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State University of New York: SUNY Course Redesign Initiative Erie Community College Course Title: Preparation for College-Level Writing Status: This project originated as part of the SUNY Course Redesign Initiative, 2007 – 2010. Due to a variety of factors, this project was not completed. The project plan serves as a good example of how to think about redesigning a large-enrollment course. Erie Community College (ECC) plans to combine two developmental courses into one course, Preparation for College-Level Writing. The traditional two-course sequence currently serves ~1400 students annually and offers remediation to students to improve their writing skills to the level necessary to succeed in College Composition, the first semester credit-bearing writing course required by nearly all degree programs in the college. The two developmental writing courses suffer from poor completion rates. Students are frustrated and intimidated by the prospect of two full semesters of non-degree credit work. In the 2006-2007 academic year, 40% of the students failed to complete the course with grades of C or better, and 33% received failing grades. The courses also lack consistency from section to section, and those students who progress to College Composition do so with different levels of preparation. ECC will redesign these two courses, using the Replacement Model, and combine them into one course, covering the material in one semester. Faculty will create a personalized study plan for each student which will use algorithmically generated exercises for tutorial practice. Instruction in the basic mechanical skills will be provided by computer-generated and computer-managed learning exercises. A computerized grade book and results manager will provide students with immediate homework feedback and with enhanced interactive opportunities with the course instructor. The instructor will use class time to emphasize writing activities through writing workshops and individualized conferences. The redesigned course will enhance the students’ educational experience, making them active and engaged learners. Online skills software and tutorial activities will provide students with immediate feedback on their progress in developing mechanical writing skills. Class sessions will include fewer lectures, focusing on writing activities and individualized assistance. SMARTHINKING tutorial services will also be used to provide additional feedback and assistance. Student learning outcomes will be assessed by comparing student performance on a final paper using a common rubric in both traditional and redesigned sections. The papers will be reviewed by both course faculty and external readers. Student withdrawal rates will also be compared in the traditional and redesigned sections. The redesigned course will reduce the cost of instruction by reducing the number of sections from 73 to 48 and increasing section size from 20 to 25 students. Full-time faculty teaching the course will decline from 18 to 14 and part-time faculty from 19 to 6. These actions will decrease the cost-per-student from $251 to $221, a savings of 12%. The savings generated by the redesign will be used to broaden the selection of courses offered by full-time faculty and to improve lab facilities.
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