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Background and overview of AIC Initiative

Supported by Walter S. Johnson

Foundation

Situating ourselves…

What is holding us back? What propels

us?

Wherein lies the hesitation? How do we act

now?

OR

Why not the revolution now? Why is the revolution

now?

What is so befuddling? What is clear to

us?

Why Acceleration is needed

Students are caught in Academic Pipeline

Our curricular and pedagogic best intentions

have not been working

Ongoing (and escalating?) Economic Crisis

Goals for Acceleration in

Context

Move students more quickly to transfer

Increase student persistence and success

Create models and curriculum that propel

students towards their educational goals

Manage limited resources more effectively

Every English 102 Accelerated course saves Chabot

College at least:

$5K compared to a 2 level sequence below transfer

$10K compared to a 3 level sequence below transfer

$15K compared to a 4 level sequence below transfer

(Note: English 102 is a one-semester open access course, one level below

freshman comp., that integrates reading and writing. The cost/class is

about $5K if an adjunct instructor teaches it, and $10K if a full-time

instructor teaches it.)

THE MORE IT COSTS…

On average Chabot College has offered 40 English 102

Accelerated courses per year over the last 5 years:

$5K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $1,000,000

saved compared to a 2 level sequence

$10K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $2,000,000

saved compared to a 3 level sequence

$15K x 40 courses/yr x 5 years = at least $3,000,000

saved compared to a 4 level sequence

THE MORE IT COSTS…

800 students start 3 levels below transfer—400 pass

400 students make it to 2 levels below transfer—200

pass

200 students make it to 1 level below transfer—100

pass

100 students make it to transfer—50 students pass

(Note: This thought experiment posits a 50% success rate, and

assumes that every student who passes moves to the next level.)

…THE LESS EFFECTIVE IT IS

800 + 400 + 200 + 100 = 1500 students served (duplicated headcount for three levels)

1500 students divided by 25 students/class = 60 sections

60 sections x $5K/section (typical adjunct rate)= $300,000

$300,000 divided by the 50 successful students who passed the transfer level course=$6K/successful student

It costs the institution more for each ultimately successful student ($6K) than it does to teach an entire class of 25 students ($5K).

Meanwhile, 750 students (94%) did not pass the transfer class, throwing their academic future in grave doubt.

…THE LESS EFFECTIVE IT IS

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool: Example #1

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool: Example #1

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool: Example #2

Acceleration Model Evaluation Tool: Example #2

Acceleration at Chabot

17 years ago, Chabot College English Dept.

developed response to issues raised in

“Releasing The Trap”

Chabot’s accelerated approach works…

Acceleration at Chabot

Chabot’s accelerated approach works, but…

Success in Freshman Comp: Accelerated vs. non-accelerated pathway--Dr. Katie Hern, Chabot IR Office, and Faculty Inquiry Network

Acceleration beyond Chabot

…Our experience tells us that we need a

comprehensive response in order to

successfully scale Acceleration beyond the

culture and experience of one department.

Acceleration in Context

The big question.

Developing Acceleration Models

Creates Opportunities…

For Curriculum Redesign

For Pedagogical Innovation

For Student Capacity

For Assessment Strategies

For Institutional Navigation

…For Curriculum Redesign

Reconnect with their discipline

Prioritize essential elements of their curriculum

Implement and adapt proven Acceleration

models

Design backwards from transfer

…For Pedagogical Innovation

Put students at the center of their own learning

Foster deep learning and teach to whole

student

Design effective, innovative lessons and

courses

…For Student Capacity

Leverage their resounding capacity for

learning

Bring affective domain to center of classroom

Challenge them to do far more than what is

often asked

…For Student Capacity

…For Assessment Strategies

Bring Inquiry mind-set to assessment

Integrate Student Voices into assessment

process

Train faculty to Make Visible their work so

others can see it

…For Institutional Navigation

Share out Acceleration model with colleagues,

department, institution

Strategize and take steps to scale up model

Integrate campus services to make

Acceleration model a success

Piloting Acceleration models at three

community colleges

Working vertically across a dozen campuses

Working with administrators around cost-

revenue and success and access implications

Conducting outreach with campus

stakeholders and partners interested in

Acceleration

Status of AIC:

Piloting/Consulting

Hosting 5-7 regional conferences Spring 2011

Hosting Summer Learning Institute

Initiating AIC network

Exploring alignment with state and national

research and policy think tanks

Creating website/videos/newsletter/multi-

media expressions

Status of AIC: Building

Organization

The big vision

Terraforming

Terraforming

Imagine that a student is asked to pass a Math

class one level beneath transfer, and then

pass the transfer level Math class.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is pretty good odds.

Terraforming

Imagine that this same student also is asked to

pass an English class one level beneath

transfer, and then pass the transfer level

English class.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is also pretty good odds.

Terraforming

Imagine that this same student also is asked to

pass a Reading class one level beneath

transfer, before being allowed to take Transfer

level English.

Let’s say the student has a 70% of doing this.

That is still pretty good odds.

Terraforming

But here is the problem. Before the student

can hope to transfer, she must accomplish ALL

of these things.

A math formula explains that this is not so

easy to do: 70% x 70% x 70% = 34% of

accomplishing all 3 tasks. She has a 1 in 3

chance.

And of course 70% success rate is quite

high…

Terraforming

50% x 50% x 50% = 12. 5% chance of passing

all the courses.

And it’s not just one student we are talking

about here; MOST of the students on our

campuses face these (suddenly not so good)

odds.

Terraforming

You and your department can create the most

enlightened acceleration model that moves

your students very quickly to transfer.

But if some other area of the campus has NOT

done this, students will get caught up there.

The conditions that support student success

must be created across an institution.