Program Purpose

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To provide an integrated education for students interested in managing wildlife populations and wildlands. This program emphasizes the gospel principle of stewardship, with respect to the wildlands of the earth. Specific gospel principles of stewardship are integrated in the profession coursework based on statements in the Doctrine and Covenants (for example, sections 59; 104:11-18 ) and other scriptures relative to the creation, its use, and purpose, and our responsibilities as individuals and as a covenant people. In this way we plan to educate the spirits, as well as the minds of students. To advance truth and knowledge, and to educate students for a better world, we:

1. Prepare students with the knowledge, tools, and stewardship values for wildland science, education, and management careers.
2. Integrate ecological and management aspects of wildland and wildlife sciences in the individual.
3. Provide a major presence of LDS graduates in the environmental stewardship fields by qualifying students for multiple federal job series.

Curricular Structure

Students are required to take 50 hours of core classes which provide knowledge of soils, plants, wildlife species, ecology, and management policies, approaches, and techniques. To complete their degree, students then select 15 elective credits from a broader list, providing them the flexibility to emphasize qualifications in at least two federal job series or to qualify for entrance into professional schools.

 

Complete the Following Core Requirements:

PWS 100 Living with Plants

PWS 113 Safety Certification for Field Biologists

PWS 115 Introduction to Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation

PWS 215 Principles of Range Management

PWS 225 Principles of Wildlife and Fisheries Management

PWS 275 Genetics and Reproduction

PWS 282 Soil Science

PWS 283 Soil Science Laboratory

PWS 330 Rangeland Plant Identification and Ecology

PWS 335 Comparative Animal Nutrition

PWS 344 Natural History of Wildlife

PWS 350 Rangeland Ecology

PWS 355 Rangleand Vegetation Measurements and Analysis

PWS 357 Techniques for Wildlife Investigations and Management

PWS 375 Environmental Policies and Laws

PWS 416 Rangeland Improvement and Restoration

PWS 417 Rangleand Planning and GIS

PWS 446 Ornithology

PWS 447 Mammals of North America

PWS 492 Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation Senior Seminar

 

Complete 15 Elective Credits from the List Identified on the Major Academic Plan (link below):

 

Undergraduate Catalog

Learning Outcomes

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Stewardship and Professional Judgment

Students will demonstrate professional judgment and stewardship of natural resources.

Plant and Wildlife Identification

Identify wildland plants and wildlife species and describe how they function in the environment.

Wildlands Management

Apply knowledge of plant and wildlife ecology to management of wildlands.

Tools, Techniques, and Application

Demonstrate ability to solve ecological and management problems by applying appropriate tools, techniques, analytical thought, and the scientific method.

Conflict Resolution and Multi-disciplinary Teams

Be leaders in conflict resolution and important, contributing members of multi-disciplinary teams.

Evidence of Learning

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Direct Measures

Percentage of acceptable student portfolios which include the following and apply to each expected learning outcome, in order:

1. Two written papers including: 1)an essay on stewardship principles ethics and 2)a paper discussing the application of stewardship principles and ethics to a management situation.
2. Practical exam in senior seminar.
3. Planning class project, senior seminar comprehensive exam, and experience report.
4. Planning class project, senior seminar comprehensive exam, and experience report.

 

All assessment documents will be compiled in a student portfolio which will be reviewed by the instructor of a senior seminar course and other focal area faculty members annually.

The first learning outcome will be assessed by evaluation of two reports written by students in management classes. The first report will be assigned in the 200-level range and wildlife management classes and will require a discussion of stewardship principles in general and as taught in the scriptures, especially the Doctrine and Covenants. The second report will be assigned in at least three upper-division classes and will require students to review a scientific or management issue and then make an informed management or scientific professional judgment using the gospel principle of stewardship to best direct the decision. Instructors of management courses will indicate in their syllabi which required reports qualify for potential inclusion in the senior portfolio to allow this assessment.

The second learning outcome will be assessed by evaluating student performance on a practical exam in the senior seminar. This exam will be conducted by the seminar instructor with help from other faculty members specializing in plant and wildlife species identification.

The third and fourth learning outcomes will be assessed by evaluating student performance in three ways:

1. An acceptable land management plan as developed by a team of students in the Natural Resources Planning course. This is a capstone course designed to integrate knowledge from previous courses in writing an integrated land management plan. This exercise tests the proficiency of students to scientifically and critically analyze natural resources, ecological processes, and desired services and goals using a variety of management tools. It mimics actual professional work by requiring students to work together in teams, as do professionals, to assess and manage wildlands within a public land management policy-based framework.
2. Individual student proficiency in applying an understanding of ecology to critically analyze information to make management decisions will be evaluated in a comprehensive exam conducted during the senior seminar course. Questions will mainly be problem-solving exercises drawn from the degree core classes, with additional alternative questions that students can choose from based on their own emphases and elective courses taken. Performance on specific questions will be evaluated by the senior seminar instructor and other focal area faculty to determine needs for strengthening coursework or course materials.
3. Students will write an experience report during the senior seminar. It will express what they have learned in internship, research mentorship, or employment in summer research projects or while working with a management agency while working on their degree. From their perspective of hands-on experience, students will be asked to suggest modifications in program coursework which could better prepare them for professional employment.

Indirect Measures

1. Placement rates in career jobs.
2. Interviews and senior survey of graduating students.
3. Employer surveys.
4. Graduate school placement rates.
5. Alumni surveys.

These assessments involve 1) a system of tracking students as they graduate to determine their success relative to the program, and 2) receiving feedback from graduating students, alumni and employers on how well our program prepares students personally and professionally. The department secretarial staff will put the tracking system in place and provide the data for items 1 and 4. The department chair and other discipline representatives will interview graduating students and conduct the senior survey. The faculty will develop an alumni survey and an employer survey to send out to students and employers for students that have been in service for at least 2 years.

Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement

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