Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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IMPROVING LEARNING
AND REDUCING COSTS:
The Program in Course Redesign
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HIGHER EDUCATION’S CHALLENGES
  • Access
  • Quality
  • Cost
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ASSUMPTIONS
THAT GET IN THE WAY
  • Improving quality means increasing cost
  • Adding IT increases cost
  • Using IT may even threaten quality
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TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION
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“BOLT-ON” INSTRUCTION
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"PROGRAM IN"
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THE ONE PERCENT SOLUTION
  • Maricopa Community College District
  • 200,000 students
  • 2,000 course titles
  • 25 courses =
  • 44% enrollment



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THE ONE PERCENT SOLUTION
  • English (7)
  • Psychology (1)
  • Mathematics (5)
  • Fitness (1)
  • Sociology (1)
  • Computing (1)
  • Philosophy (1)
  • Economics (2)
  • Biology (2)
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ROUND I INSTITUTIONS
20,585 Students Annually
  • IUPUI  (Sociology)
  • Penn State  (Statistics)
  • Rio Salado College  (College Algebra)
  • SUNY at Buffalo  (Computer Literacy)
  • U of Central Florida  (American Government)
  • U of Colorado-Boulder  (Astronomy)
  • U of Illinois-Urbana Champaign  (Statistics)
  • U of Southern Maine  (Psychology)
  • U of Wisconsin-Madison  (Chemistry)
  • Virginia Tech  (Linear Algebra)
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ROUND II INSTITUTIONS
14,119 Students Annually
  • Cal Poly Pomona (Psychology)
  • Carnegie Mellon University (Statistics)
  • Fairfield University (Biology)
  • Riverside Community College (Math)
  • The University of Alabama (Math)
  • University of Dayton (Psychology)
  • University of Idaho (Math)
  • The University of Iowa (Chemistry)
  • University of Massachusetts (Biology)
  • University of Tennessee (Spanish)
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ROUND III INSTITUTIONS
18,734 Students Annually
  • Brigham Young U (English Composition)
  • Drexel U (Computer Programming)
  • Florida Gulf Coast U (Fine Arts)
  • Iowa State U (Discrete Math)
  • Northern Arizona U  (College Algebra)
  • Ohio State U (Statistics)
  • Portland State U (Introductory Spanish)
  • Tallahassee CC (English Comp)
  • U of New Mexico (Intro Psychology)
  • U of Southern Mississippi (World Lit)
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QUANTITATIVE (13)
  • Mathematics
    • Iowa State University
    • Northern Arizona University
    • Rio Salado College
    • Riverside CC
    • University of Alabama
    • University of Idaho
    • Virginia Tech
  • Statistics
    • Carnegie Mellon University
    • Ohio State University
    • Penn State
    • U of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
  • Computer Programming
    • Drexel University
    • University at Buffalo
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SCIENCE (5) 
SOCIAL SCIENCE (6)
  • Biology
    • Fairfield University
    • University of Massachusetts
  • Chemistry
    • University of Iowa
    • U of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Astronomy
    • U of Colorado-Boulder
  • Psychology
    • Cal Poly Pomona
    • University of Dayton
    • University of New Mexico
    • U of Southern Maine
  • Sociology
    • IUPUI
  • American Government
    • U of Central Florida
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HUMANITIES (6)
  • English Composition
    • Brigham Young University
    • Tallahassee CC
  • Spanish
    • Portland State University
    • University of Tennessee
  • Fine Arts
    • Florida Gulf Coast University
  • World Literature
    • University of Southern Mississippi
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IMPROVED LEARNING OUTCOMES
  • Penn State - 68% on a content-knowledge test vs. 60%
  • UB - 56% earned A- or higher vs. 37%
  • CMU - scores on skill/concept tests increased by 22.8%
  • Fairfield – 88% on concept retention vs. 79%
  • U of Idaho – 30% earned A’s vs. 20%
  • UMass – 73% on tougher exams vs. 61%
  • FGCU - 85% on exams vs. 72%;  75% A’s and B’s vs. 31%
  • USM - scored a full point higher on writing assessments
  • IUPUI, RCC, UCF, U of S Maine, Drexel and U of Ala - significant improvements in understanding content


