Access at the Crossroads Blog

40 iPad Apps for Younger Children

2012-02-08T17:39:50Z

In the past I have shared a directory of my favorite (300) iPad apps I find useful personally and as a college educator. <Click to download the free directory.> Recently I received a message from someone that has focused on younger children. I found it quite good and recommend you check it out. <Click to open the document web site.>

From the author's web site: Jill Rooney, Ph.D. is an Education Writer for OnlineColleges.net. After earning an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in History, Dr. Rooney taught History, Political Science, and General Education college courses at state universities, small private colleges, community colleges, and for-profit colleges. An experienced educator with expertise in American politics, Dr. Rooney has also published articles in publications by the Smithsonian Institution, Oxford University Press, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Her teaching experience has taught her that all students really just want one thing: To learn. And that isn't always easy, so she's here to help! We're also on Facebook: join us for more conversation on college life, study tips, career advice, and more!

Call by Dept. of Education for Promising and Practical Strategies

2012-02-02T01:48:18Z

A perfect opportunity has been created for educators to share promising and practical strategies to increase postsecondary success, transfer, and college graduation through the U.S. Department of Education. Please read further how you can share what works with your students and programs with your colleagues nationally. While it is the middle of the academic term and you no doubt have more than a full work load, do not miss the chance to influence other educators and policymakers with what you know for making a difference and demonstrate how your profession has the expertise to increase college success rates. The priority review deadline for submission is April 30th.

The U.S. Department of Education announced at its College Completion Symposium and posted to the Federal Register on January 30, 2012 a Request for Information (RFI) for any person or organization to share with them strategies for increasing college completion that may then be made available through a special web site created by the Department. Submissions received by April 30, 2012 receive priority consideration for dissemination. Click on the following web link for the complete announcement published in the Federal Register, https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/01/30/2012-1963/promising-and-practical-strategies-to-increase-postsecondary-success#p-3

It is important in your proposal to stress the unique features of your activity or program. For example, while many schools have a tutoring or mentoring program, what is novel about yours? How are your credit-hour courses different than others? These are some of the questions the RFI asks for the submissions to address.

The Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education (http://cehd.umn.edu/jandris/) based at the University of Minnesota has volunteered to provide several free hour-long webinars in the near future to share suggestions for completing a submission with examples from others that have already have or in process of completing their document. Announcements about these webinars will be posted to this blog page soon. Based on the regulations from the published announcement in the Federal Register, click on the following web link for suggestions by a Jandris Center staff member for the submission: http://www.besteducationpractices.org/storage/pdf-documents/Summarized%20RFI%20Announcement.pdf

For more official information and technical assistance with the submission, contact Dr. David Soo at the Department of Education, (202) 502-7742, david.soo@ed.gov Information about the Jandris Center is available at http://cehd.umn.edu/jandris/

Department of Education Collecting Strategies to Increase College Completion

2012-01-30T11:44:27Z

The U.S. Department of Education has asked colleges and universities to report on their successful strategies toward achieving President Obama’s goal of the United States having the highest percentage of postsecondary-degree holders in the world by 2020. In a notice scheduled to appear in Monday’s (January 30) Federal Register, the department is reaching out to institutions of higher education, as well as states and nonprofit organizations, for strategies that have worked. The reported best practices, the notice says, will be posted online in due course.

The U.S. Department of Education is convening a one-day symposium on college completion on Monday, Jan. 30, for 50 of the nation’s leading researchers, policy experts, and practitioners from 30 postsecondary institutions to identify evidence-based best practices that work to increase college completion. At 2:30 p.m., Education Secretary Arne Duncan will address the symposium, challenging participants to think creatively about ways to substantially boost college completion.Sessions will highlight ways to support students’ achievement through accelerated programs, learning communities and bridge programs; as well as through advising, coaching and mentoring. The symposium will also focus on affordable and innovative ways to promote completion in an effort to meet President Obama's goal that the United States once again have the highest college attainment rate in the world by 2020.

Illinois Releases New Report on Practices to Increase College Completion Rates

2012-01-29T07:24:01Z

Illinois Lt. governor Sheila Simon this month released a report called "Illinois Community Colleges: Focus on the Finish." <Click on this link to download the complete report> It is practical examples how the collegtes are implementing practices to improve college completion rates for their students. Some of these could be appropriately modified and integrated into TRIO and other opportunity programs.

Following is the Executive Summary of the report: Community colleges are the future of the Illinois economy. Nearly 1 million students pass through their doors each year in search of accessible, affordable education and career training. Unfortunately, too many students leave campus without the certificate or degree necessary for a good-paying job. Slightly fewer than one in five Illinois students who began their studies as first-time, full-time students at Illinois community colleges in the fall of 2007 graduated by the summer of 2010. In order for our state to attract and retain businesses – and do right by our students – we need to dramatically increase this success rate.

As the Governor’s point person on education reform, I completed a statewide fact-finding tour of all 48 Illinois community colleges in 2011. I wanted to hear firsthand how schools were working to improve completion rates, and to gather input on how the state could facilitate their success. Given that community colleges reach more students – but graduate fewer – than other higher education institutions, their performance is critical to creating a globally competitive workforce.

Today, the Illinois workforce is slightly ahead of most states, with 41 percent of our nearly 7 million working-age adults (25-64 years old) holding at least a two-year degree. But if we do not increase the proportion of certificate and degree holders over time, Illinois will not only fall behind our neighbors, but also lose out on international job investment. As Chair of the P-20 Council’s Joint Educational Leadership Committee and a member of Illinois’ Complete College America team, I am working to increase the proportion of Illinoisans with meaningful college and career credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

During the tour, I found that colleges are actively pursuing the state’s “60 by 2025” completion goal. I witnessed several small scale, but promising, reforms to prepare incoming students and reduce the time it takes for them to earn credentials and enter the regional and national workforce. These emerging on-the-ground practices, coupled with overviews of national research and completion strategies, provide the foundation for this report.

Institutional Mission Differentiation, Academic Stratification, and Reduced Access for Historically Underrepresented Students

2012-01-18T17:01:32Z

Bastedo, M. N., & Gumport, P. J. (2003). Access to what? Mission differentiation and academic stratification in U.S. public higher education. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 46(3), 341-359. This article analyzes developmental education policy in Massachusetts and New York to examine recent policy decisions regarding the termination of academic programs, elimination of remedial education, promotion of honors colleges within each state system. A result of these policy decisions has been to increase stratification of programs and students within a public state higher education system as well as with individual institutions within the state system. The authors argue that more intense analysis needs to be conducted before systematic changes are made within education systems to avoid or at least forecast major changes in the stratification of student opportunity to attend postsecondary education.

Contextualizing the historic role of learning assistance, those who work in learning assistance programs neither determine admission criteria nor set academic standards (Boylan, 1995a). Admissions officers, administrators, faculty committees, and state higher education executive offices are responsible for those decisions. Once standards are set, however, it is the job of learning assistance faculty and staff to ensure students meet or exceed them. The need for learning assistance was created as soon as the ﬁrst college opened its doors to those prepared to pass the admissions examination and those who were not. These criteria de facto divided students into two groups: those admitted normally and those admitted provisionally. Provisional students need additional academic assistance and enrichment. As the upcoming history chapter documents, many students attending U.S. colleges in the 1700s and 1800s participated in learning assistance activities before admission as well as throughout their academic career (Boylan and White, 1987; Brier, 1984).

