12 questions every physics department should ask themselves

Here are 12 questions that every physics department should ask themselves in regard to teaching and the educational curriculum: 

1. What is the best semester to start teaching computational literacy, numerical methods and basic programming skills to our students? Hint: One should probably do it as soon as possible, but try to avoid overwhelming students.
   
2. Why should students choose our department and not the one at the University of XYZ which is only 50 kilometers away from us? How do we stand out? (For instance, by focusing on certain research areas such as biophysics, quantum computing, ...)
   
3. How can we incorporate modern physics contents (e.g., quantum computing, nuclear fusion, climate physics, etc.) into early phases of the curriculum? (This may help to motivate students.)
   
4. How (and when) can we teach students to acquire, analyze, interpret and store (big) data effectively? 
5. How can we improve the connection to local high schools and thereby attract more students from nearby communities? 
6. Do we need dedicated instructors, lecturers, or teaching professors for our introductory courses instead of overwhelming our existing faculty? 
7. How can we create more engaging formats of instruction and implement modern learning approaches such as flipped classroom and active learning? 
8. Why should potential students choose physics instead of related engineering degrees (e.g., materials science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.)?
   
9. How can we attract more students from underrepresented groups of our society and create a positive learning atmosphere for everyone? 
10. How much individual responsibility do we expect from our students? In other words: Do we really need numerous mandatory problem sheets, several exams, literature review assignments and research projects for one single course? 
11. Should English be the main language of instruction? (Of course, this refers to countries like Germany, France, China, Japan, etc., where English is not the first language.)
12. How do we prepare students for their future professional career? Think of internship programs, etc., since not every student will stay in academia forever.