results of the busac survey of undergraduate biology ...busac/results/2001results.doc · web...

Results of the BUSAC Survey of Undergraduate Biology Majors, May 2001

OVERVIEW

This survey was developed by the Biology Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee (BUSAC), to assist the Biology Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. The survey was web-based, and advertised through email circulated to all current undergraduate biology majors during May 2001. The survey was a modification of a similar survey of biology undergraduates completed in 2000. 42 of the 88 current biology majors completed the survey (48%), including 14 freshmen, 9 sophomores, 12 juniors, and 7 seniors. These students were concentrating on premedicine (8), neurobiology (8), molecular biology or immunology (7), biochemisty (6), genetics (6), undecided (6), or other fields including computational and behavioral biology (4). Non-biology students who completed Bi1 are not represented in this survey.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The results of an electronic survey of Caltech biology majors suggest general satisfaction with the biology curriculum, but single out a few areas requiring improvement. Student responses were generally consistent with the results from the 2000 survey. Students are most concerned by the introductory classes, the quality of teaching (both professors and TAs), and the dearth of lab courses and system- or organism-level biology classes. In brief:

Introductory classesWhile students are satisfied with advanced classes, they ask that introductory classes be improved. Students are particularly dissatisfied with Bi 8, 9, and 122, asking for better teaching, TAs, less overlap, and more organization—many would like to see the three classes replaced with a yearlong course covering basic biology in a more comprehensive and united fashion.

“I would suggest making a yearlong introductory course that covers those things that Bi 8, 9, and 122 are supposed to. Everyone I know agrees that very little is learned in Bi 8 whereas Bi 9 is incredibly information-dense, making it tedious and frustrating. Material covered in Bi 9 is covered again in later classes anyway. I strongly think that a yearlong course would greatly improve our understanding of basic biology concepts, which are crucial in more advanced classes but are often lacking under the current system.”

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“Bi8 is under-united. I spent maybe 12 hrs the whole term on it. But don't reduce the units; make the course better, with lectures that are relevant to the exams and exams we need to study for (i.e. not infinite time, closed book).”

“Restructure the curriculum so that students clearly understand the basics of biology after their first year.”

TeachingMany students wish that teachers were more enthusiastic and that TAs were more stringently chosen and better trained, particularly for the introductory classes.

“There should be a more stringent selection process for TAs. Incompetent or unhelpful TAs make even the most interesting and best-taught class a nightmare for students.”

“The teaching must be enthusiastic if it is to be a good experience. [In my experience], Bi 8, 9 and 10 are regarded as the worst part of the biology curriculum…”

“Erin, Gilles, Ellen and Marc Konishi all teach only a few weeks of classes and are all good teachers. Get them to teach more and hire profs [who see teaching as a priority].”

Course improvementsStudents would like to see more classes offered, particularly classes concerning macrobiology (anatomy, physiology, organismic biology) and lab courses. Students suggest that courses could be better distributed throughout the year by moving some classes from the overloaded second term to the near-empty third term and by staggering the biannual classes.

“Hire faculty who represent fields other than molecular biology and are interested in teaching.”

“ANYTHING at all on animals bigger than simple cells...it would be nice if the kind of material that is currently totally skipped over by the bio division that nonetheless appears on the MCAT and bio GRE were addressed somewhere...anywhere...”

“Advanced micro/cell biology lab.... something more advanced than Bi 10 that teaches you Flow Cytometry, southerns/westerns, tissue culture.”

“Don't make first term so crowded (Bi 150, 122, Bi/Ch 110) and be more sensible about not scheduling all the ones that are offered every other year in the same term and year (like Bi 188, 189, 190); third term is pretty empty—the distribution of classes over terms isn't good”

DETAILED SURVEY RESULTS

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At the time the survey was given, there were 88 declared undergraduate biology majors at Caltech, of which 42 (48%) responded. Not everyone surveyed responded to all questions. In this report, the questions asked on the survey are denoted by bold, italic font. Where it is appropriate, the response is followed by the number of respondents in parentheses. Several questions required the respondents to rank their satisfaction with a particular aspect of the undergraduate biology program on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denoted great dissatisfaction and 5 denoted great satisfaction. These data are presented graphically: the mean value is shown and error bars denote standard deviation from the mean.