Nearly all institutions historically offered developmental courses. During the past twenty years, eight states have or are in process of eliminating developmental courses at public four-year colleges. At the same time, thirty states rejected similar legislation (Abraham and Creech, 2000). These mixed results indicate that some states are mandating the shift of the courses from public four-year institutions to community colleges (Hankin, 1996). Shifting the developmental courses often occurs at the level of the campus or state system. For example, in Missouri no state legislation required shifting these courses. Three decades ago, the University of Missouri system eliminated the courses. State four-year and two-year institutions informally assumed them.

During the past quarter century, community colleges assumed primary responsibility for vocational programs, workplace literacy, displaced worker retraining, certiﬁcate programs, and others. Their primary role of preparing students for transfer to senior institutions expanded. Traditional boundaries between community and technical colleges blurred as costly technical programs were offered at community colleges. These expanded curricular responsibilities required community colleges to invest in more buildings, equipment, and faculty members for expensive high-demand certiﬁcate and associate degree programs in response to local needs of citizens and employers. Increased prestige of community colleges and heightened stigma concerning developmental courses led a growing number of community college leaders to reject increased responsibility for them (McGrath and Spear, 1994; Oudenhoven, 2002). Community colleges are placed in a double bind to maintain their traditional open admission access and increase academic standards necessary for the new curricular offerings. Some leaders question how both can be maintained while dealing with a large inﬂux of students needing developmental courses formerly offered at four-year colleges (Perin, 2006).

Some policymakers direct students with academic preparation requiring developmental courses to begin their college career at junior and community colleges. These students might be accepted for transfer to the senior institution if their junior college academic proﬁle warrants. The transfer process from community colleges to senior institutions has numerous challenges. As a result, the students are placed at higher risk for academic failure than those who begin their careers in four-year schools (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991).

Considerable effort has been made with articulation agreements among two-year and four-year institutions. The transfer process is not transparent, however, and the rate of completing an undergraduate degree is lower for students who begin at a two-year institution than for those beginning at a four-year institution, even when controlling for other variables (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991). Barriers to success for transfer students include not accepting or requiring them to repeat courses previously completed and the turbulence experienced by students as they move from one academic environment to another. It is common for students to experience academic difficulty and earn lower grade averages as a result at the senior institution (Eggleston and Laanan, 2001).

With institutional resources, including learning assistance, students from a wide range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds can be accepted and supported for academic success. Learning assistance, especially developmental courses, have been significant resources for students of color (Boylan, Bonham, and Bliss, 1994). These services along with other institutional supports increase the likelihood of higher student achievement and persistence toward graduation.

Abraham, A. A., and Creech, J. D. (2000). Reducing remedial education: What progress are states making? Educational Benchmark 2000 Series. Atlanta: Southern Regional Education Board. Retrieved August 19, 2004, from http://www.sreb.org.
Boylan, H. R. (1995a). Making the case for developmental education. Research in Developmental Education, 12(2), 1–4.
Boylan, H. R., and White, W. G., Jr. (1987). Educating all the nation’s people: The historical roots of developmental education. Part I. Review of Research in Developmental Education, 4(4), 1–4.
Brier, E. (1984). Bridging the academic preparation gap: An historical view. Journal of Developmental Education, 8(1), 2–5.
Eggleston, L. E., and Laanan, F. S. (2001). Making the transition to the senior institution. In F. S. Laanan (Ed.), Transfer students: Trends and issues. New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 114, pp. 87–97. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McGrath, D., and Spear, M. B. (1994). The remediation of the community college. In J. L. Ratcliff, S. Schwarz, and L. H. Ebbers (Eds.). Community colleges (pp. 217–228). Need-ham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.
Oudenhoven, B. (2002). Remediation at the community college: Pressing issues, uncertain solutions. In T. H. Bers and H. D. Calhoun (Eds.), New steps for the community college. New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 117. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pascarella, E. T., and Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Perin, D. (2006). Can community colleges protect both access and standards? The problem of remediation. Teachers College Record, 108(3), 339–373.

Are even community colleges to join many four-year institutions as gated communities as well?

2012-01-11T20:58:44Z

Barton, P. E. (2002). The closing of the education frontier? Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Retrieved from: http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/ PICFRONTIER.pdf

The author makes an implicit analogy with a theory that early America was defined by the opportunity presented by Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis of the 'opening of the American west'. The Turner thesis was, "Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development". Accordingly, America changed when the West was closed and opportunity ended in 1893. Using this concept as a counterpoint, Barton questions whether the frontier of educational opportunity has already closed, and thereby changing American culture. He argues that there is empirical evidence that postsecondary educational opportunity has closed, and therefore changing the nature of American society. Barton's data challenges the conventional wisdom that educational attainment has continued to increase during the last quarter century. He paints a picture of an educational system that is not producing more high school graduates, that continues to display great social inequality, and that is not able to support greater proportions of students through to degree in four-year college programs.

I was visiting with a colleague yesterday in a larger community college in the Twin-Cities area. She remakred how high-level college administrators were voicing the desire to apply admissions criteria to "weed out" students deemed unlikely to be successful at college. These officials often relish the limelight brought when media report on their technical and health-science programs, but are frustrated with devoting larger amounts of funds to support growning numbers of students who need developmental-level courses, especially in mathematics.

It is easy to say that students with severe preparation issues attend community Adult Basic Education or General Education Degree programs. However, the barriers are enormous. How is the issue of stigma going to be overcome by telling students who aspire to college to attend programs designed for apiring high school graduates? How do these community-based programs absorb the enormous numbers of new students when their funding is inadequate for their current clients?

A solution could be to place these ABE and GED programs within local college learning centers with a significant increase in funding. That would help some with the stigma issue, but much more needs to be done with providing seamless academic enrichment and support for students. While the national debate decries the lack of adequately-trained college graduates, we seem to erect new barriers for their success each day.

Stigma for Enrolling in Developmental-Level Courses

2012-01-08T14:50:33Z

I have commented recently about how the state of Ohio is the latest to ban the offering of developmental-level courses at the four-year college level, instead reserving those offerings for the community-college system. While it initially appears to be a good policy decision to differentiate offerings among different types of public institutiohns, the discussions nearly always fail to take into account the psychological consequences of such decisions.

Scholars at several institutions conducted research studies concerning students’ perceptions of learning assistance programs, especially developmental credit courses. Research indicated negative stigma was attached, regardless of voluntary or mandated enrollment (Higbee, Lundell, and Arendale, 2005; Pedelty, 2001; Valeri-Gold and others, 1997). Perceptions of stigma have plagued learning assistance throughout history. Some believe stigma increases restrictions and curtails programs, especially at public four-year institutions (Barefoot, 2003; Jehangir, 2002; Martinez, Snider, and Day, 2003).

Various factors contribute to stigma: (1) mandatory enrollment in developmental courses; (2) new students placed in cohorts identiﬁed for academic risk; (3) use of terms such as “at-risk students,” “high-risk students,” “developmental students,” and “academically disadvantaged students,” all of which represent a negative condition characterizing students’ academic abilities and potential; (4) public policy ﬁghts over admission of students perceived to be academically underprepared; and (5) memories of emotional hazing in previous schools.

