INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS
in Developmental and
College-Level Mathematics
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Established in 1999 as a university
Center at RPI funded by the Pew
Charitable Trusts
Became an independent non-profit
organization in 2003
Mission: help colleges and universities
learn how to use technology to
improve student learning outcomes
and reduce their instructional costs
NCAT’S TRACK RECORD
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11 years of experience in conducting largescale course redesign projects in
mathematics that improve student learning
while reducing instructional costs.
37 institutions have been involved in
mathematics course redesign.
Most have redesigned more than one course,
either during the project period or after the
NCAT project was completed.
Collectively, NCAT math redesigns have
impacted more than 200,000 students to date.
WHAT DOES NCAT MEAN BY
COURSE REDESIGN?
Course redesign is the process of
redesigning whole courses (rather
than individual classes or sections)
to achieve better learning
outcomes at a lower cost by taking
advantage of the capabilities of
information technology.
MATH REDESIGNS AT NCAT
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

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Increased the percentage of students
successfully completing a developmental
math course by 51% (from 10% to 135%)
while reducing the cost of instruction by
30% (from 12% to 52%)
Increased the percentage of students
successfully completing a college-level
math course by 25% (from 7% to 63%)
while reducing the cost of instruction by
37% (from 15% to 77%)
"Students learn
math by doing
math, not by
listening to
someone talk
about doing
math."
WHY DO STUDENTS FAIL?
“The primary reason many
students do not succeed in
traditional math courses is that
they do not actually do the
problems. They generally do
not spend enough time with the
material, and this is why they
fail at a very high rate.”
Kingsborough Community College
WHY DOES THE EMPORIUM
INCREASE SUCCESS?
1. Students spend the bulk of their
course time doing math problems.
2. Students spend more time on things
they don’t understand and less time
on things they have already
mastered.
3. Students get assistance when they
encounter problems in doing math.
4. Students are required to do math.
Students spend the bulk of their
course time doing math problems.

Traditional
Students spend
most (all?) of
their in-class time
listening to
someone talk
about doing
math.

Emporium
Students spend
most (all?) of
their in-class time
doing math
working with
instructional
software.
Students spend more time on things
they don’t understand and less time
on things they have already mastered.
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Traditional
Lecture format
treats students as
“one size fits all.”
Some students are
bored while others
are overwhelmed.
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Emporium
Diagnostic assessments
-->> individualized study
plans
When students understand, they can move
through quickly and
demonstrate mastery.
When students get stuck,
they can take more time
to practice.
Students get assistance when they
encounter problems in doing math.
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Traditional
Must admit in front
of others that they
don’t understand.
No assistance
available when
doing homework.
Hand-graded
homework often
returned days later
when no longer
motivated.
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Emporium
Individualized help.
Instant feedback
from software.
On-demand help
from Emporium
instructors/helpers.
Help from other
students.
Students are required to do math.
(Freshmen don’t do optional.)
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Traditional
May or may not
go to class.
May or may not
do homework.
May or may not
ask questions.
May or may not
go to office hours.
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Emporium
Required to go to
lab.
Required to do
homework.
Given course
points for
completing all
required activities.
THREE STAGES OF
INNOVATION
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Stage I
Experimentation
1999 - 2003
Stage II Replication
2003 - 2006
Stage III Expansion
2006 - 2010
Modifying and Extending the Emporium Model
PROGRAM IN
COURSE REDESIGN
Challenge colleges and
universities to redesign
their approaches to
instruction using
technology to achieve
quality enhancements as
well as cost savings.
30 projects
7 in math
IT IS POSSIBLE TO INCREASE
LEARNING WHILE REDUCING COST
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25 of 30 PCR projects
improved learning; the
other 5 showed equal
learning.
24 measured course
completion rates; 18
showed improvement.
All 30 reduced costs by
37% on average, with a
range of 15% to 77%.
Program in Course Redesign
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE
SAVINGS?
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Accommodate more
students
Offer more options at the
second-year or upperdivision level
Develop distance learning
courses and programs
Decrease time to
graduation for students by
eliminating academic
bottlenecks
Free up expensive
campus space
EXAMPLE
Math Department at Ole Miss
AY 2000-2001
 45 math majors
 40 BA students
 5 BS students
 PhD program put on
probation
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Fall 2000: 6 courses
Spring 2001:
7 courses
AY 2006-2007
 81 math majors
 50 BA students
 31 BS students
 20 PhDs over the last 4
years
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Fall 2007: 13 courses
Spring 2007:
15 courses
THE MATH EMPORIUM
at
Virginia Tech
THE MATH EMPORIUM:
ACADEMIC GOALS
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Enhance quality by individualizing instruction
Assess students’ knowledge in much smaller
subject-matter chunks
Provide feedback and direction to allow
students to make up for specific deficiencies
Provide help 75 - 80 hours per week
Incorporate examples and information from
other disciplines
Make changes in the course as it proceeds;
continuous improvement as a built-in feature
THE MATH EMPORIUM
at Virginia Tech
Traditional
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38 sections (~40)
10 tenured faculty,
13 instructors, 15
GTAs
2 hours per week
$91 cost-per-student
Redesign
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1 section (~1520)
1 instructor, grad &
undergrad TAs + 2
tech support staff
24*7 in open lab
$21 cost-per-student
Percentage of students achieving grades of D
or better went from 80.5% to 87.25%
THE EMPORIUM MODEL
77% Cost Reduction (V1)
30% Cost Reduction (V2)
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
SUCCESS RATES
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Fall 1998
Fall 1999
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Fall 2000
Fall 2001
Fall 2002
Fall 2003
Fall 2004
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47.1%
40.6%
50.2%
60.5%
63.0%
78.9%
76.2%
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Intermediate Algebra
1,500 students
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Student performance tracked in
next course (Precalculus Algebra).
Redesign students significantly outperformed students who had taken
the prior course in the traditional
format.
Cost-per-student decreased from
$122 to $86, a 30% savings
Alabama subsequently replicated
its redesign success in Precalculus
Algebra.
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
Precalculus Courses
2,428 Students

