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The Learning MarketSpace, April 2010

A quarterly electronic newsletter of the National Center for Academic Transformation highlighting ongoing examples of redesigned learning environments using technology and examining issues related to their development and implementation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

THE CAT VIEWPOINT

WHAT'S NEW

CHANGING THE EQUATION

CENTER CHRONICLES

COLLEAGUES COMMITTED TO REDESIGN (C2R)

THE REDESIGN ALLIANCE

CORPORATE CONNECTIONS

COMMON GROUND

SUBSCRIPTIONS, SUBMISSIONS, ARCHIVES, REPOSTING

THE CAT VIEWPOINT

Offering perspectives on issues and developments at the nexus of higher education and information
technology.

Does A Nursing Student Really Need to Solve Rational Equations?

In a recent study funded by the Gates and Hewlett Foundations, Rhonda Epper and Elaine Baker summarize the spotlight that is now focused on developmental math across the nation. “In the past five years, the critical role of developmental math in the retention and success of community college students has come under additional scrutiny, partially through the attention and resources of national initiatives. This attention has been accompanied by several research efforts in developmental education and a parallel policy focus on the implications of this research for higher education policy. . . . The combination of interest from foundations, public policy groups and researchers who view math as the gatekeeper to college success have yielded a variety of new strategies and programmatic innovations, with a parallel focus on evaluating and assessing the promise of these strategies in terms of replication, scalability and sustainability.”

As readers of this newsletter know, NCAT advocates redesigning the developmental math sequence using the Emporium Model to improve student learning outcomes while reducing instructional cost. Over the past ten years, NCAT redesigns have, on average, increased the percentage of students successfully completing a developmental math course by 51% and reduced the cost of instruction by 30%.

For those institutions that do not want to take on a full redesign project, however, two relatively simple actions could be taken that would dramatically reduce the number of students enrolled in developmental math. (Institutions planning a redesign should also consider these ideas.) These two ideas emerged during NCAT’s collaboration with the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) in its Developmental Studies Redesign Initiative, most specifically from the award-winning redesign project at Jackson State Community College (JSCC).

Since the early 1980’s, the TBR has operated a remedial and developmental math program comprising three courses: Basic Math, Elementary Algebra, and Intermediate Algebra. These three courses are offered at all 13 TBR community colleges, helping to ensure a consistent experience for all TBR students regardless of location.

The TBR program also uses a uniform placement testing system. Students are placed in a remedial or developmental course if their ACT/Compass math subject scores are less than 19 or 29 respectively. Using ACT as an example, if students score 17 or 18, they are placed in Intermediate Algebra; if students score 15 or 16, they are placed in Elementary Algebra; if students score 14 or less, they are placed in Basic Math. Students are required to progress through one, two or three courses on a semester schedule until they exit Intermediate Algebra. Only then can they enroll in college-level math courses or their desired programs of study.

Remediating High School Deficiencies vs. Preparing Students to Succeed in College

As part of the redesign initiative, the TBR asked institutions to reconsider what the goals of remedial/developmental education should be. Specifically, they asked, Are you remediating high school deficiencies in your remedial/developmental courses or preparing students to succeed in college?

JSCC recognized that student goals are different: they may plan to enter a program of study that requires advanced mathematics, to complete a general education mathematics course or to apply for admission to a nursing or allied health program. Consequently, JSCC’s redesign moved away from remediating students’ high school algebra deficiencies to preparing students for their particular educational goals. Students were required to master only the concept deficiencies that were relevant to their educational and career goals.

When JSCC redesigned the three remedial and developmental math courses, they replaced them with 12 clearly defined modules mapped to the competencies originally required in the three courses. Courses were divided as follows: Modules 1, 2 and 3 for Basic Math; Modules 4, 5, 6 and 7 for Elementary Algebra and Modules 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 for Intermediate Algebra.

After defining the competencies to be included in each of the 12 modules, the JSCC math faculty determined which modules were necessary to succeed in each college-level general education math course. All other departments identified which modules were necessary to succeed in their college-level courses as well as their discipline’s core math requirements. Departments with programs not requiring college-level math determined the modules necessary to succeed in those programs. Changes in developmental math prerequisites were approved by the college curriculum committee.

Of the 48 programs of study at JSCC requiring college-level math courses, 35 required only seven modules (47.1% of the students); four required eight modules (31.2% of the students), and seven required all 12 modules (20.3% of the students). One program required only six modules (0.8% of the students), and one required only four modules (0.6% of the students).