Are you happy being at Caltech? Yes 86% (36)No 12% (5)No Resp. 02% (1)

Are you happy as a biology major? Yes 93% (39)No 07% (3)

What is your field of interest in biology (premed, biochemistry, undecided, etc.)? premedicine (8) neurobiology (8) molecular biology/immunology (7)biochemisty (6)genetics (6)undecided (6)other (4)

Figure 1. Distribution of respondents’ fields of interest in biology. The colors used in this figure are maintained

throughout the report.

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Rank your satisfaction with the biology curriculum in general

The ordinate of these figures shows the sentiments of all the biology majors who responded to the survey (hereafter referred to as students) as well as these responses broken down by class *figure 2a) and by concentration (Fig. 2b). The abscissa shows the satisfaction from a scale of 1 to 5 (very satisfied). This scheme is continued throughout.Students showed slight satisfaction with the biology program with the exception of seniors, who were moderately dissatisfied (Fig. 2a). Students concentrating in molecular biology, immunology and genetics were most satisfied with the overall biology curriculum while students concentrating in premedicine and neurobiology were least satisfied (Fig. 2b). This finding correlates to a good representation of molecular biology and an under-representation of systems-level classes in the curriculum. Figure 2a (top) and 2b (bottom)

Rank your satisfaction with the required biology and chemistry courses

This question did not illuminate any strong feelings of the students toward the required biology and chemistry classes. Though it is not statistically significant, there is an unfortunate trend toward increasing dissatisfaction as students experience more classes (Fig. 3a). Again, students concentrating in fields that emphasize molecular

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biology seem to be happier than students interested in systems-level and organismic biology (Fig. 3b).

Figure 3a (top) and 3b (bottom)

Rank your satisfaction with the introductory biology courses (Bi 8,9,12,122,150, Bi/Ch 110)

Introductory classes need improvement. All classes and concentrations lean from indifference to dissatisfaction with the introductory series. Freshmen are unhappy, possibly because they happen to be in the midst of those classes (Fig. 4a). Interestingly, seniors are consistently the least satisfied of all the classes.With the exception with neutral attitude of students concentrating in biochemistry, all concentrations seem to think that the introductory classes need improvement (Fig 4b). Though neither of these observations is statistically significant in most cases, it is a convincing trend, particularly when coupled to the responses students gave to open-ended questions. Introductory courses were frequently named as a major problem.


Rank your satisfaction with the advanced biology courses in your field of interest

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Advanced courses, on the other hand, are fine. All classes and concentrations (even the seniors) ranked advanced classes highly (Fig. 5a,b). Not surprisingly, undecided students and those with atypical interests were the least satisfied. This is intuitive, as advanced classes tent to cater to the interests of the students. After reading the students’ comments, one might also speculate that improved teaching plays a role in the students’ satisfaction. Advanced courses tend to be taught by knowledgeable professors who are interested in the material and communicate this excitement to the students. Students are aware that much of what they are learning is on the cutting edge of research.


Rank your satisfaction with the schedules of biology courses

Students that need to schedule many biology classes are dissatisfied with the process. This is evident by the relative unhappiness of sophomores and juniors, who take a greater number of required biology courses (Fig. 6a). The causes of their unhappiness are explained in detail in a free response question addressing this issue.All concentrations with the exception of premeds seemed to be moderately unhappy with scheduling (Fig. 6b). This is an issue that needs to be addressed at a high level.

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Figure 6a (top) and 6b (bottom)Rank your satisfaction with the suggested sequence of courses

Students seem to be more or less happy with the suggested sequence of courses, though they complain that a sense of direction is lacking, some prerequisites are inadequate and some advanced courses are easier than their prerequisites. As students gain experience with advanced courses, these problems seem to become more apparent as suggested by the trend seen in Figure 7a.Most concentrations share similar sentiments about the suggested sequence of classes, except for students interested in under-represented fields. This can be seen in the rightmost column labeled ‘other’ in Figure 7b.