Students often experience two concurrent emotions regarding learning assistance. They appreciate the help of learning assistance personnel to strengthen their academic skills, are grateful the institution admits them, and appreciate varied learning assistance activities. On the other hand, contact with these activities inadvertently leads to self-stigmatization because they recognize that not all students use the same learning assistance activities, especially developmental courses. Students enrolled in developmental courses recognize their academic proﬁle is lower than that of other students at the institution. Diminished self-esteem and believing they do not belong often emerge. Sometimes anger is directed at others and themselves, leading to self-sabotaging academic behavior. This chain of events results in premature academic failure and departure from the institution (Higbee, Lundell, and Arendale, 2005).

When stigma attaches itself to language describing learning assistance and the students served by it, institutional leaders can lose interest and curtail these programs, especially at four-year institutions (Jehangir, 2002). Insufficient services diminish students’ academic success. A future blog entry will explore the question whether students’ rights are abridged by institutions’ failing to provide them the same services provided to students in previous generations?

References:

Barefoot, B. O. (2003). Findings from the second national survey of ﬁrst-year academic practices. Brevard, NC: Policy Center for the First Year of College. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from http://www.brevard.edu/fyc/survey2002/ﬁndings.htm.
Higbee, J. L., Lundell, D. B., and Arendale, D. R. (Eds.). (2005). The General College vision: Integrating intellectual growth, multicultural perspectives, and student development. Minneapolis: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota.
Jehangir, R. R. (2002). Higher education for whom? The battle to include developmental education at the four-year university. In J. L. Higbee, D. B. Lundell, and I. M. Duranczyk (Eds.), Developmental education: Policy and practice (pp. 17–34). Auburn, GA: National Association for Developmental Education.
Martinez, S., Snider, L. A., and Day, E. (2003). Remediation in higher education: A review of the literature. Topeka: Kansas State Board of Education. Retrieved July 1, 2004, from http://www.ksde.org/pre/postsecondary_remediation.doc.
Pedelty, M. H. (2001). Stigma. In J. L. Higbee, D. B. Lundell, and I. M. Duranczyk (Eds.), 2001: A developmental odyssey. Warrensburg, MO: National Association for Developmental Education.
Valeri-Gold, and others. (1997). Reﬂection: Experience commentaries by urban developmental studies students. In J. L. Higbee, and P. L. Dwinell (Eds.), Developmental education: Enhancing student retention (pp. 3–18). Carol Stream, IL: National Association for Developmental Education.

2012 David's Guide to iPad Apps

2011-12-23T01:13:04Z

With the holiday season upon us, a frequent gift may be an iPad for Christmas. Christmas Day and the day after are the busiest days of the year for downloading apps for the new device. With more than half a million now available, how to select from them? Maybe I can help in the process a little bit.

Click on the this link to download my personal guide to iPad Apps. It ranges from personal to those I use with my position as a professor at a University. The guide alerts the reader to about 300 of my favorites. Just to be clear, I receive no compensation for any endorsements or promotions of individual apps. Just consider it as one person's opinion about some favorite apps. I remember some members of the popular media gave a hard time to Steve Jobs when during the first press conference for the iPad he called it a "magical device." Well, like so many other things, he was right! God bless Steve Jobs and the 15,000 members of the Apple family of designers and the rest. A special happy holidays to them. :-)

Webinar Update on Developmental Education Practices for Counselors, Faculty, and Student Affairs Staff

2011-11-19T16:49:56Z

On October 28, 2011 I conducted a webinar with faculty and staff at Austin Community College (TX) on a wide range of current topics confronting the field of developmental education. I began with an overview of what I thought were the forces at work on the field, both good and bad. I especially focused on the recent event in Ohio banning developmental-level courses at public four-year institutions. Previously postings to this blog explained my thoughts on this issue recently.

Following an overview of the trends impacting the field, I moved into the heart of the webinar with identifying promising and best practices of developmental education applied to counselors, faculty members, and student affairs staff. Go to the top menu bar in this web site and click on "my talks" and then click on "narrated PP presentations." This webinar is the first presentation listed. A handout of the key slides from the webinar is the next item. You can also reach this web site by clicking on this sentence. Your comments are welcome.

Advocacy and Legitimacy

2011-11-18T22:54:44Z

I recently particiated at the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP) Conference hosted at The Abbey at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. One of our keynote speakers was Dr. Arnold Mitchem, President of the Council on Opportunity in Education. One of the important issues raised with his keynote talk was the need for both "advocacy" and "legitimacy" for TRIO programs. Advocacy is necessary to remind the government of its values and why investing in TRIO programs is money well spent. So far, TRIO programs have served over 2,000,000 students who are low-income, first-generation, historically underrepresented, and students with physical disabilities.

During this time of economic chaos both within the U.S. government as well internationally, political leaders have to carefully consider where to invest an ever shrinking pool of public dollars. "Legitimacy" of TRIO programs, and their worthiness of continued if not increased funding, is dependent upon evidence that TRIO works. "Best practices" is a term used frequently by many in society and too often with differing meanings. A true best practice has evidence that the activity contributes to higher student outcomes. While we within the TRIO community know we are 'legitimate', those outside the field are too often uninformed. We must continually conduct research to document the excellent work being done with students. This raises the legitimacy of TRIO within their eyes and can influence their policy and budget decisions.

To that end, MAEOPP and the Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education has created a Best Education Practices Center for program improvement and better service for students. The student population the Center is focused upon are lower-income, first-generation college, and historically-underrepresented. The Center also can be effective for supporting the legitimacy of TRIO locally and nationally. We look forward to TRIO programs within the MAEOPP area submitting their education practices they would like to contribute for the TRIO community. The Center staff is eager to support your nominations of education practices. Please click on the "contact us" tab on the top menu bar to obtain email and phone information directly to the Best Education Practices Center staff.

Language Frames the Way People Think About Learning Assistance and Developmental Education

2011-10-30T15:27:33Z

A variety of terms have been used to describe the field of learning assistance over the past two hundred years: academic preparatory programs, remedial education, compensatory education, learning assistance, developmental education, and access programs, just to name the major terms. In most areas of higher education, the progression of names is a historical process, with one term dominating the literature. In this ﬁeld, these terms are frequently used simultaneously and interchangeably (Arendale, 2005b). Language reflects culture and confusion existing in the culture (Rice, 1980). I use the term “learning assistance” since it best describes this broad and highly diverse ﬁeld.

Terms that were generally accepted in the past or present such as “compensatory,” “remedial,” or “developmental” become stigmatized later (Arendale, 2005b; Jehangir, 2002; Pedelty, 2001). Some words assume new and different meanings based on the personal agenda of a few (Clowes, 1980; Rubin, 1987). Words are politicized by accepting a different meaning or value because a small group in society affixes negative status to the word. A powerful display of this phenomenon is local or state policymakers who promote a negative stereotype of remedial education and compensatory education (Clowes, 1980; Higbee, 1996; Payne and Lyman, 1996; Soliday, 2002). Negative perceptions grow with use of the term “developmental education.”

A careful review of the history of learning assistance reveals that terms used to describe it ﬁfty years ago are now increasingly viewed negatively.

It is not surprising that some policymakers are confused about a profession seemingly unable to name itself consistently and clearly advocate for the ﬁeld. Learning assistance professionals must be clear and proactive about deﬁning the field, or it will be subject to definition and labeling by ill-informed outsiders often using antiquated and inaccurate words to deﬁne the practice (Rubin, 1987). In recent years, collaborative work among several professional associations produced several glossaries of key terms related to learning assistance (Rubin, 1991; Arendale and others, 2007; Arendale, 2009).

