Office of Institutional Effectiveness
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Standing Committee Improvement Report For 2014-2015
In accordance with College Procedure 2.01.01.14, Committees, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, each May, requests the chairs of the College’s standing
committees to submit the Annual Standing Committee Chairs’ Year-End Improvement Report to inform the President of the College concerning the decisions and
effectiveness of the standing committees. The data are used to create this Standing Committee Improvement Report, which is available on the College web site:
http://www.epcc.edu/InstitutionalEffectiveness/Pages/StandingCommitteeImprovementReportbyCommittee.aspx .
DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH COMMITTEE
CHARGE: To make recommendations to the English discipline regarding the following Developmental Areas: alignment of curriculum, revision of syllabi, identification of
training needs, identification of texts considered for use, generation and oversight of standards and procedures for exit exams (for courses that require exit exams), continued
review of placement/adjustments to placement systems, and continued assessment of opportunities to better serve our students.
Academic
Year
2014-2015
I. Response to last Year’s Chair’s recommended Plan
of Action
The committee provided a district-wide forum to discuss the
strengths and challenges of English developmental interventions,
including Integrated Reading and Writing (INRW 0311), NonCourse Based Options for Writing (NCBW 0111 co-enrolled with
ENGL 1301), Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) Communities
(INRW 0311 co-enrolled with ENGL 1301), and the BASE NCBO.
The committee shared relevant articles and best practices
gathered from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) website and webinars, the College Academic Support
Programs (CASP) conference and list serv, the
National Association of Developmental Education (NADE)
conference, the Achieving the Dream's Annual Institute on
Student Success, and local INRW faculty training sessions.
The committee continued its close dialogue and communication
with the INRW and Common Essay committees, assisting with
implementation of the Common Essay/Portfolio's replacement of
the Exit Exam for INRW 0311.
The committee continues to shape the ALP learning communities.
In fall 2015, the first ALP learning community with INRW 0311
and ENGL 1301 will be offered at the VV campus. This is a
change from the previous semesters in which this learning
community was offered with ENGL 0310 and ENGL 1301.
Curricular and pedagogical changes will need to made because
the objectives for INRW 0311 are different from ENGL 0310.
Margie Nelson Rodriguez will teach the learning community in the
fall and provide reports to the committee and discuss any
changes that need to be made before scaling these offerings
district-wide.
II. Recommendations and Receiving Administrator(s)
The committee looked at student success data from Institutional
Research.
The committee received updates on the House Bill (HB) 5 College
Preparatory Reading and Writing Course being offered in the
region's high schools in place of students taking INRW 0311 at
either EPCC or UTEP. Margie Nelson Rodriguez,
Michael Coulehan, and Brian Kirby are working with Region 19,
ISD teachers, and UTEP's Developmental English Department on
this project.
Committee member Kathleen Bombach has led the development
of the English discipline's BASE NCBO for lower-skilled learners
along with the a team of committee members: Margie Nelson
Rodriguez, Roberto Santos, Francisco Carrasco, and Michael
Duncan. This intervention will be rolled out in fall 2016.
Committee members worked with campus coordinators, deans,
and counselors to roll out the NCBW 0111 district-wide for fall
2015. This took much coordination and communication as it is a
new intervention with unique scheduling. Margie Nelson
Rodriguez, Kathleen Bombach, and Brian Kirby will provide
training and information to the NBCW instructors. A Blackboard
shell created by Kathleen Bombach and Brian Kirby will be used
in training and information sharing.
III. Recommended Plan of Action (e.g. Objectives) for
the Committee during the next Academic Year
Continue close coordination and communication with small
groups working on the NCBW and HB5 and the discipline
committees working on INRW and the Common Essay/Portfolio.
Work together to revise ALP curriculum, increase offerings in
spring 2016, and scale district-wide in fall 2016.
Monitor progress of NCBW 0111 sections district-wide.
Encourage participation in professional development opportunities
such as conferences and webinars.
Encourage active engagement with the CASP list serv and
THECB webinars to keep current on rapidly changing state
mandates and best practices.
Continue to look at data to form questions and target areas of
improvement, especially for INRW, HB5, NCBW, the ALP learning
communities, and other learning communities linking INRW 0311
with content courses. Obtain qualitative in addition to quantitative
data in order to try to capture a fuller scope and tell a compelling
story. Use this data and stories to promote promising initiatives to
students, faculty, counselors, and administration.
Under the guidance of Dean Mathis, the compensation plan for
NCBW 0111 instructors was approved by EPCC leadership.
Various Faculty Development workshops were held on the most
cogent Developmental English topics.
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
H:RS/REPORTS2014-2015/2014-2015CmteChairsAnnualImprovementRptDevEnglish.docx
EPCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
8/19/15
Page 1 of 4
Academic
Year
I. Response to last Year’s Chair’s recommended Plan
of Action
II. Recommendations and Receiving Administrator(s)
III. Recommended Plan of Action (e.g. Objectives) for
the Committee during the next Academic Year
As TSI initiated, the committee made recommendations for TSI
cut scores for English 0309 and 0310 to the discipline, which were
approved. After data were collected and reviewed, however, the
cut scores were revised to more accurately place students in the
English developmental sequence, including the NCBW 0111.
Although the discipline will have its own INRW committee, the
Developmental English Committee will still provide a forum to
discuss and address a wide range of topics, including the
continuing development of INRW and planning effectively for full
implementation (spring 2015).
Several committee members attended conferences, including
INRW regional conferences and the NADE conference.
The committee will continue its efforts to vet, train, and provide
professional development opportunities for instructors who teach
developmental writing and INRW 0311.
Committee members Margie Nelson Rodriguez and Kathleen
Bombach submitted a presentation proposal on the EPCC English
Discipline's developmental program redesign to the 2015 CASP
34th Annual Conference; the proposal was accepted.
2013-2014
The NCBO (Non-Course-Based Option) for Writing (NCBW) has
been developed by a small team of committee members. The
team met over summer 2013 to design the course and develop
the curriculum. Collaboration with Testing Services, the
Curriculum/Instructional Development Office, Admissions/
Registration, IR, and Counseling were all required to determine
the appropriate cut scores on the TSI and to accurately determine
the targeted "bubble" student for the intervention. The NCBW
0111 course was just completed at VV; the instructor, Margie
Nelson Rodriguez, will share her findings with the team to revise
the course to best fit students' needs.
To address the multitude of topics for INRW (Integrated Reading
and Writing), a special work group was formed by the Vice
President of Instruction last year. The group, comprised of both
English and Reading faculty, was tasked with developing training,
curriculum, and other fundamental items for the course. In spring
2014, College leadership decided to administer INRW under
English; however, classes will be staffed equitably, and the work
group has become an English discipline committee alternatively
chaired by an English and Reading faculty member. The purpose
of this arrangement is to ensure shared governance of the course
and consistent scaling of the course across the District.
A Developmental Coordinator, Richard Yanez, was designated for
the VV campus, This coordinator has also been very active in
INRW training and the professional development of adjuncts
teaching English 0309, 0310, and INRW 0311.
The committee reviewed data available on the SAS Dashboard.
The committee will work closely with the INRW committee on its
implementation of an integrated reading/writing common essay
and portfolio instead of the pass/fail exit exam that was used in
English 0310. The committee can also assist in a study to
examine the effectiveness of the common essay/portfolio.
The committee will assist in shaping the Accelerated Learning
Communities to INRW.
Members of the committee will submit a presentation proposal for
a state or national conference to showcase the exciting work
being done in developmental English.
Committee members have been active in mentoring and training
of developmental faculty, particularly with INRW and the NCBW.
The ESL Placement Procedure has been approved by all
disciplines and is now in place. Academic
Year
2012-2013
I. Response to last Year’s Chair’s recommended Plan
of Action
The Committee has received, discussed, and distributed data on
the 0309/0310 and 0310/1301 learning communities to the
discipline. This data included completion rates from IR and
qualitative data derived from focus groups and interviews with
students from the learning communities. The data provided
context and support for best practices that need to be
emphasized and "lessons learned" to improve the paired
offerings.
Myshie Pagel and Robin Russell competed the administrative
rule, which provides a mechanism for English 0310 instructors to
place students in ESL classes if students' writing diagnostics
indicate the need for further ESL study. II. Recommendations and Receiving Administrator(s)
Three Committee members, Margie Nelson Rodriguez, Terri
Mann, and Dean Claude Mathis, attended the ALP (Accelerated
Learning Program) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition
to learning more about acceleration in developmental education,
the instructors learned more about integrated reading and writing
and contextualization. The committee members shared their
knowledge with the committee and with the discipline.
After extensive research and a visit to Amarillo College to learn
about its Access NCBO (Non-Course Based Options) Lab, the
Committee has constructed a plan for the English discipline's
NCBO. Although the plan still needs discipline and administrator
review, it aligns with the requirements and recommendations of
the THECB. The NCBO will emphasize individualized educational
plans for students and best practices of developmental education.
