CS 3.4.10 RESPONSIBILITY FOR CURRICULUM

In a letter[1] dated July 11, 2017, Dr. Denise Young requested that Palo Alto College respond to concerns raised by unsolicited information received by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), as is stipulated by SACSCOC policy.  These concerns raised questions for the SACSCOC Board of Trustees regarding Palo Alto College’s autonomy and the College’s ongoing compliance with six standards of the Principles of Accreditation.This narrative responds to SACSCOC standard CS 3.4.10 (Responsibility for Curriculum).  Specifically, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees asks that the College respond to the following:

• Provide sufficient evidence that the faculty has primary responsibility for curriculum.

Statement of Compliance:  Palo Alto College is in compliance with this standard. The faculty members of Palo Alto College are the principle architects and guardians of the curriculum, assuming primary responsibility for the content, quality, and effectiveness of the College's curriculum. Changes to curriculum content are initiated at the individual faculty level and, with ongoing faculty oversight, proceed through the curriculum coordination process.  The case for response to the SACSCOC special request is structured as follows:

1. Faculty at Palo Alto College have primary responsibility for the content of curriculum.
2. Faculty at Palo Alto College have primary responsibility for the quality and effectiveness of curriculum.

A. FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT OF CURRICULUM

1.  Curriculum Change

Any college faculty member may recommend a change to course or program content.  That recommendation is reviewed by faculty colleagues in the relevant discipline to ensure appropriate currency, quality, and alignment with course and program learning outcomes.  If approved by the faculty, the proposal is forwarded to the Department Chair.  All subsequent review and discussion, with the Department Chair, Dean, and the College’s curriculum analyst, confirms adherence to applicable THECB rules.  After this confirmation the proposal is submitted to the College Curriculum Committee[2] for review and approval; Curriculum Committee minutes[3] document the meetings.

The College works collaboratively with the other colleges in the Alamo Colleges District in order to facilitate student enrollment and completion across all of the colleges in the district. Therefore, to facilitate cross-college student success and to share curricular improvements and innovation, proposals approved by the College Curriculum Committee are forwarded to the Alamo Colleges Curriculum Council[4].  The Council is a cross-college, predominantly faculty group which provides a last review for adherence to THECB rules and to cross-college naming and labeling conventions.  It also provides a venue for cross-college curricular discussion among faculty from a variety of disciplines.  The Council does not have authority over content and neither approves nor disapproves any curriculum change.  This entire curricular process is illustrated in the Palo Atlo College Curriculum Flowchart[5]. 

2.  Course Requirements and Syllabi

Appropriate content and rigor are ensured at the course and at the program level as faculty review addresses adherence to THECB requirements.  The THECB parameters for academic transfer courses are delineated in the Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM)[6]; the parameters for workforce courses are maintained in the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) (as shown in the sample course[7]) and the Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education (GIPWE) (Chapter 4)[8].  Each semester faculty ensure that course requirements and student learning outcomes for the courses in their disciplines are clearly defined; a syllabus is prepared and made available online for each course offered at Palo Alto College. Each syllabus delineates the student learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment methods for that course as well as providing relevant College and departmental policies.  Palo Alto College Procedure I-10[9] specifies the elements required in all course syllabi for the College.  Five sample syllabi are provided as evidence:

• Syllabus-SPCH 1311[10]
• Syllabus-BIOL 1309[11]
• Syllabus-ENGL 1301[12]
• Syllabus-MATH 2413[13]
• Syllabus-ACCT 2301[14]

B. FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CURRICULUM QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS 

1. Program Review

The process of academic program review[15] assesses each academic area and workforce program at Palo Alto College once every five years[16]. These reviews are written by the faculty in each academic unit and are reviewed in turn by the respective Chair, the Program Review Committee, the Dean, the Vice President of Academic Success, and the President. Among the core elements[17] of the report are analyses of curriculum and program quality, using several measures of student achievement as well as other measures of faculty support and program integrity. Program review requires that faculty create five-year goals and action plans for the improvement of their program or discipline area.  Among the curricular improvements motivated by the program review process in recent years are the following (Program Review Highlights[18] have additional detail):

Pre-Professional and Pre-Nursing (Biology):  Review syllabi for each course to ensure clarity in course requirements, pursue additional faculty development in order to maintain currency, establish ties with local industry in order to provide co-curricular opportunities for students, implement opportunities for undergraduate research, provide evening hours for the Science Learning Center, practice intrusive advising with at-risk students, hold faculty office hours in the Science Learning Center to increase accessibility.

