<p>I mean look at the experiments that they appear to be doing in the picture on the left</p>
<p>[Chemistry</a> Department](<a href=“http://www.slcc-science.org/chem/]Chemistry”>http://www.slcc-science.org/chem/)</p>
<p>Chemistry major here- I wouldn’t choose any college below the excellent UW-Madison one. This is a community college- 'nuff said.</p>
<p>Some students start at community colleges and then transfer to state flagships to complete their bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>Those students miss out on the facilities of the better U’s. There are many good academic reasons for students to find a way to attend the better colleges starting as freshmen. I would hope the best students get a better education than possible at community colleges.</p>
<p>Obviously, an advanced student benefits from starting at a four year school as a freshman, since s/he can take junior and senior level courses early.</p>
<p>But many students are not admitted to the flagship level four year schools as freshmen, perhaps because they are late bloomers, or straightened out their study habits too late in high school. Or they cannot afford four years of the flagship, but can afford two years of community college plus two years of the flagship. For the non-advanced student, is there really a big advantage to taking freshman chemistry in a 500 student lecture hall at the four year school versus a 30 student class at the community college, assuming that the community college course is modeled on the flagship’s course and its accepted as equivalent for transfer credit?</p>
<p>I doubt many/any of those students will be serious Chemistry students. Despite what credits transfer there is no comparison to the level at better U’s- if only in the peer group. btw- that 500 student lecture has 15 student discussions, well equipped labs with equipment not found at community colleges (budgets) and TAs who are typically good. In this field the facilities matter a lot and a good college will have several different freshman chemistry courses available including opportunities not available in lesser institutions. If all a student wants is the equivalent of AP Chemistry I suppose any place will do. Same thing for calculus and other fields- college courses can range from merely AP standards to much more material expected.</p>
<p>Would it be correct to assume that Wisconsin has inferior community colleges? Here in California, the community colleges’ courses are modeled on those at the state universities in order to be accepted for transfer credit. Some students who transfer from community colleges to Berkeley do well and go on to top PhD programs in their majors after graduating with their bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>University of Chicago accepted all coursework completed by a friend of D’s at a Seattle community college, which was enough to allow him to graduate in two years with a science degree.
Reed college also granted my daughter credit for the community college science courses that she took during the summer & her year off towards her science degree.</p>
<p>Two wonderful science profs ( both teach chem) have worked at community colleges. Tim Hoyt & Tracy Furutani. I am on my phone so you will have to google them yourself. ;)</p>
<p>“The American Chemical Society (ACS) certified major is recommended for those whose career goals include employment as a professional chemist or graduate school in chemistry.”</p>
<p>There are five ACS-Certified Chemistry degree programs in Utah. Salt Lake Community College is not among them.</p>
<p><a href=“American Chemical Society”>American Chemical Society;
<p>I think one of the pictures may have been in poor taste (maybe I didnt interpret correctly), but I wouldnt knock an entire department for that. Many kids get their start in CC</p>
<p>*The American Chemical Society (ACS) certified major is recommended *</p>
<p>But not required- they also don’t list any two year programs.
Since you need to earn a BA before you attain a PHd, I imagine that the community college students who do so, transferred to a 4-yr school at some point.</p>
<p>The ACS certified major is a 4-yr program; you won’t get it in 2 years at a CC.</p>
<p>I would not dismiss a program based on one picture especially since you don’t know the context in which it was taken.</p>
<p>If you look at their course list, it is very adequate for a student transferring to a 4 yr school with a chem major: basic chem year 1 and organic year 2. </p>
<p>Many community colleges are hidden gems and have course tracks that prepare students well for the state flagship’s 4 year degree. Yes, even in the sciences. Not all cc’s are geared toward only an associate’s degree. For students with limited financial resources, they can be the link to the BA/BS.</p>
<p>Clicking on their links, they even have a chemistry club that sends research projects to ACS convention. That says to me that a student could find peers and research opportunities. If cost is a factor, I wouldn’t say no to this school. A hard-working student with two years of research would not be out of place when transferring to a 4-year school.</p>
<p>I would however, ask the school to take down that picture. Even if the picture was taken out of context, its posting is sending the wrong message (that sexual harrasment is allowed), but I think it is more likely someone being a jerk.</p>
<p>“A hard-working student with two years of research would not be out of place when transferring to a 4-year school.”</p>
<p>True, if the credits transfer, and if course rigor was comparable, and if …</p>
<p>Why doesn’t the girl on the left have her hair tied back? And why isn’t she wearing a lab coat?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The chemistry major at SLCC would transfer as a junior to one of the four year schools to complete the ACS certified chemistry bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>“Why doesn’t the girl on the left have her hair tied back? And why isn’t she wearing a lab coat?”</p>
<p>She’s obviously working on cold fusion, a project which doesn’t require such precautions.</p>
<p>Too bad annasdad doesn’t seem to post any more. He’d probably have a field day with this.</p>
<p>The page with the photo looks like an unofficial chemistry department informational web page set up for current students by faculty member Luther Giddings. It’s not part of the actual SLCC web site, and isn’t even linked to from there (but it does have a link back to the official departmental page). Poking around a bit, it looks like SLCC has a very active ACS student affiliate program that allows students to do research and even present posters every year at the annual ACS national conference. So while I agree the picture is in bad taste, it looks like an in-joke that’s not intended for anyone outside the program, and they actually seem to be giving their students some great opportunities. In 2010-2011 they were one of 36 student ACS affiliates given an Outstanding Chapter Award by the ACS. [ACS</a> Student Chapter Awards](<a href=“American Chemical Society”>American Chemical Society)</p>