Students were advised of their multi-exit opportunities based on their program of study choice and of the need to take more modules if they later changed their majors. This was accomplished via information sheets for each major, focus-group sessions and individual counseling with math instructors and the students’ academic advisors. The team made a campus-wide presentation at an in-service training and conducted sessions for advisor training in order to educate the college faculty and staff.

By changing the requirements for developmental math completion, JSCC should be able to reduce the number of sections/modules they need to offer by 31%. As an example, during the 2008-09 academic year, 1836 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. JSCC offered the equivalent of 15,241 modules to serve these students under the new policy. Assuming similar placement distributions, JSCC would have had to offer 22,032 modules under the old policy.

ACT studies show that 80 to 90% of students need an assortment of skills from Basic Math, Elementary Algebra, Geometry and Statistics to succeed in college-level math courses, and they do not need as much Algebra as the traditional remediation approach provides.

Are you looking backward or forward? Are you remediating high school algebra deficiencies in your remedial/developmental courses or preparing students to succeed in college? Are you preparing all students to succeed in STEM majors, even though most will not major in a STEM field?

Including College-Level Content in Remedial/Developmental Courses

After the first full year of implementation of their redesign JSCC mapped the competencies within their 12 modules to ACT’s College Readiness Standards by score range. ACT defines “readiness” for college-level math at a score of 22 and above. JSCC discovered that Modules 1 – 3 (Basic Math) mapped appropriately to the score range 16 – 19. They also discovered that 11 of the 20 competencies included in Modules 4 – 7 (Elementary Algebra) mapped appropriately to the score range 16 – 23 but that 9 of the competencies mapped to the score range 24 – 32 (i.e., were college-level competencies rather than developmental, according to ACT.) They also discovered that all but one of the 22 competencies included in Modules 8 – 12 (Intermediate Algebra) mapped to the score range 24 – 32 (i.e., were college-level competencies rather than developmental, according to ACT.)

This means that students in developmental math (e.g., with an ACT score of 17 or 18) are, in essence, being held to a higher standard than students who are not in developmental math (e.g., with an ACT score of 19 or 20). This insight is leading JSCC and other TBR institutions to reconsider what is developmental vs. college-level course content.

Have you examined whether or not you are teaching college-level math in your remedial/developmental courses and, if so, how much? Are you unnecessarily prolonging the student experience in developmental math by doing so?

Conclusion

In a May 2009 Chronicle of Higher Education commentary, Education Sector’s Kevin Carey aptly characterized the state of remedial/developmental education in the U.S. as follows: “Remediation is the no man's land of American education. Every year we send hundreds of thousands of young men and women over the top, across a rocky landscape strewn with pedagogical barbed wire and the remains of those who tried and failed before them. We know, without a doubt, that many of those eager and unsuspecting students won't make it. Yet we send them anyway, because there's always another fresh class of recruits to enroll. The cost to the nation in lost time and resources is astounding. The lofty goal of increasing the ranks of college graduates, voiced by President Obama and others, will not be met if we can't find a better way.”

By taking either or both of the actions described above to restructure the content of remedial/developmental math courses, we could significantly reduce the number of students we send over the top. Then we could concentrate on ensuring that those who remain will be prepared to meet their educational and professional goals.

--Carol A. Twigg

WHAT'S NEW

Featuring updates and announcements from the Center.

John Squires Named 2010 Cross Papers Fellow

John Squires, an NCAT Math Redesign Scholar and chair of the math department at Chattanooga State Community College, was chosen as the 2009-2010 Cross Papers Fellow. Each year, the League for Innovation in the Community College, supported by the K. Patricia Cross Endowment, names a scholar/practitioner of community college teaching and learning as The Cross Papers Fellow. The Cross Papers Fellow authors a monograph which includes a review of literature on current teaching and learning theory as well as practical applications of current theory in contemporary learning environments. Entitled “Changing the Educational Landscape: The Total Impact of Course Redesign,” John’s paper focuses on the principles of course redesign and the successes institutions have experienced across many academic disciplines. The paper includes a discussion of the six models of course redesign with examples of the cross-cutting approaches that have led to increased learning and reduced costs. The Cross Papers Fellow also conducts a Special Session at the League’s annual Innovations conference. John presented his paper at the 2010 conference in Baltimore, MD on March 28, 2010. The paper will soon be available at the League Store at http://www.league.org/store/catalog.htm.

