Agenda

Minutes

Physical Science Task Force Meeting

August, 19, 1998

6-9 PM

NRG 2228

General

1. Agenda was approved

2. Minutes for June 26, 1998 meeting were approved

3. Attendees introduced themselves by name subject area and typical campus

4. TFL announced courses which were in danger of not making. Some discussion of procedure occured

5. The item o bookkeeping issues was tabled

6. The process for election of voting AF reps to task force was discussed, and nominations were opened. Scott Gainer, Sal, and George Staff were submitted

7. TF decided to continue meeting first Friday of each month.

8. A preliminary schedule for Faculty development day was distributed and activities host by the TF were discussed.

9. TFL announced that Spring FT teaching assignments would be made soon and that faculty should be thinking about what they want to teach in the spring.

10. TFL announced

i. FT should submit syllabi to Dean

ii. AF should submit syllabi to Asst. Dean

PHY/AST/ENR

1. TFL reported that he had made a site visit to Smithville HS. Based on his visit, he repoarted that SHS had inadequate equipment to conduct PHY 1614 and that the course would be dropped from the schedule.

2. A general discussion of the Course guidelines for Physics was held. The rationale behind them was discussed. Some comments on specific implementation issues were made.

3. The AST faculty split off to hold a discussion regarding creating guidelines for AST courses.

MINUTES FROM THE GEO/PSC SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING - 8/19/98

1. Plans for Earth Science Week (October 11-17, 1998) - To celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the American Geological Institute has launched a nationwide initiative to establish an annual Earth Science Week. The objective of this week is to raise public awareness and understanding of the Earth sciences and the contribution they make to our daily lives. Individuals and organizations in Texas, and throughout the nation, are planning events and activities for the first annual Earth Science Week on October 11-17, 1998. The geology and physical science faculty are pursuing the following initiatives for Earth Science Week:

a. Department of Geology Logo - Ron Johns will work on a design for a departmental logo. This logo will be placed on departmental brochures and on stickers for hard hats and equipment. Once the logo design is approved, Bob Blodgett will solicit bids for adhesive stickers. Two ideas to include on the loge were a rock hammer and a scanned image of an ammonite from the Austin. Draft due by 9/11/98

b. Departmental Brochure - Jan Smith has agreed to draft the text for a tri-fold departmental brochure describing the geology program at ACC. Draft due by 9/11/98

c. Drilling Rig Demonstration - With the help of Francye Hutchins of the Texas Mining and Reclamation Association, Bob Blodgett is working to have a drilling rig take a core at the NRG Campus. Francye has contacted ALCOA and they have identified one of their contractors to drill the core. Bob has received encouragement from Dean Fonken and Vice President Goodall for this project. Once drilled the core can be split for teaching purposes and for display. Bob is planning to have Cindy Mathes, the new lab assistant at NRG, prepare posters for the drilling exhibition during Earth Science Week, and have media staff or classes videotape the drilling.

d. Displays in the Learning Resource Center - The suggestion was made to contact the librarians in each of the LRS centers and offer rock, mineral, and fossil specimens for display during Earth Science Week.

e. Speaker Outreach - A speakers list will be put together to offer to the public schools for Earth Science Week. Professors Sal Valastro and George Staff have volunteered as speakers.

2. Plans for ESSTEP GIS/GPS and Image Processing laboratory exercises and workshops at ACC - Bob Blodgett has requested release time to developed three modules (GIS, GPS, and Image PC) for use in GEO 1614. Bob will conduct a workshop for the faculty once these modules are completed.

3. Computer needs for GEO/PSC faculty and laboratories - Thanks to the efforts of Paul Williams and Lori Rosenthal, the GEO/PSC lab at NRG will be receiving new Pentium computers by the end of the month.

4. Field trips

a. Policies and forms - Bob Blodgett distributed the attached field trip policies and forms that were adapted from those developed by the biology task force. It was noted that the policies in force last year were issued by Dean Rodi and may not apply under the new dean. Several important issues need to be addressed on a long-term basis by either the Task Force Leader or the Dean:

(1) Can students drive other students (i.e. carpool) once a field trip has begun?

(2) Can individuals who are not ACC students or ACC employees participate in class field trips?

b. Safety - Bob Blodgett announced that the NRG campus has purchased 40 hard hats for student use

c. Scheduling joint field trips for the Fall Semester - There was a consensus that it was too late to schedule joint field trips for the 1998 Fall Semester.

d. Discussion of a proposal to revise the catalog descriptions of

GEO 1614, 1624, 1633, 1643, and 2614 to mention field excursions - There was a consensus that field trips are a very important part of each of these course. The Faculty agreed that a sentence should be added to next year's catalog stating "May involve a field excursion." A similar statement appears in the course description for BIO 1614.

5. Plans for GEO/PSC course assessments - GEO and PSC faculty were informed that the same ten questions should appear on GEO 1614 and PSC 1603 exams this semester. The assessment process for these and other courses will be revised when work on course learning outcomes and core topics is completed.

6. Purchasing needs for FY99 - Bob Blodgett announced that requests for purchasing laboratory supplies for FY99 should be sent to the full-time GEO/PSC faculty at each campus.

