 |
 |
|||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
CALL TO PARTICIPATE The goals of the program are to
Orientation Workshop* An orientation workshop will be held on November 15, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at [PLACE]. It will feature Dr. Carolyn Jarmon, vice president of the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) or program leaders] who will discuss NCAT’s successful national and state course redesign programs, on which the [INSTITUTION] initiative is based. The purpose of this workshop is to offer all interested members of the campus community the opportunity to learn about the program and why they might want to participate. *Attendance at the orientation workshop is required in order to be eligible to submit a project proposal. Those who choose to submit a proposal are also required to attend a follow-up workshop on February 28, 2016. BACKGROUND [INSTITUTION], like academic institutions throughout the United States, continues to be challenged by the need to increase access, to improve the quality of student learning, and to control or reduce rising costs. These issues are, of course, inter-related. As tuition costs continue to rise, access may be curtailed for those least able to afford an education. Promises to increase access ring hollow when high percentages of students fail to graduate. The solutions to these challenges appear to be inter-related as well. Historically, improving quality or increasing access has meant increasing costs, while reducing costs has generally meant reducing both quality and/or access. To sustain its vitality while serving a growing and increasingly diverse student body, higher education must find a way to resolve these familiar trade-offs among quality, cost and access. Many colleges and universities, including [INSTITUTION], have adopted exciting new ways of infusing technology to enhance the teaching and learning process and to extend access to new populations of students. But [INSTITUTION], like most, has not fully harnessed the potential of technology to improve the quality of student learning, increase retention and reduce the costs of instruction in courses that have the broadest impact. A New Approach Since April 1999, the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) has managed a number of programs in course redesign that demonstrate how colleges and universities can redesign their instructional approaches by using technology to achieve quality enhancements as well as cost savings. In the seminal Program in Course Redesign, 30 institutions were selected to participate from among hundreds of applicants in a national competition. Each institution redesigned one large-enrollment course to increase quality while simultaneously reducing instructional costs through the use of technology. Those 30 institutions represented research universities, comprehensive universities, private colleges, and community colleges in all regions of the United States. The first redesign projects focused on large-enrollment, introductory courses. As an initial target, those kinds of courses have the potential of generating significant cost savings and of having significant impact on student success. Studies have shown that undergraduate enrollments in the United States are highly concentrated in introductory courses. On average, nationally, at the baccalaureate level, the 25 largest courses generate about 35% of student enrollment. At the community college level, the 25 largest courses generate about 50% of enrollment. In addition, successful completion of those courses is key to student progress toward a degree. High failure rates in those courses—typically 15% at research universities, 30 to 40% at comprehensives, and 50 to 60% at community colleges—can lead to high dropout rates in the first and second years of enrollment. NCAT required each of the 30 institutions participating in the Program in Course Redesign to conduct a rigorous evaluation of learning outcomes as measured by student performance and achievement. National assessment experts provided consultation and oversight regarding those assessments so as to maximize validity and reliability. The findings of the Program in Course Redesign were that:
Other outcomes achieved included improved student attitudes toward the subject matter and increased student and faculty satisfaction with the mode of instruction. While each of the 30 institutions participating in the Program in Course Redesign had complete freedom regarding how to redesign courses to increase quality and reduce costs, a number of common elements emerged.
NCAT has now worked with more than 200 institutions to redesign large-enrollment courses at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum. Learning outcomes have improved in 72 percent of redesigns, with the remaining 28 percent producing learning equivalent to traditional formats. On average, costs reduced by 37 percent in redesigned courses, with a range of 9 to 77 percent. Based on the participating institutions’ experiences, NCAT has identified six redesign models that represent different points on the continuum, from a fully face-to-face course to a fully online course. NCAT has also established (1) a number of proven approaches to assessing student learning and (2) a variety of strategies for overcoming potential implementation obstacles. What Does Cost Savings Mean in Practice? It is important to understand the context for reducing costs. In the past, cost reduction in higher education has meant loss of jobs, but that’s not the NCAT approach. In the vast majority of NCAT course redesign projects, the cost savings achieved through redesigned courses remained in the department that generated them; and the savings achieved were used for instructional purposes. NCAT thinks of cost savings as a reallocation of resources that enables faculty and their institutions to achieve the things on their wish lists: what they would like to do if they had additional resources. Institutional participants have used cost savings:
Further information about NCAT and its course redesign programs is available at http://www.theNCAT.org. THE [INSTITUTION] PROGRAM [INSTITUTION] will build on the successful models and lessons learned from NCAT’s national and state programs to create its own course redesign program for multi-section, large-enrollment courses. As part of that program, [INSTITUTION] will develop internal capacity to support the course redesign process on an ongoing basis. Program Focus: Large-Enrollment Undergraduate Courses In order to have maximum impact on student learning and achieve the highest possible return on the [INSTITUTION’s] investment, redesign efforts supported by this program will focus specifically on undergraduate courses with high enrollments. In addition to having an impact on large numbers of students, there are other advantages of such a focus. In many large-enrollment courses, the predominant instructional model is the large lecture. While recognizing the limitations of the lecture method, many departments continue to organize courses in this way because they believe that it represents the most cost-effective way to deal with large numbers of students. The program will demonstrate that alternatives that improve quality and are less costly than lecture-based strategies are possible. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM To learn more about this exciting new initiative, plan to participate in the initial orientation session to be held on November 15, 2015, from 10 am to 4 pm at [PLACE]. Dr. Carolyn Jarmon, NCAT’s vice president, or program leaders] will provide an overview of the successful planning methodology used in NCAT’s redesign programs and the results they achieved. The workshop is open to all members of the campus community who want to learn about the program and why you may want to participate. The goal of this workshop is for participants to acquire a solid understanding of what is needed to implement a good redesign. Through presentations, case studies, and group work, participants will learn the basic planning steps as well as how to adapt NCAT’s redesign methodology to the needs of their particular courses. Workshop topics will be:
The outcome of the workshop will be that participants will have learned that there are many ways to redesign a course to achieve quality improvements and cost savings and that what can be achieved is only limited by one’s creativity. IMPORTANT: Representation at the orientation workshop is required in order for an academic unit to be eligible to submit a project proposal. Homework Participants will be expected to have completed the following assigned reading about course redesign prior to the workshop. Click on the titles to access the links.
Who Should Attend? All those interested in submitting grant proposals for this program must attend this workshop as well as the follow-up workshop scheduled for February 28, 2016. However, participants who attend the workshop are not required to submit a proposal. Participants may be faculty, professional staff, campus administrators, or others. The workshop will help prospective applicants decide which courses are the most ready to be redesigned. To Register Send an email to [NAME] at [EMAIL ADDRESS]:
Location The workshop will be held at [PLACE]. FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information about the [INSTITUTION] Course Redesign Initiative orientation workshop, contact: [NAME
|
 |
Introduction Appendices: A. Plan of Work |
 |
||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|