Student Success
Creative Problem-Solving for Bottleneck Courses: A Low Completion Rate Course Project
Project Objectives: Define and diagnose the factors that
contribute to specific low completion rate courses.
Define and adopt realizable solutions for managing/solving problems once identified.
Group Problem-Solving Method
Working focus group. 5 Department Teams (Chair and
Faculty, N = 10). Monthly sessions. Homework for teams. Final reports from teams.
Who is responsible for student success?
Stage 1: Emergent Themes
What is a LCR course anyway? All teams used anecdotal evidence to identify LCR courses. No team identified correctly its LCR course.
Who is responsible for facilitating graduation? Students are solely responsible for their success. Student characteristics delay or interrupt their graduation.
Who is minding the store? Any monitoring of courses will result in a “community college-like
culture.” We have a campus policy on that issue – who knew?
Why aren’t textbooks and lectures enough? Active and collaborative learning are achieved when faculty ask
questions during a lecture.
Stage 2: Defining LCR
Identified need for a campus-wide operational definition of a LCR course. Is 80% completion rate good? What percent of non-course completions actually
create bottlenecks? Identified the following course completion
terms: Successful completion. Failure (non-passing grade with no course credit
NC, D, F, or in some cases C). Withdrawal.
Stage 3: Thinking Beyond Student Characteristics
What factors are likely to contribute to LCR courses? Curriculum issues. Course content and textbook issues. Faculty/Personnel issues. Student issues.
Stage 4: Identifying Common Problems
What did the 5 departments have in common? All LCR courses were multiple sections with large student
enrollment (range 120 – 300 students per semester). No standard course outlines. No course coordinators or effort to coordinate course
goals, objectives, assessment. No means of faculty communication about the course. No common learning goals, objectives, signature
assignments, assessment rubrics. No active or collaborative learning. No tutoring or peer instructional assistance programs. No on-line tutorials or supplemental material to assist
student.
Stage 5: SolutionsDepartment Changes
Accounting 300 Department Chair
Made personnel changes. Formed a course committee. Lowered number of students in each section.
Course Committee Adopted new textbook Purchased on-line tutorials and other electronic
supplemental materials that give students immediate feedback.
Stage 5: SolutionsDepartment Changes
Sociology 260 Department Chair
Made personnel changes. Formed a course committee.
Course Committee Developed a new course outline. Developed a free, pre-semester “prep-camp”
for students who have failed or had anxiety about statistics.
Stage 5: SolutionsCampus-Based Recommendations
Information about and ways to identify bottleneck courses.
Operational definition of LCR courses. Unpack & rename campus policy 79-08
(textbook policy). Include reporting of LCR courses in
departmental self-study. Work with Assessment Office to develop a
Course Completion Audit.
Who is responsible for student success?
We ALL are!
Top Related