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Background and overview of AIC Initiative

Supported by Walter S. Johnson Foundation

Why Acceleration is needed

Students are caught in Academic Pipeline

Our curricular and pedagogic best intentions have not been working

Ongoing (and escalating?) Economic Crisis

Goals for Acceleration in Context Move students more quickly to transfer

Increase student persistence and success

Create models and curriculum that propel students towards their educational goals

Manage limited resources more effectively

Every English 102 Accelerated course saves Chabot College at least:

$5K compared to a 2 level sequence below transfer $10K compared to a 3 level sequence below transfer $15K compared to a 4 level sequence below transfer

(Note: English 102 is a one-semester open access course, one level below freshman comp., that integrates reading and writing. The cost/class is about $5K if an adjunct instructor teaches it, and $10K if a full-time instructor teaches it.)

THE MORE IT COSTS…

On average Chabot College has offered 40 English 102 Accelerated courses per year over the last 5 years:

$5K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $1,000,000 saved compared to a 2 level sequence

$10K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $2,000,000 saved compared to a 3 level sequence

$15K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $3,000,000 saved compared to a 4 level sequence

THE MORE IT COSTS…

800 students start 3 levels below transfer—400 pass 400 students make it to 2 levels below transfer—

200 pass 200 students make it to 1 level below transfer—100

pass 100 students make it to transfer—50 students pass

(Note: This thought experiment posits a 50% success rate, and assumes that every student who passes moves to the next level.)

…THE LESS EFFECTIVE IT IS

800 + 400 + 200 + 100 = 1500 students served (duplicated headcount for three levels)

1500 students divided by 25 students/class = 60 sections

60 sections x $5K/section (typical adjunct rate)= $300,000

$300,000 divided by the 50 successful students who passed the transfer level course=$6K/successful student It costs the institution more for each ultimately successful student ($6K) than it does to teach an entire class of 25 students ($5K).

Meanwhile, 750 students (94%) did not pass the transfer class, throwing their academic future in grave doubt.

…THE LESS EFFECTIVE IT IS

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

http://www.vimeo.com/18984205

“Releasing The Trap” tells the story of how California’s educational history over the last 40 years has impacted community colleges:

Acceleration at Chabot

17 years ago, Chabot College English Dept. developed response to issues raised in “Releasing The Trap”

Chabot’s accelerated approach works…

Acceleration at Chabot

Success in Freshman Comp: Accelerated vs. non-accelerated pathway--Dr. Katie Hern, Chabot IR Office, and Faculty Inquiry Network

Evidence Acceleration in Context Works

Placement scores: acceleration works for all students

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10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

47% 45%52% 49% 52% 56% 54%

62%52% 51%

42%

54%60% 62% 66% 66%

Developmental English Success Rates by Accuplacer Read-ing Score

Fall 2007-Summer 2009Eng 101A: Non-Accelerated

Eng 102: Accelerated

Success in Freshman Comp: Accelerated vs. non-accelerated pathway--Dr. Katie Hern, Chabot IR Office, and Faculty Inquiry Network

Evidence Acceleration in Context WorksIncreased student success in 9 out of 10 courses across curriculum

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Histor

y 8

Health

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

52%49% 50%

63%

54% 54%

63%59%

62%

44%

69%63%

74% 72%68%

60%

74%

64%

73%

43%

Success in High-Enrollment G.E. CoursesFall 2007-Summer 2009

No English Courses PassedAccelerated English Course Passed

Success in Freshman Comp: Accelerated vs. non-accelerated pathway--Dr. Katie Hern, Chabot IR Office, and Faculty Inquiry Network

Acceleration beyond Chabot

Chabot’s accelerated approach works, but…

…Our experience tells us that we need a comprehensive response in order to successfully scale Acceleration beyond the culture and experience of one department.

13 Acceleration models: Promising responses to the Basic Skills crisis

1. Shortened sequence model: Basic Skills pathway that integrates several existing levels and allows students a shorter pathway to transfer level courses.

2. Dual Purpose Classroom model: Basic Skills course that gives students opportunity to earn transfer credit.

3. Stretch model: Students can take 2 semesters to earn transfer credit for a course. If it does take 2 semesters, they can still get college credit for the first semester. (For ex. they can get GE or Humanities credit.)

4. Compressed model: semester’s course squeezed into less time (i.e. summer school).

5. Compressed/Stacked model: semester’s course squeezed into less time (like summer school), followed by next course in sequence in same semester.

6. Self-paced modular model: learning broken into modules; students move at own pace; students may be able to earn more than one course credit in a semester. “Pay once/Earn twice”.

7. Learning Community model: Students work in cohorts; curriculum can be integrated and classes packaged; frequently this model builds in support services.

