Botany and Plant Ecology

• Mission Statement

  The mission of the Botany and Plant Ecology Department at Weber State University is to create an environment for students from diverse backgrounds to blossom as scientists, to root themselves as ecologically conscious citizens, and to grow into thoughtful botanists.  We accomplish this by recognizing that botany is one of the few scientific disciplines that explicitly touches each culture; therefore, we strive to value and respect the diversity of cultural knowledge that shapes our understanding of the plant world. We offer a variety of high quality classroom, laboratory, and field experiences across the discipline. Our botany graduates find employment in academia, industry, or government. 

• Student Learning Outcomes
  • Certificate

    Students completing the Field Botany Certificate will have a knowledge of the following goals and learning outcomes:

    Goal 1 Breadth across three major subdisciplines of Botany

    • Molecular and Developmental
    • The chemical and molecular machinations operating within all biological processes.
    • The centrality of genetic systems’ governance of life’s actions from the cellular to the phyletic
       
    • Anatomy, Physiology, and Organismal:
    • The coordinated regulation of integrated cellular systems and their effect on the physiological functioning of organisms
       
    • Ecology and Evolution:
    • The dynamic interaction of living systems with each other and their environments
    • The transforming role of evolution in changing life forms and how evolution explains both the unity and diversity of life.
       

    Goal 2 Core Competencies:

    • The Process of Science:  Students will use observational strategies to test hypotheses and critically evaluate experimental evidence.
    • Quantitative Reasoning:  Students will represent diverse experimental data sets graphically and apply statistical methods to them.
    • Communication: Students will disseminate results of experiments in a variety of presentation formats to a wide variety of audiences.
    • Sustainability: Students will use their knowledge of biology to address environmental issues and solutions.
       

    Goal 3 Skills:

    • Basic Lab Techniques (For example: pipetting, light microscopy)
    • Lab Safety (For example: chemical hygiene, sharpsm waste management)
    • Navigation (For example: GPS, mapping, remote sensing)
    • Plant Identification (For example: Dichotomous keying, common Utah flora, curating specimens)
    • Plant Community Sampling (For example: plot selection and design, sampling strategies, vegetation sampling methods)
    • Field Safety (For example: minimizing risk from field hazards in remote areas such as weather, travel, wild animals, and terrain)
    • Record Keeping (For example: field notebook)
       
  • Associate Degree (Not Applicable)
     
  • Bachelor Degree

    This is the last assessment that the Botany and Plant Ecology Department will be doing under the current Student Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Grid.  Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, the Student Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Grid will be aligned with the American Association for the Advancement of Science Call to Action for Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education.  The new learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Science in Botany are as follows:

    Goal 1 Breadth across three major sub-disciplines of Botany:

    1) Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental:

    • The chemical and molecular machinations operating within all biological processes
    • The centrality of genetic systems’ governance of life’s actions from the cellular to the phyletic
       

    2) Anatomy, Physiology, and Organismal:

    • The coordinated regulation of integrated cellular systems and their effect on the physiological functioning of organisms
       

    3) Ecology and Evolution:

    • The dynamic interaction of living systems with each other and their environments
    • The transforming role of evolution in changing life forms and how evolution explains both the unity and diversity of life.
       

    Goal 2 Core Competencies:

    • The Process of Science:  Students will use observational strategies to test hypotheses and critically evaluate experimental evidence.
    • Quantitative Reasoning:  Students will represent diverse experimental data sets graphically and apply statistical methods to them.
    • Communication: Students will disseminate results of experiments in a variety of presentation formats to a wide variety of audiences
    • Sustainability: Students will use their knowledge of biology to address environmental issues and solutions.
       

    Goal 3 Skills:

     1) Lab Skills:

    • Basic Lab Techniques  (For Example: pipetting, light microscopy, chromatography, aseptic technique, microbial culture and plating techniques, cell culture)
    • Molecular  (For Example: DNA extractions, PCR, Gel electrophoresis)
    • Microscopy Techniques  (For Example: Sectioning, Sample Infiltration and Embedding, Phase contrast, Confocal)
    • Safety (For Example: Chemical hygiene, Sharps, Waste management)
       

    2) Field Skills:

    • Navigation (For Example: GPS, Mapping, Remote Sensing, problem solving)
    • Plant Identification (For Example: Dichotomous keying, common Utah flora, curating specimen)
    • Plant Community Sampling (For example: plot selection and design, sampling strategies, vegetation sampling methods)
    • Safety (For example: minimizing risk from field hazards in remote areas such as weather, travel, wild animals, terrain)
       

