Marine Science Program

AP Full Official

Marine Science Program

Campus

National Campus

AP Review Submission Date

Sept. 23, 2016

Completed by

Peltin Olter-Pelep

AR Review Cycle

FA14-SP15

FA15-SP16

Program Goals

Program goals are broad statements concerning knowledge, skills, or values that the faculty members expect the graduating students to achieve.

At the completion of Marine Science Program the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of geological, geomorphological, physical, chemical, and biological oceanography.
2. Apply fundamental knowledge of marine sciences towards identifying and critically analyzing and outlining potential solutions for local, regional and global problems relating to marine systems.
3. Apply the scientific process to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and collect and analyze data from which valid scientific conclusions are drawn.
4. Communicate effectively, in written and oral forms, utilizing the language and concepts of marine science.

Program History

This section describes the history of the program. This includes the date and reason of implementation, significant milestones in the development of the program, and significant current activities.

In 1986, the Marine Science Program was implemented and the first class graduated in 1989. The program began rather experimentally as a means to train students for pursuit of a higher degree in marine science and to prepare individuals for local positions, and today this remains a program focus. Initially, the program experienced recruitment difficulties and had merely six students enrolled. Today, the program draws more than 50 students. Recruitment efforts over the years have improved, and our program serves as a gateway to many internship and scholarship opportunities for those who excel in the program. Further, in recent years, our students have been highly competitive against Pacific students for scholarship and internship positions across the region.

Two years ago, program learning outcomes were altered in an effort to make them a more accurate reflection of expectations, and more importantly, to ensure the outcomes were measureable. The prerequisites were changed for MR 201 Aquaculture and MR 210 Marine Ecology to ensure students had more complete background knowledge for success in each of these courses. Further, developed and approved were new course outlines for MR 120 Marine Biology and MR 201 Aquaculture. These outlines were done to ensure all course learning and student learning outcomes were measurable and that we had specific strategies in place for the purpose of assessing student learning outcomes. Our division also designed and had approved ESS 102WS/1 Open Water SCUBA Diver as an official course, with the primary goal of offering this training to our marine science majors, as many positions and research efforts require methods of underwater investigation to be utilized. This course will not be required, but would be highly recommended to our majors in order to also satisfy their exercise sports science 1 credit hour graduation requirement. Finally, we have had to increase the number of sections and class size of MR 120 Marine Biology and MR 240 Oceanography in order to meet both increasing numbers of marine science majors and of other majors who must satisfy their science with lab requirement for graduation.

Program Description

The program description describes the program, including its organization, relationship to other programs in the system, program design, degree(s) offered, and other significant features of the program, such as elements/resources for forward-looking new program contributions to the state’s economy, or specialized program accreditation.

The Marine Science Program is designed to respond to a need expressed by the FSM leadership in the FSM States and National Economic Summits. It has been designed to take full advantage of the unique variety of marine environments available in the FSM, particularly Pohnpei. This program provides a solid foundation for students interested in pursuing a higher degree at a four-year institution.

The Marine Science program falls under the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and is currently maintained by all three full-time faculty members. Faculty members are responsible for program-specific course instruction, though each also teaches a few courses outside the marine program each year. The program offers only an Associate of Science Degree in Marine Science. Students of other majors also regularly take some of our marine science courses, in an effort to meet their science with a lab and science without a lab, graduation requirements. Typically, the most heavily utilized marine courses taken by non-majors are MR 120 Marine Biology and MR 240 Oceanography. Additionally, our marine science faculty teach numerous sections of SC 111, Environmental Studies (3 credits), one section of SC 220 (3 credits, Geology and SC 255 (4 credits), General Zoology with lab, which serves as science elective for students annually.

Program Admission Requirements

This section describes the requirements for admission into the program and other requisites.

Students who are accepted for admissions to COM-FSM are eligible for the Marine Science Program, though all of our courses require students to demonstrate a proficient reading level either by scoring high enough on their entrance test or by completing additional studies and successfully passing ESL 089.

Program Certificate/Degree Requirements

This section specifies the requirements for obtaining a certificate/degree in the program, including specific courses, credits, internships, practical, etc. This section should also include the program’s suggested schedule and program course matrix.

Suggested Schedule

First Semester

EN 110 Advanced Reading............................3

MR 120 Marine Biology w/lab.......................4

MS 100 College Algebra....................................3

SC 230 Intro. to Chemistry w/lab ......................4

Exercise Sports Science course..........................1

Total………………………15

Second Semester

EN 120a Expository Writing I ..........................3

MR 240 Oceanography w/lab............................4

MR 210 Marine Ecology...................................3

MR 254 Marine Biology Field Studies..............3

CA 100 Computer Literacy...............................3

Total………………………16

Summer Session

Humanities Elective..........................................3

SS 150 History of Micronesia...........................3

Total…………………….…6

Third Semester

EN 120b Expository Writing II ........................3

MR 230 Ichthyology w/lab...............................4

Marine/Natural Sciences w/lab.........................4

MS 150 Intro. to Statistics.................................3

Total………………………14

Fourth Semester

MR 250 Fishery Biology & Management..........3

MR 201 Aquaculture w/lab................................4

Non-lab Marine/Natural Science or Agriculture.3

Social Sciences....................................................3

Open Elective......................................................3

Total………………………16

I = Introduced, D = Demonstrated, M = Mastery at a level appropriate for graduation.

