Accelerated Learning

I have been studying and thinking about how to improve our online program and to meet the expectations of the ACCJC during their next visit to our school. During my research I found a presentation and posted it on this blog.  As I watched the video I noticed that someone from the College of Canyons was a presenter. I decided to go to their website and found myself more intrigued by the concept of Accelerated Learning.

The following is a screenshot from their website:

College of the Canyons offers a variety of courses in accelerated, or short-term, learning formats. Our GO! classes are 5-week, online courses. PACE classes are typically 8-week hybrid classes that meet both Saturdays (on campus) and online. PAL courses are offered in pairs: two 8-week Math or two 8-week English classes offered back-to-back in one semester with the same instructor and same classmates. Please click on the links above to learn more about each program

Quickly, I realized that their PACE program is a variation on a little experiment  that economics department is conducting now. The economics department offers two eight weeks classes back to back in one semester. The idea was to help students to complete both Econ 101 and Econ 102 in one semester. During the first eight weeks of the semester Econ 101 is presented and during the second eight week of the semester Econ 102 is presented. Unlike regular 16 weeks classes which meet three hours a week, these classes meet for 6 hours a week. These classes are 100% on the ground or face to face.  (NOTE: This idea was inspired by my discussions with Dr. Wetsman)
The College of Canyon has taken this concept of Accelerated Learning and has added an online component. At our school we call these classes Hybrid classes. They are basically leveraging the online technology to shorten the classes. Students in this program will take 8 weeks courses, same as our students can in Economics at our school, without having to sit in 6 hours of lecture per week. The other three hours per week is completed online. The students complete homework and complete classwork which can assess SLOs, freeing up the remaining time for lectures and/or discussions.  This allows students to complete more units in the same amount of time.
Also instead of only one Department doing this they have scheduled a series of classes which lead to a degree. This is an important point! Why? Currently, students who have signed up for the first 8 weeks Econ 101 class may or may not sign up for Econ 102 during the second eight weeks. There are many reasons for students not signing up for Econ 102. It could be that they do not meet the Prerequisite (Math 70) for Econ 102 or it could be they have realized that Economics does not suit them and wish to study another subject. However, if only one department (econ) is offering these classes, they will have a void in their scheduled during the second eight weeks.
In my opinion, this program will benefit our students.

Was it Discipline or Curiosity?

This article from Ed Source Community College Students Struggle to Pass College Level Math Courses got me thinking back to when I used to hate Math. It was only after returning from the U.S. Army that I had enough discipline to persist with the problem sets assigned. Beside the discipline I was lucky to have math teachers who presented the material in a way that appealed to my sense of curiosity. The curiosity created by these talented faculty may have been more instrumental in my love of math.

Special Board Meeting End of July

"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised." Chinua Achebe

At the end of July there will be a special Board meeting called a 'retreat'. They (the President's Office) has not announced when and where it will be held on the Rio Hondo website. The Agenda for this retreat is a mystery. There are a couple of rumors flying around campus about the topics on the agenda. The rumor that has most people vexed is that they will go through the President's evaluation and may decide to renew his contract, denying the newly elected trustees a choice in the matter, as they did before the last election. I have great faith in the President of the Board Maria Elena Martinez will not allow such a vote because she believes in the community having a say through the election process. The other possible topic according to rumors is meddling in the curriculum process by agreeing to pass odious Board Policies on the newly State mandated degrees. This is a possibility because such a policy is being championed by Angela Acosta-Salazar.  The Board most likely will direct faculty as to what courses are included in a degree to increase the number of students who transfer by making attainment of the degree easier. Such an action would weaken the Academic integrity and quality of Associate degrees and would show that the Board has no confidence in the subject area experts.
Trustee Acosta-Salazar and some board members are more concerned with how many degrees are handed out instead of whether or not a student with a discipline specific degree have an understanding of the subject.  We the faculty saw this happen with the Psychology degree and we suspect it will happen again.
If this happens again, I will ask the Academic Senate to stand up for the integrity of the degrees offered at Rio Hondo. And I will advocate that the Academic Senate to have a vote of no confidence in Trustee Acosta-Salazar and other Board members who support her policy of cheapening the Academic quality of our degrees at Rio Hondo.

Investigating the Alignment of High School and Community College Assessments in California

The following is an interesting report. In order to wet your appetite I will copy and paste some portions of it here. If you want to read more click here

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education undertook a study to determine the de facto standards, or the knowledge and skills required to successfully enroll in college-level classes at California community colleges. While California community colleges are open to all students eligible and able to benefit, most students must demonstrate that they are ready for college-level academic work by passing the college’s placement exam once they enroll. Because California does not explicitly define college readiness standards for high school students, the placement exams function as the de facto entry-level standards for higher education. The community colleges have academic standards; high schools, teachers, students, and parents have just not been clearly informed of them.
Based on their performance on the placement tests, the vast majority of students enrolling in a community college need remedial coursework in math and nearly half of them need it in English.

Is this report arguing for closing down open access or is it arguing for something else?

As a result of the open access policy in place at community colleges in California, not all of the students who enroll are prepared for the academic rigors of college-level work. A recent study from the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy concludes that the open access policies of California’s community colleges have succeeded in enhancing enrollments, but have had the unintended consequence of inhibiting college completion (Shulock & Moore, 2007). They argue that since only one in four degreeseeking community college students actually earns a certificate or degree, transfers to a four-year university, or achieves some combination of those outcomes within six years of enrolling in a community college, policies should be changed to encourage better educational outcomes rather than simply focusing on allowing students to enroll.

If we disillusion students and parents that a high school diploma does not equal college level skills, what will happen to our enrollment? Will the K-12 system challenge our assessments? Will we lose an important collaborator in pursuit of funding?

Community College Graduation Rates

Here is an article from Inside higher ed. The article reports on a research conducted by Community College Research Center of Teachers College, Columbia University.
"The study examines the validity of the “Student Right to Know” graduation rates, which all colleges must report under federal law. These rates measure graduation within 150 percent of the standard time for a degree — six years for a four-year institution and three years for a community college offering associate degrees. The study focused on Florida’s 28 community colleges"
The interesting part of this study is that these numbers ignore the transfer mission of community colleges. I remember transferring out of community college to the U.C. system without receiving my Associate Science degree. This was back in the 1980s but if I remember correctly I did not pursue the Associate degree because it meant another semester at community college.
Could we make our transfer rates match our associate degree? This could be done by setting our degree requirement equal to a full 60 units transferable General Education courses. We could call it General Education Associate of Arts or Science! If such an idea is forwarded, which programs would lose out?