Washington State Community College Trustees Learn about Course Redesign

On January 25, 2010, Carolyn Jarmon, NCAT’s Senior Associate, spoke at the winter meeting of Washington State’s Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges (TACTC) in Olympia, WA. TACTC is comprised of all the trustees of the 30 two-year college districts in Washington and provides support and coordination for trustees in the areas of education, communication and advocacy. Carolyn shared the course redesign successes of community colleges with more than 100 trustees from across the state. Her
presentation was facilitated by Thomas Malone, a trustee from Seattle Community College. Carolyn also
provided information about NCAT’s newest program, Changing the Equation, so that trustees could encourage their campuses to participate. To learn more about TACTC, see http://www.sbctc.edu/public/t_index.aspx.

Carol Twigg Exchanges Ideas with Bill Gates

NCAT’s newest program, Changing the Equation, is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is focused on redesigning the developmental math sequence at the nation’s community colleges. On March 22, 2010, Carol Twigg, along with Linda Thor, President of Foothills-DeAnza Community College in California and Sanford Shugart, President of Valencia Community College in Florida, met with Bill Gates to discuss the important role community colleges play in US higher education and the ways in which the experiences of community college students can be improved. Senior staff at the Gates Foundation have organized a series of similar briefings to increase the foundation’s co-chairs’ understanding of the challenges faced by our diverse system of higher education and the role the foundation plays in addressing them.

Future Senior Policy Makers Discuss Course Redesign

Preparing new professionals to assume senior policy positions is one of the goals of the Associates Program at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. On February 20, 2010, Carol Twigg spoke to the Associates in Santa Fe, NM, and discussed the policy implications of course redesign as a strategy to increase student success at a reduced cost. The Associates include early- to mid-career professionals from academia, government and other nonprofit organizations dealing directly with higher education public policy. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance Americans' opportunities to pursue and achieve high-quality education and training beyond high school. As an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the National Center prepares action-oriented analyses of pressing policy issues facing the states and the nation regarding opportunity and achievement in higher education including two-and four-year, public and private, for-profit and nonprofit institutions. To learn more about the National Center, see http://www.highereducation.org/.

Texas Committee on Cost Efficiencies Considers Course Redesign

Texas Governor Rick Perry recently issued RP73, an Executive Order calling for a comprehensive review of system-wide opportunities for achieving cost efficiencies. As a result, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) has established the Texas Advisory Committee on Higher Education Cost Efficiencies, half of whom are business leaders and half of whom are from Texas higher education institutions. As part of the information gathering process, the committee invited NCAT to share the principles and outcomes of course redesign with the Advisory Committee on March 9, 2010, in Austin, TX. Carolyn Jarmon, along with Bill Massey, Stanford University professor emeritus, and Jorge Klor de Alva from the University of Phoenix, provided an overview of how it is possible to increase learning while reducing instructional costs. The Coordinating Board will send its final recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2010. To learn more, see http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectid=9D5D0338-CBDC-1566-E13ECA452AAAC3DE.

Sustainability – The Ultimate Test of Course Redesign

As noted in the October 2009 issue of The Learning MarketSpace, we intend to provide a series of updates
on redesign projects that have been underway for an extended period of time and have essentially become the “traditional” way that the course is offered on campus. Longtime readers of this newsletter may remember that The University of Alabama (UA) first redesigned Intermediate Algebra as part of the Program in Course Redesign. The results after the first year of full implementation, AY2001-2002, showed that student success rates (grades of C or better) increased from ~40% to 60%. Over the last decade, the results have continued to improve, and now success rates are routinely more than 75%. UA also redesigned its introductory Spanish sequence as part of the Roadmap to Redesign. Traditional sections had an average final exam score of 65.5% in Spanish I. Immediately after the initial redesign in 2005, there was no difference, although costs were reduced by 25%. In spring 2009, the final exam score average in the fully redesigned course was 80%, demonstrating both sustainability and continued improvement. Tallahassee Community College (TCC) originally redesigned College Writing as part of the Program in Course Redesign. In AY2002-2003, the first year of full implementation, students in the redesigned sections had a 68.4% (N=768) success rate (grade of C or better) compared to 60.7% (N = 2164, p = 0.002) for the traditional sections. Success rates were higher for all groups of students regardless of ethnicity, gender, disability, or original placement. In 2007-08, success rates were 67%, showing that the redesign has been sustained. To learn more about these projects or contact the project leaders, follow the links on NCAT’s disciplinary
sort page at http://www.theNCAT.org/PCR/Proj_Discipline_all.html.

CHANGING THE EQUATION

Engaging the nation’s community colleges in a successful redesign of their developmental math sequences.

