Niccolo Machiavelli

Table of Contents

Board of Trustees Policy
Executive Summary
Introduction
Statement of Philosophy
Strategic Planning Objectives
Recommendations and Results (34 pages) (rtf file) (pdf file -- needs Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Summary of Developmental Math Activities
Summary of Developmental Communications Activities
Next Steps
Chronology of Events
Draft Developmental Effectiveness Measures (3 pages) (pdf file -- needs Adobe Acrobat Reader)

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[ 1 ] Continuing auxiliary academic support which addresses the needs of students of different aptitudes, learning styles, life situations, and educational backgrounds shall be made available for all developmental and entry-level courses. The availability of this support shall be taken into account when providing placement advice to students who wish to proceed rapidly.

[2] Assessment, placement, and developmental courses shall be matched to the educational goals and previous educational experience of each student, with opportunities for reassessment.

[3] Assessment, placement, and developmental courses shall concentrate on mastery of the skills and material needed to pass the TASP test or identified as essential by the faculty teaching entry-level credit courses in the degree or certificate program the student wishes to enter.

[4] Within the limits imposed by the least restrictive reasonable interpretation of applicable laws and regulations, ACC shall maximize student choice and flexibility respecting mandatory remediation and the TASP tests. When required, mandatory remediation shall be provided in a form which matches the pace at which the student can successfully participate.

[5] Students shall not be involuntarily removed from college-credit courses due to their performance in developmental courses as long as they are still willing to participate in a remedial program at the level required by THECB regulations.

Adopted 1/22/96

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At any given time, Austin Community College has approximately 4,000 students enrolled in developmental education courses, with most of those enrollments in developmental math. In 1998, of 4,168 first time in college students at ACC, 1,795 (43%) tested into remedial education. Fifty three percent of those students were retained from one semester to the next, and 43 percent received grades of D, F, or W in their developmental education courses.

Each year the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board produces an Annual Data Profile which provides summary data on how the state's public colleges perform in moving students through developmental education. It was the Annual Data Profile published approximately two years ago which reflected that ACC was performing below the state average in moving students through remedial education courses. Summary data indicated that while there were many students experiencing some success in remedial courses and successfully passing the TASP following completion of remediation, a large number of students, especially ethnic minority students, were not being successful. That information, presented during a college-wide research committee meeting, provided the impetus for beginning the required curriculum reform.

In 1997, the College Administration charged the developmental education faculty to undertake a comprehensive review of the Developmental Education Program for purposes of restructuring the program and to "revolutionize" the curriculum so that it more effectively supports students in achieving their educational goals. Specifically, the review was to carefully review every aspect of the reading, writing and mathematics curriculum, instructional methodologies, support services, advising programs, assessment and placement, current practices, coordination between developmental and college level courses and faculty, and student performance.

In January 1998 the Committee on Developmental Education (CODE) was created by administrative mandate to "determine how to best structure and deliver developmental education in order to maximize student success." Since there was a desire to provide more support to students in developmental education, it was expected that the results of this review would improve student retention, student learning and improve student success rates in both developmental and college-level courses. To approach this review comprehensively, it was necessary to have broad participation from across the College, therefore committee representation included developmental education faculty, counselors and advisors, administrators, learning lab staff, representatives from Student Services, a campus provost, and faculty from college-level courses.

The committee's activities, conducted over an 18-month period of in-depth study, included a review of' 1)assessment and placement requirements, 2) developmental education program practices; 3) student performance; 4) student support services; 5) faculty involvement and professional development activities; 6) visits to other colleges to benchmark best practices; 7) conducting a series of pilot projects and; 8) input from committee members and an external consultant.

Products of the committee's work include the development of a Developmental Education Operational Plan, a flexible instructional delivery plan designed to accommodate differing learning styles, a revised curriculum with clearly defined objectives that is more responsive to student needs, a structured communication plan, criteria for conducting program review, a plan for integrating technology into laboratory and classroom instruction, a plan for the use of Instructional Associates to assist in the delivery of laboratory instruction, a plan for using laboratory instruction to augment classroom instruction, and developmental education effectiveness measures.

All recommendations from the consultant and the faculty have been addressed, the curriculum has been revised and the Committee on Developmental Education has been disbanded. Task Force Chairs continue to have the day-to-day responsibility and provide leadership for curricular matters related to developmental education, and will lead Program Review activities during the Fall 1999 semester. Finally, a new instructional area, Communications, was created at the beginning of the Fall 1999 semester. Communications is the umbrella through which Developmental Reading, Developmental Writing and Study Skills will report and provides the organizational structure necessary to support ongoing, desirable, program activity.

