COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Rethinking College Prep
as an On-Ramp to a
Program of Study
Davis Jenkins
Senior Research Associate
Community College Research Cente
Teachers College, Columbia University
State Assessment Meeting for
Florida State Colleges
Valencia College
June 20, 2013
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Dev Ed Disconnects
• Placement testing
– Poor predictors of college-level success
– Narrow focus on English comp and Algebra
– Students confused, little guidance
• Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment
– Long sequences
– Replicates high school pedagogy
– Little attention to soft skills
– Poor alignment with program/career SLOs
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Status Quo Pathway Design
• Little upfront career or college planning
• Remediation narrowly focused on English
Comp and Algebra, little “soft skills” prep
• Program learning outcomes and paths unclear;
too many choices
• Poor alignment with requirements for further
education and career advancement
• Students’ progress not monitored
• Limited on-going feedback and support
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
General Ed
Intake
Allied Health
Health Prereqs
ENGL
101
Dev
Reading
Nursing
Career-Path
Career-Path
Employment
Employment
A.S.
Pre-major
Business
Electives
A.A.
Electives
Transfer as
Junior in Major
Dev
ENGL
A.A.S.
Certificates
Math
101
Dev
Math
Meet with Advisor (1st Term Schedule)
ABE
ESL
GED
Voluntary Orientation
Strong connection -
Placement Testing
Weak connection -
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Promising Practices
• Placement testing
– Early assessment, test prep
– Multiple measures (e.g., high school GPA)
• Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment
– Non-academic skills, goal-setting, planning
– Acceleration (eg., co-requisite with support,
modularization, fast track courses)
– Curriculum alignment (e.g., Statway)
– Contextualization, “productive persistence”
– Using SLO assessment to improve teaching
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Rethinking Dev Ed as On-Ramp
• Goal: prepare students to choose and enter
a college-level program of study
– Upfront career/college exploration, planning
– New students required to choose “meta-major”
or “exploratory major” for undecided
– Instruction in academic fundamentals and “soft
skills” customized to particular field
– Collaborative professional development to
ensure program coherence, quality teaching
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Guided Pathways to Success
 Program learning goals clearly defined and
aligned with outcome requirements
 Program paths well structured, prescribed
 Students’ progress closely monitored; timely
feedback provided
 “On-ramps” help students choose and enter
a program of study
 Strong alignment with high school and adult
basic education
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
First-Year Experience
Education, Child Care
Social Services
Health Sciences
Career-Path
Career-Path
Employment
Employment
Business
STEM
Social/Behavioral
Science
English, Arts,
Humanities
Transfer as Junior in
Major
A.A.S.
Certificates
Program
On-Ramp
Program
On-Ramp
Program
On-Ramp
Program
On-Ramp
Program
On-Ramp
Program
On-Ramp
Contextualized Basic
Skills (e.g. I-BEST)
Meet with Advisor (Choose initial program stream; plan full program schedule)
Required Career Interest and Academic Readiness Testing
Strong connection -
Required Initial Orientation
Weak connection -
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
Pathway Redesign Process
STEP 4
STEP 3
STEP 2
START HERE
CONNECTION
ENTRY
PROGRESS
COMPLETION
From interest to
enrollment
From enrollment to entry
into program of study
From program entry to
completion of program
requirements
Completion of credential of
value for further education
and (for CTE) labor market
advancement
• Market program
paths
• Build bridges from
high school and
adult ed. into
program streams
(e.g., strategic
dual enrollment, IBEST)
• Help students
choose program
pathway and
track entry
• Build prescribed
“on-ramps”
customized to
largest program
streams
• Clearly define
and prescribe
program paths
• Monitor students’
progress and
provide feedback
and supports JIT
• Incentivize
progress
• Align program
learning outcomes
with requirements
for success in
further education
and (for CTE
programs) in the
labor market
COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESEARCH CENTER
For more information
Please visit us on the web at
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu
where you can download presentations, reports,
and briefs, and sign-up for news announcements.
We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Community College Research Center
Institute on Education and the Economy,
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street, Box 174, New York, NY 10027
E-mail: ccrc@columbia.edu Telephone: 212.678.3091