SADDLEBACK COLLEGE BASIC SKILLS INITIATIVE FOR STUDENT SUCCESS BSI CATEGORICAL FUNDING REQUEST FOR 2014/2015 BACKGROUND Since 2006, Saddleback College has received categorical funding through the State to increase the academic success of its students in basic skills English, Math, English as a Second Language and Reading courses. The goal is to improve their experience and support both inside and outside of the classroom. Definition of Basic Skills Students The State Chancellors Office defines and aligns its BSI funding specific to students in 300 level courses of English, Math, English as a Second Language, and Reading. BSI Benchmarks The ongoing benchmarks for student enrollment, retention, and success rates for Basic Skills are described in the following tables. Enrollment in Basic Skills Enrollment in Basic Skills Courses Unduplicated Student Headcount Enrollment Count at Census Number of Full- Time Equivalent Students 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1,938 1,894 1,956 2,077 1,962 1,950 2,059 3,082 3,732 3,674 3,882 4,073 3,790 3,730 3,855 5,190 295.99 284.26 303.76 316.26 296.36 290.87 345.31 412.65 Retention and Success Rates for Basic Skills Retention and Success Rates 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Retention Rate 90.08% 82.77% 88.80% 87.22% 86.76% 89.85% 84.75% 82.35% Success Rate 63.93% 59.45% 66.62% 65.08% 64.57% 68.68% 64.23% 63.56% 1
BSI Goals for 2011-2016 Saddleback College BSI is committed to the following goals: COURSES/SLO s: Support Basic Skills departments such as Reading, ESL, English and Math to improve the success rates of SLO s in Basic Skills courses, including evaluating, assessing and revising course curriculum and offerings. FACULTY: Support faculty and content area experts to develop innovative programs and curriculum within departments to improve learning and retention among Basic Skills students. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Provide professional development to all faculty and classified staff working with Basic Skills students, with opportunities to improve teaching, learning, support services, retention and other strategies for success based on good practices and current theories for learning. CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION: Facilitate collaboration between departments to improve support services, retention and success for Basic Skills students. INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION: Foster greater collaboration and alignment between administrative/service departments (matriculation, counseling, tutoring labs, etc.) and academic departments to insure greater consistency, retention and success for Basic Skills students. SUPPORT SERVICES: Survey and evaluate current support services for Basic Skills students (such as tutoring, placement, matriculation, transfer, etc.) to determine effectiveness, need for restructuring, and/or need for additional services. PROPOSAL AND FUNDING GUIDELINES Pertinent to receiving BSI funding, Saddleback College will be held to the standards of accountability as mandated by the State Chancellor s Office. 1. Funding allocations for 2014 2015 will focus on the needs of broad groups of Basic Skills students as defined by the State Chancellor s Office. Funding will be awarded to those projects that have been proven to be successful locally or on the state level. 2. Basic Skills-ESL categorical funds can be used to supplement instruction in the following areas: Program and Curriculum Development Student Assessment Advisement and Counseling Services Supplemental Instruction and Tutoring Articulation Instructional Materials and Equipment (this does not include technology with the exception of software). Other purposes directly related to the enhancement of basic skills and related student programs. 2
3. If awarded for funding, BSI project coordinators will be expected to: a. Complete and submit an action plan for 2014 2015 by September 2, 2014. b. Participate on the BSI committee throughout 2014 and Spring 2015. c. Present project updates to the BSI committee and Academic Senate. d. Conduct a comprehensive assessment and submit a corresponding year-end report on each BSI project by June 15, 2015. For questions or concerns about your BSI proposal, please contact Dr. Patricia Flanigan, Dean of Online Education and Learning Resources, via telephone at (949) 582-4365 or via email at pflanigan@saddleback.edu. Saddleback College Basic Skills Initiative BSI Categorical Funding Request Form Funds available for the 2014/15 Academic Year 3
DUE DATE: Monday, March 31, 2014 Please submit an electronic version of your form to Patricia K. Flanigan at pflanigan@saddleback.edu. Title of Proposed Project: Online Tools for Basic Skills Instruction Submitted by: _Brett Myhren Department/Division: English/ Liberal Arts Phone number: _949-291-6972 e-mail address: _bmyhren@saddleback.edu_ Project Coordinator: Brett Myhren Estimated start date: June 2014 Estimated date of completion: _June 2015 Department Chair s Name and Signature: Marina Aminy Date_30 March 2014 I have read this proposal and it fits in with the goals of the department. A. Requested Funding Cycle (please mark one) 2014 semester only Spring 2015 semester only X Entire 2014/15 Academic Year B. Background/Justification: Please explain the origin, context, and rationale of your project. This project began with a desire to improve the success and retention rates in English 300. The English department s SLO data for these classes show that many students have trouble succeeding in English 300 and continuing to English 200. In addition, I wanted to apply some of the powerful tools for online instruction to basic skills classes, where digital tools are underutilized. English 