Math Redesign Scholars Gather for Orientation

On February 5, 2010, six Math Redesign Scholars met in Nashville, TN to review the Application Guidelines
for NCAT’s new program, Changing the Equation, and to discuss in depth the specific roles they will play as this program proceeds. During the orientation, NCAT staff discussed issues that may arise in the program as well as approaches the group will use to ensure that all program participants receive the information and assistance they need. These six Scholars, all of whom are experienced math instructors, will assist applicants and selected institutions as they plan and implement the redesigns of their developmental math course sequences. The four new Scholars are Betty Frost, Jackson State Community College; Jamie Glass, University of Alabama; John Squires, Chattanooga State Community College; and Karen Wyrick, Cleveland State Community College. They join Phoebe Rouse, Louisiana State University, and Kirk Trigsted, University of Idaho, both of whom have been NCAT Scholars for the past three years. To learn more about these Scholars, see http://www.thencat.org/Mathematics/MathScholarBios.htm.

125 Teams Participate in Changing the Equation Orientation

An orientation for those institutions seeking to apply to Changing the Equation, NCAT’s new program to engage the nation’s community colleges in a successful redesign of their remedial/developmental math sequences, was held at the Redesign Alliance Fourth Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Changing the Equation will award grants of $40,000 to each selected community college. To submit an application to the program, institutions were required to send at least two people to the conference: one administrator and one math faculty member. Representing 38 states, 125 teams attended the opening Orientation Session on Sunday, March 28, 2010. Many institutions sent teams of four or more. During this session, participants learned more about program requirements, how to get the most out of the conference and what next steps they should take in their planning. Special tracks on developmental math were established throughout the conference, and a de-briefing session provided time for participants to ask additional questions of NCAT staff and six Math Scholars. To learn more about this program, see http://www.theNCAT.org/Mathematics/CTE/CTE.htm.

53 Teams Selected as Semi-Finalists in Changing the Equation

On April 15, 2010, community college teams representing 36 states interested in participating in NCAT’s Changing the Equation program submitted responses to six Readiness Criteria. The Readiness Criteria allow institutions to demonstrate their readiness to plan and implement a large-scale redesign of their developmental math course sequences as well as to identify those areas needing attention to ensure a successful redesign project. This is the first step in the application process. The following 53 institutions were selected as semi-finalists and invited to move forward in the competition: Anne Arundel Community College, Baltimore City Community College, Bowling Green Technical College, Cecil College, Central Florida Community College, Clatsop Community College, Cochise College, Community College of Vermont, Cossatot Community College, Cumberland County College, Dakota College at Bottineau, Delgado Community College, Genesee Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, Hazard Community and Technical College, Heartland Community College, Henderson Community College, Iowa Western Community College, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Joliet Junior College, Kirkwood Community College, Laramie County Community College, Leeward Community College, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, Madisonville Community College, Manchester Community College, Mercer County Community College, Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, Miami Dade College, Middlesex Community College, Middlesex County College, Mid-State Technical College, Moberly Area Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Mountwest Community and Technical College, Nashville State Community College, Normandale Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, Northwest State Community College, Northwest-Shoals Community College, Oakton Community College, Pearl River Community College, Pulaski Technical College, Reading Area Community College, Robeson Community College, Somerset Community College, Stark State College of Technology, Three Rivers Community College, Volunteer State Community College, Washington State Community College, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, West Virginia University at Parkersburg and Wright College.

The next step in the process will be for these institutions to send redesign teams to a Planning Workshop
which will be held on May 21, 2010, in Dallas, TX. At this workshop, the selected teams will gain an in-depth understanding of the redesign process and will have an opportunity to share ideas, to obtain feedback from
NCAT staff and Redesign Scholars, and to assess the quality of their proposal ideas in relation to others.
To review the Readiness Criteria and learn more about this program, see the Application Guidelines at http://www.theNCAT.org/Mathematics/CTE/CTE.htm.

CENTER CHRONICLES

Featuring initiatives to scale course redesign through state- and system-wide redesign programs.

Mississippi IHL and SUNY Final Workshops Held

Spring is the time to report the outcomes achieved in the full implementations of the redesigns that are
part of NCAT state and systemwide course initiatives. Workshops that brought redesign teams together
have occurred in April. We will include summaries of the outcomes in the July 2010 issue of The Learning MarketSpace.

