Curriculum Structure and Service Delivery
Availability and delivery of courses as well as structure of our curriculum are major factors influencing the time required for EMU students to complete their degrees. Students often have difficulty scheduling needed courses (particularly prerequisites for higher-level courses) thus making it challenging to sustain progress and momentum toward their intended degree. The structure of our curriculum also plays a role in terms of how much flexibility we allow in providing alternative courses to satisfy degree requirements as well as in course sequences. A lack of flexibility in either area can cause unintended delays in students attaining their degrees.
Current or Recent Strategies:
EMU has made efforts in the past decade to address these issues - one of the largest being a new general education program in fall 2007. The new general education program sought to streamline general education requirements through outcomes-based course objectives and by reducing the number of credits required from 50 to 40. In addition, the new general education program provides students with greater clarity and flexibility in how they complete this portion of their degree requirements. EMU also grew the number of credit hours earned through online service delivery by nearly 40% in just the past five years.
Recommended Key Actions:
Creation of a General Studies degree: Many factors play into the number of EMU students who get stalled in the process of completing their degree. When looking at the available data, it is clear at least one of the critical factors is the relatively high number of 2 nd admit programs at
EMU. In fall 2012, nearly 22% of undergraduates were ‘intent’ majors for 2 nd
admit programs.
Of these students (3,814), 45% were juniors and seniors (completed more than 60 credit hours) who likely didn’t make it into their major of choice – and are now in a position of having many credits and no clear career path.
A Bachelor of Arts General Studies degree could be of assistance to many of these students in helping them complete their college degree – and in a more timely manner. In addition, this type of degree could assist students who are currently working yet need a bachelor’s degree in order to be considered for advancement opportunities.
Questions to consider concerning a general studies degree:
 Do other Universities offer a similar degree option and how are they structured with curriculum and other requirements to complete the Bachelor’s degree?
 Are there names other than ‘General Studies’ which might be better for graduates?

Are there other student populations who would see this EMU degree as an attractive option in meeting their educational goals?

Streamlined curriculum: In the past ten years the average number of years it takes a student, who started EMU as a freshman (FTIAC), to complete their degree has increased by two semesters. In 2003 the average time to degree was 4.77 years while in 2012 that number had grown (consistently) to 5.25 years. A key strategy in achieving higher degree completion rates at Eastern Michigan University is to provide a curriculum which is structured and delivered such that students progress seamlessly through their programs of study. In order for this to happen, students need to be clear on what they need to take (and when) in order to earn their degree in
4 years.
We propose academic departments consider their program curricula and ask themselves the following questions:
 Is it possible for a freshman student, enrolled full time, to complete a degree in this major within four years?

Can a full time transfer student with the MACRAO agreement, an identified major, and sixty credits complete a degree within two years?
If the answer was ‘no’ to either question, then our curricula may very well be negatively impacting our retention and degree completion rates. Steps we could take to improve and streamline EMU’s curricula include:
 A comprehensive review of prerequisites to determine competencies necessary for success in future courses from each

Exploration of tools (online or other) which could be used to determine competency vs. credit-bearing course(s)
 Examination of course scheduling patterns (by major) to determine whether lack of course availability may be hindering students’ progress toward degree completion.
Any factors affecting course availability should be identified and solutions, including innovative scheduling models and alternative course delivery methods (online, hybrid, etc.) should be considered.
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A systematic review of courses transferred from partner community colleges with the goal of increasing the number of identified equivalencies. o Both equivalent courses and articulation agreements should be entered into
EMU’s automated degree audit system. This will provide transfer students with easily accessible and accurate information about how courses will be applied at EMU and allow them to develop plans of study before they transfer.

Preparing students for transition to the work force: Professional development institute:
Increasingly, employers are speaking out about a noticeable gap between college graduates’ applied skills and the emotional intelligence needed to transition from student to professional.
While EMU’s academic programs are adequately preparing students with technical and practical aptitudes, a deficiency exists (for many students) in the development and strengthening of “soft skills” for job preparedness. A 2012 study conducted by the Washtenaw
County workforce development board’s technical committee, as well as the nation-wide 2013
Job Outlook survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges & Employers both cited a talent mismatch as a leading trend impacting workforce development, specifically in identifying candidates with good soft skills.
This mismatch serves as a ‘call for action’ for the implementation of a program to close the gap.
According to the National Association of Colleges & Employers data, the top 10 skills and qualities employers seek were:
 verbal communication
 ability to work in teams
 decision making/problem solving
 ability to plan, organize, and prioritize
 ability to obtain and process information
 quantitative data analysis
 technical knowledge
 computer software proficiency
 ability to write and edit written reports
 sell and influence others
This data indicates the University could increase the marketability of our students by providing a vehicle in which they can cultivate their soft skills and emotional intelligence. This program could be charged with assessing the various soft skills of each student, developing a personalized training plan based on the areas of need and using competency-based assessment tools to prove mastery.
Community Immersion Courses: Academic Service-Learning embedded in multiple university programs and departments is a teaching and learning strategy which integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection as a means of helping students gain a deeper understanding of a curriculum/discipline or course objectives, acquire new knowledge and engage in civic activity. AS-L can provide students with a learning experience which connects them to the local community while rooting them more strongly in the university community.

Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) is one of several civic pedagogies “whose impact has been widely researched, has been shown in numerous studies to correlate with outcomes that contribute to increased retention and completion rates (Astin and Sax 1998; Gallini and Moely
2003; Vogelgesang et al. 2002; Nigro and Farnsworth 2009; Brownell and Swaner 2010).”
(AACU’s Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy’s Future). In addition, 70% of universities have first year courses, which orient students to the local community, to a discipline or department and have been proven to increase first-year student retention (Bringle
& Hatcher 2010).
In order to utilize AS-L to increase first year student retention at EMU, academic departments would be encouraged to develop two credit community immersion (AS-L) courses that
1.
meet a curriculum or programmatic outcome
2.
meet an LBC requirement (Group 2)
3.
are taught by faculty and/or full-time lecturer
4.
engage the local community
5.
also serve as a university oasis where faculty serve as university stewards assisting new students in navigating university structures
Such courses can be designed in ways to provide faculty a unique pedagogical experience and provide departments an opportunity to recruit and orient students’ to their department programs, culture and identity.
Streamlining Math Placement Process: Many advisors at EMU find that issues related to satisfying the University’s General Education requirement in Area II (Quantitative Reasoning) represent a significant challenge to students’ persistence and graduation. Currently, an incoming EMU freshman with Level One math placement (the lowest possible) is required to take MATH 110 to satisfy the Area II requirement. However, this freshman may only take this course after earning a Level Three math placement test score or taking multiple pre-college math courses (for credit that doesn’t count toward graduation).
If this same student subsequently earns transfer credit for an Area II approved course that’s also required for his/her major, this course counts automatically for the major but not for Area
II. In this case, the student would need to take MATH 104 or earn a specific math placement test score in order to “validate” the course for Area II credit. In contrast, a student arriving at
EMU as a transfer student with a course approved for Area II credit may use this course to satisfy that requirement and, if necessary, also to satisfy a major or minor requirement.
Streamlining EMU’s math placement process, and applying the same standard to FTIAC admits and transfer students alike, would likely decrease students’ stress related to satisfying the Area

II requirement and pre-requisite and course requirements for majors requiring math-intensive courses.