Language used initially for students served by learning assistance changed and was later interpreted to label them negatively (Ignash, 1997). Nor were the leaders of learning assistance programs immune to the negative label. Some perceived students in terms of their deﬁcits (Tomlinson, 1989). The result of such language choices led some education leaders to no longer support learning assistance services, especially developmental courses (Jehangir, 2002). Especially at four-year institutions, campus leaders were hard-pressed to enroll large numbers of “remedial students” or “developmental students.”

I follows an admonition from the American Psychological Association in the sixth edition of its publication style manual (2010) to avoid labeling people and to put the person first when describing a characteristic about him or her. Therefore, the term “developmental student,” is inaccurate and is not used. Rather, the phrase “students academically underprepared in one or more academic content areas” is a better descriptor for those enrolled in developmental courses. This phrase does not judge their academic readiness for other college-level courses. Use of terms like “developmental student,” “remedial student,” “compensatory student,” and the like imply lack of capacity or competency. A wide range of students from varying levels of academic preparation use noncredit learning assistance services. In addition to supplementing courses, learning assistance can also enrich undergraduate and graduate learning. Labeling students accessing such noncredit services is impossible, as any member of the student body can—and often does—use them.

I prefer the term “learning assistance” because of its inclusiveness and accurate depiction of the purpose and activities employed. It is not limited to particular student population groups based on their level of academic preparation. Another term used to describe this field (particularly in the United Kingdom) is “access education” (Burke, 2002; Fulton and others, 1981).Through this frame, access programs incorporate traditional learning assistance activities such as tutoring, developmental courses, and others that prepare students for success in rigorous college-level courses. Learning assistance centers support success in rigorous classes as well as supplemental learning venues for any learner to deepen knowledge of academic content through computer-based learning modules, study groups to deepen knowledge and skill in a course, and other activities. Access activities not typically included in the current learning assistance paradigm are ﬁrst-year experience programs, new student orientation, services for students with disabilities, TRIO programs, instructional professional development for the teaching staff, and other services promoting student success. A challenge with the term “access education,” however, is the inaccurate perception that it focuses only on activities serving students entering the institution and not supporting and enriching their college experience through timely graduation.

Forgetting Our History of Learning Assistance Leads to Access Denied at Four-Year Institutions

2011-10-23T15:22:20Z

There has been considerable converation on the Internet recently about the decision of Ohio to eliminate most or all developmental-level (they use the outdated term "remedial"). The state hopes students will take the necessary courses at a (hopefully) nearby community college. Listening to the leaders in Ohio and other states talk, you would get the impression that the offering of developmental-level courses is a rather recent invention. Actually, tutorial programs have existed on the college campuses when they began as early as the 1700s. Harvard University was the first institution to offer developmental-level courses in the late 1800s and other colleges -- public and private -- quickly followed suit. While the White students attending college in the 1800s might have been coming from families of wealth and influence, their academic preparation was weak in English, math, reading, or some combination of the three. Colleges had to offer developmental-level courses to provide a chance for success for these students.

Although learning assistance has been a significant and sometimes controversial element in higher education, it is underreported by many historians of postsecondary education. Developmenatl-level courses are just one example of learning assistance. Others would be tutoring, mentoring, drop-in learning centers, study skill workshops, and the like.

A review of the professional literature demonstrates that some higher education historians ignore and others lightly record historical events concerning learning assistance in U.S. postsecondary education. Although the learning assistance community has published numerous articles, dissertations, and monographs (Lundell and Higbee, 2002), those writing broad histories of higher education in the United States have paid little attention to this area and the students involved (Arendale, 2001, 2002a, 2002b; Brubacher and Rudy, 1976; Lucas, 2006; Jeynas, 2007; Rudy, 1996; Stahl and King, 2009).

A review of this component of higher education documented that many students throughout U.S. history were involved with learning assistance activities such as academic tutoring, enrollment in remedial or developmental courses, and participation in learning assistance center services. At times, learning assistance programs involved more than half of all college students at an institution (Canﬁeld, 1889; Ignash, 1997; Maxwell, 1997; Shedd, 1932). The lines become blurred as students simultaneously enroll in courses at the developmental and college level in different academic subjects. Academic preparedness is not a characteristic of the student; rather, it is a condition relative to a particular academic course during the same academic term. It is inaccurate to designate students as “remedial” or “developmental,” for they may be competent or expert in one academic content area and needing learning assistance credit and noncredit services in another.

Kammen (1997) provides an explanation for underreporting the history of learning assistance, identifying “historical amnesia” as a potential cause. Quoting Ralph Ellison, he says, “Perhaps this is why we possess two basic versions of American history: one [that] is written and as neatly stylized as ancient myth, the other unwritten and as chaotic and full of contradictions, changes of pace, and surprises as life itself” (p. 164). Distortions of memory occur for a variety of reasons, not only for cynical or manipulative motives (Kammen, 1997). The researcher engages in a long discussion concerning the similarities and differences between the “heritage syndrome” and true history: “The heritage syndrome, if I may call it that, almost seems to be a predictable but certainly nonconspiratorial response—an impulse to remember what is attractive or ﬂattering and to ignore all the rest. Heritage is comprised of those aspects of history that we cherish and affirm. As an alternative to history, heritage accentuates the positive but sifts away what is problematic. One consequence is that the very pervasiveness of heritage as a phenomenon produces a beguiling sense of serenity about the well being of history” (p. 220).

Acknowledging the role and importance of learning assistance presents uncomfortable statements about higher education:

Academic bridge programs are necessary for many students to adjust to a college environment for which few are prepared academically or emotionally.
Developmental-level courses were necessary for the White students from priveledged families in the 1800s due to poor academic preparation.
Student subpopulations today other than the most privileged often need academic support systems to increase their chances for success resulting from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds. The same reason developmental-level courses were offered to White students of affluence in the 1800s is now denied to underrepresented and first-generation college students.
The need for learning assistance indicts the efficacy and effectiveness of elementary and secondary education.
Scarce financial resources and personnel are necessary to meet the needs of students who are academically underprepared. Some students who drop out of college could have been retained through an effective learning assistance program.

Lack of knowledge about the history of learning assistance also contributes to current challenges for the ﬁeld. For example, it is easier to curtail or eliminate learning assistance activities (especially developmental-level courses) if its historic importance for support and access to postsecondary education is not understood. As explored in the next chapter, learning assistance was an essential asset for colleges to support student achievement and persistence. During the current period of ﬁnancial emergency confronting many institutions, nonessential services are subject to reduction or elimination. It is not a surprise what Ohio higher education is doing since half a dozen other states have already enacted similar policies. Access to college just became that much more difficult for the "new" students to higher education.

