Instructor Qualifications

BIT – Bioscience Technology Instructor Qualifications ARCHIVE

BIT Instructor Qualifications prior to October 2015

General Requirements
  • Master’s degree in the subject area and the equivalent of 3 years of full-time, non-teaching experience in the field, or
  • Master’s degree in a related area plus 30 quarter hours credit in upper division coursework in the subject area, and the equivalent of 3 years full-time, non-teaching experience in the field, or
  • Bachelor’s degree in the subject area, and the equivalent of 4 years of full-time, non-teaching experience in the field, or
  • Bachelor’s degree in a related area, plus 30 quarter hours of upper-division course work in the subject area, and the equivalent of 4 years full-time, non-teaching experience in the field, or
  • AAS degree in the subject area or professional education and the equivalent of 5 years of full-time, non-teaching experience in the field.

Note: for Full-Time Faculty positions, a Master’s degree or higher is required. The FT Instructor will teach many of the different courses listed below, and have significant, if not primary, responsibility for the curriculum, laboratory facilities, interaction with industry and other employers, and other departmental operations.

Definitions (except for BIT 125 and 181, as noted below)
  • Subject Area: Molecular Biology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Microbiology or Immunology or Biology or Chemistry where 30 credit hours of upper-division credits are in the subject areas specified above. (Note, there are exceptions for specialized courses as outlined below.)
  • Related Area: Chemistry or Biology or related subfield of Biology with fewer than 30 upper division credits in the subject area.
  • Upper Division: 300-level or above, or 200-level PCC BIT laboratory courses.
  • Experience: may be as a laboratory technician, research assistant, manufacturing associate, process development technician, research associate, Post-doctoral associate, quality assurance or quality control technician or scientist. This work may be carried out at a bioscience technology company, research laboratory, or testing facility. Work performed as a graduate student (PhD candidate) will be considered half time equivalent prior to completion of the qualifying exams, and full time following qualification.
Instructors assigned to specific courses must meet the following requirements
  • BIT 105 – Bioscience Workplace Safety.
    • In addition to general requirement, experience must include at least one year in a position of responsibility for laboratory safety.
  • BIT 107 – Bioscience Lab Math.
    • In addition to general requirement, instructor must show evidence2 of knowledge and proficiency in one or more of the following: upper-level (300+) math coursework, teaching of mathematics, formal or informal teaching of applied mathematics (eg. as part of a chemistry or biotechnology course or training of laboratory personnel).
  • BIT 109 Basic Lab Techniques and Instruments
    • General Requirement
  • BIT 110 – Bioscience Technology Basics
    • General Requirement
  • BIT 201 Immunochemical Methods
    • In addition to general requirement, instructor must show evidence* of knowledge and proficiency in the immunochemical methods covered in the course.
  • BIT 165 Biotechniques: Recombinant DNA,
  • BIT 203 Recombinant DNA
  • BIT 223 Advanced DNA Techniques
    • In addition to general requirement, instructor must show evidence* of knowledge and proficiency in recombinant DNA technology.
  • BIT 175 Biotechniques: Proteins,
  • BIT 205 Bioseparations,
  • BIT 215 Protein Purification,
    • In addition to general requirement, instructor must show evidence* of knowledge and proficiency in protein chemistry and protein purification.
  • BIT 207 Cell Culture
    • In addition to general requirement, instructor must show evidence2 of knowledge and proficiency in cell culture technology.
    • * Because these topics are dynamic in nature and specific to the discipline, acceptable course-specific evidence should be evaluated upon consultation with the department chair. This evidence may include graduate coursework, publication or other formal documentation, personal reference, or interview responses that indicate an acceptable level of proficiency and knowledge needed to teach the course(s) in question.
  • BIT 125 –Quality Systems in Bioscience Technology
    • The General Requirement does not apply.
    • Four (4) years or more of recent, full-time, non-teaching work as a Quality Assurance professional or otherwise in a position that includes responsibility for cGMP compliance in a bioscience company. Equivalent experience as a consultant to a bioscience company will also be considered acceptable provided that the candidate can provide descriptions and documentation (references OK) of the work done.
    • Certification from the American Society of Quality (ASQ) is preferred. Other certifications, professional referral and compelling experience will be considered in lieu of ASQ certification.
  • BIT 181 – Exploring Bioscience.
    • The General Requirement applies, but key parameters are defined as described below..
      The key qualifications for this course are knowledge of the bioscience industry, ability to plan and carry out site visits at companies, and hosting of industry guest speakers. Also, the instructor must be able to guide students as they gather information and prepare for employment by developing industry-appropriate resumes and interview skills.
    • For this course, the PCC Instructor Approval Form parameters will be defined as follows:
      • Subject Area – Human Relations, Psychology, Counseling, Education, Adult Education, or any field of Science.
      • Experience – may be as a career counselor or specialist, employment case-worker, HR professional, training manager, career technical instructor, bioscience company employee, or combination of the above or similar related experience.

Revised and Approved: February 2011

Instructor

Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology or closely related field. Ph.D. Strongly preferred.

Experience: A minimum of two years of recent laboratory experience working in an industrial, research, or academic laboratory in which a variety of biotechnology techniques are applied on a daily basis. Teaching experience including curriculum development and grant writing ability strongly preferred.

Revised Date: 12/19/1994

For BIT 125 Quality Systems for Bioscience Technology

Candidates for this course qualify under demonstrated competency only.

There are very limited opportunities for formal academic training in this area. Professionals in this field have education in a variety of disciplines, both science-related and not. For that reason, a formal degree in subject or related area is irrelevant. The SACC would argue however, that a Bachelor’s degree (in any subject area) is preferred. The major emphasis should be placed on professional experience and certification.

It is preferred that candidates should hold certification from the American Society of Quality (ASQ). However, other certifications, professional referral and compelling experience as noted below will be considered in lieu of ASQ certification.

It is required that the instructor have four (4) years or more of recent, full-time, non-teaching work as a Quality Assurance professional or otherwise in a position that includes responsibility for cGMP compliance in a bioscience company. Equivalent experience as a consultant to a bioscience company will also be considered acceptable provided that the candidate can provide descriptions and documentation (references OK) of the work done.

Revised Date July 27, 2009