concerned with their research than their classes and that it was difficult to get in touch with them. Students also mentioned that professors can appear annoyed or impatient when questions are asked.

  • Suggestions from BUSAC

It is imperative that the communication between the TAs and the professors be improved. Ideally, all of the problem sets and their solutions would be reviewed by the professors before they are distributed. This way, they can be checked for errors and bad wording. It also gives the professors the opportunity to ensure that the class is being evaluated on material that was taught in the classroom.

Also, communication between students and professors to needs to increase. Ideally, students would have no problem staying and talking after class to a professor about any problems/issues they have; however, this is not the case. BUSAC recommends that professors begin to hold well publicized office hours so that they are more accessible. We would also like to publicize an ombudsperson for each class at the beginning of every term so students have a representative. Finally, we would like to encourage students to use the feedback form available at which allows students to leave confidential feedback about any class at any time.

  • The worst things about biology at Caltech

Most students (68%) listed Bi 8 or Bi 9 as the worst class they had taken. They felt that those introductory classes did not prepare them well for upper level courses. These classes are supposed to lay the foundation for other classes and would (if possible) get students excited about their major; however, they are not doing so currently. Bi 8 is currently changing and some of the results look promising, but more changes are definitely necessary. BUSAC recommends restructuring the syllabi of the classes so that Bi 9 either serves as a continuation of Bi 8 or builds upon it more.

Students are also upset about the lack of macrobiology classes and the lack of passion in the professors. Both of these issues were discussed earlier.

  • The best things about biology at Caltech

Students’ favorite classes include Bi 10, Ch 41, Bi 113, and Bi 117. They also feel that the research opportunities in the department are amazing, and many students enjoy learning about current research in their biology classes. In addition, students felt that biology professors were better than the professors in most other departments.