Consortium MissionParticipantsActivitiesProjects Web Resources

Mission:

The Consortium for Environmental Curriculum Development and Research seeks to enhance our collective professional growth through collaboratively advancing the curricula at our institutions and integrating our joint support to enable environmental investigation and the acquisition of research instrumentation. The institutions of this Consortium are affiliated with the Appalachian College Association.

Description of this novel venture:

In a novel venture, the participants from these institutions will initiate joint training efforts between the four campuses. This model collaboration will initiate the first effort of its type within the ACA and will be launched with the North Carolina institutions. This collaboration crosses new ground in that scientists from competing schools are seeking to bring joint foundational improvement to the curriculum of each campus and support the professional training of the participating scientists. This collaborative support will reform the traditional operation of independent science programs by providing the means to jointly advance the science programs of all ACA institutions. Such advancements will strengthen the key educational role that instrumentation can play in training our students and advancing the professional levels of our science programs.

If ACA schools are going to be able to make a significant contribution to training scientists with instrumentation skills, we will need to support the utilization of such equipment by combining our faculty skills from each of our campuses. This collaboration must take on many components to successfully support faculty. Our use of the same equipment located on each campus will enable us to develop joint materials and creatively integrate this instrumentation across our shared expertise. Peer training will enable us to share our specific skills and jointly strengthen each other professionally. Outside large institutions, this shared professional collaboration is critically missing. The joint support ensures that the instrumentation effectively integrates various course curricula and extends the goals of our unique programs.

The participants from these institutions will jointly develop tools that enhance curricula supporting the integration of instrumentation across a multidisciplinary environmental science platform. Some equipment needs may vary among the campuses and the collaborative development of these items will greatly strengthen campus programs individually and collectively. This collaborative training will be extended to include all ACA schools and assist those participating in grant development and instrumentation advancements on their campuses. In order to formalize these collaborative efforts and to extend these opportunities to other ACA institutions, a consortium has been established: ACA Consortium for Environmental Curriculum Development and Research.

The ACA Consortium for Environmental Curriculum Development and Research implements a structure that supports equipment training, curriculum development, and collaborative research projects among ACA institutions. The collaborative potential of the ACA schools can greatly impact the strength of the science programs at each of the participating institutions, support the professional development of science faculty, and advance the reputation of ACA collaboration. While not all curriculum development will be strictly environmental, the integration among disciplines that the Environmental sciences curriculum provides, can be a platform that relates work from each of the institutions. In addition, environmental curriculum development can support a common interest in program development at each school.

Collaborative Strength and Credibility

Critical to the assessment of faculty expertise, is the collaborative nature of this grant. Each institution will be able to advance the offerings of their campus, but the joint strength of this collaborative effort lies in the participants' agreement to support each other in the implementation of these instruments within their curriculum. The instructors at each school will benefit from the shared utilization of these instruments through the planned workshops and collaborative publication efforts put forth in the Consortium. Additionally, the ability for the schools to arrange shared access to the equipment unique to their institution, provides extensions of each campus. The expertise in this collaborative group brings an opportunity to jointly advance science programming in the Western North Carolina ACA schools and initiate a program that enables collaborative interchange and faculty support across the whole ACA. The potential advancement of science curricula through this program, provides a strength that is improbable for any of these institutions to accomplish alone and would ultimately provide access to resources comparable to students at larger institutions. The result is the joint strength of these ACA schools and the extended advancement of scientific training among all ACA schools thus enhancing the ability to attract science students and faculty to these institutions.

Affiliations

The consortium was initiated and is hosted by Montreat College and supported through the services of the Christian Environmental Studies Center as a service to the Western North Carolina institutions of the Appalachian College Association (ACA). The Consortium is actively involved with the ACA and supports the many ways that the ACA is currently servicing these institutions. The Consortium receives some funds through the ACA and additionally seeks independent funding.

Please mail any comments to Dr. Mark Lassiter.