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:
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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
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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.
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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:
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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.
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