Rank your satisfaction with how courses build upon each other

Satisfaction with the buildup of courses decreases dramatically as students experience more classes. Freshmen, with their limited experience, seem to be satisfied while sophomores and juniors feel neutral and seniors are dissatisfied (Fig. 8a).Students concentrating in molecular biology, immunology and genetics are most satisfied,

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while students concentrating in neurobiology and ‘other’ fields are least satisfied (Fig. 8b)


Rank your satisfaction with the amount of overlap between courses

The breakdown of students’ satisfaction with the amount of overlap between classes strongly parallels their satisfaction with the buildup of courses, suggesting a common factor (Fig. 9a,b). A common complaint is that many professors are unaware of what material is being covered in their colleagues’ classes leading to unnecessary repetition and omission of important concepts. Again, students grow increasingly dissatisfied throughout their time at Caltech. Neurobiologists and students concentrating on ‘other’ fields are dissatisfied with both the buildup and the amount of overlap between classes. Students concentrating in genetics, molecular biology/immunology or premedicine are moderately satisfied with both the course buildup and amount of overlap.


Rank your satisfaction with the units assigned to courses

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Students are generally pleased with the uniting of classes. There are no significant differences between classes or concentrations in this issue (Fig. 10a,b). For problems with specific classes, see the free response question that directly addresses this issue and asks the student to list specific classes.


Rank your satisfaction with the teaching by the professors

Students are neither strongly satisfied nor dissatisfied with teaching by professors overall. This holds true between classes and concentrations (Fig 11a,b). Many classes are adequate, some are taught exceptionally well and some are taught poorly. See the summary of student’s responses to the question “How could teaching in the biology division be improved?” for more details on this subject.

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Rank your satisfaction with the teaching by the TAs

Though there are no strong opinions in any one group, there seems to be a trend toward dissatisfaction with TAs (Fig. 12a,b). Juniors and seniors seem to be more satisfied which is consistent with comments that teaching in advanced courses is generally better than teaching in introductory courses.

Figure 12a (top) and 12b (bottom)Rank your satisfaction with the helpfulness of professors

No group has strong feelings about the helpfulness of professors, though juniors and molecular biology/immunology students seem to be slightly more satisfied than average and neurobiologists seem to be slightly more dissatisfied (Fig. 13a,b). Professors are usually

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very open to students’ comments and questions, but students often lack the confidence to approach them. Student satisfaction is highest when the professor shows interest in the concerns of the class, as in Bi12.


Rank your satisfaction with the helpfulness of TAs

Upperclassmen are slightly more satisfied with the helpfulness of TAS than freshmen and sophomores (Fig. 14a). This is consistent with comments that TAs in advanced classes are more knowledgeable and excited about the field than TAs in introductory classes. Students concentrating in pre-medicine are satisfied with TAs, but neurobiologists, biochemists and geneticists think that there is room for improvement (Fig. 14b).


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What single change to the biology curriculum would be the most beneficial?The greatest concerns were in four areas:1. A larger variety of courses are needed

(11)(molecular, premed, biochemistry, lab courses etc.)

2. Clearer direction for biology students, possibly split curriculum into tracks (8)3. Better introductory courses are needed (mainly Bi 8, 9, 10 - esp. Bi 9) (6)4. Teaching by professors and TAs should be improved

(5)

Selected comments (grouped by topic):“Adding classes on evolution, physiology, anatomy, and zoology”“Making lab work a requirement - since it is the single experience that contributes the most to your knowledge and application of biology”“Offering more classes [covering a] wider scope of biology . . . ”“Offering more classes, too many are only offered in alternate years and then sometimes not offered”“For premeds, more anatomy/physiology or immunology courses would be great!”

