Any objective measures of programs success?
Bucknell: Not really other than the continuing success of our graduates. *FYI As part of our departmental review, we conducted a student survey to see what they thought of organic first. There was a interesting trend (not really a correlation) that younger students, 1st and 2nd year, remained skeptical but by the time students reached the fourth year, they were converts to the idea. I think the opportunity for expanded electives and research was the main factor in the change of attitude. And they found that, in comparison, organic wasn’t really the monster course they all thought it was. Just wait until P-Chem! Some in the dept worried about whether we might be losing students who were math lovers by teaching such a non-quantitative course first, that they might be turned away from chem into physics or engineering. I think the majority opinion, however, was that we attracted students anxious to do something “new” in their first chem course, rather than what they might perceive to be a
