Mapping Noncredit Pathways to Student Success and Linking to Credit Coursework (CB21)

Carole Bogue-Feinour, Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, CCCCOPatrick Perry , Vice Chancellor of Technology, Research, & Info Systems,

CCCCOJanet Fulks, ASCCC, BSI Marcy Alancraig, Cabrillo College, BSI, English

Joan Cordova, Orange Coast College. MathMarsha Elliot, OCC Continuing Ed

Alicia Munoz, Grossmont College, ESLBob Pacheco, Barstow College, Reading and Math

Who are you?

•How many faculty from each discipline?

•How many part timers?

•Table work: Collect three main misconceptions about non-credit

Noncredit: The Bird’s Eye View

From the REPORT ON THE SYSTEM’S CURRENT PROGRAMS IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) AND BASIC SKILLS Jan 2008

Unduplicated Student Enrollments in Credit and Noncredit Basic Skills and ESL

Jan 2008

ENROLLMENT CATEGORY

ENROLLMENT% OF TOTAL ENROLLMENT

BS-ESL (credit) 326,478 12.45%

BS-ESL (noncredit) 393,004 14.99%

No BS-ESL 1,901,963 72.56%

Total 2,621,445 100%

What do we know?

•Many who should be enrolled in Basic Skills and ESL are not

•Currently, noncredit serves the same number or more of students as credit

•You can not talk about basic skills without talking noncredit

Enrollment in Credit and Noncredit by Ethnicity

ETHNICITYCredit

ENROLLMENT

% OF TOTAL ENROLLMEN

T

NoncreditENROLLMEN

T

% OF ENROLLMEN

TAFRICAN-AMERICAN

36,688 11.24% 24,470 6.23%

ASIAN/FILIPINO/PAC ISLANDER

55,529 17.00%76,208 19.39%

HISPANIC/LATINO

135,156 41.40% 171,821 43.72%

NATIVE AMERICAN

2,987 0.92% 2,115 0.54%

OTHER, NON-WHITE

6,485 1.99% 7,420 1.89%

WHITE 73,702 22.57% 73,459 18.69%UNKNOWN 15,931 4.88% 37,511 9.54%TOTAL 326,478 100% 393,004 100%

What do we know?

•Many currently enrolled are students

of color

•Hispanics use noncredit more

frequently than other groups

•ESL programs contribute a great deal

to this effort

Your Work is Essential

•Making noncredit work visible

•Documenting student success

•Communicating the resources necessary to maintain this important work

Why is this Important and Why Are We Here?•Coding for your courses – some coding is

incorrect – we are here to fix it

•Coding is our tool for reporting

•Enhanced Funding Accountability

•If you think this is a Mission Impossible – it has been done before by credit faculty.

•You can do this!

SB 361 Enhanced Noncredit Funding and Accountability Report•Accountability requirements for non-

credit under due to SB 361•$19,556,985 to 30 districts•Funding for aligned courses that end in a

certificate of completion or certificate of competency

•What can we do?▫Describe how courses align▫Define the certificate curriculum and skills

Additional Funding for Non-credit and Basic Skills•ESL/basic skills allocations, $31.5 million

annually     *college allocation based on ESL/basic skills FTES, includingnoncredit FTES      *Framework for ESL/basic skills accountability, the second                Supplemental ARCC report

How Must We be Accountable

•Accountability reporting using MIS data

•Currently it is not well understood or well-defined for non-credit

•There is probably more variation in non-credit than credit

•Even more difficult when we describe student success rate

Accountability Reporting

•Our current ARCC

•*Two Supplemental ARCC Reports                  --SB 361                  --ESL/basic skills Accountability

•Noncredit report on noncredit repetition

•IPEDS and other such required reporting

What is this about?

•Accountability and money- compare to sustainability

•Background information to get them up to speed

•CB 21 wrong•Accountability for noncredit•Needing to show progress

What Does Accountability mean for Credit Courses?•First we will describe credit

accountability

•Then we will explain how we are trying to create a clear and reasonable picture of non-credit work

•MIS = Management Information Systems

What Coding Tell Us

•Besides the status of the course credit/noncredit, transfer/basic skills

•This tells us student needs – success and retention

•Student Progress – to certificates and degrees, through course pathways

•Today we want to focus on Student Progress through Courses

A Credit Example: MIS Data Element CB21•CB21=Course Prior to College Level•Chancellor’s Office MIS system collects all

course info each term•Courses are coded for identification purposes

▫TOP code, credit/noncredit status, transfer status, units, basic skills status, SAM/voc code, etc.