Arendale, D. R. (2002). A memory sometimes ignored: The history of developmental education. Learning Assistance Review, 7(1), 5–13.
Arendale, D. R. (2002). Then and now: The early history of developmental education. Research & Teaching in Developmental Education, 18(2), 3–26.
Kammen, M. (1997). In the past lane: Historical perspectives on American culture. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mission Differentiation: Code Language for Cutting Programs at Schools No Longer Wanted

2011-10-19T22:20:34Z

The following is excerpted from my recent book, Access at the crossroads: Learning assistance in higher education (2010, Jossey Bass). Several of my recent blog posts have been about the elimination of developmetnal-level courses in Ohio. I also posted the message to the LRNASST email listserv and received reports from half a dozen other states that had previously enacted the same policy. I was disappointed to read that some people welcomed the decision since the students were better served at the two-year instiutions. I don't disagree about that result (as diappointing as that is). The issue I am concerned about is what happens when four-year institutions engage in "mission differentiation" and discontinue services and programs that had previously provided for more than 100 years. The following is my analysis of the practice and supported by research studies of others concerning the dramatic and negative outcomes as a result. -- David Arendale

Impact of Institutional Mission Differentiation on Learning Assistance

Economic challenges since the 1970s, especially among public institutions, have intensiﬁed. Land-grant institutions debate how to balance their historic egalitarian mission serving all state residents while curtailing programs and raising admission standards. Institutional leaders increasingly employ institutional “mission differentiation” to reign in costs and focus resources on the institution (Slaughter and Rhoades, 2004). Mission differentiation recognizes institutions with special programmatic offerings and targeted student populations. Selective college admission policies lead some to question the need for comprehensive learning assistance services, especially developmental courses.

Preliminary analysis of mission differentiation reveals unannounced and unanticipated outcomes for learning assistance (Bastedo and Gumport, 2003; Gumport and Bastedo, 2001; Slaughter and Rhoades, 2004). Analysis of learning assistance policy in Massachusetts and New York conﬁrmed that mission differentiation led institutions to terminate academic programs, eliminate remedial or developmental courses, and promote honors colleges. The result is stratiﬁcation of academic program opportunity in the state. Prestigious and high-demand academic programs were offered at fewer institutions than before. For students, stratiﬁcation encouraged higher admissions standards at upper-tier institutions. As a result, students had fewer choices for postsecondary education (Bastedo and Gumport, 2003; Gumport and Bastedo, 2001; Slaughter and Rhoades, 2004).

Another result was curtailment of developmental courses at upper-tier institutions in the state system (Bastedo and Gumport, 2003; Gumport and Bastedo, 2001). Developmental courses are often a key ingredient in providing access and success for historically underrepresented students. Bastedo and Gumport (2003) concluded that more intense analysis is warranted before systemic changes occur to avoid or at least predict major changes in the stratiﬁcation of students’ opportunity to attend postsecondary education and the student support systems needed for their success.

As more historically underrepresented students from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds seek admission, important learning assistance infrastructures are dismantled (Bastedo and Gumport, 2003). Mission differentiation assumes incorrectly that college aspirants are more academically prepared, and institutional leaders therefore conclude that developmental credit courses and other traditional learning assistance activities are not needed. Increasingly, public four-year institutions curtail or eliminate developmental courses with the expectation that students needing such instruction easily access them at a community college (Bastedo and Gumport, 2003; Gumport and Bastedo, 2001; Slaughter and Rhoades, 2004). This option requires a local community college. Most students do not have the ﬁnancial resources or time to commute long distances for such classes. These students often are financially disadvantaged and possess little free time. They cannot commute to multiple institutions for courses while maintaining a job (or two) to pay for college and support a family. Based on a national dataset, students who attend multiple institutions are less likely to graduate from college than those who begin at the intended degree-awarding institution (Adelman, 2006).

Mission differentiation raises a new set of questions and conﬂicts in postsecondary education (McPherson and Schapiro, 1999). Access to higher education shifts to access to what form of education and under what conditions. Differentiation among institutions increases stratiﬁcation in society (Anderson, Daugherty, and Corrigan, 2005).

Bastedo, M. N., and Gumport, P. J. (2003). Access to what? Mission differentiation and academic stratiﬁcation in U.S. public higher education. Higher Education, 46(3), 341–359.
Gumport, P. J., and Bastedo, M. N. (2001). Academic stratiﬁcation and endemic conﬂict: Remedial education policy at CUNY. Review of Higher Education, 24(4), 333–349.
Slaughter, S., and Rhoades, G. (2004). Academic capitalism and the new economy: Markets, state, and higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Soliday, M. (2002). The politics of remediation: Institutional and student needs in higher education. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Kicking the can down the road: Ohio four-year institutions to ban remedial courses. Tells K-12 to fix the problem.

2011-10-12T15:56:51Z

The Hamilton Journal-News reported by 2015 nearly all remedial (also called developmental level) courses would be eliminated at public four-year colleges in Ohio. "The nearly 40 percent of college freshmen in Ohio who are not ready for college-level work will take most of their remedial courses at community colleges under a statewide plan that dramatically changes how four-year schools provide instruction to those needing extra help." The newspaper reporter stated, "Ohio is following a national trend that critics say could limit access to the four-year degrees many need for high-paying jobs. Some fear it may discourage some students from attending college at all." State education leaders, at least those at the four-year institutions, said the long-term solution was for elementary and secondary education to do a better job. "By the end of 2012, university and college presidents must develop standards of what it means for a student to be “remediation free.”

Critics of the plan said “A lot of the students who need remediation are the same students who have already been marginalized by the system because they attended the worst high schools and are the least prepared,” said Tara L. Parker, a University of Massachusetts professor who studies developmental education. “There is no evidence community colleges do remedial courses any better or cheaper.”

The "Ohio Solution" is the same one that has been talked about since the mid 1970s with the "Nation At Risk" report. Elementary and secondary education must do a better job. Better articulation agreements need to be developed between secondary and postsecondary education. An endless number of education commissions made up of leaders from K-12 education, postsecondary education, corporate world, public advocacy groups, and the rest have been talking and experimenting for years to make "this problem" go away.

It appears the intense fiscal pressures facing public four-year colleges due to decreasing financial support from state government has renewed the desire to "save costs" and eliminate remedial or developmental-level courses. State officials claim offering these courses at the four-year public four-year colleges costs $130 million annually. While to the average taxpayer this seems considerable, what is the combined budget for these public colleges? National studies on this issue report the funds devoted to offering these courses is between one and five percent. Most faculty who teach these courses are part-time and paid considerably less than full-time and especially tenured faculty members at the same four-year institution.

The "Ohio Solution" has been implemented previously in many other places. They all share the same problems with achieving their stated goals:

Changing K-12 education curriculum does nothing to meet the needs of returning adults to education. While their exit from high school might have given them adequate skills for immediate entry to college, the long period out of school has led to atrophy of their skills and need for basic level instruction to bring them back to college-readiness.
Even if a school district wanted to change its curriculum, if it has less economic resources, how can it be expected to do the same level of quality as the better-funded suburban schools?
Changing K-12 education curriculum does nothing for the students who are not enrolled in rigorous college-bound curriculum. Some students and their parents have other future plans that initially do not include college. Maybe they plan to begin a family. Maybe attend a trade school or continue in the family business. Do we want to only have one track choice for students in high school?
Changing K-12 education curriculum does nothing for the students who do not fully focus on their classes, read their textbooks with great intensity, and complete all homework to perfection. If everyone earned A's in their classes, achieved to highest level of proficiency with all high risks tests, and in general, were "on task" all the time, they might not need the developmental-level courses. Assuming that they immediately enter postsecondary education immediately after successful completion of high school. With skyrocketing tuition costs, family members out of work or working low-wage jobs, and difficulty for high-school students to earn much at part-time jobs that now are sought by the out-of-work adults, it is not so easy to immediately attend college. Some have to earn some money first.

