Table 1 – Course Format Comparison

Aspects Compared	Stand-alone Chem. 100	LC Chem. 100 + English Comp
Frequency of offering	2 or 3 sections in fall, winter and spring quarter 1 section in summer quarter	1 section per year, fall or spring quarter since 2002
Enrollment cap	40 per section^1	45 per section^1
Class /lecture hours	4 hours per week^2	9 hours per week^2
Lab hours	3 hours per week^3	3 hours per week^3^,^4
Classroom / format	Sloped lecture hall with fixed chairs (Fig. 1)	Flat room with movable tables /chairs (Fig. 2) (Fig. 3)
Class format	Hour-long lectures, lab demonstrations, film clips, short in-class discussions, quizzes, etc.	Mix of short lectures, group work, seminars, hands-on exercises, presentations, field trips, etc.
Instructor Assignment	One chemistry instructor responsible for both “lecture” and “lab” components	Two instructors responsible for the “lecture” component; chemistry instructor alone responsible for the “lab” component^4.

¹Stand-alone Chem. 100 is offered in the standard format of all other SFCC chemistry courses, with an enrollment cap set at 40 students per section. The LC has a slightly increased enrollment cap of 45 students, partly to off-set the extra cost of having two instructors.

² Stand-alone Chem. 100 classes meet 1 hour each day, 4 days per week. LC class times total 9 hours per week, based on the normal lecture hours for chemistry (4 hours / week) and English (5 hours / week). The two instructors may arrange the 9 hours according to their preference, limited only by classroom availability. For examples: the LC section during fall 2004 met 2¼ hours per day for 4 days per week; the LC section of spring 2007 met 2 hours a day for 4 days and 1 hour for the 5^th day.

³ SFCC Chem. department has an “open-lab” policy. All chemistry courses, including the stand-alone Chem. 100 and the LC, require students to arrange time in their own schedules to spend three hours or more each week in the Chem. Lab to complete an experiment or hands-on exercise. The Chem. Lab with several connected working areas is open to all chemistry students from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday. During these open hours, one or more chemistry instructors are on staff to assist students. Some lab assistants and a lab technician are also available as needed. Since students of the same class may conduct their experiment at different times, each student is usually required to set up laboratory equipment individually and collect his or her own data for the lab report.

⁴ Due to safety concerns and the unique set-up in the SFCC Chem. Lab, we have not attempted to merge the three-hour arranged lab component into the LC, i.e. LC students generally conduct similar Chem. Lab assignments as stand-alone Chem. 100 students each week.