•Funding allocations are based on the coding•FTES determinations and other reports are

determined by coding

MIS Data Element CB21

•Last changed in 1994

▫Defined number of “codeable” levels at 5 (xfer + 4 below)

▫Is used across math/English/reading/writing/ESL

▫Has little curricular definition of levels

MIS Data Element CB21 Is used for a lot of accountability

reportingWhich in turn is used to justify investments

and expenditures in basic skillsARCC Technical Advisory Group: defines

metrics for mandated reports Is necessary to show student progress

through basic skills curriculum4…3…2…1…transferrable

The Process to Document Progress•To understand this in non-credit, you need

to understand how it is used in credit

Basic Skills Progress

•For the aforementioned cohort:▫Percent who completed any degree-

applicable or transfer level math/Eng/ESL (in same curricular lineage)

▫Percent that eventually earn a degree/certificate, and/or transfer/transfer prepared

CB21 credit basic skills improvementBasic Skills Improvement Rate (ARCC)

Credit courses only: math, English, readingCompleted (A,B,C,CR) any basic skills

course at 2 or more levels belowWithin 3 years, successfully completed a

higher level basic skills course of same disciplineAnywhere in the system

Current data range: 24%-62%, avg 49%.

CB21 Credit ESL Improvement

ESL Improvement Rate (ARCC)Credit ESL courses onlyWithin 3 years, successfully completed a

higher level ESL courseAnywhere in the system

Current data range: 0% to 81%, avg. 42%

What CB21 is used forProposed Basic Skills Supplemental

Report:

Percent of Assessed Students Recommended for Placement

into levels of credit basic skills math/English/ESL courses (as defined by CB 21) in a given year

done by annual survey of colleges

Coding CB21

•Normally done at campus•Saved in local ERP system (Datatel,

Banner, Peoplesoft, etc)•Sent to System Office end of term by local

MIS•Reports run thereafter (ARCC)•Resubmission always allowed and

welcome

Problems arise when…

•Miscoding (wrong TOP, ??credit??levels, basic skills status)—humans and transference

•Recoding term to term without change in actual curriculum (solved with unique_id#)

•Ambiguity of data element codes•The outcomes are not documented as

grades or credit – Hello noncredit

What do we need to do to correct the problems?•We need a rubric to show levels and

progress•We need a means of including noncredit

such as ABE and ASE in progress accountability

•We need to identify linkages between credit and noncredit

Establishing a Rubric

•Is not standardization•Does not drive curricular changes•Is not common course numbering or

articulation

•IS a mapping exercise designed to maximize our ability to show student progress AND your good work

Things to Consider

•If you code every basic skills class at 4+ levels below, you will have few improvements

•It pays to have a full “progression sequence” using as many levels as are available to show differentiation

Things to Consider

Making Changes

•All MIS data must be submitted through your normal MIS data submission process▫Contact your CISO; change usually made in

your ERP system•Setup a formalized coding process for

courses▫We’d love to do it centrally, but…there are

150,000 courses a year

Why is this Important and Why Are We Here?•Coding for your courses – some coding is

incorrect – we are here to fix it

•Coding is our tool for reporting

•Enhanced Funding=Enhanced Accountability

•If you think this is a Mission Impossible – it has been done before by credit faculty.

•You can do this!

What is “Course Prior to College Level”? It is the course “level”, in terms of

number of levels below the transferrable level

It is used primarily for basic skills/remedial courses, not transferrable courses

It is used only for English, writing, ESL, reading, or mathematics

Can be used for credit, noncredit

MIS Data Element CB21

•CB21=Course Prior to College Level•Chancellor’s Office MIS system collects

all course info each term•Courses are coded for identification

purposes▫Top code, credit status, transfer status,

units, basic skills status, SAM code, etc.