The course redesign teams in the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Course Redesign
Initiative have submitted their final reports. The teams in non-math academic areas gathered on April 20,
2010 to report on their full implementations, and the six math teams shared their results on April 21, 2010. Most of the projects have overcome the implementation issues they encountered in their pilots, and all plan to continue their redesigns in the future. Given the economic difficulties faced by Mississippi institutions, project leaders repeatedly identified the redesigns as providing a way to continue offering high-quality instruction even during these challenging budget times. The IHL teams reporting outcomes from the full implementations of their redesigns are: Alcorn State University: College Algebra; Delta State University: College Algebra; Jackson State University: Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra; Mississippi State University: Biology, Introduction to Statistics, Statics and Survey of Chemistry; Mississippi University for Women: Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra; Mississippi Valley State University: Intermediate Algebra; The University of Southern Mississippi: First-Year Spanish, General Psychology, Intermediate Algebra, Introduction to Computing, Nutrition and Food Systems and Technical Writing. Detailed final reports for each project will be posted later this summer on the NCAT web site. To learn more, contact Alfred Rankins at arankins@mississippi.edu or see http://www.theNCAT.org/States/MS.htm.

The final workshop for the State University of New York Course Redesign Initiative was held on April 30, 2010 in Syracuse, NY. Project teams reported the results of the full implementation of their redesigns conducted during fall 2009. Participating institutions and the course or courses they have redesigned are: Buffalo State College: The Economic System; SUNY Canton: Introduction to Biology; SUNY Fredonia: First-Year Spanish; Niagara County Community College: Introduction to Statistics; SUNY College at Old Westbury: College Algebra; SUNY at Oswego: College Algebra; and SUNY at Potsdam: European and US History. Detailed final reports for each project will be posted later this summer on the NCAT web site. To learn more about this initiative, contact Sharon Gallagher at Sharon.Gallagher@suny.edu or see http://www.thencat.org/States/SUNY.htm.

COLLEAGUES COMMITTED TO REDESIGN (C2R)

Featuring progress reports and outcomes achieved by the C2R program.

C2R Round III Pilots Completed

The third and final round of the Colleagues Committed to Redesign program (C2R) has concluded. Supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), C2R required Round III teams to plan a full implementation of their redesign and conduct a pilot of their redesign during fall 2009. Teams reported on the outcomes achieved at the Fourth Annual Redesign Alliance Conference in March 2010. The results are extremely promising. All teams intend to move or have already moved to full implementation. Pilot outcomes for C2R Round III are summarized below.

The redesign of Technology Fluency, a required course at Coppin State University for all undergraduates
serving ~510 students annually, presented a challenge because of the wide range of skill levels of entering students. The purpose of the redesign was to improve the success rate, accommodate all students who
needed the course and provide a consistent learning experience that addressed the range of students’
computer skills and learning styles. The redesigned course used the Buffet Model and allowed students to take the course in a face-to-face, hybrid or online format, switching among the delivery formats when necessary. Compared with course content offered in the past, the redesigned course content was more comprehensive and provided more in-depth skill training. During the fall 2009 pilot, there were no statistically significant differences in student performance between the traditional and redesigned sections. Coppin was able to save faculty overload pay, part of which was used to support the undergraduate learning assistants. Coppin is fully implementing its redesign in spring 2010. To learn more, contact Lidan Ha at LHa@coppin.edu.

Edison State College had a very successful pilot of its College Reading redesign using the Replacement
Model. The course enrolls about 1,000 students annually. Students met once a week as a group and then spent two required hours in a lab where adjunct faculty provided individual assistance. The Edison team compared the percentage of students in the traditional and redesigned sections who received a C or higher in the course and passed a standardized Florida exit exam. The results showed that 66% of the students in the redesigned course compared with only 46% of the students in the traditional course met both criteria. Section sizes were doubled to 50 students, and one full-time faculty member taught the five larger sections, leading to a 42% cost reduction. The team is considering moving to an Emporium Model since students are anxious to concentrate on their own particular challenges and receive the individual help they need. To learn more, contact Mary Myers at mmyers@edison.edu.

Morehead State University (MSU) redesigned College Algebra, which enrolls ~600 students annually. The
course had traditionally been taught in a lecture format by a mix of professors and instructors. The redesign addressed a lack of consistency among sections to ensure that course requirements and assessment
were the same for all students. Using the Emporium Model, class time was reduced from three hours to
one, and students spent three required hours in the lab. Students worked in small groups and accessed individualized assistance as necessary. The Hawkes Learning System software was used for homework
and assessment. During the fall 2009 pilot, there was no difference between student performance on common final exams in the redesigned sections compared with the traditional sections. Cost savings were generated by reducing the number of full-time faculty teaching the course from three to two. The cost-per-student decreased from $196 to $121, a 38% reduction. The redesign of College Algebra is being fully implemented in spring 2010, and the team continues to analyze and take steps towards continuous improvement. To learn more, contact Dora Ahmadi at d.ahmadi@moreheadstate.edu.

