Dalton State College-[node:field-date:custom:Y]-Transforming Remediation, -Corequisite remediation

Goal 7 – Transforming Remediation -- Strategy 7.1 – Enroll students needing remediation in gateway collegiate courses in English and math with co-requisite learning support

Enrolling students in need of remediation in gateway collegiate courses with co-requisite learning support is an effort to improve first-time pass rates out of learning support and shorten time to degree.  Since students are limited as to other courses they are allowed to take prior to completing their learning support requirements, this strategy will make a significant impact on degree completion time.  We are not able to implement this practice for English at the present time because our SACS/COC Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), of which we are beginning Year Four, is focused on an alternative model for our learning support English classes. The QEP plan includes the following: Small class sizes (18 students), sections taught as learning communities with First Year Experience sections, computer- assisted writing assignments, and at least five visits to the writing Writing labLab. These changes increased the success rates for students exiting learning support English from 54% to 80% in just one year (AY 2013), gains which have been replicated in the following years.  It also led to higher pass rates in the English 1101 courses for those students who passed English 0098. Because we are committed to the QEP until the end of AY 2016-2017, the state requirements regarding co-requisite learning support for English and reading will not begin until Fall 2017.

However, we have begun to implement the practice of co-requisite learning support in math for all three courses that satisfy the Area A Core Curriculum math requirement.  We began the process two years ago when the USG offered special training for faculty in new models of math remediation.  Our faculty who attended returned to campus and began developing the necessary courses to implement the co-requisite model.  In a co-curricular model, the students needing learning support take both the college level and the learning support class; if the student passes the college level course, they also receive a satisfactory (S) grade in the learning support.  The new courses were approved through our Academic Programs Committee and implemented for the first time in Fall 2013. That year, the completion rates for  the 0091/1001 co-curricular combination were 79% in fall Fall 2013and 36.4% in sSpring 2014; completion rates for the 0092/1101 co-curricular 65.2% and 55% in the same fall and 55% in spring.  In AY 2014-2015.  Completion rates for the co-curricular MATH 0091/1001 sections was 67% in Fall 2014 and increased to 80% in Spring 2014; completion rates for the MATH 0092/1101 sections was 62.5% and 69%, respectively.  A total of 359 students were able to complete successfully the learning support and benefit from this program in the two-year period.  The overall success rate is 63%, which is higher than the success rates for learning support math instruction prior to the institution of the co-curricular model..  It should also be noted that the co-curricular learning support classes are taught using the emporium model of instruction.   Two different adaptive learning products have been used, Cengage’s and Prentice-Hall’s. 

In terms of plans for the co-requisite instruction, in Fall 2015, It should also be noted that the co-curricular learning support classes are taught using the emporium model of instruction.  The Two different adaptive learning products have been used, Cengage’s and Prentice-Hall’s.  First, the course formerly known as MATH 0098 (now MATH 0999) will be paired with MATH 1111 (College Algebra).  Second, the numbers will be changed on the learning support courses to MATH 0997, 0998, and 0999, in compliance with USG policy.  In Fall 2015, according to USG policy, DSC’s placement scores for learning support were lowered and students needing learning support in three areas (reading, English, math) were admitted.  It is projected that this will affect success rate somewhat in the next few years, but mechanisms are in place to meet these students’ academic needs.