The Environmental Science Program at Canisius provides students with an interdisciplinary background in a variety of scientific fields including ecology, chemistry, geology and hydrology. All students take a common series of required courses and then use electives and internships to gain more background in their areas of interest. Not only do the required courses provide background in the different disciplines, they also offer students the opportunity to develop skills in interpreting data, presenting data, and reading scientific literature.
Students’ knowledge and skills are assessed in individual courses and again at the end of the program in an exam that was created by the faculty who teach in the program. Because the same exam is used each year, the students’ performances can be compiled across years. Faculty use the exam results to identify areas of the program that could be improved and determine which courses can incorporate additional practice with the material and/or skills. Thus courses in the program are able to change to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. For example, recent results suggested that students could improve their ability to develop appropriate, testable hypotheses. This skill is now being emphasized in field ecology and reinforced in several of the electives.
Submitted by: Sara Morris, associate vice president, academic affairs