“Completely overhaul the curriculum. Tracks would be nice, and certain introductory courses must be improved”“Restructuring the curriculum so that there is a logical progression of courses with only the necessary overlap. Many professors have no clue what is being taught in other classes and there does not seem to be a sense of cohesion between the classes and between the faculty”“Maybe split up the biology option requirements like, for example, geology does, ie geobiology, geochemistry...we could have molecular biology vs. neurobiology vs. biochemistry etc. Or offer CNS as an undergraduate option. That would be great.”

“The teaching must be enthusiastic if it is to be a good experience. [In my experience], Bi 8, 9 and 10 are regarded as the worst part of the biology curriculum…”

Other concerns:1. Exams should represent material taught in class (1)2. Reduce the core requirements for Bi majors (2)3. None (5)

How could the sequence of introductory biology classes be improved?Greatest concerns were in the following areas:1. Bi8/9 need to be changed (15)

a. Bi 8: the class is disorganized and doesn’t cover enough; the student must learn most of the material independently

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b. Bi 9: Class is dull and lacks interaction; TAs are often unhelpful; too much information is covered

2. Professors need to teach and communicate better (8)a. Too many intro course have overlapping informationb. Some professors seem annoyed that they must teach, and

students pick up on this 3. Make intro classes more interesting (6)4. Make a new course to cover intro biology (5)

a. maybe a year long course to cover Bi 8, 9, 122b. add intro labs5. Change Bi 122 (get rid of some TAs) (3)

Selected comments:“I would suggest making a yearlong introductory course (Bi 7abc) that covers those things that Bi 8,9 and 122 are supposed to. Everyone I know agrees that very little is learned in Bi 8 whereas Bi 9 is incredibly information-dense, making it tedious and frustrating. Material covered in Bi 9 is covered again in later classes anyway. I strongly think that a yearlong course would greatly improve our understanding of basic biology concepts, which are crucial in more advanced classes but are often lacking under the current system.”“Bi 8 is widely viewed as a throwaway class. You can put in minimal effort and still get a decent grade. I suggest changing the structure of Bi 8 so that students need to learn the material. Also, there is very little continuity between the introductory classes. I think we would get a much more solid foundation in biology basics if the courses were coordinated to avoid too much overlap while removing gaps in the material.”“Bi 8 was rather easy, which was nice, but [we did not learn the necessary material]. Bi 9 was very hard [and lecturing was poor]. The material is interesting but not really easy to learn in the current format. There is not incentive to do all the reading (more problem sets along the way could be helpful if the midterm is going to be as difficult as it was.) We didn't know what to expect/study for the midterm and everything was graded rather harshly. Bi 10 is all right but nothing works. The lecturer is good for Bi 10.”

“Communication between professors so that they would know what materials had or had not been covered.”“Reduce overlap between Bi 8 and Bi 9, give us a good intro course rather than Bi 2. Bi 122 is horrible, stop making us take it or change everything about the course.”“The sequence is fine, but the courses need more structure in order for the material to be fully ascertained.”“Make it so the classes could be taken all in the first two years so that it is possible to decide which general area is most interesting to the student.”

Other concerns:1. Change catalogue (2)

(because it says that Bi8/9 should be taken sophomore year and are usually taken freshman year)

2. Sequence fine (6)3. None (13)

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List any requirements that you think are inappropriate or outdated.Greatest concerns were in three areas:1. Bi 8 needs to be changed (4)2. New courses that teach the material in Ch41, 21a/24ab, but for biologists (3)

a. These courses need to be shortened, because Bi majors don’t need to go through all of the material meant for Chem majors

3. Bi/Ch 110 needs to be changed (3)a. The material overlaps with other classes, is too simplistic and is

unnecessary

Selected comments:“Bi8 and Bi9 are pretty useless. More lab courses need to be offered and more options need to given overall. Listing Bi11 when no such class exists is [an unfortunate oversight].”

“Ch 41 is helpful for biology, but not three term's worth of pain useful. There should be a one or two term class, organic chemistry for biologists, that covers those aspects of organic chemistry that we will actually use. Learning how to do complicated synthesis is a waste of time for biologists; let the organic chemists worry about it. Then Bi/Ch 110, which is a prerequisite for many classes, could be taken in the sophomore year, giving the student much more freedom to take the advanced classes in his field of interest.”

“I think that the "choose three" list is too short, or the classes on the list should be offered every year.”

Other concerns:1. More classes should be offered (2)

a. Esp. in the “choose three” catagory b. Make more classes offered every year

2. Bi 9 needs to be changed (2)3. Change core (Ch 3 and Ma1) (2)4. Bi 11 does not exist, take it off the catalogue (2)5. Change Bi122 (“overkill”) (1)6. None (21)

List any specific lecture or lab courses you would like to see offered.Six greatest concerns were in the following areas:1. physiology (13)2. anatomy (13)3. evolution (6)4. labs and lectures (10)

a. generalb. genomicc. molecular/immunology

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5. zoology (5)6. psychology/behavior biology (include labs) (4)

Selected comments:“Any lectures relating to animal behavior, evolution, physiology, and other macroscopic fields of biology. In other words, more classes like those offered by Allman and Konishi.”

“Advanced micro/cell biology lab....something more advanced than Bi10 that teaches you Flow Cytometry, southerns/westerns, tissue culture.”

“ANYTHING at all on animals bigger than simple cells...it would be nice if the kind of material that is currently totally skipped over by the bio division that nonetheless appears on the MCAT and bio GRE were addressed somewhere...anywhere...”

Other concerns:1. paleontology (3)2. practical skill classes (3)

a. reading and analyzing scientific papersb. preparing for MCATs and GREsc. using computers for biology studies

3. population biology/genetics (2)4. development biology (2)5. cognition/nervous system (include labs) (2)6. biophysics (1)7. ecology (1)8. environmental science (1)9. marine biology (1)10. drugs and diseases (1) 11. biotechnology and bioengineering (1)12. none (15)

How could the schedule of classes be improved?The two greatest concerns were in the following areas:1. Offer the same classes and at different hours and times in the year

(16)a. Spread out first term classesb. Shift concentration of classes from second to third term (i.e. neuro) (8)c. Stagger biannual classes

(8)d. Less overlap between biology classes and between biology and Core classes (4)

2. Offer a better variety of classes each term(12)

Selected comments:

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“Don't make first term so crowded (Bi 150, 122, Bi/Ch 111) and be more sensible about not scheduling all the ones that are offered every other year in the same term and year (like bi 188, 189, 190); third term is pretty empty- the distribution of classes over terms isn't good”“. . . I was trying to register for fall term classes and I'm taking bi 180, a required lab courses. However, because I'm taking this class, I'm unable to take any other biology class next term because they are all offered at the same time (MWF 2-4) that 180 is.”“A lot of elective classes are scheduled for the same time and days, like Bi 214 and Bi/CNS 216 for Fall 2001. It is really hard to take courses that sound interesting when they are scheduled at the same time.”

“Ensure that requirements precede more advanced classes and that classes are distributed evenly among the terms. For example, there are a huge number of advanced Bi/CNS classes offered second term, but very few offered first term. Many classes are also only offered biannually, which makes scheduling very difficult.”

“All the interesting courses are offered alternating years, for the most part the same alternating years. So, some people have only one year (junior year) to cram these courses in, and the rest have to take them sophomore and senior years, which are less optimal. If these courses were offered in staggered years, ie half of them on one pattern and the others on the years in between, the course schedule would be more balanced.”

“For freshman and sophomores, many of the physics and math classes overlap with biology courses. Put more of the biology classes in the afternoons to avoid this problem.”

Other concerns:1. more afternoon/night classes instead of morning (2)2. Divide 90 minute lectures into 1 hour/2 hour sessions (2)3. Make intro classes easier to take (1)

Please list any classes that are under-united or over-united.The areas of concern for UNDER united were in the following:1. Bi 123 (4)2. Bi 9 (4)3. Bi 122 (3)4. Bi 150 (2)5. Bi 114 (2)6. Ch3 (1)7. Ch 41 (1)

The areas of concern for OVER united were in the following:1. Bi 8 (5)2. Bi/Ch 110 (4)3. Bi 111 (2)

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4. Bi 113 (2)5. Bi 2 (1)6. Bi 152 (1)

Selected comments:“I think that Bi 111 is over-united (requires <12 hours per week), Bi 122 and Bi 110 are about right, and Bi 123 and Bi 114 are severely under-united (I believe I spend about 20-25 hours a week on average for Bi 123, and maybe 15-20 a week on Bi 114).”

