Our Project addresses the challenges of transfer student recruitment and retention in the Applied Environmental Sciences program at Oregon Institute of Technology through developing a more flexible, modularized core curriculum. The enhanced curriculum will continue to emphasize an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to environmental science but will also allow students to develop "hands on" technical skills at their own pace. The Project will uncouple the technical skill-building components from five core courses to create seven new 1-credit courses which will be offered several times during the year. The new courses will teach skills in basic computer applications, spreadsheets, ArcView GIS (Geographic Information Systems), GPS (Global Positioning System), streamwater chemistry, riparian assessment and field methods, and simulation modeling using STELLA software. Three benefits will result from this Project: we will be able to enhance the learning environment for our students by transforming our traditional computer labs into interactive multimedia tutorial modules; secondly, by offering the skill-building modules more frequently than is now possible, transfer students will be able to catch up on missing skills and progress more quickly into upper division courses in the Applied Environmental Sciences program; and, finally, the proposed modules will be able to be exported to two-year colleges, thus allowing students to acquire technical skills earlier in their education. Through these outcomes, this Project is expected to improve recruitment and retention of students into the field of environmental science where demand for trained professionals will continue to grow into the foreseeable future.
