History of the Developmental Mathematics Department Since offering its first classes at area high schools in 1985, Collin College has expanded to serve about 45,000 credit and continuing education students each year. The only public college in Collin County, the college offers more than 100 degrees and certificates in a wide range of disciplines. Collin College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and has awarded associate degrees and certificates since 1989. It has always had a centralized Developmental Education (DE) Division consisting of Developmental Mathematics (DM), Integrated Reading and Writing (INRW), and English as a Second Language. In 2006, College Success was added as a department. Developmental Education initially reported to the Student Development Vice President. In 1995, it was organizationally moved under the Vice President of Academic Affairs for Instruction. This was a philosophical change reflecting the attitude that developmental education is, in fact, instruction! Collin College has three major campuses, each with its own Vice President/Provost and Academic Deans; however, the Dean of Developmental Education is a district-wide position. Approximately 40 full-time and 80 part-time DE faculty report to the dean. Having begun 25 years ago as a college with 13 faculty serving fewer than 1,000 students, Collin now has over 300 full-time faculty serving over 25,000 credit students. As of Fall 2015, there are four courses in the DM sequence: Math 0302 (Pre-Algebra) Math 0305 (Beginning Algebra) Math 0310 (Intermediate Algebra) Math 0406 (Introductory Algebra) Three courses, Geometry (Math 0115), Basic Mathematics (Math 0300), and Math Study Skills (Math 0320), are no longer offered. The Geometry course was developed for two reasons. Trigonometry had a Geometry prerequisite and this course was a service provided to support credit mathematics courses. The other reason was to support state-mandated TASP requirements. Due to difficulty in meeting minimum enrollment and to changes in prerequisites for credit mathematics courses, MATH 0115 was removed from the sequence in Fall 2007. Math 0302 (Pre-Algebra) was added in the 1990’s to support the transition of students from Basic Mathematics (Math 0300) to Beginning Algebra (Math 0305). As of Fall 2011, Math 0300 (Basic Mathematics), which was the entry-level course students could take without placement testing, was removed from the curriculum. Math 0302 (PreAlgebra) is now the entry-level course for DM. A combination course, Math 0406, was added in Fall 2013 to address students Rev: July 2015 Page 1 687319866 who placed just below the minimum placement score for Math 0305. This four-hour course covers key topics from Math 0302, as well as all of the topics from Math 0305. Students who successfully complete this course progress to Math 0310. Originally, all DM coursework was self-paced. During the DM Department history, this has evolved. Today there are many varied instructional formats available to DM students. Beginning in 1997, all DM courses were available online. Courses are also offered in express, lecture, and self-paced formats. Another format, Passport, which was self-paced but not self-taught, was eliminated in 2011 based primarily on administrative issues. There are 16-week and 8-week classes available in a long semester. DM also offers summer sessions of five weeks and ten weeks. In Spring 2012 the department piloted a program in the self-paced format to allow students to skip course objectives for which they could demonstrate mastery. This pilot, limited to one course on one of the three campuses, was expanded to include the same course at all campuses beginning in Spring 2013. In 1987, a lab component was designed for the three-hour DM lecture courses. These lab components satisfied the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) mandates. The college received state funds for lab components. The original purpose was to provide supplementary instruction for DM students by having them attend the Math Lab to complete the lab components. Originally, students were required to spend three hours a week in the Math Lab. This was changed as the population of the college increased. In 2004, the department converted to electronic labs in order to provide flexibility for students to complete them outside of the Math Lab. In Fall 2010, study skills lab components became available for optional use by faculty to further engage their students. In addition the software supporting the labs provides significant additional resources for student learning to reinforce course objectives. In Fall 2010, the department began following the college’s standard “three-peat” rule for all DM courses. Under this rule, DM students are only permitted to take a specific course two times. If they fail or withdraw from the course twice, they must take it at another college and then transfer credit for the course back to Collin College if they wish to return to Collin. Collin accepts incoming transfer DM courses from Dallas, Grayson and Tarrant County colleges. In Fall 2012, the department began using an administrative withdrawal procedure to drop students who did not attend classes on a regular basis. These withdrawals are kept separate from voluntary withdrawals. As of Spring 2013, there were 20 full-time DM faculty, 6 full-time DM Lab Instructors and 40 part-time DM faculty. To foster individualized attention to students, the student-tofaculty ratio in DM classes is maintained at an average of 21:1. Rev: July 2015 Page 2 687319866 DM faculty have always been actively involved in the Developmental Education profession. Many faculty have held both state and national positions in organizations such as the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE), Texas Association for Developmental Education (TADE), and the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). The faculty remain current in the profession through conference attendance and active organizational leadership, sitebased professional development, and by reading professional journals to improve both the curriculum and teaching methodology. They have published books, articles, and made numerous presentations at local, regional and national conferences. They have also served in leadership roles to support an annual Developmental Education Forum offered through the North Texas Community College Consortium. One of the highlights of that forum is the presentation by a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board representative addressing state policy changes in the field. In Spring 2010 the department began to pursue the NADE certification process. This was a major, multi-year effort that resulted in a comprehensive analysis of all facets of the DM activities at Collin College. In June 2013 the required application report was submitted to NADE. As a result, in March 2015, the Collin DM Department was awarded Advanced Certification in Developmental Mathematics! This certification is effective until 2022. Developmental Education has always taken a holistic view of the DE student, and this requires other support services. Collin meets this important need by providing the following support services for students: Math Lab ACCESS Office (support for students with special needs) Group Tutoring Counseling Academic advising Private tutor lists Student Computer Labs Study Skills Seminars Library reference materials Online course software with numerous support tools In summary, the Developmental Mathematics Department at Collin College has a long history of proactively serving the needs of DM students, and continues to evolve and improve through a blend of both strategic and tactical activities. Rev: July 2015 Page 3 687319866