Student success rates (grades
of C or better) in the redesigned
format increased
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from 59% to 75% in Intermediate
Algebra
from 68% to 75% in Precalculus
The cost-per-student was
reduced from $110 to $176 to
$97, a 31% reduction.
KEY MODIFICATIONS
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Mandatory attendance
Weekly “focus group”
meetings
Smaller facilities
Commercial software
STAGE II: REPLICATION
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We did not prescribe a model
–
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We wanted each redesign team to “own”
their redesign plan.
We wanted to see variations on previous
redesigns in different disciplines.
We wanted to see new models emerge as
we worked with greater numbers of
institutions and disciplines.
MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
Five Models for Course Redesign
 Five Principles of Successful
Course Redesign
 Four Models for Assessing Student
Learning
 Cost Reduction Strategies
 Five Critical Implementation Issues
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ROADMAP TO REDESIGN (R2R)
2003 - 2006
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Calhoun CC: Statistics
Chattanooga STCC: Psychology
Eastern Washington U: Psychology
Georgia State U: Precalculus
Louisiana State U: College Algebra
Texas Tech: Spanish
UNC-Greensboro: Precalculus
U of Missouri-St. Louis: College
Algebra
U of Alabama: Spanish
UNC-Chapel Hill: Precalculus
UNC-Greensboro: Statistics
Wayne State U: Precalculus
WHAT WE OBSERVED
Some models seemed to “fit”
particular disciplines.
 Replacement model
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–
–
Foreign language
English composition
Math: Emporium vs. Replacement
 Application of Alabama and Idaho
version to college-level math
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LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
College Algebra
4,900 Students
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Redesign students outperformed as measured by
common final exams
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Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased
from 64% to 75%
Cost-per-student decreased from $121 to $78, a
36% savings.
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Traditional median = 70 to 76
Redesign median = 78 (highest ever)
Section size stayed at 40-44
Class meetings went from 3 to 1
Instructors taught 2 sections vs. 1 and tutored 4 hours in the lab
LSU also redesigned Trig and Pre-calculus.
U OF MISSOURI-SAINT LOUIS
College Algebra
800 Students
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Redesign students outperformed on
common final exams
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Traditional As and Bs = 31.5%
Redesign As and Bs = 56.6%
Success rates (final grade of C or
better) increased from 50% to 80%
Cost-per-student decreased from
$170 to $119, a 30% reduction.
–
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–
Section size increased from 35 to 70.
Number of faculty were reduced.
Adjuncts were eliminated.
STAGE III: EXPANSION
2006 - 2010
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State- and system
based programs
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–
–
–
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Arizona
Maryland
Mississippi
New York
Tennessee
54 redesign projects
13 in mathematics
JACKSON STATE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Basic Math, Elementary and
Intermediate Algebra
2,200 students
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Course material is organized into 12 modules
Student requirements vary according to major
Students and instructors meet 3 hours each
week in SMART Math Center
SMART Center is open ~49 hours per week
Mastery-based instructional software
Can move quickly and begin next course
during the same term
JACKSON STATE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
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Redesign students increased their
average post-test scores:
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Traditional sections = 73%
Redesigned sections = 88%
Success rates (final grade of C or better)
increased from 41% to 54%.
Percentage exiting developmental math
program increased from 18% to 42%.
