Dana Wright, Director of Academic Program Development

Transcription

1 March 7, 2018 Academic Program Development 2614 University Hall (MC 103) 601 South Morgan Street Chicago, Illinois TO: FROM: Ilene Harris, Chair Senate Committee on Educational Policy Dana Wright, Director of Academic Program Development I am submitting for the review and action of the Senate Committee on Educational Policy the attached Proposal to Revise the Master of Public Health, Concentration in Water Quality and Health. The proposal was approved by the following entities within the School of Public Health (SPH): Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences on November 10, 2017 SPH Committee on Educational Programs on December 15, 2017 SPH Executive Committee on January 2, 2018 ATTACHMENT

2 Title: Proposal to Revise the Master of Public Health (MPH) Concentration in Water Quality and Health Sponsor: School of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) Executive Summary: Changes to the Water Quality and Health MPH are proposed in order to 1) incorporate changes being made in response to CEPH accreditation requirements; 2) incorporate the proposed establishment of a 6-SH EOHS Core, which will be required of all EOHS programs; 3) improve existing courses that have been part of the Water and Health MPH Concentration,4) add a new 500-level course that will provide students with a better understanding of emerging concerns and innovative approaches to addressing those concerns; and 5) a revised list of selectives for this program. The revisions will not impact the total required hours for the program, which remain a minimum of 43 SH as required for any Comprehensive MPH degree. Description and Justification: The Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences offers multiple MPH concentrations, including an MPH concentration in Water Quality and Health. THE CURRENT PROGRAM In addition to the School-Wide Requirements (18-20 hours), the Water Quality and Health (WQH) program currently has a WQH core comprised of the 12 SH of required coursework and at least 3 selective courses. Selective and elective courses are taken to reach at least 43 SH to earn a Comprehensive MPH degree. The selective and elective courses must add depth to the student s training in EOHS or WQH. Required EOHS 411 Water Quality Management (4 SH)* EOHS 418 Analysis of Water and Wastewater Quality (2 SH) EOHS 440 Chemistry for Environmental Professionals (3 SH) EOHS 455 Environmental and Occupational Toxicology (3 SH)* Note: The two courses marked with an asterisk (EOHS 411 and EOHS 455) fulfill the 1

3 EOHS division core requirements, which involve choosing a course from each of two areas: exposure assessment and health assessment. Selective (select at least 3 of the following) EOHS 405 Environmental Calculations (2 SH) EOHS 475 Health Related Database Design and Analysis (4 SH) EOHS 556 Risk Assessment in Environmental and Occupational Health (3 SH) EOHS 512 Advanced Water Quality Management Topics (4 SH) EOHS 542 Water Chemistry (4 SH) EOHS 436 GIS for Environmental and Public Health Professionals (4 SH) EOHS 564 Geographic Information System Application in Public Health (3 SH) UPP 461 Geographic Information Systems for Planning (4 SH) EOHS 572 Environmental Risk Assessment and Management (4 SH) CME 521 Environmental Microbiology (4 SH) EPID 594 Advanced Special Topics in Epidemiology - Outbreak Investigations/Field Epidemiology Methods (credits vary) SCHOOL-WIDE REQUIREMENTS The school-wide core requirements are not being revised. However, IPHS 650 (Field Experience in Public Health) and IPHS 698 (MPH Capstone Experience) are being renamed to align with the new titles required by the Council on Education for Public Health, the accrediting body for public health education. EOHS DIVISION CORE REQUIREMENTS The EOHS Division is introducing a new, required core curriculum to replace the selectives in exposure assessment and health assessment. There are several reasons for this change. First, the courses in each of the lists did include similar learning outcomes, which would make assessments required by CEPH accreditation difficult. Second, students graduated with diverse skill sets and could avoid classes that developed quantitative or laboratory skills. Third, the faculty wanted students to have a better understanding of the big picture of environmental and occupational health. Students were graduating with specific technical skills, but were unable to link them together in a holistic framework. The new divisional core will be comprised of two courses: EOHS 401 and EOHS 402. These two courses are required of all students completing MPH concentrations awarded by the EOHS Division. EOHS 401: Ethics and Justice in Environmental and Occupational Health [2 SH]. This new course teaches ethical principles and their application to the analysis of environmental and occupational health problems. Justification: This new course is proposed to address a gap in the previous curriculum, which did not explicitly discuss ethical principles or justice, and to reflect a trend towards enhancement of bioethics in public health education. 2

