Acceleration at Citrus Acceleration at Citrus CollegeCollege

Suzanne Martinez, College Success Grant Project Coordinator

Becky Rudd, Language Arts faculty

Bev Van Citters, Language Arts faculty

Fast Track Classes:Ideal for the student who is motivated to complete the required coursework sooner and willing to spend more time on homework, the Fast Track classes are on an accelerated time line -- eight weeks rather than 16 weeks -- enabling the student to complete two levels in one semester.

What classes are What classes are included?included?

College Success English Classes:• English 30/40 (Writing Skills sequence)• English 40/100 (Writing Skills/Fundamentals

of Composition sequence)

College Success Reading Classes:• Reading 19/40 (Literacy/Basic Reading

sequence)• Reading 40/99 (Basic Reading/Reading

sequence)

How do they work?How do they work?Classes meet Monday through

Thursday for eight weeks per course.Classes are linked in the registration

process so students register for both courses in a sequence at the beginning of the term.

Students who successfully complete the first course in the sequence move on to the next course during the second eight-week session.

Benefits to StudentsBenefits to StudentsStudents are able to complete

two levels of College Success classes in one semester

Students build relationships with peers more quickly due to the condensed weekly hours together

Students build relationships with instructors that promote learning

Do they work?Do they work?  Fall 2009 Fall 2010

  LC Regular FT FT + LC LC Regular FT FT + LC

ENGL 030  34.5%

(48/139)83.0% (78/94)

   53.8% (43/80)

81.5% (75/92)

 

ENGL 040 78.6% (22/28)

67.7% (268/396)

83.5% (152/182)

87.1% (27/31)

60.6% (20/33)

66.8% (169/253)

89.1% (123/138)

90.9% (30/33)

ENGL 100  69.6%

(407/585)84.2%

(128/152)88.1% (52/59)

 78.9%

(343/435)86.4%

(108/125)95.0% (57/60)

READ 019  71.7%

(114/159)92.1% (58/63)

   83.8%

(109/130)93.5% (58/62)

 

READ 04075.9% (22/29)

78.8% (193/245)

91.3% (84/92)

96.8% (30/31)

 71.5%

(128/179)87.2%

(129/148)93.9% (31/33)

READ 09991.3% (21/23)

77.2% (345/447)

96.6% (28/29)

96.4% (27/28)

 68.7%

(215/313)95.2% (79/83)

100% (28/28)

Recent ConcernsRecent Concerns

Persistence and completion ratesFederal concerns over graduation

ratesStatewide emphasis on accelerationFunding available for sufficient

sections of basic skills courses in English and reading

Impact of SB1440 on reading

A New Direction

English 98English 98

•Prepares students for English 99•One-unit class that meets in our College Success Center•Taught by adjunct English faculty•Focuses on sentence skills, paragraph writing and reading strategies•Consists of short lecture, collaborative learning activities, workshops, and individual work

English 99English 99•Prepares students for English 101•Five-unit class meeting Monday through Thursday (some twice a week sections)•Taught by full-time and adjunct faculty•Focuses on essay writing, critical thinking, and critical reading•Engages students in active reading, collaborative learning activities, discussion, and writing using fiction and non-fiction

Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development

•English and reading faculty collaborated to design a cross-training workshop for faculty scheduled to teach English 99•Blackboard website for faculty•Meetings through summer to develop sample class schedule and discuss integrations•Faculty lead position for English 98 and 99

College Success Support College Success Support ProgramsPrograms•College Success Center: Provides clinics on reading and writing skills as well as workshops on student skills•College Success Counselor: Counselors designated to support College Success Program students•Supplemental Instruction (SI) program: Several sections of English 99 include an SI component•Citrus College Writing Café: Provides one-on-one support for developing writers

BenefitsBenefits

Students complete basic skills sequence in English and Reading in 6 units rather than 18

Reduces costs for students to complete the sequence

More BenefitsMore Benefits

•Integrates the skills of reading and writing in one course while removing redundancy in content

•Implements positive aspects of acceleration: frequent interaction with instructor, peers and course content

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS?QUESTIONS/COMMENTS?

We are currently in the first semester of the new sequence—what questions, comments, suggestions do you have to add to the discussion?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT!