The CALS Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Task Force was instituted by Deans Susan Henry (CALS) and Peter Lepage (CAS), and met from February 2007 to May 2008 to investigate the teaching of undergraduate biology at Cornell. Our main emphasis was on the teaching of introductory biology, and the organization of the core course requirements for biology majors. Below we present an executive summary of our report. There are two other documents that you can read by clicking on the link:
1) Full Task Force Report. This is the first report of our task force, laying out the rationale for a new organization of the undergraduate biology curriculum. It is much more detailed than the executive summary.
Click here to access the Full Task Force Report.
2) Appendix--Implementation of the Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Task Force Report on Introductory Biology. This report gives the details of the steps needed to implement the major recommendations of our first task force report. It describes the committee structures and decision-making steps, as well as recommending paths for new course development and approval. This report gives the details for those who worry that “the Devil is in the details”.
Click here to access the Appendix.
The task force disbanded on May 29, 2008, and its reports have been submitted to Deans Henry and Lepage.
Executive Summary of the Task Force's Report
February 6, 2008
The Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Task Force was instituted by Deans Susan Henry (
1. An independent one-year laboratory course, “Introduction to Investigative Biology” will be required of all Biological Sciences majors, and will be available to other non-Biological Sciences majors if deemed appropriate for the requirements of those majors. This course will emphasize a thorough introduction to the scientific method, as well as introducing specific techniques in biological research.
2. Students majoring in Biological Sciences will no longer take a one-year introductory biology course. Instead, they will be expected to take a set of five introductory courses in core areas of biology. Three of these areas (Genetics and Genomics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Evolution and Diversity) will be required of all Biological Sciences majors, while the remaining two will be chosen from the three areas of Physiology, Cell and/or Developmental Biology, and Ecology and Sustainability. These core courses will provide in-depth coverage of the full spectrum of biology. While the core courses can be taken in any order, we recommend a suggested ordering of the different core classes by developing them at freshman, sophomore, and junior levels of sophistication.
3. Students who are not Biological Sciences majors but are majoring in other scientific disciplines (e.g., Human Ecology, CALS applied science departments, physical sciences, and pre-clinical students pursuing other majors) will continue to have available an improved version of a one-year introductory biology course sequence designed to emphasize a smaller number of core concepts and analyze them in greater detail than in the present course. These courses should also have discussion sections that engage in active learning exercises. These students will also have the opportunity to take the new core courses described in Point 2, if that better suits their academic needs.
4. The Introductory Biology course provides an alternative entry into the major for Cornell students who are unsure of their major in their first year. Specifically, students who have already completed the two-semester Introductory Biology course and the first year biology laboratory course will be allowed to complete the Biological Sciences major by taking the three required core courses and one additional core course, to be chosen following consultation with the student’s academic advisor and subject to the requirements of their area of study (as well as the other normal requirements for the major).
5. Students transferring into the Biological Sciences major (from another university or another major at Cornell) will also receive partial credit for a previous course in introductory biology and only have to complete four core courses for coverage of introductory biology.
6. For non-scientists (including CALS non-science majors fulfilling a biology requirement), we recommend the development of additional courses that teach biology through a more targeted study of issues important to society. This topic has been the focus of another task force, and we are in agreement with their conclusions.
7. Pre-clinical (medical/veterinary/dental) students will have improved options over those they have had in the past.
Read the full Task Force report here.
Executive Summary of the Original Charge to the Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Task Force from Deans Susan Henry (CALS) and Peter Lepage (CAS)
Given Cornell’s strategic emphasis on the life sciences, it is imperative that the teaching program in Undergraduate Biology remain among the very top programs of its kind in the country. A faculty task force will be established for the purposes of assessing our current curriculum and overall program in Undergraduate Biology, benchmarking it against our major competitors and making strategic recommendations for its continuing excellence. The Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Task Force will operate under the joint supervision of the Deans of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
Charge to the Task Force
- The Task Force is asked to focus initially on the first-year Biology curriculum; specifically Introductory Biology (Intro Bio), and the portion of the curriculum that falls outside the purview of the curriculum committees that oversee departmentally-based concentrations within the Biology major. The Task Force will focus on whether current introductory courses meet the needs of all students who require such an introduction, and will suggest changes to improve such courses.
- The Task Force is asked to review the core requirements for the Biological Sciences major, and make recommendations for improvement. The Task Force will focus on the current “core requirements” for all majors in the biological sciences, including both core biology courses and ancillary courses in mathematics, physics and chemistry.
- The Task Force is asked to propose a strategy and/or process for achieving the full involvement and utilization in teaching of faculty across the Life Sciences in all departments regardless of Life Science disciplines. The Task Force is asked to consider this question, in particular, with reference to recent hires over the past five to six years through the Genomics and New Life Sciences Initiatives.
- The Task Force is asked to discuss and recommend the development of a process by which the Undergraduate Biology Program can undergo continuous assessment and innovation. It is asked to study the current governance and decision-making structures for the biology curriculum, and propose improvements to allow the full faculty to participate in the continuing evolution of the curriculum.
Read the original charge to the Task Force from Deans Henry and Lepage here.