Student Success. Creative Problem-Solving for Bottleneck Courses: A Low Completion Rate Course Project Project Objectives: Define and diagnose the factors.

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!