A wise person once said, "complex problems require complex solutions." The "Ohio Solution" fails on this account.

David Arendale, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education, University of Minnesota. Post comments to this blog or contact the author directly at arendale@umn.edu

It is More than Just the Money: More Challenges for "Low-Income" Students

2011-08-16T20:24:38Z

In a recent blog posting from "College Bound", they reported some familiar statistics, 84 percent of high-income students enroll in college in the fall after high school, just 54 percent of those from low-income families go on to college, according to 2009 National Center for Education Statistics data. Poor students go to college at lower rates than wealthy students did 30 years ago. By age 24, young adults from high-income families are 10 times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree than those from low-income households. The authors asked, "What changes should be made to improve the landscape?"

The logical response is that it mostly about more financial aid (more grants than loans). That diverts from the bigger issue of lacking social capital for these low-income students. Probing further would reveal that a larger percentage of these "low-income" students are first-generation college, students of color, attended rural or urban school districts, and a variety of other factors. The answer to the question "what changes should be made...?" leads to a larger critique of higher education beyond just making some more money available. What changes does higher education institutions need to make to become more welcoming learning environments rather than focusing on the "deficits" of money. All institutions need to have a welcoming and supportive environment: trade school, community college, four-year liberal arts, and research-intensive universities.

Questions to ask of all institutions include:

What sorts of faculty development programs do they have that provide comprehensive and ongoing efforts to enable them to embed best practices of Universal Instructional Design into their courses? How are they building in academic supports in the class rather than just passing them off to someone else?

How high of a priority has the institution placed on raising more funds for grants targeted for students from low SES backgrounds? Are these funds keeping up with the dramatic increases in tuition and other costs associated with college?

How comprehensive are learning assistance activities for students? Are these provided through both credit and noncredit venues? Are exit competencies in developmental-level courses articulated with entry level expectations for college-level courses that they take next? What efforts are being made to take academic-term length developmental-level courses and turn them into a series of modules that can be taken independent of one another to quicken time for completion and less use of Pell grant money to pay for the tuition?

This is just scratching the surface of the issue for what are the challenges for "low-income" students. It is not just about the money.

[Click here to read entire entry from the College Bound blog.]

Illinois Establishes Performance-Based Funding for Colleges

2011-08-16T15:10:32Z

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed a bill establishing performance-based measures to determine funding for public universities, community colleges and other state education agencies. Metrics such as student success in degree and certificate completion will be developed to influence a portion of state funding for higher education institutions.This matches our approach this year to budget for results for all appropriations in the Illinois Senate and extends it to Illinois universities," Maloney said. "Officials from WIU and other state institutions have been involved in setting the parameters for our initial measures. This has been a priority for me as Chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, and the opportunity to improve academic results and ensure funds are spent most efficiently make it one of the most important bills passed this year.House Bill 1503 will take effect in 2013 and begin with metrics to affect a small percentage of funding that would increase over time. Allocations would be based on academic milestones, retention, and time to completion. Statistics on students who are academically or financially at-risk, first-generation students, low-income students, and those traditionally underrepresented in higher education will also be measured to affect funding. [Click to read the entire press release.]

This provides a great opportunity for leaders in college access and student success programs to highlight their activities, approaches, and services increasing positive outcomes for students. Colleges in Illinois will be redoubling their efforts to increase access and college completion. The answers can come from their own college TRIO, learning assistance, and developmental education programs. They have solutions that could be scaled up for wider implementation.

Why only the "outstanding" college students receive slate mobile computers?

2011-08-10T17:33:10Z

I just read an announcement about the University of Southern Mississippi was handing out 1,000 slate computers to their "outstanding" students. [Click to read the online article.] The curious thing about the plan was to only share them with "outstanding" students defined as those from the Honors College, McNair Scholars Program, and Southern Style leadership group.

The article states "Tablets are like the Swiss Army Knife to academic excellence. By leveraging this new technology, we are committed to transforming the way students interact, engage and learn in the classrooms," said Homer Coffman, CIO at Southern Miss, in a statement released today. "The iTech department at Southern Miss is continually challenging itself to support emerging technology and find new ways to put information into the students' hands."

With such a great technology, why not the "average" students or targeting those that are facing academic challenges in a class or two? Why not for students who do not have a mobile device, perhaps due to low income? The college I work at provides an iPad for all first-year students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Development. [Click to read the press release.\ Results look promising. We are repeating the distribution this year at no cost to the students. Preliminary from the instructors in more than 30 classes report favorable positive resutls from the students and the faculty members who enhanced their classroom learning enviroinment. It was also good to know that everyone in the classroom had an effective mobile computer and bridged the "digital divide" due to income restrictions and social capital that some students have and others do not.

Congrats to the University of Southern Mississippi for their bold decision to distribute the 1,000 tablet computers. Please consider more inclusion with next year's program to those who are not quite as outstanding as others (yet). Maybe the mobile devices could help propel more students to that category. Outstanding students probably have more social capital than others. Let's see what happens when more resources are provided to those who might need the resource more.

Chicago Community College Model for Developmental-Level Courses

2011-07-20T02:02:18Z

News: Remedial Plus at a Chicago Community College- Inside Higher Ed

While most two-year institutions struggle with the high costs and low passing rates of remedial courses, administrators in one Chicago community college believe they've found a way to double pass rates.

(tags: developmental_level_courses community_colleges learning_assistance,_de,_access)

Social Capital, Identity, and Resegregation

2011-05-02T01:52:34Z

Certain groups of students bring less social capital with them to college— students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, first-generation college stu¬dents, and historically underrepresented students of color. Learning assistance services, especially developmental courses, are essential for overcoming disad¬vantaged backgrounds. Learning assistance is essential for providing access to a broad range of institutions.

The student groups that had not traditionally attended college before have a variety of overlapping identities, some of which pose barriers that impede success in college. Walpole (2007) analyzed this population and names one group “economically and educationally challenged.” “All [economically and educationally challenged] students, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity, face challenges in accessing, persisting, and graduating from college. The intersec¬tions of these identity statuses and educational processes and outcomes are non-linear and deserve additional attention” (p. x). Walpole states that chal¬lenges for these students are not the result of a failure to try or that they are somehow inferior to the students from dominate cultures. “Rather these stu¬dents must cope with a structure and a system that deﬁnes merit in ways that do not privilege them” (p. 15).

Learning assistance can help these new students overcome the barriers that might limit their chances for succeeding in postsecondary education. Deciding whether to curtail or eliminate credit-based learning assistance such as developmental courses does not just affect campus economics or perceptions of institutional prestige. It is not a race- and class-neutral deci¬sion. This report illustrates how a wide range of students at most institu¬tions, regardless of their classification, use noncredit learning assistance activities such as tutoring, study groups, learning assistance centers, and the like. Lack of access to credit-based learning assistance, however, raises issues of class, race, and culture. It is a serious decision to tell essentially an entire group of students who share common demographic identities such as first-generation college students, students of color, and low socioeco¬nomic students to begin their college career at a two-year college, while privileged students can begin wherever they want. No one quite says it that way. The impact is the same, however, if the needed resources are not avail¬able and the campus culture is not welcoming to the new students. The risk is de facto resegregation of postsecondary education in the United States and all the disastrous results for individuals and society that would occur (Bowen, Chingos, and McPherson, 2009).

