March 3, 2019
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
CROSSVILLE – Not only are the new chemistry classes at Roane State’s Cumberland County campus off to good starts, the students in the fall semester’s General Chemistry I class outscored their counterparts in Oak Ridge.
That’s the report card issued by assistant professor of chemistry Sylvia Pastor, who teaches chemistry classes on both campuses.
In fact, Pastor said, the top five scorers on her final exam for General Chemistry I were all Cumberland County students. Overall, Cumberland County students scored on average a letter grade higher than those taking her classes in Oak Ridge, she said.
With the addition of chemistry classes on the Cumberland County campus, Pastor said students no longer have to drive to other Roane State campuses to take General Chemistry lectures and lab courses, which are required for several majors.
Pastor said of the 23 students in the initial Chemistry I class in Crossville, 13 were Middle College participants.
Students starting Middle College are rising high school juniors who take college-level courses on campus in the mornings and finish their high school requirements in the afternoons. They can then graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree from Roane State.
There are 18 students enrolled during the spring semester in General Chemistry II in Crossville, Pastor said.
In a related matter, Pastor said she’s seen a gratifying uptick on all three campuses of students tackling Honors projects in her chemistry courses.
Honors projects, ranging from research papers to experiments, are undertaken by students who go “above and beyond regular classwork,” Pastor said.
For the past two years, she said, she’s only had a single Honors project each semester. But she had five organic chemistry students complete such projects in the fall semester, while 14 general chemistry students finished honors projects.
To learn more about Roane State Cumberland County campus, visit roanestate.edu/cumberland or call (931) 456-9880.
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