The redesign of Essentials of Writing at Regis University is continuing with a second pilot in spring 2010. Because of the complexity of the design, the team is still working out some of the implementation issues.
About 20% of entering students are assessed as needing developmental writing despite many having
earned writing credits before entering Regis. The team is working to link writing and content courses while establishing writing competencies for graduation. The use of SMARTHINKING to evaluate writing assignments during the fall 2009 pilot worked well. The task of integrating institutional writing competencies with writing software is still a work in progress. The team was encouraged by the pilot results. While they saw no significant difference in student learning, cost reduction achieved by eliminating small sections was encouraging. As the integration challenges continue to be resolved, the team is confident their redesign will show progress. To learn more, contact Jennifer Mauldin at jmauldin@regis.edu.

Using the Emporium Model, Santa Fe College redesigned Intermediate Algebra, their largest math course,
which enrolls ~2,760 students annually. Each section met twice a week for 75 minutes. In one meeting,
students worked in small groups, discussing concepts and the framework for the week’s material. The second meeting occurred in the Math Studio where students worked on online assignments using MyMathLab software. Students were also required to schedule an additional 75-minute block each week in the Math Studio. The team saw an increase in the final exam score average from 72% to 78% during the fall 2009 pilot. Santa Fe also saw an increase in successful course completion (grade of C or better) from 53% in the traditional course to 65% in the redesign. The team achieved the anticipated cost reduction: the number of sections was reduced from 92 to 69, and section size increased from 30 to 40. The cost-per-student was reduced from $117 in the traditional format to $86 in the redesign, a 26% decrease. Santa Fe is following a five-year schedule, supported by a Title III grant, to fully implement the redesign of Intermediate Algebra as well as Prep Pre-Algebra, Elementary Algebra, Integrated Arithmetic and Algebra, and College Algebra. To learn more, contact Steve Grosteffon at steve.grosteffon@sfcollege.edu.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) redesigned Principles of Biology, enrolling ~550
students annually, using the Replacement Model. The redesign reduced the number of lectures from three 50-minute sessions weekly to one 50-minute session, which incorporated computer-based learning experiences. Students were required to spend at least two hours in a learning resource center, which featured online resources and on-demand personalized assistance. Recitation sessions provided a review of concepts and were required for students scoring less than 75% on quizzes or exams and optional for those scoring higher. When scores on a common final exam were compared, there was no significant difference between the outcomes of students in the traditional course and those in redesign. The redesign plan projected cost savings by reducing the number of faculty from six to two and doubling section sizes to 110 students. These actions reduced the cost-per-student from $158 to $94, a 41% decrease. The team intends to fully implement the redesign, after making changes in course pre-requisites and textbook choice. To learn more, contact Joseph Pitula at jspitula@umes.edu.

University of North Carolina Charlotte redesigned an entry-level, four-credit Spanish course enrolling ~800 students in 28 sections. The first of a two-semester sequence, the traditional course lacked consistency among sections and used a lot of very limited classroom space. Using the Replacement Model, the redesigned course replaced one of two classroom sessions with online assignments. Classroom time focused on proficiency-oriented communicative learning activities such as role plays, dialogs and writing assignments using Spanish. Students practiced every skill area of language proficiency. There was no difference between student performance on a common final exam for the students in the traditional sections compared with students in the redesign. Cost savings were partially achieved: some sections were doubled from 30 to 60 students, and the number of sections was reduced. Because of room shortages, not all sections could be increased. The team is certain that the cost reduction strategy will work once appropriate space has been found. UNC Charlotte intends to roll out the full implementation of the redesign in fall 2010. To learn more, contact Garvey Pyke at J.G.Pyke@uncc.edu.

To learn more about the C2R program, which has now concluded, see http://www.theNCAT.org/RedesignAlliance/DissemProgram.htm.

THE REDESIGN ALLIANCE

Featuring updates from the Alliance, a member organization of institutions, organizations and companies committed to and experienced with large-scale course redesign.

Redesign Alliance Conference Attracts Over 750 Participants

It was a busy three days! On March 28-30, 2010, more than 750 faculty members, academic administrators, technology experts and corporate participants gathered in Orlando, FL, to advance their knowledge of course redesign.