13 Acceleration models: Promising responses to the Basic Skills crisis

8. CTE model: course or series of courses that contextualize Basic Skills into the technical instruction.

 9. Transfer support model: transfer course combined with learning support (i.e.

Supplemental Instruction) into which Basic Skills students are directly placed.

 10. Integrated Redesign: Basic Skills and discrete knowledge subsumed inside

deeper learning. Frequently, different disciplines are combined.  11. Bridge model: high-intensity short term program; can better prepare

students to take placement exam and/or to take Basic Skills course.  12. High Touch and Intrusive Counseling model: College creates many points of

contact with student throughout the semester.

13. Intensive, Holistic Orientation model: students are readied to navigate the whole institution, including preparing for assessment, being introduced to studenting skills, developing awareness of support services.

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool When considering an Acceleration Model, it is valuable to compare it to the status quo in

order to determine the model’s potential for bringing effective change to an institution. We have developed a simple tool that helps you do that. Consider your model in 4 categories. For each category you can award one point for a positive impact, subtract one point for a negative impact, or leave it at zero if there is no change. The goal of this tool is to develop a first snapshot of the model. (Of course the devil is in the details and we have other tools that account for that.)

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool

Once you create this snap shot you can evaluate these categories in relationship to each other. For example, imagine you are considering a model that will be very difficult to implement, but which will save millions of dollars over the next ten years. If you can make the case for the cost savings, you may very well be able to garner institutional support that makes implementation less difficult.

 

Depending on the model you are considering, you may reasonably feel that you don’t know HOW to score a particular category. For example, you may have heard mixed results about how learning communities impact student success. For those situations you can put “Not Sure.” This is not necessarily a cause for alarm though. Any area you are not sure about is actually a prime area to direct your assessment efforts. AIC works with teams to frontload Inquiry and assessment into design and implementation.

Developing Acceleration Models Creates Opportunities…

For Curriculum Redesign For Pedagogical Innovation For Student Capacity For Assessment Strategies For Institutional Navigation

…For Curriculum Redesign

Reconnect with their discipline Prioritize essential elements of their

curriculum Implement and adapt proven

Acceleration models Design backwards from transfer

…For Pedagogical Innovation

Put students at the center of their own learning

Foster deep learning and teach to whole student

Design effective, innovative lessons and courses

…For Student Capacity

Leverage their resounding capacity for learning

Bring affective domain to center of classroom

Challenge them to do far more than what is often asked

…For Student Capacity

In “How Was The Ride” students offer an on-the-ground appraisal of what it is like to be in an accelerated English class:

http://www.vimeo.com/15745312

…For Assessment Strategies

Bring Inquiry mind-set to assessment

Integrate Student Voices into assessment process

Train faculty to Make Visible their work so others can see it

…For Institutional Navigation

Share out Acceleration model with colleagues, department, institution

Strategize and take steps to scale up model

Integrate campus services to make Acceleration model a success

The big vision

Terraforming

Terraforming: creating the conditions for student success across an entire institution

Imagine that a student is asked to pass a Math class one level beneath transfer, and then pass the transfer level Math class.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is pretty good odds.

Terraforming: creating the conditions for student success across an entire institution

Imagine that this same student also is asked to pass an English class one level beneath transfer, and then pass the transfer level English class.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is also pretty good odds.

Terraforming: creating the conditions for student

success across an entire institution

Imagine that this same student also is asked to pass a Reading class one level beneath transfer, before being allowed to take Transfer level English.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is still pretty good odds.

Terraforming: creating the conditions for student success across an entire institution

But here is the problem. Before the student can hope to transfer, she must accomplish ALL of these things.

A math formula explains that this is not so easy to do: 70% x 70% x 70% = 34% of accomplishing all 3 tasks. She has a 1 in 3 chance.

And of course 70% success rate is quite high…

Terraforming: creating the conditions for student success across an entire institution

50% x 50% x 50% = 12. 5% chance of passing all the courses.

And it’s not just one student we are talking about here; MOST of the students on our campuses face these (suddenly not so good) odds.

Terraforming

You and your department can create the most enlightened acceleration model that moves your students very quickly to transfer.

But if some other area of the campus has NOT done this, students will get caught up there.

The conditions that support student success must be created across an entire institution.

Piloting Acceleration models at three community colleges

Working vertically across a dozen campuses Working with administrators around cost-

revenue and success and access implications

Conducting outreach with campus stakeholders and partners interested in Acceleration

Status of AIC: Piloting/Consulting

Hosting 5-7 regional conferences Spring 2011

Hosting Summer Learning Institute Initiating AIC network Exploring alignment with state and

national research and policy think tanks Creating website/videos/newsletter/multi-

media expressions

Status of AIC: Building Organization