This document provides recommendations for redesigning developmental education programs in Colorado community colleges. It recommends reducing the time, credits, and number of classes required for developmental education to move students more quickly into college-level courses. The redesign would involve curriculum changes using a reverse design approach focused on what students need to know to succeed in college classes. Specific recommendations are provided for redesigning developmental math, English, and reading courses. The document also outlines plans for testing and placement, student support services, faculty support/development, implementation teams and timelines, and measures for assessing success. The overall goal is to improve student completion of developmental requirements and subsequent college-level courses.

1. Developmental Education
Redesign Recommendations

2. Overview
 The DETF recommendations
 Math
 College Reading and Composition (English & Reading)
 Administrative
 Proposed timeline

3. The problem
―The more levels of developmental courses a
student needs to go through, the less likely
that student is to ever complete college
English or math.‖
- Thomas Bailey (2009) CCRC Brief.

4. The goal of the redesign
Move students quickly and effectively through their
first college level course.

5. Our recommendations
 Reduce the amount of time, number of credits, and
number of classes
 Curriculum redesign
 Reverse design
 What students need to know for success in college class
 Active learning experiences
 Ongoing process

6. Math

7. Math recommendations

8. College Reading and Composition
(English & Reading)

9. CRC recommendations
First Term Leads to
1A)
Soft Landing
Accuplacer test
1B)
CRC 092 + CRC 091
Completion of all REA and ENG
developmental requirements
CRC 092 Completion of all REA and ENG
developmental requirements
2A)
CRC 093
Studio D
Completion of all REA and ENG
developmental requirements
2B)
CRC 094
Studio 121
Completion of all REA and ENG
developmental requirements

10. Administrative

11. Testing and placement
 Colorado specific Accuplacer with ―strands‖
 Uniform multiple measures built into Accuplacer
system
 Consistent test administration statewide
 Validate Accuplacer scores every 3-5 years – are we
using the right cut scores
 To accomplish these goals use a system level
institutional administrator (IA) in addition to college
site administrators for local control

12. Student support
 Use CCCSE practices
 Orientation
 Goal setting and planning
 No late registrations
 First year experience
 Student success course
 Tutoring
 Supplemental instruction
 Case management/academic advising/career coaches
 College develop a plan to use for planning, initiating,
and sustaining success for developmental students

13. Faculty support and development
 Colleges create a professional development plan
 Offer limited full time positions to current adjunct instructors
during implementation
 Provide release time for implementation
 Course release and reassigned time to develop and implement
student success strategies
 Functional work groups on campus—i.e. BANNER, Advising,
Testing—address the issues of the implementation process
 Provide, with CCCS, continuing professional development
focusing on research-based strategies
 Train transfer level and developmental faculty

14. Measures of success
 Successful developmental students and programs
should be measured in the following ways:
 In Math – Successful completion of any college level (100+)
math course
 In English and Reading – Successful completion of any college
level (100+) English course or any college level discipline
strands course.

15. What happens next?

16. Implementation teams
 Core implementation team
 Faculty
 Focused on curriculum, content, training, and professional
development
 Redesign advisory group
 Administrative (Banner, Business officer, Advising, financial
aid…)
 College visits
 FPD
 Implementation Planning and support

17. Timeline
 Spring/summer 13 CIT work to develop curriculum
and to create professional development training for
faculty and staff
 Fall of 13 schools that are already working on
redesign will ramp up projects
 Spring 14 all colleges should transition to the new
models
 Fall of 14 all colleges should be operating with the
new models in place

18. Questions?

19. Creative Commons Attribution
Unless otherwise specified, this work by the Colorado Community College System http://www.cccs.edu is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. The material was
created with funds from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT)
Grant awarded to the Colorado Online Energy Training Consortium (COETC).