The 

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES

AUBURN UNIVERSITY at MONTGOMERY

MISSION STATEMENT:

     We in the Department of Physical Sciences strive to:

1. Provide courses for the university core requirement in the sciences that include primary topics in the physical sciences.
   
2. Provide chemistry and physics courses that support other science curricula, professional studies, and pre-professional studies.
   
3. Provide courses and an overall curriculum for the physical science major that will provide the skills needed and the opportunity for entry into the world or postgraduate study.
   
4. Provide opportunities for physical science majors to participate in undergraduate research projects with faculty members in the department, and for pre-health students to obtain appropriate clinically-related experience.
   
5. Provide timely advising for physical science and pre-health science students.
   
6. Provide professional services in the university and in the local, state, and national community within the context of the overall needs of the department and the university.
   
7. Participate in research and other scholarly activities commensurate with the needs, interests, resources, space, and schedule of the department.
   
8. Encourage the securement of outside funding for the support of departmental teaching, research, development, and service activities.
   
9. Continually review the mission statement and activities of the department to ensure that they are appropriate to the needs of the students and university.

   PHILOSOPHY OF HIGHER EDUCATION :

   We in the Department of Physical Sciences believe:

   The institution of Higher Education is an entity that lends itself to the development of highly skilled and knowledgeable graduates as produced through the instructional and tutorial methods of education. We further believe that both students and university faculty play an active and important role in such development and that both have the right to participate fully in the constructs that affect the future products of the educational endeavors. It is also our belief that for success to be achieved in the classroom, and in the wider community following graduation, that the administration of the university has a major role of supporting both the student and faculty in areas directly and indirectly affecting the future outcomes of the students, faculty, and university.

   ROLES OF FACULTY :

   The primary role of the faculty member in the Institution of Higher Education is that of providing each student with the quality of lecture and presentation that is the direct product of his or her professional education, coupled with life experiences, and includes the expertise offered by, or obtained through the study of others expert in the field. Professional educators should not be limited by their own personal knowledge, but should seek to improve their knowledge of the subject matter with which they are charged with instruction. Such knowledge, then, is to be conveyed to the students through various methodologies and in such a manner as to provide the student with every opportunity to obtain the basic understanding of the concepts, strategies, and principles of the given subject matter.

   ROLES OF THE STUDENT:

   The student must have an active role in his or her education, and must dedicate him or herself to the achievement of the concepts, strategies, and principles involved in learning a given subject. He or she must be conducive to learning and should expend the required effort and time to adequately and appropriately prepare for the demands of the course materials. Students are expected to have achieved certain basic knowledge that are prerequisites for the content of the forthcoming material, or be in the concurrent process of receiving instruction to remediate weaknesses. It is the responsibility of the student to determine his or her level of readiness for course material and subsequent instruction, and to discuss with the faculty member related concerns in a reasonable fashion. 
   

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