The attention being given to remedial education by policy makers at the local, state and national levels, by educators, state higher education officials, private and for profit entities, students and parents, is indicative of the degree of concern surrounding the need for effective programs in developmental education. The same degree of concern was expressed by Austin Community College administrators, and approximately two years ago, the administration initiated the process to bring about reform in the developmental education curriculum.

Donetta Goodall
Associate Vice President
Academic Programs

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Having a solid foundation in reading, writing and mathematics skills is essential to success in college-level course work. Unfortunately, many of today's college students have deficiencies in these basic foundational areas. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 100 percent of all public community colleges, 81 percent of public, four-year institutions and 63 percent of private schools offer courses in remedial or developmental education. NCES also documents that 41% of all first-time freshmen in community colleges in 1996 were enrolled in remedial education courses, and that approximately 70% of community colleges used placement tests to establish the need for remediation. Indeed, community colleges are providing the bulk of remedial education.

Developmental Education has been the focus of discussion and reform at two-year and four-year, private and public colleges through out the nation and has been the focus of a major curricular revision effort at Austin Community College. Because of the level of concern for students in ACC's developmental program, the administration charged the faculty to make major changes in the curriculum.

Faculty responded to the administrative charge to "reform the curriculum" by engaging in a comprehensive review that identified current practices and models that support student success in developmental education. This comprehensive review, undertaken to determine if program offerings met the learning needs of students, challenged faculty to refine methods of improving student retention, assessment and placement, and strengthening the overall educational program and student support services.

The findings of an external consultant who reviewed the Developmental Education program revealed that while there were many positive aspects to the program, there were also areas and recommendations for improvement. This report addresses how faculty have revised the curriculum to respond to these recommendations.

It was necessary to review assessment and placement practices, goals and objectives, exit and entry level criteria, student support services, faculty and staff professional development activities, and opportunities for renewal. Faculty also reviewed existing measures of effectiveness, and reviewed materials to determine whether students were actually completing developmental courses and experiencing success in college-level coursework. Finally, it was necessary to question whether "we are where we want to be in developmental education, and if we are as good as we want to be." The answer was no. The faculty then began a planning process that led to a strategy for curricular reform.

This kind of self-study and analysis has resulted in developing clearly identified and articulated curriculum goals and objectives, instructional delivery models flexible enough to meet the diverse learning needs of students, yet structured enough to provide guidance in developing and building a sound knowledge base for success outside of developmental education - in college level courses.

The work undertaken has resulted in significant revisions and curricular improvements. Outcomes of the faculty's efforts produced short semester courses, fast-track courses, paired courses, computer mediated instruction, linked reading and writing courses, integration of math study skills into math courses, mandatory laboratory activities, development of a one-credit hour Human Development Orientation course targeting priority needs students taking developmental courses, and more and better communication and collaboration between faculty teaching developmental courses and college-level courses.

Refining the Operational Plan is an ongoing process and will be reviewed and updated as part of the Developmental Education Program Review Process underway this semester. Faculty will also collaborate to develop Learning Communities and develop a systematic approach to minority student retention.

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Statement of Philosophy

As developmental educators, we believe in maximizing the potential of our students and ourselves.

We strive to achieve and maintain excellence in teaching and learning endeavors because we believe in the right of all students to excellent post secondary education experiences. It is our mission in developmental education to help students overcome educational barriers that would hinder their personal and academic successes. We create a learning environment in which faculty employ the best practices in their field of developmental education, promote individual initiative, honor diversity, empower independent learning, and encourage risk-taking.

As developmental educators, we use teaching strategies emphasizing active learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking, while we model a life-long commitment to learning.

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The following strategic planning objectives were identified by faculty in Developmental Communications, Mathematics and Communications.

• Expedite and improve the remediation process.
• Increase retention of developmental education students. Support Student Services in implementing an early and intense intervention program for developmental education students.
• Improve and increase all resources available to teach and assist developmental students, to include faculty, staff, funding, space, equipment, and technology.
• Develop an evaluation process which measures and encourages continuous improvement of developmental education instruction and activities.
• Increase and improve coordination of developmental education activities.
• Develop and implement an operational plan to support achieving strategic objectives.

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