Program Courses and Enrollment

This section lists courses offered in the program, including number of sections, course enrollment, section fill rates, and redundancy of courses across the institution.

Program Faculty

This section reports the faculty of the program, including full-time and part-time faculty. The degrees held and rank are provided for the full-time and part-time faculty.

Currently, three full-time faculty members teach for the marine science program and also teach other courses for the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Each instructor has varied backgrounds and experiences within the marine sciences, and each is utilized to teach courses most reflective of those backgrounds. Additionally, members serve as advisors to marine science majors and participate in both college and community services.

Dr. Allain Bourgoin

B.S., Biological Sciences

M.S., Marine Ecology

Ph.D., Marine Ecology

Brian David Lynch

A.S., Fisheries and Wildlife

B.S., Animal Science

M.S., Biological Sciences

Peltin Olter-Pelep

A.S., Liberal Arts

3^rd Yr Certificate, Teacher Preparations

B.A., Biological Sciences

M.S., Conservation and Environment Biological Sciences

Program Indicators

This section provides the data for analyzing the extent to which the program has achieved the established outcomes and criteria. This is the most important part of the program review. The data that will be collected and evaluated are the following:

Assessment of course student learning outcomes of program courses

All assessments of courses offered for the AY 2014-2015 and AY 2015-2016 semesters can be found on the college’s TracDat.

Assessment of program student learning outcomes

What we looked at:

The Marine Science Program assessment focused on all four MS_PSLO during the academic year 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 (Fall 2014, 2015 & Spring 2015, 2016).

What we found:

MS_PSLO_1: Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of geological, geomorphological, physical, chemical, and biological oceanography.
Fall 2014 – Marine Biology (MR120)

• Students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLOs (summative evaluation on the classification of marine organisms; and identifying the major cell components and their respective functions) and consequently demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree

Fall 2014 & Spring 2015 – Oceanography (MR240)

• Students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLO (global atmospheric circulation pattern with its climate belts) but failed to attain the targeted score of 70% on the associated notions of surface ocean currents (geostropic gyres). Consequently, more in depth explanations need to be given in class on this last rubric in order for the students to demonstrate the required level of mastery for an associate degree

MS_PSLO_2: Apply fundamental knowledge of marine sciences towards identifying and critically analyzing and outlining potential solutions for local, regional and global problems relating to marine systems.
Spring 2015 – Aquaculture (MR201)

• The outcome measured pertained to a group assignment relative to designing a sustainable aquaculture business plan feasible for regional application. All students satisfactorily completed the outcome at a “C” level or higher. They exceeded the targeted score of 70%. Consequently they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_2.

MS_PSLO_3: Apply the scientific process to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and collect and analyze data from which valid scientific conclusions are drawn.
Fall 2014 & Spring 2015 – Oceanography (MR240)

• The outcome pertained to writing an extensive report on the water mixing pattern of the Dausokele estuary. In both semesters, students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLO. Consequently, they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_3.

MS_PSLO_4: Communicate effectively, in written and oral forms, utilizing the language and concepts of marine science.
Fall 2014 & Spring 2015 – Oceanography (MR240)

• The outcome pertained to writing an extensive report on the water mixing pattern of the Dausokele estuary. In both semesters, students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLO. Consequently, they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_4.

Fall 2014 – Ichthyology (MR230)

The outcome measured pertained to a group assignment relative to presenting and oral presentation on a research project in the Ichthyology course. Eleven of twelve students successfully completed this outcome of oral summarization. They exceeded the targeted score of 70%. Consequently they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_4.

MS_PSLO_1: Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of geological, geomorphological, physical, chemical, and biological oceanography.
Fall 2015– Marine Biology (MR120)

• Students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% (exactly 74%) on the measured SLOs (classification of marine organisms and identifying the major cell components and their respective functions).

Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 – Oceanography (MR240)

• Students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLOs except for SLO 7 (factors that influence the primary productivity in the oceans) where they scored 60% in Fall 2015 and 67% in Spring 2016. Consequently, more in depth explanations need to be given in class on this SLO in order for the students to demonstrate the required level of mastery for an associate degree.

MS_PSLO_2: Apply fundamental knowledge of marine sciences towards identifying and critically analyzing and outlining potential solutions for local, regional and global problems relating to marine systems.

Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 – Fisheries Biology and Management (MR250)

• Students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLOs except for SLO 9 (state the major biological parameters used in stock assessment, notably: stock abundance, fishing effort, catch rate, growth, recruitment, mortality, and yield) where they scored below 50% in Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. Consequently, more in depth explanations need to be given in class on this SLO in order for the students to demonstrate the required level of mastery for an associate degree. Consequently they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_2.

MS_PSLO_3: Apply the scientific process to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and collect and analyze data from which valid scientific conclusions are drawn.

Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 – Oceanography (MR240)

• The outcome pertained to writing an extensive report on the water mixing pattern of the Dausokele estuary. In both semesters, students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLO. Consequently, they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_3.

MS_PSLO_4: Communicate effectively, in written and oral forms, utilizing the language and concepts of marine science.
Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 – Oceanography (MR240)

• The outcome pertained to writing an extensive report on the water mixing pattern of the Dausokele estuary. In both semesters, students who completed this course exceeded the targeted score of 70% on the measured SLO. Consequently, they demonstrated the required level of mastery for an associate degree for the MS_PSLO_4.

Fall 2015 – Ichthyology (MR230)

• To satisfy this outcome, the Ichthyology class had both midterm and final lab projects that required students to “communicate effectively in written” (midterm project) and “oral forms” (final project). Assuming a grade of “C” or better represents successful completion of the outcome, then the following depicts the results of this as measured by the Ichthyology course. For the midterm lab project, 14 of 15 (93%) students successfully completed this outcome while on the final (oral) project, 15/15 students (100%) satisfied this outcome as measured by the scoring rubrics (see attached) used to assess this outcome.

Program enrollment (historical enrollment patterns, student credits by major)

Average class size

Course completion rate

Student retention rate (Fall-to-Fall for two-year programs; Fall-to-Spring for one-year programs)

Graduation rate based on yearly number

Students seat cost

Not Available

Cost of duplicate or redundant courses, programs or services

Not Applicable

Students’ satisfaction rate

Not Available

Alumni data

Not Available

Employment data and employer feedback (employer survey)

Number of students currently employed in major area

· 4 presently working at CSP (including the current Executive Director)

· 4 presently working at OFA

· 1 presently working at MERIP

· 3 presently working at the private sector – at PMA, the responsible for coordinating and dispatching the observers on the US affiliated fleet is a former graduate from the MSc program

· 4 presently working as observers on Board Program (working for various agencies such as NORMA; FFA; SPC; there are a number of former students who are now observers on board and are engaged in a well-respected career.

· At least 1 presently working at NORMA – the scientific adviser at NORMA is a former MSc student who has continued on to further his education at a higher degree

· MERIP; CSP and OFA have been approached to offer feedback on their needs and what skills/knowledge our MSc majors should master if they expect to work for one of these organizations.

· We are equally exploring the possibilities of sending a survey to potential employers and our former students in order to improve our curriculum and update our program according to the job market needs.

· Marine Science Program is planning to provide a Marine Science feedback survey to determine strengths and weaknesses.

Program added or cancelled at nearby regional institutions (PCC, GCC, Hawaii schools, UOG, CMI, NMC)

Not Available

Transfer rate

There is a MOU for the transfer of our MSc majors to the University of Hawaii system. Most students will transfer to Hilo, although a few of the exceptional one will continue on to Manoa; presently, there is a good number of students who have transferred to Hilo and a numerous others graduating this spring plan on furthering their education at Hilo. A number of students will continue on at the University of Guam. Their numbers is less than those continuing on to Hilo. A few will receive a scholarship to study at the University of South Pacific (USP) in Fiji. [Presently, there is at least three student from the Marine Science program who are studying at USP under AustAid scholarship program: Christina Jack; Luan Gilmete; Jessie Panuel]. Scholarship for studying in China [Jamal Jones has finished his bachelor’s degree in China and is presently working on his Master’s Degree; beforehand, there was a Yapese student who completed a Bachelor’s degree in M. Science in China—this student has returned to Yap]

Analysis

Findings

This section provides discussion of information discovered as a result of the evaluation such as problems or concerns with the program and what part of the program is working well and meeting expectation.

According to the collective data, we have found several issues;

1) Low completion rates for some courses (Marine Biology - MR 120) and Oceanography - MR 240)

2) Enrollment of new full time students between academic school years can drastically changes

***Proper actions will be taken to improve student enrollment and success.

Recommendations

This section provides recommendations from the program on what to do to improve or enhance the quality of program and course learning outcomes as well as program goals and objectives. This section should also include suggestions that describe how the program might be able to create opportunities for a better program in the future. Some examples are exploring alternate delivery mechanisms, forming external partnerships, or realigning with other programs.