Making Developmental English Work for Adults. Carl Donner Assistant Professor of English/Writing Palm Beach Atlantic University

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1 Making Developmental English Work for Adults Carl Donner Assistant Professor of English/Writing Palm Beach Atlantic University

2 Who are the Adult Nontraditional Students? 24 years old or older. Self-supporting and maintain their own households. Nationally, 64% are employed, and many have jobs with supervisory responsibilities. 29% have school age children. (NCES)

3 Special Challenges for the Nontraditional Assumption of the new role as student. Worry that they will not be able to perform to the rigor of college-level work. Unrealistic expectations. Negative peer pressure. Uncertainty about their ability to balance the demands of life and school. Financial worries. Learning a new student language.

Unrealistic expectations. Negative peer pressure.

4 Why Do They Come? Career advancement. Retooling after downsizing or corporate restructuring. Training for a new career. Provide a good example for their children.

5 What is Developmental English? This is not a new idea. Goes beyond remediation. Many adult students English skills cannot be remediated, because there is nothing to fix. Developmental English is a ground level course which incorporates basic grammar, sentence and paragraph building, and vocabulary development. Best when offered in conjunction with an academic orientation course designed to enhance institutional acculturation.

Developmental English is a ground level course which incorporates basic grammar, sentence and paragraph

6 Who Needs This Course? In 2010, 77% of traditional aged students who completed the ACT college entrance exam were judged as not ready to do college level work in English. These students were fresh from high school English courses. Imagine the need among adults who have not been in a classroom for over a decade.

entrance exam were judged as not ready to do college level work in English.

7 Similar results for students taking the SAT. Literally hundreds of assessment instruments are used nationwide. California community colleges alone use over 100. Add to this regional and institution- specific diagnostics, and the results indicating the number of students, both adult and traditional age, who need some form of help can be overwhelming. Approximately 60 % of all students will take at least one remedial course in their search for a degree.

Add to this regional and institution- specific diagnostics, and the results indicating the number of students,

8 What is Not Working? Do Nothing. Many institutions opt to avoid these types of classes altogether. In California and Oklahoma, offering developmental classes is illegal at first-tier universities. A significant number of academics, fearing a loss of prestige, do not want these courses or the students whom they feel are unqualified on their campuses.

In California and Oklahoma, offering developmental classes is illegal at first-tier

9 Do Nothing (2) Institutions with open enrollment policies often take the sink or swim attitude. Primary among them are the for-profit universities. Results are significantly lower graduation rates. System-wide, University of Phoenix graduates 9% on-ground, 5% online. Even the best among these institutions (DeVry) achieves only a 31% completion rate. Overall, these institutions graduate only 1/3 as many as state and private non-profits.

System-wide, University of Phoenix graduates 9% on-ground, 5% online.

10 Do Nothing (3) For-profits spend only about 1/3 the amount on student services. Students at these institutions must fund an unmet need of $25, per year compared with $16, at state or private-non-profits for the same period. These students carry a disproportionate burden of debt and account for 43% of all federal student loan defaults.

11 Stopgap Measures: Extra Credit Can be used effectively. However, is often abused by students and faculty. In order to make up a missed assignment or a poor grade, students often ask for this work. Faculty, full-time and adjunct, may feel the need to demonstrate student success in their courses and give extra credit assignments. In short, extra credit is about passing, not learning.

In order to make up a missed assignment or a poor grade, students often ask for this work.

12 Stopgap Measures: Send Them to The Writing Center. The writing center movement has been a boon to college students of all ages. Yet, most students who use these centers have a number of writing problems which cannot be corrected by addressing them randomly. Students in need of some level of remediation (the majority) are in need of a comprehensive and systematic foundational course.

Yet, most students who use these centers have a number of writing problems which cannot be

13 Nip It in the Bud In California, high school juniors take the CST (California Standards Test). In 2001 a supplement was added to assess college readiness (Early Assessment Program) and assess the necessary remediation in the senior year. The goal was to have a CalState student population that would be 90% college ready in English and math. Of the approximately 50,000 entering CalState in 2006 who had completed the EAP, only 25% were judged to be college ready. Florida is developing a similar plan.

the senior year. The goal was to have a CalState student population that would be 90% college ready in English and math.

14 Separation Anxiety: Outsourcing The practice of sending students to another institution or private vendor for remediation. Can be a beneficial symbiosis between institutions: University of Oklahoma at Stillwell and Northern Oklahoma College. University of Central Oklahoma and Rose State College University of Arizona and Pima Community College Prime motivator: cost.

Can be a beneficial symbiosis between institutions: University of Oklahoma at Stillwell and

15 Problems with Outsourcing Sends a mixed message to students. We want you, but we don t want you. Promotes the deceptive practice of showing students as matriculates at the parent institution, but as not taking any developmental classes there. The missed opportunity to develop brand loyalty for the institution. If you send them away, they will stay away.

Promotes the deceptive practice of showing students as matriculates at the parent

16 Outsourcing is Ineffective Only about 10% of students outsourced for remediation ever complete a 4-year degree. Often the quality of developmental courses is poor. Adult students especially become discouraged with taking these courses which are generally not for credit toward graduation.

Often the quality of developmental courses is poor.

17 Finding a Way Keep them on campus. Courses can be tailored to meet the requirements of subsequent composition courses. Maintain control of content and context. Introduce students to the culture of the institution and the level of academic rigor to come. Provides the opportunity to form relationships with faculty and fellow students. Demonstrates institutional concern for student success.

Maintain control of content and context.

18 Create an Adult Friendly Writing Center Have age-appropriate tutors. Non-traditional students prefer and respond best to other adults. All tutors need to recognize the struggles of adult students. (DePaul University, UCWbL) Offer a schedule with evening and weekend hours.

All tutors need to recognize the struggles of adult students.

19 Give Them Credit Developmental classes in writing must carry credits toward graduation. Adult students see non-credit courses as timeconsuming, costly, and having no direct benefit. Students feel as though they are in a state of limbo, especially if sent to a remote location. Students in the most need of remedial work are also those for whom non-credit courses have the least benefit regarding retention. Such courses represent an additional financial burden.

Students feel as though they are in a state of limbo, especially if sent to a remote location.

20 Give Them Credit? Dissenting voices claim that such courses do not represent adequate rigor for college work. If the objectives of these courses are similar to those found in later composition and literature courses, they should be deemed worthy of credit. Educational practices are changing. A case in point is the proliferation of First Year Experience and other similar courses which carry credit toward graduation. Credits should take the form of free electives.

should be deemed worthy of credit. Educational practices are changing.

21 Full-timers into the Fray Developmental courses need to be taught by the best qualified and most experienced professors with a successful track record. Resistance to this idea is understandable. Many see remediation as demeaning and tiresome. Hiring faculty for these courses is often an afterthought, too often resulting in the unprepared teaching the underprepared.

22 What is Not Working Doing nothing. Extra Credit. Dependence on the Writing Center to fix a laundry list of deficiencies. Pretesting. Outsourcing

23 What We Need Provide a comprehensive developmental program pairing remediation with acculturation. Keep students needing developmental courses close to home. Create an adult friendly Writing Center. Give developmental courses credit toward graduation. Involve our best professors in these courses.

Creating Quality Developmental Education

***Draft*** Creating Quality Developmental Education A Guide to the Top Ten Actions Community College Administrators Can Take to Improve Developmental Education Submitted to House Appropriations Subcommittee