Cost-per-student decreased from $177 to
$141, a 20% savings
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–
Number of sections reduced from 89 to 71
Section size increased from 20-24 to 24-30
CLEVELAND STATE COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Basic Math, Elementary and
Intermediate Algebra
1,200 students
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1 hour in lab + 1 hour in class + 1 hour from
anywhere each week
Lab open ~54 hours per week staffed by
instructors and peer tutors
Course material is organized into 10 – 12
modules (1 per week)
Can move quickly and begin next course
during the same term
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Number of Common Test Items
Answered Correctly
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Basic Algebra
Elementary Algebra
Intermediate Algebra
Before
After
73.3%
70.3%
77.3%
86.2%
86.2%
90.1%
DEVELOPMENTAL MATH
Cleveland State Community College
Before After
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Basic Algebra
– Completion % (ABC)
– Course GPA
Elementary Algebra
– Completion % (ABC)
– Course GPA
Intermediate Algebra
– Completion % (ABC)
– Course GPA
52%
1.92
65%
2.53
52%
1.95
70%
2.88
56%
2.02
79%
3.20
DEVELOPMENTAL MATH
PROGRAM COMPLETION
Before
 An average of
182 of 327
students (56%)
success-fully
exited the
program.
After
 268 of 340
students (79%)
successfully
exited the
program.
This represents a 47% increase in moving
students through developmental studies to
college-level math courses.
INCREASED MOBILITY WITHIN
DEVELOPMENTAL MATH
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37 students completed two or more
developmental math courses in one semester.
33 students exited the developmental math
program after one semester.
9 students completed Intermediate Algebra
and a college-level math course in the same
semester.
2 students completed three courses in one
semester, each completing over 1800
exercises.
PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGELEVEL MATH COURSES
Before
 Completion rate
of developmental
students = 71%
 Completion rate
of other students
= 70%
After
 Completion rate
of developmental
students = 81%
 Completion rate
of other students
= 70%
Redesign students also had higher average
course grades (3.15 compared to 2.94)
MORE STUDENTS TAKING
COLLEGE-LEVEL MATH COURSES
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The number of students enrolling in and
passing a college-level math course during
fall 2008 increased by 15% compared to the
average of the past five years.
The number of students enrolling in a collegelevel math course during spring 2009 have
increased from an average of 320 students in
previous spring semesters to 480+ in the
current term, a 50% increase.
COLLEGE-LEVEL MATH
Cleveland State Community College
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College Algebra
– Completion % (ABC)
– Course GPA
– Common test items
Finite Math
– Completion % (ABC)
– Course GPA
– Common test items
Before
After
65%
2.26
76%
74%
2.89
86%
75%
2.53
82%
91%
3.63
88%
REDUCED COSTS
$50,000+ Annually
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Faculty productivity has risen by 23%.
Average student load per instructor went from
106 to 130.
FTE teaching load per instructor went from
21.2 to 26.0.
Adjunct faculty (N = 10) eliminated.
Lab staffing shifted from a full-time staff position
to 5 part-time tutors (+ full-time instructors.)
Low-enrollment sections: multiple courses will be
offered in the same classroom simultaneously.
TBR OFFICE OF ACADEMIC
AFFAIRS RESEARCH STUDY
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“A student in a redesigned course is
twice as likely to receive a grade that
would allow them to move on to the
next course than a student in a course
before the redesign.
The redesign format has a positive and
strong impact on success in the next
course. As in the pre-college course, a
student entering the next course is
twice as likely to receive a grade of A,
B, C, P, or S as a student from a course
before the redesign.”
KEY MODIFICATIONS
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A “fixed” or
“fixed/flexible”
version of the
Emporium
Modularization
Mastery learning
CSCC and JSCC were consecutive winners of
the prestigious Bellwether Award from the
Community College Futures Assembly.
STAGE III: EXPANSION
2006 - 2010