Conference participants came from 45 states as well as from Bermuda, Canada, and Sweden. Twenty-four institutions sent teams of five or more, and 28 additional institutions sent teams of four. Not surprisingly, Florida had the largest representation with 92 attendees, followed by Tennessee with 47, Kentucky with 46 and Ohio with 43.

Sunday’s orientation session for those new to course redesign attracted about 500 people. Here attendees received an overview of the principles and results of course redesign and learned how best to take advantage of the conference program. An opening reception on Sunday evening gave participants the opportunity to meet and greet other Redesign Alliance members and begin the valuable networking experiences the conference offers. Participants were able to take advantage of the corporate exhibits available in the Exhibit Hall and to visit the corporate hospitality suites directly following the reception for more substantive and detailed conversations and demonstrations.

The conference began on Monday morning with a keynote address by Kay McClenney, director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, entitled “ Building and Sustaining Critical Connections.” Using data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, McClenney provided guidance on how institutions can use data generated by CCSSE, other assessment surveys and student focus groups to build and sustain the critical connections among students, faculty and staff that matter most in helping them succeed.

Following the opening plenary, attendees participated in one of six disciplinary showcase sessions in the academic areas of developmental and college-level math, science and engineering, reading and social science. Attendees were able to learn from those who have completed a full course redesign and discuss specific issues and challenges related to their particular academic areas. Monday afternoon provided additional opportunities for discussion within the disciplinary clusters. Led by NCAT’s Redesign Scholars and other experienced redesign leaders, the sessions allowed participants to further investigate the process of redesign and learn from a number of project leaders who are in the midst of a redesign implementation, dealing with a range of issues. A well-attend special session for academic administrators was also held. A new session, Sector Roundtables, concluded the formal program on Monday, where participants had time for in-depth discussion of the course redesign issues and challenges that are particular to different kinds of institutions. After the afternoon sector discussions, 20 poster sessions were held adjacent to a second reception, allowing participants to eat, drink and learn at the same time. These poster sessions provided a venue for exploration of more focused topics related to redesign and to feature those who have done significant work in these areas.

Tuesday morning began with the first annual Leadership in Innovation keynote address, established to
recognize outstanding achievement in innovative course redesign. Dennis Pearl, the project leader of Ohio
State University’s innovative Buffet Model redesign of introductory statistics, discussed the changes that led to improved student learning and reduced instructional costs. Following this plenary, attendees selected
from concurrent sessions on Hot Topics in Course Redesign such as engaging students, getting started on course redesign, modularizing courses for greater student success, developing an assessment plan and redesigning an entire department. These topics were identified by Redesign Alliance members as those
they believed attendees would be most interested in discussing. Each session was kicked off by those who have experienced success in relation to the topic and included exchanges among the participants.

Throughout the conference, corporate members of the Alliance sponsored hospitality suites where attendees could learn about various products and services that can be used in course redesign. These suites were overrun by participants, indicating a high level of interest. Corporate participants included Blackboard, Carnegie Learning, Cengage Learning, Hawkes Learning Systems, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Pearson Education and SMARTHINKING.

It is clear that more institutions in more academic fields are engaged in the process of course redesign.
Attendees left the conference energized and ready to move forward on their redesign ideas. As plans for the Fifth Annual Redesign Alliance Conference unfold, we will keep you posted. We look forward to seeing you next year!

Conference Presentation Slides and Project Links Now Available on NCAT Web Site

Slides from the 2010 Redesign Alliance Conference presentations are available on the NCAT web site at http://www.theNCAT.org/RedesignAlliance/Agenda10.htm linked to each presenter on the agenda. (Click on the name of the presenter.) To learn more about the speakers’ redesign projects, click on the speaker’s institution name listed on the agenda. The institution’s name is linked to an abstract of the presenter’s redesign project, which includes contact information so that it is possible to have additional conversations.

Eight New Members Join the Redesign Alliance

NCAT welcomes eight new institutional and corporate members of the Redesign Alliance, all of which seek
to join a growing community of faculty and administrators interested in harnessing the power of information technology to improve student learning and reduce instructional costs. The new members are Carnegie
Learning, Chattanooga State Community College, Cleveland State Community College, the Pennsylvania
State System of Higher Education, University of Akron, Volunteer State Community College, Weber State University and Wright State University. These new members reflect the Alliance’s key constituencies:
community colleges, four-year institutions, state and system organizations, and higher education companies. To learn more about membership in the Redesign Alliance, see http://www.theNCAT.org/RA.htm or contact Carolyn Jarmon at cjarmon@theNCAT.org .