4 EOHS 402: Systems Approaches in Environmental and Occupational Health [4 SH]. This new course teaches systems approaches to the anticipation, assessment and solution of occupational and environmental health problems. Justification: This new course is proposed to address a gap in the previous curriculum. The previous curriculum focused in training students in methodologies and concepts used in environmental and occupational health sciences, but not how these methods and concepts are used together to anticipate, assess and solve problems. MPH CONCENTRATION IN WATER QUALITY AND HEALTH The following additional changes are proposed: 1. Changes to the list of required courses EOHS 411 and 418 will remain required courses. EOHS 418 is being revised, however, to incorporate principles of chemistry in addition to principles of microbiology. EOHS 440, Chemistry for Environmental Professionals, has been a requirement for this concentration. Under the proposed changes it will become a selective. Justification: EOHS 418 will now cover chemistry principles related to water quality, such as ph, equilibrium, stoichiometry, alkalinity, and basics of nitrate and phosphate chemistry. Thus, all students in the Concentration will have a working knowledge of basic chemistry principles. Those who want more in-depth chemistry knowledge will be able to take EOHS 440 as a selective. EOHS 455, Environmental and Occupational Toxicology is no longer a required course. Justification: The EOHS Core (EOHS ) will provide all EOHS students with fundamental principles of toxicology. EOHS 511, Current Challenges in Water and Health (2 SH) is proposed as a new required course for students in the Water Quality and Health MPH concentration. Justification: This required course will cover more advanced topics, including emerging health concerns related to water, new methods for testing water, new approaches to treating water, and sustainable solutions to water scarcity. Students will take this course after they have taken EOHS 411 (Public Health Water Quality Management) and 418 (Analyses of Water Quality for Public Health), and this course builds on the knowledge and skills acquired by students in those courses. EOHS 553, Global Environmental Health (2 SH) (currently Global Occupational and Environmental Health ) is proposed as a new required course for students in the Water and Health MPH. Justification: This course will be revised to focus more on challenges to global health posed by climate change, water scarcity, economic globalization, and barriers to the availability of safe water for all in lowincome countries. These topics are all needed by public health professionals who specialize in ensuring safe water and sanitation for the public. 3

5 Students will subsequently complete 4 courses (EOHS 411, 418, 511 and 553) totaling 10 hours. 2. Addition to list of selectives Addition: EOHS 440, Chemistry for Environmental Professionals, will be a proposed selective (rather than a requirement). Justification: EOHS 418, until now a requirement for this concentration, will now cover chemistry principles related to water quality, such as ph, equilibrium, stoichiometry, alkalinity, and basics of nitrate and phosphate chemistry. 3. Eliminated from the list of selectives EOHS 405, Environmental Calculations, 2 SH EOHS 512, Advanced Water Quality Management Topics, 4 SH EOHS 542, Water Chemistry,4 SH Justification: The above-listed courses will no longer be offered. Content from EOHS 405 will be included in EOHS 402, part of the EOHS core. EOHS 512 typically only draws at most one student per year. Advanced water quality issues relevant to this concentration that had been covered in EOHS 512 will be addressed in EOHS 511 (Current Topics in Water and Health). The content of EOHS 542 is far more advanced than the level of chemistry required by water and health practitioners. Instead of 3 selective courses, students will take 1 selective course. Catalog Statement: The program being revised is not included in the graduate college catalog, but is included in the SPH MPH Student Handbook Current School-Wide Core IPHS 401 IPHS 402 (or IPHS 404 and IPHS 405) IPHS 403 IPHS 650 IPHS 698 HIPAA Research Training Investigator 101 Training Divisional Core EOHS 411 EOHS 455 Additional Requirements EOHS 418 EOHS 440 Proposed School-Wide Core Divisional Core EOHS 401 EOHS 402 Additional Requirements EOHS 411 (Revised) EOHS 553 EOHS 511 4

6 Selectives (choose 3) Selectives (choose 1) EOHS 440 EOHS 436 EOHS 405 EOHS 512 EOHS 542 EOHS 475 EOHS 556 EOHS 564 UPP 461 EOHS 572 CME 521 EPID 594 Electives Electives Chosen selectives and electives must add depth to the student s training in EOHS, and further the (to attain at least 43 SH) student s attainment of the competencies identified for the program and concentration. Minority Impact Statement: The proposed changes should have no impact on minority students specifically. The proposed changes have the same impacts improving a program on all students. Admissions requirements are unchanged. This conclusion was made following a thorough review of each of the proposed changes, evaluating whether each change specifically impacts students of any group. The review found no such impacts. Budgetary and Staff Implications: The proposed program changes will not require the hiring of additional faculty or the commitment of additional staff time, and for that reason, should have no impact of expenditures. Budgetary impacts may be positive, as increases in the enrolment of range-paying students would bring tuition revenue to the Division. No impacts of the MPH program on other departments are anticipated. This conclusion is based on the fact that the program is internal to the EOHS Division of the SPH, and does not compete with any existing program. Library Resource Implications: Space Implications: The proposed changes have no impact on library resources. The program will need resources that the library has, such as subscriptions to full-text services for journals (Environmental Science & Technology, Water Research) and journals available through Iliad (Journal of Water and Health). The proposed modifications to this concentration have no space implications. 5

7 Unit (e.g. department) approval date: College (educational policy committee, faculty) approval dates: Division Faculty (equivalent to Departmental at the SPH) approved: 11/10/17 School of Public Health (College) Committee on Educational Programs: 12/15/17 SPH Executive Committee: 1/2/18 Contact Person: Proposed Effective Date/Term: Samuel Dorevitch, Associate Professor and Director (Interim), Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, UIC SPH Fall,