MIS Data Element CB21

•Is one of the most disparately coded data elements we have

•Is controversial in many ways▫Limits number of “codeable” levels at 5;

colleges locally have more or less▫Is used across math/English/ESL▫Does not necessarily mean the same thing

across colleges

MIS Data Element CB21

•Is necessary to show student progress through basic skills curriculum▫4…3…2…1…transferrable

•Is used for a lot of accountability reporting▫Which in turn is used to justify investments

and expenditures in basic skills

Accountability Reporting

•ARCC (Accountability Report for Community Colleges)▫ARCC CDCP Noncredit Supplemental

report▫ARCC Basic Skills Supplemental Report

•All of these have metrics in them that use CB21 to show student progression through basic skills

CDCP Noncredit Funding

•State has agreed to pay extra $$ for CDCP Noncredit category

•State has requested accountability reporting for these monies▫CDCP represents programs that lead to

certificates and movement into credit▫These are the metrics desired by State in

evaluating CDCP effectiveness

CDCP Noncredit Accountability

•Take first-time CDCP students, track forward▫Look at term to term persistence▫Look at completion of CDCP or other award▫Look at movement into credit▫“course success” cannot be measured

▫Progress through CDCP noncredit basic skills ladders is missing due to lack of consistent coding in CB21

ARCC Metrics

•Basic Skills Improvement Rate (ARCC)▫Credit courses only▫Completed (A,B,C,CR) any math/Eng basic

skills course at 2 or more levels below▫Within 3 years, successfully completed a

higher level basic skills course of same discipline

Anywhere in the system

What CB21 is used for

•ESL Improvement Rate (ARCC)▫Credit ESL courses only▫Completed (A,B,C,CR) any ESL course

at 2 or more levels below▫Within 3 years, successfully completed a

higher level ESL course Anywhere in the system

What CB21 is used for

•Basic Skills Supplemental Report: Basic Skills Progress Rate (Proposed)▫Track freshmen forward 8 years that

attempted any basic skills course any time▫Report by the lowest level of

math/English/ESL ever attempted (>=4 levels below transferable level; 3, 2, 1 levels below; CR, NC).

Basic Skills Progress

•For the aforementioned cohort:▫Percent who completed any degree-

applicable or transfer level math/Eng/ESL (in same curricular lineage)

▫Percent that eventually earn a degree/certificate, and/or transfer/transfer prepared

Percentage of assessed students recommended for placement (Supplemental)

• into levels of credit basic skills math/English/ESL courses (as defined by CB 21) in a given year

• (done by annual survey of colleges)

Coding CB21

•Normally done at campus (CIO??)•Saved in local ERP system (Datatel,

Banner, etc)•Sent to System Office end of term by local

MIS•Reports run thereafter•Resubmission always allowed and

welcome

Problems arise when…

•Miscoding•Recoding term to term without change in

actual curriculum•College X’s 3 levels below in math is

different than College Y’s 3 levels below in math▫We need a rubric as to what these mean

across campuses for each discipline.

Establishing a Rubric

•Is not standardization•Does not drive curricular changes•Is not common course numbering or

articulation•Is not MIS wagging the dog•IS an alignment/mapping exercise

designed to maximize our ability to show student progress

Rubric: Math

•Currently, CB21:▫A=prereq. for transfer math (Intermediate

Algebra)▫B=prereq./prep. for “A” (Algebra I/Elem.

Algebra)▫C=prereq./prep. For “A/B” (Arithmetic)▫Y=>3 levels below transfer level (N/A)

Rubric: English

•Currently, CB21:▫A=prereq. for transfer Eng. Comp.

(Subject A)▫B=prereq./prep. for “A” (N/A)▫C=prereq./prep. For “A/B” (N/A)▫Y=>3 levels below transfer level (N/A)

Rubric: Writing, Reading, ESL

•Not addressed at all

CB21

•Is used for BOTH credit AND noncredit courses!

•“Ownership” of CB21 lies with YOU and the local campuses

•Is a State-level data element, so it cannot have “local” definitions▫Since evaluations of performance/peer

grouping are occurring by college

Your Assignment…

•Is to create a mapping rubric for each of the disciplines that encompass basic skills/course prior to college level

•Has uniform and understandable curricular definitions (course or SLO) for each level in each discipline

•Retain existing data element▫New codes cost little; new element costs

mroe

Things to Consider

•If you code every basic skills class at 4+ levels below, you will have few improvements

•It pays to have a full “ladder” using as many levels as possible to show differentiation

Things to Consider

•However, levels must mean the same thing across campuses▫Student movement does not preclude you

from getting credit for success elsewhere…▫…provided your neighbor is coding

properly and uniformly as well

Things to Consider

•If your “ladder” has more than 4 steps:▫Keep as many as you can, but some may

have to be compacted▫You may have 7 levels of ESL, your

neighbor has 3 If we allowed everyone to code their own

number of levels, colleges would be advantaged/disadvantaged based solely on their curricular segmentation—not good

Things to Consider

•Noncredit/vocational math/Eng/ESL have levels as well! Don’t assume all noncredit is 4+ levels below!