Teacher Education: Create a Palo Alto College Education Advisory Committee, charged with assessing curriculum, identifying professional trends and professional development opportunities for faculty, students, and alumni; create a partnership with high school Ready, Set, Teach programs; increase the number of problem-based learning assignments and the opportunities for collaborative learning; add e-portfolio assignments; increase the use of open educational resources; offer a section of speech designed for teachers in training: Fundamentals of Speech for Teachers.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Work with the program’s advisory committee to secure a commitment from industry partners to provide additional student internship opportunities; create a simulation warehouse on campus to provide students with real world logistics and supply chain management experiences; work with Texas A&M University San Antonio to increase the number of program graduates who transfer into their Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) program; and work with local high school partners to increase dual credit opportunities in Logistics. 

2.  Unit Planning 

The unit planning process is a second means used by Palo Alto College faculty to assess the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum. Annual unit planning is conducted by the faculty in each program or discipline area.  The unit planning process requires faculty to analyze their discipline and program data for the previous year and determine a set of goals for the next academic year. The data, as well as the annual goals that arise from the data, are aligned with the five year goals defined in their previous Program Review and also align specifically with the Palo Alto College Strategic Goals[19].  This annual faculty assessment motivates improvements to the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum at Palo Alto College.  Excerpts from the following three Unit Plans, written in 2016-2017 for academic year 2017-2018, provide examples:

Developmental Mathematics[20]: Goal 1:  Increase PGR (percentage of students earning A, B, or C) to at least 63%; increase within-course retention rate to 86%.  Aligns with PAC Strategic Goal “Empowering Students for Success”

• Action Step: Align curriculum of new developmental mathematics courses (Math 0410 and 0320) to ensure readiness for entry level college courses (Math 1332, 1442, 1314, 1324, and 1414).
• Action Step: Increase number of flex courses to include 80% of all developmental math students in the flex courses. Since the large scale implementation of flex Mathematics courses, the PGR in all flex sections has been significantly higher than the PGR in 16-week sections.
• Action Step: Hire 2 new full time faculty in Mathematics. Increasing the number of flex sections in developmental mathematics will increase overall demand.
• Action Step: Continue to monitor productive grade and retention rates for each faculty member in each developmental mathematics course. Provide professional development that will help each faculty member to strengthen their courses.

Goal 2:  Implement new developmental mathematics course, Math 0410 - Elementary Algebra, combining Math 0305 and Math 0310 (to be archived). The overall success rate of Math 0410 during the 2017-2018 academic year will be 60% while the overall retention rate will be 85%.  Aligns with PAC Strategic Goal “Empowering Students for Success.”

• Action Step: Develop the curriculum in Math 0410 (completed in AY 2016-2017)
• Action Step: Select the materials (book and online software) that will be used for Math 0410 and Math 0320 starting in the Fall 2017 semester.
• Action Step: Work with full-time and adjunct faculty to ensure that all faculty are prepared and have the materials needed to teach the new Math 0410 course.
• Action Step: Offer 50% of all 0410 sections in the flex format. 
• Action Step: Monitor the overall PGR and RR for Math 0410. Monitor the PGR for each faculty member. Provide professional development that will help each faculty member use this information to strengthen their courses.

English[21]: Goal 1: To increase PGR in ENGL 1302 by 2%, during the spring semester 2018.  Aligns with the College's Strategic Goal of  “Empowering Students for Success.”

• Action Step: Continue curricular review for ENGL 1302. A diverse committee of full-time and adjunct faculty has been researching comparable curriculum at other institutions, and beginning suggestions and recommendations.
• Action Step: Explore a pilot lab component for ENGL 1302; offer five such sections in Fall 2017. Pilot sections would have a maximum enrollment of 22 students and be held in lab classrooms, such as those used for INRW classes.
• Action Step: Collaborate with the Writing Assistance Center; promote the tutoring services and develop interventions targeting at-risk course ENGL 1302.
• Action Step: Work closely with IR to request data related to high-risk courses and to consistently track the impact of department initiatives that target ENGL 1302.

Goal 2:  To increase PGR in ENGL 1301 by 2%, during the spring semester 2018.  Aligns with the College's Strategic Goal of “Empowering Students for Success.”

• Action Step: Expand the existing pilot lab component for ENGL 1301 by five sections. Schedule pilot sections in lab classrooms, such as those used for INRW classes.
• Action Step: Collaborate with the Writing Assistance Center; promote tutoring services and develop interventions targeting at-risk course ENGL 1301.
• Action Step: Work closely with IR to request data related to high-risk courses and to consistently track the impact of department initiatives that target ENGL 1301.

