ACS COMMENT
ACS Guidelines For Bachelor’s Degree Programs: Revisions Near Completion ANNE B. MCCOY, CHAIR, AND THOMAS J. WENZEL, VICE CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
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NOV E M BE R 17, 20 14
be overemphasized. Student skills were introduced into the 2008 guidelines, and the requirements in this area have been broadened. The revised guidelines further reinforce the importance of the development and assessment of student skills in ethics, communication, teamwork, and problem solving. Skills in database management and working with the chemical literature are being strengthened in the revised guidelines. The committee discussed the opportunity to reinforce and assess these skills through a capstone experience that would be required of all certified majors as part of the guidelines revision. This requirement was not adopted; instead, the revised guidelines emphasize the importance of skill development throughout the undergraduate experience. We continue to explore the variety of ways departments can impart and assess student skills. As part of this effort, CPT held a symposium on this topic earlier this summer at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. Details of the outcomes of this symposium will be provided in an upcoming newsletter, which will be available at www.acs.org/cpt later this year. We will continue the discussion of student skill development with a symposium at the ACS national meeting in Boston next year. Throughout the revision process, CPT reached out to other ACS committees as well as technical divisions, chemistry department chairs, and individual faculty members for comment. In October, the draft guidelines were circulated one final time to enable chemistry programs to comment on the proposed changes. The feedback we have received to date has been invaluable, and the committee thanks everyone who has provided input. Additional comments received by Dec. 1 will be most helpful as we prepare for our meeting in early January. PHYLLIS GRABER JENSEN
DONNA FAHNER
SINCE JANUARY 2012, the American have been introduced in the revised guideChemical Society Committee on Profeslines. In cases where these changes may sional Training (CPT) has been developing take some chemistry departments time to a revised edition of the ACS Guidelines for address, currently approved programs and Bachelor’s Degree Programs. Last month, those that are in the process of applying for the committee released a draft of the reapproval will be given at least six years to vised guidelines to chemistry department meet the new requirements. chairs and invited them to provide feedWith increases in the demands on chemback. The committee will review the responses and then release the finalized new guidelines early next year. The current draft guidelines can be found at www.acs.org/cpt; the final version will be posted there as well. The guidelines describe the attributes of excellence in chemistry departments, with an emphasis on the curriculum and the infrastructure needed to support the curriculum. As such, they provide departments a context for discussing their chemistry major and other degree tracks and for obtaining the necessary resources to maintain an excellent McCoy Wenzel program. The guidelines also outline the experiences and knowledge that a istry faculty, we have found it is difficult student who is awarded an ACS-certified for chemistry departments with fewer than degree must obtain. five permanent faculty members to have A focus of the committee’s discussion the expertise to support the breadth of the during the revision has been on the expericurriculum and teach the required number ences and skills a program needs to provide of courses for their majors to earn a certifor its graduates so they are well prepared fied degree. Therefore, the revised guideto go to graduate school or to enter the lines require a minimum of five full-time workforce and continue on to a successful faculty members who are fully committed career in the chemical sciences. The comto the chemistry program. Approved promittee has given considerable attention to grams with fewer than five faculty memthe characteristics that an approved departbers will be given until January 2025 to add ment needs in order to support the educaanother faculty member. tion of the future leaders in the chemical enCertified majors must have access to and terprise. From the start, the committee has be trained on a broad array of instrumentarecognized that the guidelines should suption. In addition to requiring an NMR specport chemistry departments as they strive trometer, the revised guidelines stipulate toward excellence, also raising the bar on that certified majors use instrumentation the expectations for an excellent program. from at least four general categories. Also, Throughout its deliberations, the comprograms must continue to emphasize safe mittee has sought to strike an appropripractices throughout the curriculum and ate balance between requirements that promote a culture of safety. And approved departments must meet for approval and programs will now be required to provide flexibility that enables the development of their students with instruction in the prininnovative curricula. ciples of polymer chemistry. Several additions and modifications The importance of student skills cannot
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