Acceleration at Citrus College

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Acceleration at Citrus College
Suzanne Martinez, College Success Grant Project
Coordinator Becky Rudd, Language Arts
faculty Bev Van Citters, Language Arts faculty
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Fast Track ClassesIdeal for the student who is
motivated to complete the required coursework
sooner and willing to spend more time on
homework, the Fast Track classes are on an
accelerated time line -- eight weeks rather than
16 weeks -- enabling the student to complete two
levels in one semester.
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What classes are included?

• College Success English Classes
• English 30/40 (Writing Skills sequence)
• English 40/100 (Writing Skills/Fundamentals of
  Composition sequence)
• College Success Reading Classes
• Reading 19/40 (Literacy/Basic Reading sequence)
• Reading 40/99 (Basic Reading/Reading sequence)

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How do they work?

• Classes meet Monday through Thursday for eight
  weeks per course.
• Classes are linked in the registration process
  so students register for both courses in a
  sequence at the beginning of the term.
• Students who successfully complete the first
  course in the sequence move on to the next course
  during the second eight-week session.

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Benefits to Students

• Students are able to complete two levels of
  College Success classes in one semester
• Students build relationships with peers more
  quickly due to the condensed weekly hours
  together
• Students build relationships with instructors
  that promote learning

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Do they work?
  Fall 2009 Fall 2009 Fall 2009 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2010 Fall 2010 Fall 2010
  LC Regular FT FT LC LC Regular FT FT LC
ENGL 030   34.5 (48/139) 83.0 (78/94)     53.8 (43/80) 81.5 (75/92)  
ENGL 040 78.6 (22/28) 67.7 (268/396) 83.5 (152/182) 87.1 (27/31) 60.6 (20/33) 66.8 (169/253) 89.1 (123/138) 90.9 (30/33)
ENGL 100   69.6 (407/585) 84.2 (128/152) 88.1 (52/59)   78.9 (343/435) 86.4 (108/125) 95.0 (57/60)
READ 019   71.7 (114/159) 92.1 (58/63)     83.8 (109/130) 93.5 (58/62)  
READ 040 75.9 (22/29) 78.8 (193/245) 91.3 (84/92) 96.8 (30/31)   71.5 (128/179) 87.2 (129/148) 93.9 (31/33)
READ 099 91.3 (21/23) 77.2 (345/447) 96.6 (28/29) 96.4 (27/28)   68.7 (215/313) 95.2 (79/83) 100 (28/28)
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Recent Concerns

• Persistence and completion rates
• Federal concerns over graduation rates
• Statewide emphasis on acceleration
• Funding available for sufficient sections of
  basic skills courses in English and reading
• Impact of SB1440 on reading

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A New Direction
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English 98

• Prepares students for English 99
• One-unit class that meets in our College Success
  Center
• Taught by adjunct English faculty
• Focuses on sentence skills, paragraph writing and
  reading strategies
• Consists of short lecture, collaborative learning
  activities, workshops, and individual work

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English 99

• Prepares students for English 101
• Five-unit class meeting Monday through Thursday
  (some twice a week sections)
• Taught by full-time and adjunct faculty
• Focuses on essay writing, critical thinking, and
  critical reading
• Engages students in active reading, collaborative
  learning activities, discussion, and writing
  using fiction and non-fiction

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Professional Development

• English and reading faculty collaborated to
  design a cross-training workshop for faculty
  scheduled to teach English 99
• Blackboard website for faculty
• Meetings through summer to develop sample class
  schedule and discuss integrations
• Faculty lead position for English 98 and 99

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College Success Support Programs

• College Success Center Provides clinics on
  reading and writing skills as well as workshops
  on student skills
• College Success Counselor Counselors designated
  to support College Success Program students
• Supplemental Instruction (SI) program Several
  sections of English 99 include an SI component
• Citrus College Writing Café Provides one-on-one
  support for developing writers

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Benefits

• Students complete basic skills sequence in
  English and Reading in 6 units rather than 18
• Reduces costs for students to complete the
  sequence

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More Benefits

• Integrates the skills of reading and writing in
  one course while removing redundancy in content
• Implements positive aspects of acceleration
  frequent interaction with instructor, peers and
  course content

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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS?

• We are currently in the first semester of the new
  sequencewhat questions, comments, suggestions do
  you have to add to the discussion?
• THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT!