8-Week Course Initiative at Ivy Tech Dr. Cory Clasemann-Ryan

8-Week Course Initiative at Ivy Tech Dr. Cory Clasemann-Ryan

Background Ivy Tech joined Achieving the Dream (ATD) in 2010 – using data to increase student success Withdrawal rate (official and “unofficial”) is between 15-20% each term Ivy Tech has offered 8-week courses for many years Historically 10-15 percentage point higher pass rate than in 16-week courses Withdrawal rates are lower Asked former VCAA to research and write a white paper Growing trend nationally to offer more 8-week courses Course success higher nationally

White Paper Findings Growing trend nationally to offer more 8-week courses Course success higher nationally and at Ivy Tech At Ivy Tech 8-week courses have lower withdrawal rates Approximately 10 percentage points lower in 8-week courses

Benefits of 8-Week Courses Students Only take 1-3 classes at a time No more class time over 16-week term Avoids burnout, which typically occurs around week 10 More “on ramps” – don’t have to wait until next semester to start or retake a class Faculty Only teach 2-3 courses at a time Avoid burnout Longer class sessions increase opportunities to integrate active learning

Intentional Process Findings presented to Cabinet and Executive Council in Nov./Dec. 2017 Faculty Council provided input and support in Nov. 2017 With fall registration opening in March 2018 campuses encouraged to increase offerings responsibly Added to Strategy 1.4 (educational pathways provide for continuous enrollment through completion) Visited Odessa College (2017 Aspen Prize finalist and Rising Star award winner) to learn best practices from a leading institution Summer 2018 added statewide co-leads and 80 campus champions During both 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years internal “mini-grants” were offered to support faculty/staff in the transition

Completion Guides 1-20/21 sequence of courses for students to take Developed by curriculum committees Had existing semester plan as foundation Needed to evaluate for relevancy, sequence, and within 8-week structure Benefits to students Students have a clear pathway to completion Students always know what to take next, even if they stop out Reduces appearance of too many course options for students to consider, which can be overwhelming May provide opportunities to provide incentives for students who stay on track and are continuously enrolled

Fall 2019 Update Fall 2019: More than half (58%) of all courses offered in 8-week format Second year utilizing 8-week champions to support campus leadership and 8-week transition Revised mini-grants to support campus collaboration Beginning to address need to provide support services in new and innovative ways On-going faculty/staff professional development becoming part of our culture 70% % of Courses in 8-Week Format 58% 61% 60% 50% 40% 30% 39% 31% 20% 18% 19% 18% 10% 0% 17 18 19 19 20 17 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 g2 g2 g2 g2 ll ll ll a a a n n n n F F F ri ri ri ri p p p p S S S S

Fall 2019 Grades Of the 14 core gateway courses when comparing 8-week vs. 16-week – pass rates were 6 percentage points higher When comparing all 8-week vs. 16-week courses Withdraw rates (W grades) were 3.4 percentage points lower 8.4% vs. 5.0% FW rates (no longer attending class, but not officially withdrawn from the course) were 2.4 percentage points lower 10.1% vs. 7.7%

Gateway Course Pass Rates Standard 16-week Term ACCT101 68.6% APHY101 65.5% BIOL101 68.9% COMM101 72.3% ENGL111 58.0% HIST101 70.2% HLHS101 70.7% MATH023 55.2% MATH122 77.7% MATH123 64.0% MATH136 54.7% PSYC101 66.1% SOCI111 71.4% All Courses 73.2% Fall 2019 8-Week First 8-week Second 8- Fall 2018 8Courses Term week Term Week vs. 16 Week 69.3% 71.3% 62.6% 0.7% 75.9% 77.8% 69.4% 10.4% 69.8% 74.5% 65.1% 0.9% 78.4% 80.4% 76.7% 6.1% 64.9% 69.4% 59.8% 6.9% 77.0% 80.9% 69.1% 6.8% 77.4% 80.8% 73.6% 6.7% 66.1% 68.5% 57.5% 10.9% 81.5% 81.1% 81.9% 3.8% 65.8% 69.7% 62.4% 1.8% 57.7% 59.6% 56.0% 3.0% 76.2% 80.0% 72.8% 10.1% 72.6% 76.4% 69.5% 1.2% 79.2% 81.1% 77.2% 6.0%

What Our Students Are Telling Us Richmond Medical Assisting students

Next Steps Continue to share data widely each semester and create dialogue around its meaning Continue soliciting feedback from students and faculty on 8-week courses There is no set target on how many classes will be offered in 8-weeks Goal is to move every class that can be transitioned in a responsible way that is best for the student There are very solid reasons why some classes at best offered in a 16-week format Campuses asked to determine what those are “At scale” in Fall 2021

Questions?