Charter

Statement of Purpose

BUSAC is responsible for serving as ombudspeople for the undergraduate courses offered by Caltech’s Biology division. It is responsible for obtaining student commentary, and providing immediate feedback to the faculty. BUSAC also has the capacity to propose new ideas and new courses to the division faculty.

The reason that BUSAC is necessary is to address increasing student concerns about the quality of a biology education at Caltech.

Objectives

• Serve as a liason between students and faculty in the biology division
• Conduct an annual survey of biology undergraduates to determine the level of satisfaction with Caltech biology classes and curriculum
• Meet with the faculty Biology Curriculum Committee at least once a year to provide feedback about our findings
• Conduct annual elections to replace graduating or departing members of BUSAC with new representatives from within the biology undergraduate community
• Conduct an annual survey for the purpose of giving teaching awards to deserving professors and TAs

Scope and Boundaries

BUSAC is concerned only with the biology portion of the Caltech undergraduate curriculum, and with problems therewith.

Team Members

BUSAC shall be composed of the following positions annually:

• Chairman
  • Conducts meetings
  • Conducts elections
  • Represents BUSAC before and groups, committees, or individuals
• Secretary
  • Takes minutes of each meeting
  • Prepares a course commentary for the term to be passed on to the next term's secretary
  • Compiles, with the help of the other members, the three term's commentaries into a complete report for the year, and publishes it to be distributed to all biology majors and prospective biology majors
• General BUSAC representatives
  • Obtain, through survey of current students, opinions and suggestions about Caltech undergraduate biology
  • Report to both the Biology Curriculum Committee and any relevant or concerned faculty and and all grievances brought to BUSAC's attention which may warrant such action
  • Present teaching awards annually to professors and teaching assistants based upon the votes of current biology students

  In addition to the basic positional objectives, BUSAC will be made up of three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen, and will have representatives from at least five of the seven houses amongst its members to ensure a broad representation.

Ombudspeople

Many of the classes in the Biology division will be covered (i.e. currently taken) by the members of BUSAC themselves in a given term. In the case that a class is offered and not taken by a member of the BUSAC, a student in that class who is not on the committee will be asked to act as an ombuds.

Meetings

The BUSAC will meet at least three times per term. All members of BUSAC and the faculty advisors will be present at all of these. Meetings will take place in the first, fourth, and eighth weeks of the term.

Resources

The BUSAC has obtained an account for funding through the Biology Department.

Timeframe

All major actions and reports by BUSAC are to be finished by the end of the third term of the relevant school year, unless extenuating circumstances arise.

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