State- and system
based programs
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–
–
–
–
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Arizona
Maryland
Mississippi
New York
Tennessee
54 redesign projects
13 in mathematics
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
College Algebra

Students in the redesign performed
significantly better as measured by
common mid-term and final exams
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Cost-per-student decreased from
$278 to $184, a 34% savings
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Traditional = 55.89 average score
Redesign = 66.16 average score
Number of sections reduced from 16 to 8
Section size increased from ~38 to 75
Number of faculty reduced from 8 to 4
Alcorn State now redesigning
Intermediate Algebra as well.
MS VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Intermediate Algebra

Students in the redesign outperformed
as measured by common final exam
–
–
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Traditional = 54%
Redesign = 59%
Success rates (final grade of C or
better) increased from 36% to 49%
Cost-per-student decreased from $183
to $139, a 24% savings
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–
Number of sections reduced from 17 to 8
Section size increased from 27 or 32 to 60
Number of faculty reduced from 13 to 6
COLLEAGUES COMMITTED TO
REDESIGN (C2R)
2006 - 2009
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Funded by FIPSE
Expanded course
redesign to 28
additional
institutions
10 in mathematics
6 at four-year
institutions and 4 at
two-year institutions
Those who
“followed the rules”
succeeded.
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
College Algebra
4,100 students

Students in the redesign outperformed as
measured by a common final exam
–
–
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Success rates (final grade of C or better)
increased from 65% to 74%
Cost-per-student decreased from $70 to
$49, a 30% savings
–
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–
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Traditional = 63%
Redesign = 81%
Number of sections reduced from 65 to 13
Section size increased from 21 (36 sections), 49 (22
sections) and 384 (7 sections) to 300 - 384
Number of faculty reduced and ULAs added
UCF team has gone on to redesign
Intermediate Algebra and Pre-calculus.
SANTA FE COLLEGE
College Algebra
2,760 students

Students in the redesign outperformed as
measured by a common final exam
–
–
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
Success rates (final grade of C or better)
increased from 53% to 60%
Cost-per-student decreased from $117 to $86,
a 26% savings
–
–
–

Traditional = 59% scored C or better
Redesign = 78% scored C or better
Number of sections reduced from 92 to 69
Section size increased from 30 to 40
Number of full-time faculty went from 21 to 10 and part-time
faculty from 25 to 17
Santa Fe is also redesigning Prep Pre-Algebra,
Elementary Algebra, Integrated Arithmetic and
Algebra, and College Algebra.
STAGE IV: SCALING A PROVEN
INNOVATION
Changing the Equation
38 two-year colleges
 All developmental math courses
 120,000 students
 Pilot in spring 2011; fully
implement in fall 2011
 Supported by the Gates Foundation

MOVING BEYOND EXPERIMENTATION
Why has the Emporium Model
Been Sustained?
Whole course redesign
conducted by teams of faculty
and administrators
 Proven methods of integrating
technology and learner-centered
pedagogy
 Cost reduction as an integral
part of the redesign

WHAT DO THE FACULTY SAY?


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“It’s the best
experience I’ve ever
had in a classroom.”
“The quality of my
worklife has changed
immeasurably for the
better.”
“It’s a lot of work
during the transition-but it’s worth it.”
CAROL to CAROL
at LSU in Spring 2005
"Students learn
math by doing
math, not by
listening to
someone talk
about doing
math."