7. Strategic plan for the Geology of Texas course - Tabled for the next Task Force Meeting.

8. Plans for the Thursday (8/20/98) workshop on establishing learning

outcomes and core course content in GEO 1614 - Bob Blodgett announced that this Faculty Development Workshop would be held in RGC Room 108 at 1:30 PM on Thursday, August 20.

9. New textbook adoptions FY99, and establishment of committees for

FY2000 adoptions - New textbooks for the 1998-99 academic year are as follows:

GEO 1614 - Physical Geology

Lecture - Hamblin, W. Kenneth and Christiansen, Eric H., 1998, Earth's dynamic systems (eighth edition): Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 740 p.

Lab Manual - Busch, Richard M., ed., 1997, Laboratory manual in physical geology (fourth edition): Upper

Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 280 p.

GEO 1643 - Oceanography

Garrison, Tom, 1999, Oceanography; An invitation to marine science (third edition): Belmont, CA, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 552 p.

PSC 1603 - Science and the Environment - Instructors can either use the existing textbook, Living in the environment; Principles, connections and solutions by G. Tyler Miller, Jr. or the following new textbook:

Nebel, Bernard J., and Wright, Richard T., 1998, Environmental science; The way the world works: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 698 p.

2 Attachments

ACC Geology Field Trip

Blanket Information and Release Form

Course:

Field Trip Date(s):

Participant information (please print):

Name:	Phone:
Address:

In the event that I become ill or have any type of accident or other emergency situation concerning my health, safety or well-being, I authorize Austin Community College to obtain the services of a licensed physician to treat and administer medication to me. By doing this I release and hold harmless Austin Community College, its Board of Trustees, officers and staff, for any liability whatsoever that may result from negligence, nonfeasance or malfeasance that may arise as a result of the emergency and/or treatment.

I, the undersigned, hereby state that I am an adult over the age of eighteen (18) years, and that I am mentally competent to make this release. I will notify ACC in writing if this status changes. (Students under the age of 18 must have the signature of a parent or legal guardian on this form) I further state that I am physically able to participate in the above event to be held on the date(s) noted above. For good and valuable consideration received, I state that I do waive, release and discharge Austin Community College, its Board of Trustees, officers and staff from any claim, demand and/or cause of action arising out of my transportation from any location of Austin Community College, Austin, Texas to our destination noted above and return to Austin Community College or elsewhere. I also agree and state that Austin Community College, its trustees, officers and staff are not guilty of negligence, nonfeasance or malfeasance in sponsoring this trip and I release Austin Community College, its trustees, officers and staff of any liability that may result from any type of accident or other injury to myself that may occur en route to the event, at the event, during the trip, and return from the event.

Signature _________________________ Date ___________________

(if student is under 18 years of age this form must be signed by a parent or legal guardian)

Signature of witness _______________________________

Emergency Information:

name of person to contact in case of emergency
telephone number(s) for emergency contact person
name of personal physician
telephone number of personal physician
medical information - check any that applies:
asthma
diabetes mellitus
epilepsy
severe food allergy (specify)
allergy to medication (specify)
anaphylactic reaction to insect venom
hemophilia
other (specify)
medical training (first aid, EMT, nurse, etc.) if any
If you plan to carry a cell phone along on the trip, may we have your number to use as an emergency contact only?	Cell phone #:

ACC Geology Field Trip Policies for Students

Blanket Form

course:	semester:
professor:

By signing this form I acknowledge that I have read and understood the policies for field trips for this course and that I agree to follow them.

Print name	signature
SSN	date signed

A. Standard Policies for all trips

1. You must complete an information and release form before attending any field trips.

2. ACC college policies and procedures will be observed at all ACC-sponsored events

(this includes but is not limited to policies regarding drugs, alcohol, tobacco use, concealed weapons, standards of conduct, and sexual harassment).

3. Failure to observe rules or follow instructions of person(s) in charge will be handled according to policies explained in the ACC student handbook.

4. Do not leave the group at any time without first informing the person in charge of the group (professor).

5. Wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the trip you are participating in (this will be explained in advance by your professor).

6. If you are not on time you will be left behind and will miss the field trip.

7. Damage to or loss of college property will be handled according to policies explained in the college catalog. Replacement cost of equipment will be charged to persons responsible for damage or loss.

8. If you endanger the safety of another member of the group you will be dismissed immediately from the trip. You may subsequently be disqualified from participation in other activities sponsored by ACC.

9. Anyone who is stopped or arrested for illegal activities while on a field trip will be considered to be immediately dismissed from the field trip.

10. Do not litter

Continued on back:

B. Specific Policies for this course:

1.	Do not lift large rocks or place your head under a ledge without looking first. Snakes and scorpions can hide under rocks and ledges.
2.	Do not stand beneath rocks that look unstable.
3.	Do not stand near the edge of an over hang of rock, or near a steep slope of sand and gravel.
4.	Watch for poison ivy when walking through brush or wooded areas. Point our any poison ivy you see to other trip participants.
5.	Your safety comes before all else. Notify your professor immediately if you observe any unsafe conditions.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.