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REDUCTION IN DFW RATES
  • U of Alabama – 60% to 40%
  • Drexel – 51% to 38%
  • Tallahassee CC – 46% to 25%
  • Rio CC – 41% to 32%
  • IUPUI – 39% to 25%
  • UNM – 39% to 23%
  • U of S Maine – 28% to 19%
  • U of Iowa – 25% to 13%
  • Penn State – 12% to 9.8%
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COST SAVINGS RESULTS
  • Redesigned courses reduce costs by 37% on average, with a range of 20% to 77%.
  • Collectively, the 30 courses projected a savings of about  $3.6 million annually.
  • Final results show actual annual savings of $3.1 million.
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WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SAVINGS?
$3.1 Million Annually
  • Stay in department for continuous course improvement and/or redesign of others
  • Provide a greater range of offerings at upper division or graduate level
  • Accommodate greater numbers of students with same resources
  • Stay in department to reduce teaching load and provide more time for research
  • Redesign similar courses
  • Miscellaneous
    • Offer distance sections
    • Reduce rental expenditures
    • Improve training of part-time faculty
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REDESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
  • Redesign the whole course-- not just a single class
  • Replace single mode instruction with differentiated personnel strategies
  • Rely heavily on readily available interactive software--used independently and in teams
  • Create “small” within “large”
  • Use course management software to monitor student performance
  • Assessment, assessment, assessment
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REDESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
  • Emphasize active learning-- greater student engagement with the material and with one another
  • Provide 24 x 7 access to online learning resources
  • Increase on-demand, individualized assistance
  • Automate only those course components that can benefit from automation—e.g., homework, quizzes, exams
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"What’s"
  • What’s
  • wrong
  • with this
  • picture?
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GENERAL BIOLOGY
at Fairfield University
  • Inconsistent student academic preparation
  • Inadequate student interaction with learning materials and complex topics
  • Inadequate use of modern technology
  • Inability of students to retain what they have learned (amnesia)
  • Inability of students to apply biological principles to other disciplines (inertia)
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ACADEMIC GOALS
  • Enhance quality by individualizing instruction
  • Focus on higher-level cognitive skills
  • Create both team-based and independent investigations
  • Use interactive learning environments in lectures and labs
    • to illustrate difficult concepts
    • to allow students to practice certain skills or test certain hypotheses
    • to work with other students to enhance the learning and discussion of complex topics

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"Traditional"
  •    Traditional
  • 7 sections (~35)
  • 7 faculty
  • 100% wet labs
  • $131,610
  • $506 cost-per-student
  •    Redesign
  • 2 sections (~140)
  • 4 faculty
  • 50% wet, 50% virtual
  • $98,033
  • $350 cost-per-student
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FIVE REDESIGN MODELS
  • Supplemental – Add to the current structure and/or change the content
  • Replacement – Blend face-to-face with online activities
  • Emporium – Move all classes to a lab setting
  • Fully online – Conduct all (most) learning activities online
  • Buffet – Mix and match according to student preferences
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FIRST-YEAR SPANISH
(Replacement Model)
  • Increase active speaking via in-class interaction
  • Use technology to support skill practice
  • Provide immediate feedback online
  • Increase student and instructor computer literacy
  • Encourage collaborative learning, both online and in class
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"Traditional"
  •    Traditional
  • 57 sections (~27)
  • Adjuncts + 6 TAs
  • 100% in class
  • $167,074 ($2931/section)
  • 1529 students @ $109
  •    Redesign
  • 38 sections (~54)
  • Instructor-TA pairs
  • 50% in class, 50% online
  • $56,838 ($1496/section)
  • 2052 students @ $28
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THE EMPORIUM MODEL
71% Cost Reduction (V1)
30% Cost Reduction (V2)
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FULLY ONLINE MODEL
  •    Traditional
  • Redesign one class
  • Emphasize instructor-to-student interaction
  • Instructor does all grading and provides all student feedback
  • Use a single personnel strategy


  •    Redesign
  • Redesign whole course
  • Emphasize student-to-student interaction and teaming
  • Automate grading and student feedback
  • Use a differentiated personnel strategy


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RIO SALADO COLLEGE
Pre-Calculus Mathematics
  •    Traditional
  • 4 courses taught by 4 instructors
  • Student interaction = each instructor


  • $49 cost-per-student
  • Retention = 59%
  •    Redesign
  • 4 courses taught by 1 instructor
  • Student interaction = interactive software, 1 course assistant, and 1 instructor
  • $31 cost-per-student
  • Retention = 65%


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U. OF S. MISSISSIPPI
World Literature
  •    Traditional
  • 16 – 20 sections (~65)
  • Taught by 8 faculty and 8 adjuncts
  • Faculty do all grading
  • $70 cost-per-student


  •    Redesign
  • Single online section
  • Team-taught by 4 faculty and 4 TAs
  • 50% automated grading via WebCT; 50% TAs
  • $31 cost-per-student
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THE BUFFET MODEL
  • Assess each student’s knowledge/skill level and preferred learning style
  • Provide an array of high-quality, interactive learning materials and activities
  • Develop individualized study plans
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WHAT DO THE FACULTY SAY?
  • “It’s the best experience I’ve  ever had in a classroom.”
  • “The quality of my worklife has changed immeasurably for the better.”
  • “It’s a lot of work during the transition--but it’s worth it.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION

WWW.CENTER.RPI.EDU
  • Full project plans
  • Monograph
  • Progress reports
  • Completed course planning tools
  • Project contacts
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WHAT’S NEXT?
  • The Roadmap to Redesign (R2)
  • Joint Proposal with the League
  • Redesign Programs with Districts, Systems and States
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HIGHER EDUCATION’S CHALLENGES
  • Access
  • Quality
  • Cost