Although my professional experience is not as extensive as that of many others, it seems to me that most students are not well served by broad, introductory survey courses in biology. It is very difficult for them to synthesize so much information at such an early stage in their academic career. Here at Wittenberg University we have moved to more topic-specific introductory courses.
Students choose between areas such as cell biology, ecology, and genetics.
These courses are laboratory intensive, and often require the students to design experiments rather than simply follow pre-printed plans. Once students become excited about the area they chose for their first college biology course, they seem more motivated to learn other areas such as statistics and chemistry that before were seen simply as hurdles to clear, rather than tools to their studies. I have also been involved in developing an environmental education program that uses students and their teachers to collect data on local projects with potentially significant environmental impacts. I have also found that by serving as a science fair judge, I gather insights on the preparation high school students receive, allowing me to better orient my introductory college courses.