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
III. Recommended Plan of Action (e.g. Objectives) for
the Committee during the next Academic Year
The curriculum for the NCBO (Non-Course Based Options) will
need to be fully developed. After the Fall 2013 pilot period, the
Committee will need to review and revise the course as needed.
The Committee will need to assist in the transition to integrated
reading and writing (INRW) developmental education.
The Committee will need to continue its various efforts to vet,
train, and provide professional development opportunities for
instructors who teach developmental writing.
The ESL Placement Procedure will continue to be worked on by
the English, ESL, and Reading disciplines.
H:RS/REPORTS2014-2015/2014-2015CmteChairsAnnualImprovementRptDevEnglish.docx
EPCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
8/19/15
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Academic
Year
I. Response to last Year’s Chair’s recommended Plan
of Action
II. Recommendations and Receiving Administrator(s)
III. Recommended Plan of Action (e.g. Objectives) for
the Committee during the next Academic Year
The Committee has created a list of Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) with answers to assist new developmental English
instructors. This project was inspired by a brief list of questions
submitted by adjunct instructors to the Committee Chair. These
were questions, mostly concerned with developmental education,
that these adjunct instructors frequently answered for new
colleagues. The Committee added questions to the list, and now
the complete FAQs will be posted on the online training modules
for developmental English.
Robin Russell completed the online training modules for
developmental English instructors. These training modules will
help instructors learn best practices of developmental education
and will help the discipline more closely align its developmental
courses to the credit level courses.
Several members of the Committee attended the IRW Regional
Conference on April 12, 2013. Also, the Committee Chair highly
encouraged full-time and adjunct instructors to attend. The
discipline was well-represented and enriched by this professional
development opportunity. 2011-2012
In response to the issue of continuity between developmental and
transfer-level courses, the Committee has appointed Robin
Russell to create an online training module for all EPCC
developmental instructors. Irma Camacho, Director of Student
Success, has obtained funding through a DEDP grant to facilitate
this, and Ms. Russell will create the online module during the
summer of 2012.
The chair of the Committee worked with Myshie Pagel of the ESL
department to create an administrative rule, similar to the one
used by Austin Community College, that will allow developmental
English instructors to place students in ESL classes if their writing
diagnostics indicate the need for further ESL study.
This summer, two English instructors will be sent to the
Accelerated Learning Program Conference in Baltimore.
Further, through the auspices of the Committee, a
recommendation was made to the English department that we
return to using an argumentative prompt for the English 0310 Exit
Exam (instead of narrative prompts) which will encourage
instructors to be more rigorous in their instruction.
The proposal of whether to design specific developmental classes
(0309 and 0310), i.e., ELL (English Language Learners) English
0309 as separate from native speaker English 0309 will be
explored.
In regards to the paired English learning communities (English
0309/English 0310 and English 0310/English 1301) which were
developed to move developmental students more quickly through
their developmental sequences, the Committee created a set of
new test cut scores (to be implemented in Fall 2012/Spring 2013)
that will narrow the pool of students to those most likely to
succeed in the pairings.
2010-2011
Expansion of existing accelerated English 0309 program from five
paired offerings of 0309/0310 to ten paired offerings.
Expansion of existing accelerated English 0310 program from five
paired offerings of 0310/1301 to ten paired offerings.
A request for data on the success rates of all historical 0309/0310
and 0310/1301 learning communities has been submitted to Art
Gonzalez in Institutional Research so that he can run the data
through the SAS portal to determine pass rates, success in the
next level of English, retention rates, etc. Ms. Irma Camacho also
stated that the data should be returned very soon, i.e., within a
week or two. The committee agreed to also request soft data, i.e.,
qualitative data, interviews, focus groups, etc. to determine the
experience of the students. At the next English discipline
meeting, we will put forth the issue of requiring all English
instructors to be required to teach at least one level of
developmental writing per semester year.
The Committee recommended that the book entitled Progress
Markers, written by Joe Old and Ted Johnston, be adopted as a
default text for all developmental classes. The discipline voted to
make it the default text for English 0309 only, but as an alternate
text for English 0310 and English 1301. This text addresses the
most common errors made by students attending EPCC and
serves as a way to create continuity between not only instructors
but levels of classes as well.