Goal 3:  To promote consistency in the evaluation of student work in ENGL 1301, thus ensuring integrity of PGR in the course and validating the impact of interventions.

• Action Step: All ENGL 1301 full-time and part-time faculty will participate in a norming session. Participants will review and score several sample student papers that represent a range of mastery levels in the course SLOs; after the individual scoring, faculty will compare their results to calibrate grading standards so that the department can ensure consistency in evaluation and adherence to the rigorous standards of ENGL 1301.

Chemistry[22]: Goal 1: Increase student retention, success and completion rates.  Aligns with the College's Strategic Goal of “Empowering students for success.”

• Action Step:  Identify students needing math refresher training before the semester begins. Students will be asked to take quiz online or in the learning center prior to the first class day.
• Action Step: Set up workshops designed to remediate students in math. Chemistry instructors will work with Science Learning Center personnel.
• Action Step: Recommend that students not passing initial math quiz attend math refresher and/or regularly take advantage of math tutoring.
• Action Step: Hire one full-time temporary faculty member and one Academic Laboratory Technician to support the 83 Early College High School students to be enrolled in Chemistry 1411, 1412, 2323, 2123, 2325, and 2225.

3.  Faculty Assessment of Program Learning Outcomes 

To ensure the quality and effectiveness of the College's programs, faculty define student learning outcomes for each degree and certificate[23], design the assessment measures and assessment targets for those learning outcomes, and assess student learning each academic year in all programs.  Faculty discipline teams meet to discuss the results of the assessment, to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures used, and to evaluate the success of the existing improvement plan for the program.  This discussion concludes with the design of the improvement plan for the next academic year.

As examples of this process, program assessment reports are provided for the Associate of Arts in Speech[24], the Associate of Science in Pre-Nursing[25], and the Level One Certificate in Warehouse Management[26].  Actions taken as a result of these assessments include:

Associate of Arts in Speech:  Speech faculty will create an action plan to support students enrolled in online speech course, identify oral presentation tips and suggestions to provide students for each learning outcome, will focus on diversity and efforts to implement revisions to assessments, and add a listening profile to the master course. Speech students will complete a communication apprehension assignment to determine nervousness and will be encouraged to practice a minimum number of times based on apprehension score. 

Associate of Science in Pre-Nursing:  Faculty will continue to stress an early start for the Unknown Project paper and encourage a peer review practice before papers are submitted. The paper used to assess communication is assigned the first day of lab with a due date near the end of the semester; guidelines and directions for preparation of the paper, standard grading rubric, and library resources are also posted. 

Enzyme assays, determining the activity of enzymes and how they may be affected by pH and temperature, were added to the lab.  An objective will also be added to the worksheet addressing the respiratory volumes: Calculate respiratory volumes and interpret the significance of the volumes. A table with data and questions will also be included. These changes are made to address students’ difficulties with reporting and analyzing data.

Level I Certificate in Warehouse Management:  Identify and strengthen key assignments addressing Critical Thinking and Communication skills in LMGT 1340.  Add additional case studies, development and evaluation, during the course of instruction. Pursue acquisition of automated simulation software to assist with the active development of critical thinking of the student.    

4.  Faculty Assessment of General Education Student Learning Outcomes 

As a Texas public institution of higher learning, the Palo Alto College program of general education is defined through its core curriculum, the six student learning objectives, relevance, and rigor, which are outlined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in the Texas Core Curriculum[27].

The extent to which these student learning outcomes are met is monitored by the faculty through the process of General Education Assessment.  This direct assessment process assesses student artifacts[28] against rubrics[29] designed by the faculty and founded on the American Association of Colleges and Schools (AAC&U) VALUE rubrics.  Two of the six outcomes are assessed each academic year, following the General Education Schedule.  Faculty review the results of this assessment each fall and make recommendations for improvements in teaching and learning as well as improvements for the process itself.

The direct assessment process is faculty-designed and is entirely executed by faculty. Faculty design key assignments[30] for each of their courses in order to capture evidence of student achievement in the general education learning outcomes.  These key assignments are sampled in the fall for each of the learning outcomes being assessed. Faculty assessors[31] then go through a rubric calibration[32] process, and faculty teams assess the collected student artifacts. The results are reviewed in the fall, and faculty recommendations are collected in the General Education Assessment Report. Provided as evidence are the 2015-2016 General Education Assessment Report[33], a compilation of the data from the 2016-2017 assessment of Personal Responsibility and Social Responsibility[34], and the May 5, 2017 presentation to faculty[35] of the 2016-2017 assessment results.

