USING A TWO PART FIELD GEOLOGY PROGRAM AS A DEPARTMENTAL ASSESSMENT TOOL AND A CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE

Field Geology, a required course at this mid-sized urban, primarily undergraduate commuter school, was under pressure from administration for cost issues, from students because the course length (6 weeks) did not allow them to work at summer jobs, and to a lesser extent from faculty because it interfered with their research time. However, the department strongly supports the field program acknowledging that field geology is critical to training functional geologists, and that the exotic outdoor experience is a great recruiting tool. To resolve these conflicts the structure of field camp at Salem State College changed from the traditional 6 credit, 6 week summer program to two three credit courses with shorter field sessions, one of which runs in the Spring and one in the summer. Total time spent in the field mapping (exclusive of travel, sightseeing, office or instruction days etc.) is 25 days which compares favorably with existing programs. Faculty have a much appreciated and reduced time commitment. Students show a distinct improvement in field skills between the intro and advanced courses - measurable evidence that learning is taking place. The two courses focus on traditional field mapping in varied terranes with the first course taken at the end of the sophomore year (introductory, Nevada – extensional tectonics) and the second (advanced, Montana – compressional tectonics) at the end of the junior year. New technology is not introduced in the courses but is introduced in the regular curriculum with students using their acquired mapping skills and applying those skills to the technology. The needs of administration to implement assessment vehicles which can be directly related to programmatic development led us to directly link Field Camp as our primary program assessment tool. This linkage has ensured the continued support of administration.