CORPORATE CONNECTIONS

Linking content and software providers with leading edge institutions.

Pearson Education Plans September Workshop on Course Redesign

Building on several highly successful prior workshops, Pearson Education will hold its annual course redesign workshop on September 24 - 25, 2010, at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, CA. Participants will learn how to get started on course redesign from NCAT’s Carolyn Jarmon and from large- and small-group interaction with experienced educators in accounting, biology, chemistry, developmental reading and writing, economics, English composition, math and world languages. The workshop will highlight successful course redesigns that take advantage of technology to improve student learning and efficiency in large-enrollment, introductory courses. Participants will learn how to implement course redesign principles in both quantitative and qualitative disciplines. Faculty will also have the opportunity to learn more about Pearson's leading technology products, including MyWritingLab, MyMathLab and MasteringScience, which have all been selected as 2010 Codie Award finalists. To register, go to http://www.pearsoncourseredesign.com/events.html or contact Karen Mullane at Karen.Mullane@pearson.com.

If you need an access code to view a sample gallery of how institutions have used MyMathLab in redesign, visit pearsoncourseredesign@pearson.com to obtain a login and password for these sample courses.

McGraw-Hill To Offer Math Course Redesign Workshop at AMATYC

McGraw-Hill held a by-invitation workshop on using ALEKS in course redesign at the Redesign Alliance Fourth Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. Many participants expressed interest in gaining more information about the institutions who shared their successes using a McGraw-Hill + ALEKS solution. To learn more about these redesigns, please visit www.successinmath.com. The McGraw-Hill Math Team will host another workshop "Course Redesign with McGraw-Hill + ALEKS” on November 10, 2010 at the upcoming 35th Annual AMATYC Conference in Boston , MA . The focus of the event will be on thinking through a mathematics redesign and integrating effective, tested commercial software. It will include a presentation by NCAT’s Carolyn Jarmon. To register for this workshop, please go to http://www.formdesk.com/marketdev/McGrawHillALEKS_NCAT.   To learn more, contact Torie Anderson at Victoria_anderson@mcgraw-hill.com.

COMMON GROUND

Reporting on initiatives that share the Center's goals and objectives.

Complete College America Seeks To Increase Graduation Rates

Established in 2009, Complete College America Alliance of States is a national non-profit organization working to significantly increase the number of Americans with a college degree or credential of value and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations. The organization was founded to focus solely on dramatically increasing the nation’s college completion rate through state policy change, and to build consensus for change among state leaders, higher education, and the national education policy community. According to the US Department of Education, 60% of white students who attend four-year colleges full-time complete their bachelor’s degree within six years compared to 49% of Hispanic students and 42% of African-American students. In addition, only 38% of people aged 25-34 have an associate’s degree or higher. Projections indicate that in 10 years, 60% of all new jobs will require a college degree. Thus far, 21 states have committed to “set degree goals at state and campus levels, establish common measures of progress and publicly report results annually, and develop and implement action plans to graduate more students.” To learn more, see http://www.completecollege.org/.

Two New Ed Trust Reports on Improving Minority Graduation Rates

Earlier this year, the Education Trust published two new reports showing progress in minority student graduation rates. “Top Gainers: Some Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities Make Big Improvements in Minority Graduation Rates,” by Jennifer Engle and Christina Theokas, highlights the efforts of public colleges and universities that have boosted graduation rates for minority students—sometimes even closing the gaps between minority students and their peers. The data presented provide a baseline for colleges seeking to raise minority graduation rates and show that improvements are taking place in a range of settings. The focus is on the top gainers among public colleges and universities in graduating underrepresented minority students—African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students. A second report by the same authors is “Top Gap Closers: Some Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities Have Made Good Progress in Closing Graduation-Rate Gaps.” This report identifies public colleges and universities that have narrowed if not closed the gaps between underrepresented minority students—African American, Hispanic, and Native American—and their white and Asian peers. The Education Trust is a national organization dedicated to the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-kindergarten through college. Acknowledged as a true authority in the world of education reform, Ed Trust advances its mission along several fronts, from raising its voice in national and state policy debates to helping teachers improve instruction in their classrooms. To read Top Gainers, see http://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/publications/files/CRO%20Brief%20Top%20Gainers.pdf. To
read Top Gap Closers, see http://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/publications/files/CRO%20Brief%20(Top%20Gap%20Closers)_
0.pdf.

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higher education who wish to take advantage of the capabilities of information technology to transform their academic practices.

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