Excerpted from Access at the Crossroads (Arendale, 2010).

The Limited Value of "What Works" Research

2011-04-15T16:03:23Z

In the current edition of Education Week, Bo Yan and Mike Slagle write following:

"Ever since educational research became an academic discipline more than a century ago, researchers and educators have been vocal in their dissatisfaction over its impact on practice. For decades, education research has been criticized as confusing, irrelevant, and of little practical use, fueling a pessimistic view that research probably will not lead to better schools.

In response, the federal government and the research community have zeroed in on so-called “what works” research, and, in recent years, studies have mushroomed to answer a broad range of policy questions, such as: Do school vouchers work? Does technology improve student learning? Are private schools better than public schools? At the same time, existing studies on intervention strategies and programs are scrutinized to provide educators, policymakers, and the public with trusted and easy-to-understand scientific evidence of effective programming. The federal What Works Clearinghouse is a premier example of such endeavors.

This is all well and good, but we would argue that it is far from enough. We believe it is time for a research shift, and instead of making determinations about whether programs work or not, attention should turn to identifying the right students for whom a program is effective and the necessary contextual conditions that make a program work. What’s more, local schools should conduct rigorous studies to determine whether programs and initiatives will work for their students..."

Agreed. Rather than the singular focus on "does it work", we need the answers of "how it works". Articles next to never explain in a systematic way what is really unique about the practice, what are the essential elements, what are the critical implementation steps that are never discussed elsewhere, and what were the major mistakes you made on the way to perfecting the practice. That is practical information to improve student outcomes. Being a judge is much easier than being a good teacher.

Digital Storytelling as Powerful Pedagogy

2011-04-14T02:02:12Z

I find having my students create digital history stories that bring together text, images, and music is a powerful communicator and outlet for personal expression. App Tutorials - Digital Storytelling with the iPad

(tags: ipad teaching_and_learning)

Taking the temperature of multicultural factors impacting learning

2011-03-26T17:29:23Z

Miksch, K. L., Higbee, J. L., Jehanglr, R. R., Lundell, D. B., Bruch, P. L., Siaka, K., & Dotson, M. V. (2003). Multicultural Awareness Project for Institutional Transformation (MAP IT). Minneapolis, MN: Multicultural Concerns Committee and the Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Retrieved http://purl.umn.edu/5375

The Multicultural Awareness Project for Institutional Transformation (MAP IT) was developed at the University of Minnesota's General College with the goal of integrating multicultural education within postsecondary education. MAP IT is an adaptation of Diversity Within Unity: Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society (Banks et al., 2001). This publication contains the MAP IT set of 10 Guiding Principles and four survey instruments designed to aid in measuring the extent to which institutions of higher education centralize multicultural education and incorporate the guiding principles. Instruments are provided for survey of the following four groups within the institution: administrator, faculty & instructional staff, student development and support services staff, and student.

I have used the assessment with a graduate course which required students to analyze a learning environment regarding these criteria. The reports received back from the students were powerful for not only identifying unseen barriers to learning, but also serving as a positive prompt for taking action. I highly recommend the instrument. As described above, the questions are customized for the respondants: administrators, faculty & instructional staff, student services, and students themselves.

Asst Secretary Ochoa Promotes Best Practices

2011-03-24T16:19:19Z

Recently Assistant Secretary of Education Ochoa addressed the national leaders of federally-funded TRIO programs concerning priorities of the Secretary of Education's Office. Among topics in his speech were the need to identify, validate, and disseminate (IVD) best practices of TRIO programs. Following is part of a news report of his speech that concerns IVD.

“In TRIO programs, students are empowered to perform and succeed and there are many promising programs that demonstrate that fact,” he said, pointing to the Upward Bound summer program at the University of South Carolina as an example. Through the program, graduating high school seniors can take a college-credit research methodology course taught by one of the university’s professors.

“We know that TRIO programs work. But in this age of accountability, knowing that these programs do well is not enough,” Ochoa said. “We will need to develop a body of evidence that both quantifies the impact and cost effectiveness of these programs and that can demonstrate that effectiveness to legislators, policymakers and the public.” The Education Department plans to enhance existing data collection activities to measure outcomes and impact, help identify best practices and disseminate the results to all its grantees. (emphasis mine).

“To improve student outcomes, we need to spur the field to come up with innovative solutions to address the completion challenge and improve higher education productivity, build evidence of what works through rigorous evaluations and scale up and disseminate those strategies that prove successful,” he said.

Source: Jones, Joyce. (2011, March 8). Ochoa Hails Catalytic Impact of TRIO Programs on K-12 Level. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://diverseeducation.com/article/14862/

It is good to see public statements such as this by the Department of Education. I have been advocating for such an approach for nearly twenty years. Before budget cuts in the mid 1990s, the Department funded the National Diffusion Network (NDN). It was responsible for identifying promising and best practices, vigorously validating them regarding effectiveness, and disseminating those validated programs with the rest of the education community. I directed the national Supplemental Instruction program which was the only higher education program validated by the NDN. We already have a proven formula for IVD through a similar process used by the old NDN. It is time to get started again with IVD. I am working with a regional education association to conduct a pilot test of IVD with education programs located within a geographical region. Check back with this blog for updates on the progress.

Social capital and learning assistance

2011-03-18T20:07:41Z

Certain groups of students bring less social capital with them to college— students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, first-generation college students, and historically underrepresented students of color. Learning assistance services, especially developmental courses, are essential for overcoming disadvantaged backgrounds. Learning assistance is essential for providing access to a broad range of institutions. This was certainly the case for me. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college (eventually my oldest brother would also graduate from college after a long and distinguished career in the military). My parents twere supportive of my decision to attend college, but had no prior experiences to share with me and provide guidance. On the other hand, there were many other supports they provided for me that helped me in college and life, but that is for another blog posting in the future.

The student groups that had not traditionally attended college before have a variety of overlapping identities, some of which pose barriers that impede success in college. Walpole (2007) analyzed this population and names one group “economically and educationally challenged.” “All [economically and educationally challenged] students, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity, face challenges in accessing, persisting, and graduating from college. The intersections of these identity statuses and educational processes and outcomes are non-linear and deserve additional attention” (p. x). Walpole states that challenges for these students are not the result of a failure to try or that they are somehow inferior to the students from dominate cultures. “Rather these students must cope with a structure and a system that deﬁnes merit in ways that do not privilege them” (p. 15).

It is a serious decision to tell essentially an entire group of students who share common demographic identities such as first-generation college students, students of color, and low socioeconomic students to begin their college career at a two-year college, while privileged students can begin wherever they want. No one quite says it that way. The impact is the same, however, if the needed resources are not available and the campus culture is not welcoming to the new students. The risk is de facto resegregation of postsecondary education in the United States and all the disastrous results for individuals and society that would occur (Bowen, Chingos, and McPherson, 2009). A later blog posting will investigate this issue more indepth and raise the issue of civil rights violation for providing services to previous genrations but denying them to the new students attending college. Social and culture capital must be available for all students, not just those from the privledged classes.

Bowen, W. G., Chingos, M. M., and McPherson, M. S. (2009). Crossing the finish line: Completing college at America’s public universities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Walpole, M. (2007). Economically and educationally challenged students in higher education: Access to outcomes. ASHE Higher Education Report, volume 33, number 3. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This posting was excerpted and expanded from my recent book, Access at the crossroads: Learning assistance in higher educationpublished by Jossey-Bass/Willey. For more inforamtion about the book, click this link.