    3) Data Management Skills:

    • Record Keeping (For example: lab notebook, field notebook)
    • Software Applications  (For example: FLOUVIEW, ARCGIS, R, MATLAB, Spreadsheets, Databases, 4Peaks)

   

   

• Curriculum Grid

• Program and Contact Information

  While plants have intrigued and delighted people for thousands of years, the importance of plants to society and the functioning of ecosystems is often underappreciated.  However, we recognize connections between plants and our basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, and energy. Plants are like other organisms in many ways, but are unique in their role of providing the foundation of food webs on the planet and interconnecting organisms and their environment. Consequently, interest and understanding of plants is growing as we face changes and strive for more sustainable communities. During the last few decades we have seen an increase in the appreciation of plants as the foundation for human life. Worldwide, people are becoming increasingly aware of the role plants play in our general health and nutrition, as well as food stability. As the popularity of ethnic cuisines has grown, the variety of plants and plant products available in our markets has dramatically increased. We now appreciate plants as reservoirs of untold numbers of pharmaceuticals important in our war on disease. These interests are stimulating our collective concerns about understanding the past, present, and future uses of plants.

  The loss of habitat and biodiversity has led to increased attention surrounding the role of plants in ecosystem functioning and stability. Plants interact with both aboveground and belowground biodiversity to influence ecological processes that humans depend upon.  Habitat loss, overexploitation, and global climate change pose serious threats to plant biodiversity. Threats to plant biodiversity, and subsequently ecosystem processes necessary for human survival, have led to increased interest in understanding relationships between plants and other organisms and the conservation of plant species. Botany is the study of all aspects of plants, including systematics, morphology, diversity, metabolism, and ecology. Through a study of plants, students gain an understanding and an appreciation of life at the cellular, organismal, population, community, and ecosystem levels of organization. The study of Botany can lead to professional careers in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to conservation, soil science, sustainability, natural resource management, forestry, range management, biotechnology, plant breeding, agriculture, horticulture, environmental science, natural medicine, and teaching.

   

  Contact Information:
  Dr. Bridget Hilbig
  Weber State University
  1415 Edvalson St., Dept. 2504
  Tracy Hall, Rm 415
  (801) 626-7434

  Botany and Plant Ecology Department Website

• Assessment Plan
  The assessment plan for which courses will be assessed in what academic years needs to be slightly amended. Botany has only 6 tenure track lines, however in these academic years a faculty resigned (January 2022), a faculty member retired (spring 2023), and another member was on sabbatical for the 22-23 year. We have hired one replacement and are in the process of hiring a second replacement. Due to this turnover some courses have switched years they were taught, several were taught by adjuncts, and some courses listed are no longer being offered as there is no one to teach them (e.g. Medicinal Plants). In addition, we used to teach some courses every semester and those courses are now being changed to once a year offerings (e.g. Botany Capstone). Lastly, BTYN 2600 is a hybrid course cross-listed in five departments and required for several majors in the COS, including the new Environmental Sciences major. The course has been restaffed and likely restructured outside of the Botany department. The figure to the right represents changes to the schedule of course assessments for courses within Botany and Plant Ecology. 

  BTNY Course	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
  2104 (Plant Form and Function)	X	X	X	X
  2114 (Evolutionary Survey of Plants)	X	X	X	X
  2121 (Career Planning)	X	X	X
  2203 (Home & Garden)	X
  2303 (Ethnobotany)		X		X
  2413 (Natural Resource Management)	X			X
  2600 (Lab Safety)
  2750 (Topics in Science and Society)			X
  3105 (Anatomy of Vascular Plants)		X
  3153 (Biology of the Plant Cell)		X
  3204 (Plant Physiology)		X
  3214 (Soils)	X		X
  3303 (Plant Genetics)		X		X
  3454 (Plant Ecology)		X		X
  3473 (Plant Geography)	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught
  3504 (Mycology)			X
  3583 (Medicinal Plants)	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught
  3624 (Taxonomy of Vascular Plants)	X		X
  3643 (Intermountain Flora)		X
  4113 (Plant Evolution)	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught
  4750 (Topics in Botany)	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught	When Taught
  4950 (Advanced Field Botany)	X			X
  4990 (Botany Capstone Seminar)		X		X

  
   
• Assessment Report Submissions
  2023-24
  2021-22
  2019-20
  2017
  2016
  2015

   

• Program Review

  2018-19
  2012-13

This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.