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The committee, through the auspices of the English coordinators,
will continue to expands its Accelerated Learning Program
(Accelerated English 0310) and Accelerated English 0309 (a
learning community of 0309/0310 classes) and aim to increase
the number of offerings each semester.
This committee will also propose that the English discipline create
a greater sense of continuity between developmental courses and
transfer-level courses. Currently, the majority of developmental
courses are taught by retired high school instructors and/or
instructors who are not qualified to teach transfer-level courses,
while the majority of fully credentialed instructors focus solely on
freshman and sophomore level classes. We feel that the burden
of teaching developmental classes should be more evenly shared
by all English faculty in order to create awareness of the
specialized needs of developmental students.
H:RS/REPORTS2014-2015/2014-2015CmteChairsAnnualImprovementRptDevEnglish.docx
EPCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
8/19/15
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Academic
Year
I. Response to last Year’s Chair’s recommended Plan
of Action
II. Recommendations and Receiving Administrator(s)
III. Recommended Plan of Action (e.g. Objectives) for
the Committee during the next Academic Year
The committee will also support a modification to the accelerated
0310 program that will limit the number of students who may
enroll to only those who make a 4 on the Writeplacer portion of
the Accuplacer. It has come to the Committee's attention that
students with extensive ESL issues may not have the necessary
skill to succeed in the accelerated program.
2009-2010
[Not requested]
To Dr. Dennis Brown:
1. The Writeplacer floor for placement into English 0309 should
be raised from 0 to 3.
2. Students who receive less than a 3 on the Writeplacer will be
interviewed by counselors, who will recommend one of several
appropriate actions: a) to immediately re-test; b) to participate in
the P.R.E.P. program to identify weaknesses, and then re-test; c)
to enter into ESL classes; d) to register with the Students with
Disabilities Center and work with tutors there.
2008-2009
[Not requested]
The Standing Committee recommended a motion approved by
the English Discipline in 2008 regarding a change for placement
into English 0309. The recommendation was to require a score of
3-4 on the Writeplacer for students to be able to register for
English 0309. There was a concern for those students who get a
score of 0-2; thus the Committee recommended that each
member investigate what services are available to help these
students increase their scores. The Committee has done this, and
it was determined that the College has the mechanism/programs
needed to help these students.
The Standing Committee also recommended an even-add, evendrop policy which was approved by the English Discipline.
The committee will continue to investigate options for students
who score less than a 3 on the Writeplacer. It will also explore
the benefits of hiring qualified English instructors to work on an
hourly basis as writing tutors in the Writing Center. Lastly, the
committee will continue its work with the Accelerated Learning
Program (which consists of 8 English 0310 students and 12
English 1301 students combined into the same class) to monitor
the District-wide pilot’s success or lack thereof.
The committee will present to the English Discipline during
Faculty Development a draft of an information sheet to be
distributed to students with a score of 0-2 on the
Writeplacer. Once approved, this change will be presented to the
Curriculum Office so that this change is reflected in the College
Catalogue. This new requirement will then go into effect. It has
also been recommended that the committee/English Discipline
meet with all involved in directing students to the appropriate
College resources so they can prepare before they retest.
Regarding the Even-Add, Even-Drop policy, the Distinct Wide
Coordinator will meet with the Admissions Director during the
summer to discuss this policy and then ensure that all English
Instructors understand this process.
2007-2008
[Not requested]
3-4 Writeplacer score required to register for Eng. 0309.
Presented for vote to the English Discipline, then to the Dev.
Eng/ESL Coordinating Board, then to Dr. Brown for him to decide
the semester of implementation.
The committee will work on the identification of
resources/strategies to assist students with 0-2 placement on the
Writeplacer segment of the College's placement examAccuplacer. The committee will develop a plan illustrated on an
organizational chart to be presented to the English Discipline and
to Dr. Brown.
2006-2007
[Not requested]
To Dr. Dennis Brown, VP of Instruction:
The committee chairs will work more closely with the Office of
Student Success and IR to collect data on students' retention
rates, persistence rates, and graduation rates to determine the
"cut scores" for the "Floor."
 The committee will meet its agenda goals in a more timely
manner.
 The committee will move forward in establishing the "floor,"
which is the placement of incoming students into their courses.
 The committee will create a prototype "assessment program"
as part of a student profile that will indicate students' success
predictors.
 The committee will propose a pilot assessment program based
on data collection and research.
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
H:RS/REPORTS2014-2015/2014-2015CmteChairsAnnualImprovementRptDevEnglish.docx
EPCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
8/19/15
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