Department of Chemistry By The Numbers

The Department of Chemistry has instituted sweeping changes to our general chemistry program! In fall 2018, we introduced CHE 110, Problem Solving for General Chemistry 1, a one-credit discussion course to augment firstsemester General Chemistry. CHE 110 is recommended for students with limited high-school backgrounds in chemistry. The course introduces problem-solving strategies and reiterates core concepts, promoting success in our overall general chemistry sequence. On the basis of students’ performance and feedback, the initial offering of CHE 110 was a resounding success. We are further refining this new course for 2019-2020. In winter 2019, Prof. Troy Wood taught the department’s first online general

chemistry course. Prof. Wood and Prof. Stacey Gulde developed the online course with funding from the UB EXCITE (Excellence in Course Instruction Through Enquiry) program. In fall 2019, our general chemistry laboratory and lecture/recitation portions of our general chemistry sequences were split into two separate courses, providing students with flexibility in scheduling their UB chemistry experience. Finally, in fall 2019, we unveiled a rejuvenated general chemistry laboratory curriculum featuring new and updated experiments and a new laboratory manual. Through these curricular reform efforts, we aim to modernize and enhance students’ UB chemistry experience, to maximize their likelihood of success, and to facilitate the continued expansion of enrollment in undergraduate chemistry courses.