No such thing as a developmental student

2011-03-16T15:14:10Z

A myth persists that learning assistance serves only “developmental students.” Actually, no such thing as a “developmental student” exists.

Rather, it is more accurate to say that some students are not academically prepared for college-level work in one or more academic content areas (English, mathematics, or writing) or in speciﬁcskills such as reading or study strategies. The relative need and usefulness of learning assistance for an individual student depends on the overall academic rigor of the institution, the subject matter studied, or even how one faculty member teaches a particular course compared with another from the same academic department.

Therefore, the same individual could be a major consumer of learning assistance at one institution and not at another or even in one academic department and not another in the same institution. The need for learning assistance services is not a characteristic or universal defining attribute of the student; it depends on the conditions and expectations of the specific learning environment for a particular course. All college students are on a continuum between novice and master learner. Learning assistance serves students located along this continuum through a wide range of activities and services. The same student is often located at different places on multiple continuum lines simultaneously, one for each academic context and skill area.

Another way to look at this issue is to say that ALL students are "developmental". All people are "developmental". We are all changing and "developing". We are all at different stages in all aspects of our lives. To be human is to be developmental. However, I do not advocate for this perspective since the word "developmetnal" has been steroetyped by so many in a negative way. The argument has been lost among the public and many with the academic world. Therefore, I argue there is no such thing as a "developmental student."

This posting was excerpted and expanded from my recent book, Access at the crossroads: Learning assistance in higher education published by Jossey-Bass/Willey. For more inforamtion about the book, click this link.

Developmental Education is More Than Remedial Classes

2011-03-13T22:27:20Z

Reading the popular and professional press reports about developmental education and learning assistance would suggest the only service provided is enrollment in remedial and developmental-level courses. I use those two terms interchangeably in this blog posting, but most of the time I will use "learning assistance" for reasons revealed in future entries to this blog. There is so much more in terms of services and so many more students participating in academic assistance and enrichment. The stereotype that the only service is nongraduation credit college courses is wrong and harmful to the field and the wide variety of students served. With the President's priority to raise college graduation rates dramatically, this field is more vital than ever.

Learning assistance meets the demands of rigorous college courses through highly varied activities and approaches. The historic role of learning assistance in the larger scope of U.S. higher education is signiﬁcant though sometimes low proﬁle. Learning assistance bridges access for a more diverse student body. From students’ perspectives, it helps them meet institutional academic expectations and achieve personal learning goals. From the institution’s perspective, it expands access to the institution and supports higher expectations for academic excellence.

There is no universal manifestation of learning assistance. On some campuses, it expresses itself through noncredit activities such as tutorial programs, peer study groups, study strategy workshops, computer-based learning modules, or drop-in learning centers. Other institutions add to these activities by offering remedial and developmental courses, study strategy courses, and other services. A few colleges support learning assistance for graduate and professional school students through workshops on dissertation writing and effective studying, strategies for graduate school examinations, and preparation for licensure exams at the conclusion of their professional school programs. Students from broad demographic backgrounds access one or more of these services from all levels of academic preparation and at various times during their academic career. The diverse language used to describe learning assistance depends on institutional culture and history. Some terms associated with these activities throughout history include preparatory, remedial, compensatory, developmental, and enrichment, to name just a few.

Learning assistance provides a universal description for this wide variety of expressions, activities, and approaches. It is the term used most generally in the report, Access at the Crossroads: Learning Assistance in Higher Education. I will be sharing excertps from this recent publication by Wiley/Jossey-Bass. For more information about the book and how to obtain a copy, click on this link http://z.umn.edu/bookinfo Enjoy.

More College Students Require Developmental-Level Courses

2011-02-11T02:02:27Z

Statewide, about 90 percent of California's community college students need remedial math and 75 percent need remedial English. ON THE WEB California Partnership for Achieving Student Success High School to College: The New Alignment The Early Assessment Program helps students measure their readiness for college-level English and mathematics in 11th grade and improve their skills in 12th grade Statistics from the Riverside Community College District show that it's even worse here. Almost 96 percent of first-time freshmen must take remedial math, and 82 percent must take remedial English. It's not just precalculus or even algebra that students haven't mastered. Some high school graduates need remedial arithmetic, according to the community colleges. At Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, 97 percent of new students need at least one pre-collegiate class, said Cheryl Marshall, vice president for instruction.

(tags: developmental_level_courses college_completion learning_assistance,_de,_access)

Revising the Pedagogy of Developmental-Level Courses

2010-09-09T15:52:49Z

Remediating Remediation

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/09/03remedial.h30.html?tkn=RQXFv0%2B3wuWsWyAGD4LmnmT3unYFVtl7U2He&cmp=clp-edweek

The article does a good job demonstrating how remedial or developmental-level courses are being revised and repackaged to increase their effectiveness for students. Sixty percent of community college students need to enroll in those courses. Public statements to simply eliminate the courses cannot occur if the U.S. is really committed to access and success for all students, especially those from historically underrepresented populations. Following is selected text from the article:

"Once students arrive on campus, their developmental education programs can be part of the problem. Too often, developmental courses involve worksheets and drills that are “deadly dull,” said Tom Brock, the director of Young Adults and Postsecondary Education for the MDRC, a policy-research organization in Oakland, Calif. Remedial courses don’t earn credit toward a degree, and the low expectations, inadequate tracking, and lack of support can leave students feeling demoralized. If the course content doesn’t bear relation to why they came to college, students can lose interest. Some colleges are addressing the dullness factor by developing fast-track programs in which students who need the least help can move along more quickly. Computer software can differentiate the instruction to each student’s needs, accelerating his or her learning.

At Zane State, President Paul Brown recognizes the importance of supporting students in that first year. Sustaining the college’s 15 percent growth rate is contingent on retaining students and working with the 75 percent who enter in need of developmental education, he said. If students can make it through the first year—often with additional supports—Zane State has found that 87 percent will graduate. To keep freshmen engaged, the college implemented an early-intervention system that identifies students who are repeating courses and provides support before they drop out. The college is also using technology and individualized instruction to tailor developmental education courses to students’ needs, Mr. Brown said.

Valencia Community College developed a Learning in Communities program for its developmental education students in which courses are paired, keeping a cohort of students together, and trained student learning leaders help organize study groups outside the classroom. Next fall, the college is planning to group 125 freshmen into a learning community working closely with four faculty members. They will move through developmental education together in the first term and co-enroll in college-credit courses in the second term, explained Nicholas Bekas, the project director of the Developmental Education Initiative on the campus. The graduation rate at Valencia rose from 35 percent to 43 percent between 2006 and 2010 for first-time, degree-seeking students. Among those with a developmental education mandate, the numbers are up from 16 percent to 21 percent in the same time frame.

The Gates Foundation is investing in effective models because too many students get lost in developmental education, and getting a college degree is what can transform lives, said Mark Milliron, the foundation’s deputy director for postsecondary improvement. “What [colleges] are doing now is painfully unsuccessful,” Mr. Milliron said. “The whole idea is to get in there early.” Several promising approaches are being developed, including working with high schools, providing deeper diagnosis to find academic areas of weakness, and designing modular, technology-assisted instruction to get students through developmental education faster, he said."

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