City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME V
Organizational support for providing programs to support student learning. Each year the Dean of
Science and Mathematics asks the Chair to provide Department goals and objectives and these are
incorporated in the annual plan report for the School of Science and Math. The Dean recently applied
for a Hewlett-Packard grant for laptop computers for the Department. He found this grant announcement
in a publication that lists grant opportunities and that is periodically prepared and sent via e-mail to the
College community by the Office of Research, Planning and Grants. This Office has also been very helpful
in seeking other grants for the Department, including a Department of Labor grant for a Medical Lab Tech
Program. The Dean and instructors note that it is helpful that mailings of grant opportunities are targeted
to specific departments that might be interested. Through Instructional Block Grant funding, the
Department has received some funds to purchase microscopes and equipment for the physiology lab.
The Department finds some problems with the faculty hiring process. One concern is that the process is
so lengthy. Science teaching posts are very competitive and they feel that they have lost some very good
candidates due to the long process at CCSF. Also, they find the interview process too rigid and rote and
wish it could allow for more spontaneity and dialog with candidates. They have found the Human
Resources Department helpful in writing job announcements.
The Department has used the small Academic Senate Travel Funds allotment they have received but wishes
there were more funding available for professional development activities. The difficulty of finding a time
when all faculty are available to get together was raised and they expressed a wish that there could be an
identified college hour during the week when no classes are scheduled, to provide a time for such things as
department faculty meetings, meetings with faculty from other departments, or professional development.
The Department has one chair who receives 12 units per semester of reassigned time from the College
to coordinate the Department. The demands on the Chair, faculty, and classified staff have grown significantly
in recent years due to the high student demand for the majority of biology classes, increased lab
sections, and expansion of the Biotechnology Program, an inter-disciplinary program which is housed in
the Biology Department. The chair reports that the Biology Department and the Biotechnology Program,
which has its own coordinators, are “trying to find their way together” but are finding some structural
problems. Five years ago there was no clerical support, but the Department now has a secretary for 20
hours a week. They feel they need a full-time secretary and additional student clerical support such as
is provided to the Chemistry Department. They have only one full-time classified technical assistant to
oversee the running of approximately 90 lab sections each semester and have repeatedly requested a
second full-time assistant in recent years. They have a handful of student lab aides but they come and go,
and it takes considerable time and effort to train new aides. The Department reports that the Dean of
Science and Mathematics has been very supportive of all their endeavors.
The Department is very pleased with the support that students receive from the Learning Assistance
Center and the Disabled Students Program and Services Department. There is some concern that students
sometimes do not get the correct information from their counselors about the appropriate sequence of
courses they should be taking and the Department Chair plans to meet with counselors to review their
program. For many years, the Department has had a Biology Resource Center where students can study.
Reference books and resources are available, and the room is staffed at all times by an instructor who can
assist students and offer some tutoring services. They feel some students do not have sufficient English
and math skills to succeed in their courses and feel it would be helpful to have, for example, services
that would aid students in learning how to do scientific writing.
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