By Dr. Paul W. Ivey, ContributorTHE INTERNET (a worldwide collection of inter-connected networks) as we know it, is less than 10 years old but its impact on our society has been, to put it mildly, tremendous. And its consequences are as yet unknown. Once on the Net, users can tap into a vast reservoir of information resources.
Here at CASE, in the Faculty of Science, we have leveraged the power of the Net in our academic programme development process. The most recent example was the development of our Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science, with specialisations in Environmental Protection & Management and Ecotourism.
In 1998, CASE in partnership with the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, as a prelude to the development of academic programmes at the baccalaureate level, carried out a series of needs assessment surveys to determine the disciplines that were in demand. From these surveys, 86 per cent and 78 per cent of CASE graduates and current students, respectively, indicated a desire to pursue a programme in environmental science.
Before embarking on the development of the programme, the Faculty of Science, through its Biology Sub-committee, consulted key stakeholders and, on November 09, 2000, invited a number of organisations from the public and private sectors to a workshop at the Fern Hill Hotel, San San, Port Antonio, Portland to discuss its development. Members of CASE's Biology Sub-committee and student representatives complemented the group. The stakeholders fully supported the development of the programme and suggested core as well as elective courses that could be included in such a degree. At its subsequent meetings, the Biology Sub-committee, assisted by research conducted on the Internet, further developed and fine-tuned the programme.
Recognising the awesome reservoir of information that the Net represents, we took the conscious decision to exploit it to our advantage. Specifically, we visited the websites of accredited institutions that offered degree programmes in environmental science and ecotourism. From these sites we gained a "feel" for the overall structure of their programmes. The next step was making contact, via e-mail, with individual course lecturers from whom we requested copies of their course outlines for perusal; responses, with attached course outlines, were received in the majority of cases within
twenty-four hours.
By utilising this approach, in concert with the "Standards for Baccalaureate Degrees" developed by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ), we were able to finalise our programme (inclusive of detailed course outlines) within three months; the programme commenced in August 2001.
Paul W. Ivey, Ph.D., Dean, Faculty of Science, College of Agriculture, Science & Education.
