Field Experience - Select one of the following or approved alternative*

GLG 311 - Geoenvironmental Field Methods (3 hrs - through Hamilton campus only)
GLG 412 - Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica (3 hrs)
GLG 413 - Tropical Marine Ecology (3 hrs)

*Minimum of 3 semester hours of a field based course.  Courses that can fulfill the Field Experience are listed below.  May be fulfilled by 3 other credit hour workshops if pre-approved by GLG CDA.

Electives (15 cr hrs minimum, no more than 1 course at 200 or 300 level)

Select from the following

GLG 201 – Mineralogy (4 hrs)
GLG 244 – Oceanography (3 hrs)
GLG 307 – Water and Society (3 hrs)
GLG 335 – Ice Age Earth (3 hrs)
GLG 357 - Igneous/Metamorphic Petrology (4 hrs)
GLG 402 – Geomicrobiology (3 hrs)
GLG 417 – Forensic Isotope Geochemistry (3 hrs)
GLG 428 – Hydrogeological Modeling (4 hrs)
GLG 432 – X-ray Powder Diffraction & Clay Analysis (3 hrs)
GLG 435 - Soils and Paleosols (3 hrs)
GLG 436 – Paleoclimatology (3 hrs)
GLG 437 - Paleontology in Conservation (3 hrs)
GLG 496 – Isotopes in Environ. Processes (3 hrs)

Related hours (9 cr hrs minimum)

Select one of the following

CHM 141 - College Chemistry (3 hrs) & CHM 144 Lab (2 hrs)
GLG 211 - Chemistry of Earth Systems (3 hrs)

Select one of the following

PHY 161 - Physics for the Life Sciences with Laboratory I (4 hrs)
PHY 191 - General Physics with Laboratory I (5 hrs)
GLG 261 - Geohazards and the Solid Earth (3 hrs)

Select one of the following

MTH 151 - Calculus I (5 hrs)
MTH 251 - Calculus II (4 hrs)
STA 261 - Statistics (4 hrs)
STA 301 - Applied Statistics (3 hrs) 

Note:  Students seeking the Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Earth Science meet the College of Arts and Science writing in the major requirement by completing GLG 204, GLG 301, and GLG 497.

Assessment of Student Learning - Dept of Geology & Environmental Earth Science (GLG)
Contact Person: Mike Brudzinski, Assoc. Prof., GLG, brudzimr@muohio.edu, 513-280-0660

Undergraduate Student Assessment Plan:
Degrees: B.A. Environmental Earth Science, B.S. Geology
Outcomes: The following is a general draft of our graduation level student learning outcomes. We
will be discussing how to differentiate the outcomes of our three B.A. degrees, but for now we list
a single set of general outcomes that would be appropriate for each degree.

B.A. degree:
• Students will define and properly use the principal specialized terms and concepts employed in
the geosciences
• Students will demonstrate proficiency with the use of tools, technologies and methods common
to the geosciences
• Students will demonstrate proficiency with the application of the scientific method to
geoscience problem solving
• Students will demonstrate quantitative literacy
• Students will be able to communicate effectively to specialists and non-specialists
•
B.S. degree:
• Students will define and properly use the principal specialized terms and concepts employed in
the geosciences
• Students will demonstrate proficiency in the use of tools, technologies and methods common to
the geosciences
• Students will conduct and publish a geoscience research project, with appropriate use of the
scientific method, robust sampling, and analytical methodologies
• Students will demonstrate quantitative literacy
• Students will be able to communicate effectively to specialists and non-specialists

Assessment Plan:
We plan to utilize assessment plans we are developing for the CAS undergraduate writing competency
and undergraduate quantitative literacy to address those outcomes. We plan to assess our other
outcomes in a new capstone course we are developing to address all four of undergraduate degrees.
Content knowledge, skill proficiency, and research outcomes will be assessed through rubrics and
test scores. We anticipate using student reflection knowledge surveys that currently target
outcomes in a few key courses to examine student perceptions of content and skill outcomes. We
also plan to use a graduation-level student survey to collect student perceptions of their learning
towards our defined outcomes.

Analysis and Implementation:
Collection of student assessment data (e.g., rubric or test scores) will begin in Fall 2012. In
advance, the assessment committee will work with individual faculty to ensure a core commonality to the assessment forms that will allow for comparison across courses and to track development across tiers. Following the collection of student data, the assessment committee will analyze the data
and complete a report at the end of Spring 2013 offering suggestions for improvement if the student
outcomes are not being achieved. If necessary, a faculty meeting will provide an opportunity for
department-wide discussion of potential improvements that can be made to our program and curriculum based on what’s learned from the assessment results. Individual faculty will be responsible for implementing the improvements in their courses beginning in Fall 2013.