The College of Biological Sciences is attracting some of the most qualified students at the University of Minnesota. Our “average” freshman graduated in the 95th percentile of his or her high school class and scored 28.6 on the ACT. Many chose CBS over other top schools around the country.
This didn’t happen by accident. Our goal is to provide the best undergraduate biology program in the United States. Over the past decade, we have been working toward that goal by increasing opportunities for student research, strengthening the curriculum, and improving the undergraduate experience with innovative programs. One example is Nature of Life, a three-day summer class at Itasca where freshmen get to know each other, our faculty and our curriculum before stepping into a classroom. Last May, when the first class to go through Nature of Life as freshmen graduated, our four-year graduation rate jumped by 13 percent.
But we are not resting on our laurels. We are continuing to look for innovative ways to make our undergraduate program even better. This year, we launched a new course called Foundations of Biology. In this class, students cover textbook material on their own and work in groups to apply the knowledge to solve real problems such as how to create a vaccine for West Nile virus.
Our next step is to give students more opportunities to participate in international research. We are exploring the possibility of creating a global laboratory using faculty with established research programs in Costa Rica; Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Norway and the Galapagos Islands. By tapping into this network, students could monitor the effects of climate change and other environmental problems in different parts of the world. Our field stations at Cedar Creek and Itasca would serve as the hub of this network.
Our guiding principle is to question “business as usual” in order to continuously transform our undergraduate program and give our students the best education possible. We know they’re up to the challenge. I encourage you to read about our amazing freshman class in the cover story, which begins on page 8.
Robert Elde, Dean
College of Biological Sciences
elde@umn.edu