“Bi8 is very over-united, since nobody ever goes to lecture. Bi 9 is pretty under-united considering the amount of time it takes to memorize all your notes for a test. Bi 10 lab went overtime on every occasion except maybe two, so i think the units are a little wrong there too.”“Bi8 is under-united. I spent maybe 12 hrs the whole term on it. But don't reduce the units; make the course better, with lectures that are relevant to the exams and exams we need to study for (i.e. not infinite time, closed book).”

“Anything that I felt was over-united was almost entirely due to my own thick-headedness, not to how the majority of people perceived it.”

Please list any aspects of biology that you feel are under-represented or over-represented in the curriculum.Two major points:1. Macrobiology in UNDER represented

a. anatomy (10)b. organismic biology (8)c. physiology (6)d. plant physiology (3)e. population biology (2)f. ecology (2)g. evolution (2)h. environmental biology (2)i. behavioral biology (2)j. psychology (2)k. genetics (1)l. taxonomy (1)m. immunology (1)

2. Microbiology is OVER representeda. Biochemisty (7)b. Molecular chemistry (5)c. Neurobiology (5)d. Genetics (2)e. Proteins (1)f. Experiments design (1)

None (15)

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Selected comments:“There is a big emphasis on molecular biology, but not much at all on system-level biology. There is little or no plant biology offered, little ecology, and no taxonomy. It would be nice to better integrate environmental engineering with the biology curriculum; it's interesting stuff and I predict it will become more and more important to understand biology on a grander scale in the future as our impact on the planet becomes more severe.”“. . . I love learning all the biochem and neuro stuff, but when I started prepping for the MCAT, questions like "why do we have kidneys?" required lots of thought. It would be really nice to have a standard course offered to fill in the gaps of knowledge that the national standardized tests assume us to have - I don't mean a "MCAT prep course" but a good "bio intro for bio majors" would set us more in league with students from other schools.”

“I'm pretty happy with the representation here. Classes offered are appropriate, if not interesting.”

“the fact that biology is interesting is severely underrepresented in the intro bio courses.”

How could teaching in the biology division be improved?Areas of concern:1. Professors

(17)a. Profs should be more enthusiastic about teaching and about undergrads (7)b. Improve communication between Profs to reduce overlap c. Communication between Profs and TAs should be better, more organizedd. Profs should be more available to students

2. Improve on teaching quality and helpfulness of TAs(7)

3. Provide more interaction in lectures(6)

a. student-teacher interactions during lecturesb. models and physical examples; improved visual aids

4. Discuss papers and writing examples; return graded papers(2)

5. Slow pace of classes (1)

Selected comments:“There should be a more stringent selection process for TAs. Incompetent or unhelpful TAs make even the most interesting and best-taught class a nightmare for students.”“Better graduate TAs! Some are really good and motivated to help the undergrads and work with the Caltech system. Some, however, seem to TA just because they have to and don't put effort into helping or understanding the students.”

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“Find teachers who are more engaging in the classroom and genuinely interested in promoting understanding rather than merely presenting the material.”“Erin, Gilles, Ellen and Marc Konishi all teach only a few weeks of classes and are all good teachers. Get them to teach more and hire profs [who see teaching as a priority].”“Overall, the teaching has been fine, with the exceptions of Bi 8, Bi 9, and Bi 122. The lectures in Bi 8 are not cohesive and well organized. . . . lecturing in Bi 9 is also difficult to follow, but only because [it] is almost unbearably boring. Sorry, [the prof is] probably a nice guy, but it's tough to pay attention. I'll discuss Bi 122 in the next field (worst class).”

