To ascertain the degree to which students are learning, faculty were asked to assess student knowledge and skill levels at the beginning and end of each course, using methods appropriate to their pedagogical approach, and compare this to a traditionally offered section they were teaching in the same semester. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data were gathered according to the applicability, interests, and ability of individual faculty. The data show, while learning gains may be less overall, students bring additional knowledge and skills to coursework initially through the selective admissions process and are able to meet similar outcomes to students in traditional classes. Provided selective admissions identifies prior knowledge and skills, accelerated programs can be very effective for degree completion for busy adults. Persistence and success measures at recipient transfer institutions would enhance our understanding of adult success in these programs.

Recommendations:

1. New adult students have gaps in their knowledge base about degree-completion requirements.  However, the experience at Parkland College is that they “discover” college, and their place in it, very much the same way traditional-age students do

2.  Students need a thorough and structured orientation process.   Orientation would include:

   Information and guidance regarding the concept of accelerated delivery.

   Elucidation of expectations.

   Degree completion options for adults who are no longer interested once they are aware of the expectations in an accelerated program.

3. Students need a preparation semester.  Recruitment of new students will revolve around a timeline that includes required (math) remediation preparation of qualified students.  Additionally, students would be advised toward a variety of classes to build student competency and/or start the degree core classes.

4.  Mathematics preparation needs to take place outside the cohort model.  Many adult students struggle with math remediation in the college environment.  Once students have reached a consistent level of placement, mathematics courses towards a specific degree, such as Business Calculus, can be included in the accelerated format.

5.  Faculty, even seasoned faculty who have taught in a variety of formats, need specialized training in curriculum and pedagogy for accelerated programming. To meet this need, an Institute for Quality in Accelerated Programming (IQAP) is now offered each semester in Parkland College’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

6.  Individualized curricular maps should be developed for each student. Parkland College’s experience in this pilot has been that students in the cohort benefit by knowing exactly what they will take and why and alternatives to accelerated programming.

Lumina Proposal

ParklandLumina2250FinalReport

CAEL ALFI Toolkit

All Aboard the Arc: CAEL Presentation 2006

A comparison of student engagement via the Community College Student Survey of Engagement (CCSSE 2005) was conducted with accelerated students.  The accelerated students were compared to a control group of students aged 25 and older who took one of the same courses offered by the same instructors in the accelerated format (ENG 102, HUM 106 and BIO 104) but in a traditional-format.   Thus in this comparison, age range, course content and instructor was controlled for.  There were 11 accelerated students who participated and 10 control group students met the criteria.

The organization which compiles the CCSSE survey data calculates five benchmark scores (Active and Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge, Student-Faculty Interaction, and Support for Learners) for each of the regular sample participants.  The do not calculate any benchmark scores for over samples such as the accelerated and controlled groups compared here.  However, it is possible to compare the results of each question contained in the benchmarks. With the notable exception of email use, accelerated students are less engaged that a control group of adults in a traditional class in all dimensions.

With the differences in levels of engagement scales between accelerated and traditional format students, one would expect differences in academic performance.  The grade distribution of students in this coursework is presented in the table below.  Surprisingly, there are no substantial differences in the grades earned by these students in these courses.  Parkland interprets these results to show the importance of a selective admissions process that ensures that students are arriving accelerated courses with prior skills and knowledge in order to be successful.

Appendix A Engagement