Transformation and Coordination of Developmental Education Programs

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Transformation and Coordination of Developmental
Education Programs

• Strengthening Student Success Conference 2007
• San Jose, California

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Contra Costa College Profile

• Richmond San Pablo, California
• Urban, Low-Income Community
• 8600 Students
• 6,041 FTES
• 103 Full-time Faculty

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API for County HS, 2005
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History of Academic Skills Department

• Prior to Spring of 2000
• Reading and English were separate departments
• Developmental writing courses were in English
  Department
• Reading courses were in Reading Department
• Arithmetic pre-algebra courses were in Math
  Department

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The Problems

• Very few students taking reading classes
• Lack of enthusiasm among many faculty teaching
  developmental reading, writing, and math
• Very low retention, success and persistence

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History of Academic Skills Department

• Spring of 2000
• College made a comprehensive institutional
• commitment to basic skills education
• President, V.P., Academic Senate asked for
  broad-based Basic Skills Committee
• Mandate formulate a plan to restructure the
  Basic Skills Program
• Committed 100,000 for reassigned time, faculty
  development and travel

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History of Academic Skills Department

• Committee Members
• Math, English Reading Faculty
• DSPS Faculty
• Counselors
• Academic Senate President
• Outreach Coordinator
• Deans of Instruction and Student Services
• College President

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History of Academic Skills Department

• Site Visits to Observe Effective Practices
• 6 California Community Colleges
• Santa Fe Community College
• Denver Community College

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History of Academic Skills Department

• Visioning Session (April 2000)
• What essential program elements are needed for
  CCCs comprehensive basic skills instructional
  program?
• What essential support services are needed to
  ensure student success?
• What organizational structure should be used for
  the basic skills program?
• What should we call the program?

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Developmental education is a clearly stated
  institutional priority
• Developmental education included in college
  mission statement
• Academic Skills Department mission statement
  the faculty within our department must work as
  a team, collaborate with faculty from other
  disciplines, and maintain a strong partnership
  with the Counseling Department.

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Faculty
• Reading and Writing
• Reading and writing taught together in the same
  courses (2 and 3 levels below Freshman
  Composition)
• Math (arithmetic and pre-algebra)
• College-wide Tutor Coordinator
• Department Chair is college Basic Skills
  Coordinator

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Organizational Structure
• Same administrative level as other campus
  departments
• Belongs to the CLASS Division (Communication,
  Liberal Arts, Skills and Services)
• Counseling Department and DSPS Program also
  belong to the CLASS Division

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Integrated Instructional and
• Student Support Services
• Tutors (supplemental instruction) in all Academic
  Skills classrooms
• Counselor liaison for each Academic Skills
  section
• ACES program (Automated Communication for
  Educational Success)

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Challenges
• Time
• Money
• Consistent and effective collaboration with other
  departments (Math, English, Counseling etc.)

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Challenges (cont.)
• Integrate reading, writing, and math curriculum
• A high percentage of adjunct faculty
• Bridging the gap to college level classes
• Student persistence rates

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Contra Costa CollegeAcademic Skills Department

• Benefits
• Our focus and attention are on basic skills
  students
• Students receive comprehensive support services
• Department faculty enthusiastic and dedicated to
  basic skills education
• One department facilitates the grant writing
  process and makes us more competitive

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Uses of Data

• Supplemental Instruction (SI)
• Tutoring
• Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

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Supplemental Instruction Data
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Tutoring SLOs

• Students will feel more comfortable about using
  tutoring after meeting with a tutor
• Students who use tutoring will feel more
  comfortable in their classes.
• Retention and success rates for students who use
  tutoring will exceed rates for those who do not
  use tutoring.
• Students who use tutoring will re-enroll at CCC
  and persist to higher-level courses.

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ENGL139 SLOs

• Students will be able to write a clear thesis
  statement
• Students will be able to write paragraphs with
  adequate support.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of sentence
  boundaries.
• Students will be able to write sentences that
  conform to the conventions of standard English.

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Contra Costa College

• Jason Berner, Tutor Coordinator and English
  Professor
• (jberner_at_contracosta.edu)
• Sherry Sharufa, Math Associate Professor
• (ssharufa_at_contracosta.edu)
• Ellen Smith, Interim CLASS Division Dean
• (elsmith_at_contracosta.edu)
• Elvia Ornelas-Garcia, ACSKL Dept. Chair
• (eornelas-garcia_at_contracosta.edu)