“For the Biochemistry series, especially Bi/Ch 111, a greater use of 3D computer generated protein structures would help give a better feel active sites and important structural features.”

What have been your best and worst biology courses and why (required/recommended chemistry courses included)?BEST classes (if a number is not indicated, only one vote received):1. 12 (8)2. 162 (4)3. 150 (3)4. 10 (3)5. 123 (3)6. 120 (2)7. 9 (2)8. 150 (2)9. Ch41c (2)10. 21611. 17612. 19013. 15714. 815. 11016. 11217. 18818. 18019. 11420. Ch1a21. 15222. 12223. 15824. 24725. 216

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26. 244

WORST classes (if a number not indicated, only one vote received):1. 9 (18)2. 122 (10)3. Ch41 (5)4. 8 (4)5. 150 (2)6. 107. 1878. Ch1b9. Ch21a

Selected comments:“Best: Bi 216, Bi 176, and Bi12 because the teachers were excellent and the subject matter was very interesting. Worst: Bi150, Bi122 because certain TAs ruined the subject matter and class via extremely poor attitudes towards helping students.”

“Best courses: Bi150, Bi190. The topics are very interesting and the profs are very good. The problem sets are very challenging also. Worst course: Bi122. TAs were not helpful and the problem sets were not good.”

“Bi 9 - best and the worst. Really interesting material is gets lost in . . . monotonous lecturing. New Lodish book is great: very readable without sacrificing detail. Bi 150- best and worst. Hits you in the slap in the face if you're unprepared. Needs a prereq or to be split into two terms or something. The volume of reading alone kills you, even though the material is so great and so essential for neuro. CNS 247- Best. Fabulous. Anderson is great, the articles are interesting, the class format is realistic and fair.”

“WORST: BI 122. Everything about this class was horrible--the prof, the TAs, the problem sets, the grading, the way the course was run, I could go on and on and on.... Best: Hmm, 2 way tie between Bi 216 (Allman) and Bi 244 (Kirschvink--not even a bio prof!) because they were interesting, the profs enjoyed teaching, the TAs were cool and understood the subject matter.”

Additional comments or concerns:Selected comments:

“Hire faculty who represent fields other than molecular biology and are interested in teaching. Restructure the curriculum so that students clearly understand the basics of biology after their first year.”

“The biology department should try to encourage students to enter the field of biology in the introductory courses, rather than scare them away, and go for understanding of concepts and basic knowledge rather than incredibly specific memorization of every protein in the cell, which should come at a later date in more specialized classes. I would have been completely lost in Bi8 if I hadn't already learned everything being taught from a Biochemistry class I took in high school, and Bi9 is a lottery of guessing what to memorize for the tests. It seems strange to me that the frosh in Bi1 seem to be learning a lot more biology than I have in two terms of biology classes, not to mention Bi2 and Bi10. It also sort of

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seems stupid that biology and chemistry majors are required to take 5 terms of math and physics, but that's Caltech for you.”

“Making Ochem p/f for biology students would be cool, because it's hard to compete with the hard-core chem students, and thus our GPAs are crushed. Also, it seems that all of the really REALLY interesting courses are offered alternating years. This makes scheduling them all very difficult, especially when most are only offered SECOND TERM. All of the Bi classes I want to take senior year are second term, so I have nothing to do first or third term. Maybe this is a result of my specific interests, but still it is a pain in the neck.”

“Right now it seems like the bio department does everything it can to convince frosh NOT to be bio majors. The intro classes are such a pain that all of us have at one point or another seriously considered changing our major. We need to do a much better job of making bio a recognized and important part of this predominantly physics school and the best way to do that is to NOT SCARE OFF THE BIO MAJORS!”

“It would be nice if Bi 10 was not so limited in enrollment.”

“Somehow the whole schedule of pre-reqs needs to be moved back to make room for BiCh classes. There should be SOMETHING you can start taking before your junior year. More small seminar-format classes with a single TA. I signed up for a paleobio seminar and it had [more than] 50 people in it. Biology is such a broad subject that we need to offer more little 3- or 6-unit random classes on current research or little subareas of the field.”

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