•But…be cognizant of where the noncredit ladder “ties in” with credit▫Progression into credit levels also shows

progress

Making Changes

•The results of your work will provide new clarity to this data element

•System Office will promote workshops on the new meanings and how to use the rubric

•Subsequent MIS submissions will be superior

•Success Rates should reflect accurately

Making Changes

•All MIS data must be submitted through your normal MIS data submission process▫Contact your CISO; change usually made in

your ERP system•Setup a formalized coding process for

courses each term▫We’d love to do it centrally, but…there are

150,000 courses a year

THANK YOU

•This is an extremely important task.

•YOU are the people that know this best.

•Your assistance is greatly valued.

Take off Your College Hats

•You are now working at 30,000 feet•How it works at your college in your

department is secondary to this system wide exercise▫Because the SYSTEM will benefit▫And the STUDENTS will benefit▫And you will benefit with the ability to

demonstrate student progress

Existing Rubrics for Credit

•Describe the current Rubrics and vetting process

Mission Possible: Your Assignment is to:

•1. Create a mapping rubric for each of the disciplines – English, ESL, Math, and Reading and ASE and ABE▫A. Decide on the number of levels -- try to retain

existing data element (leading to transfer + 4 other BS levels)

▫B. Decide on the skill categories▫C. Write uniform and understandable curricular

descriptions of these skills at each level of the rubric▫D. Concurrent offerings will match up to existing

rubrics (no need to create something new)

Your Assignment

•2. Using your rubric and those created by credit faculty, create linkages between non-credit and credit courses in the same disciplines

Guidelines for the work•These will be DRAFT noncredit rubrics

considered for adoption after thorough vetting •The rubrics describe coding for basic skills

levels. They DO NOT prescribe or standardize curriculum.

•The level descriptions ARE NOT comprehensive.

 

Guidelines for the work• The rubrics DO NOT dictate anything • The rubrics ARE NOT the final authority.

They are a referential guide

• Each local college may code the basic skills courses appropriate to their curriculum and program descriptions.

• This is a local decision and local process  

Guidelines for the work• Faculty will continue to develop and

determine what they teach as discipline experts

•This process is not designed as an obstacle to curriculum, curricular or programmatic development

 •The final process for any recoding will be

developed by the ASCCC and the Chancellor’s Office MIS division.

Making Changes

•The results of your work will provide new clarity to this data element

•System Office/ASCCC will promote workshops on the new meanings and how to use the rubric

•Subsequent MIS submissions will be superior

•Success Rates should reflect accurately and uniformly

THANK YOU

•This is an extremely important task.

•YOU are the people who know this best.

•Your assistance is greatly valued.

DAY 2

•You are now working at 30,000 feet•How it works at your college in your

department is secondary to this systemwide exercise▫Because the SYSTEM will benefit▫And the STUDENTS will benefit

Mission Possible: Your Assignment is to:

•1. Create a mapping rubric for each of the disciplines – English, ESL, Math, and Reading and ASE and ABE▫A. Decide on the number of levels -- try to retain

existing data element (leading to transfer + 4 other BS levels)

▫B. Decide on the skill categories▫C. Write uniform and understandable curricular

descriptions of these skills at each level of the rubric▫D. Concurrent offerings will match up to existing

rubrics (no need to create something new)

Your Assignment

•2. Using your rubric and those created by credit faculty, create linkages between non-credit and credit courses in the same disciplines

Outcomes for the Day

•A rubric for each discipline

•A map of linkages between credit and non-credit courses

Timelines

•Levels by 10:30AM•Rubric by 1:30•Linkages BY 2:00•Report Back 2-3

Remember! •Lets keep focused on the big picture.

▫Development of the number of levels.▫Development of essential skills within levels.

•Lets begin with basic concepts that we can all agree upon.▫Perhaps two or three per level to start?

•Lets keep it as simple as possible.▫This will help school districts code their

classes.