Improvements to Palo Alto College General Education Assessment are the responsibility of the faculty and are supported by the College.  Actions taken during the last academic year include the following:

• AAC&U Institute on General Education and Assessment 2017 with follow-up Action Plan[36]
• Academic Assessment Committee[37]
  
• Key Assignment Design Workshops[38]
  
• Keynote Address and Workshop[39] by Loraine Phillips during Spring 2017 Convocation
• Presentation and Conversation on Assessment Methods[40] by Dr. Chris Duke, San Jacinto College

5.  High Risk Courses

Finally, courses which have an enrollment of more than 100 students and a Productive Grade Rate (PGR: the percentage of students who earn an A, B, or C) of less than 70 percent are designated “High Risk Courses” and are subject to an additional college procedure [41]for faculty oversight. Faculty and lead instructors for these courses review retention and success rates and create action plans for the improvement of academic support, curricular alignment, methods of student assessment, or the use of more promising pedagogical strategies. Through collaboration and shared research into best practices, faculty have reduced the number of High Risk Courses[42] from 18 in Fall 2010 to a low of 11 in Fall 2012, rising to a persistent 13 (eight of which are in mathematics) since that time.

Provided as evidence of this faculty collaboration is a longitudinal table of High Risk Courses and summaries of improvements for sample High Risk Courses:

INRW 0420 Integrated Reading and Writing II is the developmental reading and writing class that precedes English Composition I and II and is material to the success of students in those college level courses. High risk strategies for this course include: 

• Prompt, early intervention at the first signs of student difficulties; referral to tutoring, counselors, and the Writing Center. 
• Required visits with the instructor for each student, at a minimum just before the midterm and again just before the final. 
• Incorporate Puente best practices (mentoring, cohort model, co-curricular activities). 

Complete report: INRW 0420 High Risk Plan[43] 

SPCH 1311 Introduction to Speech Communication was not a high risk course until Fall 2016.  High risk strategies for this course include:

• Require the College’s online preparedness modules for all online speech students. (OLRN 0001 is strongly recommended to students who register for online courses; the note appears below the course title in the online registration site and reads: “If you are new to internet courses, you are strongly encouraged to enroll in a free ‘Orientation to Online Learning’ mini–course. Register for OLRN 0001, CRN 23353 now.”). 
• Create easier access to tutoring resources and also create an academic preparedness resource for speech students available through Canvas. 
• Create interventions for at risk students and collect qualitative data that will provide a better understanding of the difficulties students are encountering. 

Complete report: SPCH 1311 High Risk Plan[44]  

BIOL 1406 Biology for Science Majors high risk strategies include: 

• Instructors will attend training in Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset approach to teaching, and use that strategy in all sections of this course. 
• Required tutoring for students unsuccessful with lab practicals.  Tutoring will include practice with the practical format. 
• Required tutoring for students unsuccessful with a lecture exam.  The instructor will assign five additional questions to the student and meet with that student to discuss the answers provided. 

BIOL 1406 was high risk during Fall 2014 and 2015 terms and successfully moved off of the list in Fall 2016. 

Complete report: BIOL 1406 High Risk Plan[45]

CHEM 1411 General Chemistry I high riskstrategies include: 

• Identify bottlenecks to student success: mathematics; abstract nature of the material, handling laboratory equipment, interpreting data. 
• Early math assessment, to be followed by required and focused tutoring where need is indicated. 
• Active learning strategies to improve acquisition of abstract concepts. 
• Provide opportunities for successful students to become TAs for the lab. 
• Provide chemistry faculty with professional development opportunities that address hands-on, active experiences in the classroom and lab.

Complete report: CHEM 1411 High Risk Plan[46]  

BIOL 2401 and 2402, Anatomy and Physiology I and II high risk strategies include: 

• Acquire additional models and add weekend hours for the Science Learning Center. 
• Review of all course materials and revise lab exercises and worksheets. Reserve anatomy topics for the lab and physiology topics for lectures. 
• Mastering A&P software was added as additional review and practice material linked to Canvas. 

Faculty teaching BIOL 2401 Anatomy and Physiology I have struggled to balance course rigor with student support.  The course remains high risk, but the PGR has seen an upward trajectory: 38% in Fall 2013 to 54% in Fall 2016. 

Complete report: BIOL 2401 High Risk Plan[47]