Course Substitutions & Learning Evals How One Institution is Addressing Barriers to Completion Presentation offered at AHEAD conference on July 20, 2017 By Portland Community College Disability Services Counselor Ruth McKenna and Director Kaela Parks AHEAD Conference 2017
Learning Outcomes for this Session 1. Apply an understanding of how guidance at the national and state level pertain to Course Substitution. 2. Reflect on the way course substitution processes can honor diversity and reduce barriers. 3. Consider how collaboration to update guidelines and protocols could work on one’s own campus . AHEAD Conference 2017
Agenda – How we’ll use our time • Context • Guidance at the federal level • Changes in options at the state level • Practice at the institutional level • Our Approach • The Synergy we found with LEAP • Student Stories AHEAD Conference 2017
The Student Experience AHEAD Conference 2017 "Brick Wall" is in the Public Domain
Guidance - Federal Level Examples of OCR Cases on Course Substitutions 2001 - Letter to Parkland College, No. 05-01-2034 (Articulation agreements can legitimately restrict options) 2002 - Letter to University of Houston, No. 06-02-2029 (Institutions can deny requests that fundamentally alter) 2006 - Letter to: Hudson County Community College, No. 02- 05-2154 (Documentation must support request) 2011 - University of Baltimore, No. 03112055 (Process must be interactive with reasoned deliberation) AHEAD Conference 2017
Context - State Level Prior to 2013 No Course Subs for Transfer Degrees "Flag-map of Oregon" by Darwinek is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 AHEAD Conference 2017
Internal Process Redesign AHEAD Conference 2017
The Approach We Took Established Clear Goal To support student completion without lowering standards or fundamentally altering degrees and certificates ● Brought stakeholders together ● Reviewed best practices ● Engaged in collborative inquiry to inform/focus the work AHEAD Conference 2017
Key Differences in New Process ● Petition and guidelines work for all degrees/certificates ● Dual practitioner review ● Signature authority changes ○ Dean of Instruction and Department Chairs ○ Subject Area Representatives for both areas ● Student statement ● More robust academic planning AHEAD Conference 2017
Committee Review of Course Sub Requests ● Professional Development opportunity for faculty serving as subject area representatives ● Approach aims to honor the unique nature of individual requests while looking for larger patterns we can act on AHEAD Conference 2017
Commitment to Continual Improvement ● Addressing structural and attitudinal barriers ○ Innovative alternative course designs ○ Low cost, robust, and accessible, materials ● Supporting early (and earlier) intervention ○ Advisors make referrals based on course attempts ○ Faculty make referrals based on atypical error patterns AHEAD Conference 2017
Supporting Diverse Learners ● Alternative Learning Center Courses ○ Pass/No Pass credit course at 1, 2, or 3 credits - grade based on time spent in lab ○ Can test into next level courses (MATH 20/60/65/95) ○ Non-Credit options offered as week long options prior to term start ● Accessible OER ● Culturally Relevant Content AHEAD Conference 2017
Early Intervention Learning Evaluation Access Project (LEAP) for Students in Career and Technical Education Programs AHEAD Conference 2017
Early Intervention Learning Evaluation Access Project (LEAP) ● Provides students with access to diagnostic reports ● Documentation from LEAP may support sub requests AHEAD Conference 2017
Early Intervention Learning Evaluation Access Project (LEAP) ● Tends to serve students from under-represented groups 35% 32% 14% 29% 28% 30% 12% 12% 11% 12% 25% 10% 21% 8% 19% 19% 19% 20% 8% 6% 6% 13% 15% 3% 3% 4% 2% 2% 8% 10% 1% 2% 6% 5% 5% 0% 0 0% <20 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 Over 50 LEAP Students 2011-2016 PCC Credit Students College-wide LEAP Students 2011-2016 PCC Credit Students College-wide AHEAD Conference 2017
Looking Beyond LEAP - Potential to Scale A generous endowment will allow PCC to work with students who are not in Career and Technical Programs but who need to be provided with learning evaluations AHEAD Conference 2017 "Expand" by Nick Youngsun is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Case Study - Power of Interactive Process A student who had been using accommodation for several terms with a history of difficulty in math since childhood. Documentation on file did not support a course substitution. Through the interactive process, DS was able to work with the student and their external medical contacts to encourage additional testing which resulted in documentation that supported the request for a course substitution. AHEAD Conference 2017
Case Study - Need for Academic Plan A student working on a transfer degree was seeking a course substitution. Because his academic plan required additional coursework that would rely on mathematical skills, and because he did not have an academic plan that took all of this into account, his request was returned, though he was encouraged to work with an advisor to define a plan that could be supported. AHEAD Conference 2017
Case Study: LEAP + Accommodation = Success A student who had finished all coursework for his degree except Algebra, which he had not been able to pass. He had no health insurance or documentation. He was screened for LEAP, received a full evaluation and consultation. Documentation supported notetaking assistance and testing adjustments. He was able to successfully complete the Algebra requirement for his degree. Another student who had also finished her coursework except for math. She was referred to DS by an advisor and screened for LEAP. She received a full evaluation and consultation. Her documentation supported a course substitution. AHEAD Conference 2017
Q and A ?
Additional Resources and Contact Information Link to Google Drive Folder with Additional Resources https://tinyurl.com/AHEAD-PCC-CourseSubs Contact Information for Presenters: Ruth McKenna - Disability Services Counselor rmckenna@pcc.edu - 971-722-7567 Kaela Parks - Disability Services Director kaela.parks@pcc.edu - 971-722-4868 AHEAD Conference 2017
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