300 is currently the only composition class that is not yet offered online. Because students will need online skills in their careers and in English 200, this project seeks to address this gap by providing teachers and students with online tools that will meet both of these needs; the tools will improve success rates in the classroom and give students valuable digital skills. Using inexpensive and widely available websites, this project provides a suite of tools that teachers can use in a variety of instructional environments: in live classrooms, in tutoring labs, in training and modeling for tutors and instructors, and as supplemental content delivered outside the class (such as online tutoring). In addition, the suite of tools could also be used by campus counselors and DSPS personnel. Finally, this material might be used to demonstrate departmental goals and standards to off-campus groups, such as high school teachers or guidance counselors. 4
C. Please identify and list the objectives and student learning outcomes of your proposed project: (Please note: funding is only for the 2014/2015 Academic Year). The objective for this project is to assist the English department in achieving the student learning outcomes for English 300. Those outcomes are: 1) the creation of a controlling idea for a paragraph; 2) paragraph development using concrete details; 3) sentence completion; 4) fundamental MLA formatting. The suite of tools will be tailored specifically to these learning outcomes, providing models for specific lessons as well as templates that can be customized for individual classes. D. Check which category or categories of basic skills your project addresses. X Foundation skills in reading X Foundation skills in writing _ Foundation skills in mathematics _ Foundation skills in ESL X Foundation skills in study/learning strategies X Foundation skills in information competency E. Identify which category or categories best describe how the project supplements/enhances instruction. Check all that apply below. Remember - the project must enhance basic skills instruction. X Program and Curriculum Development X Student Assessment X Advisement and Counseling Services X Supplemental Instruction and Tutoring _ Articulation _ Instructional Materials and Equipment (this does not include technology with the exception of software) F. Describe and specify in detail (procedure, timeline, number of students served, etc.) how your project supplements basic skills instruction. This project supplements basic skills instruction by providing teachers with a suite of tools that they can immediately implement in a variety of instructional environments. These tools will help students achieve the learning outcomes for the course and teach them valuable digital skills that can be applied to future learning environments. Using inexpensive and widely available websites such as Powtunes (http://www.powtoon.com/), Timetoast (http://www.powtoon.com/), Flipsnack (http://www.flipsnack.com/), and Creately (http://creately.com/), this project will provide teachers, tutors, and facilitators with tools that can be used immediately or can be customized for their own instructional needs. The tools can be made available on the departmental website, delivered via links in email, or administered via a departmental account. The portability, replication, and customization of these digital tools make them ideal not only for wide use in basic skills instruction but also for modeling best practices and outcomes across the department. These tools would serve many students and instructors. The English department offered fourteen sections of English 300 in 2013 and ten sections in Spring 2014. Classes typically enroll twenty-five students. In addition, the tools might be used by tutors in the learning resource center. They might also be used by guidance counselors and 5
other campus personnel, such as DSPS. Given these potential instructional environments, it seems likely that these tools would provide an immediate benefit for 15 to 20 English faculty and 600 to 1000 Saddleback students. In addition, the project would provide a benefit to at least 2,000 students who use tutoring services in the LRC. G. Describe how you will assess whether the project meets your stated objectives and student learning outcomes. I will assess whether the project meets the stated objectives and learning outcomes by meeting with instructors and monitoring the English department s SLO data in future semesters. Delivering the videos in an accessible format for use by multiple parties will be the first goal for the project. Because this funding request is for the 2014-2015 academic calendar, I propose to have the materials ready for testing during the fall semester of 2014 and widely available for implementation during the spring semester of 2015. I plan to develop the tools during the summer of 2014 and refine them, based on input from instructors, during the fall of 2014. Using this timeline, the tools should be available for department-wide implementation in the spring of 2015. This would allow two semesters of data collection in order to measure the success of the program, one semester for a pilot program and one semester for refinement. June 2014: project start June August 2014: develop online tools for pilot classrooms September 2014: first online tools ready for testing in select classrooms October December 2014: meet with instructors for feedback on pilot tools January 2015: online tools ready for department-wide testing and use in the LRC February April 2015: meet with instructors, tutors, and other users for feedback May 2015: use feedback and English dept. SLO data to determine success of project June 2015: project end H. PROPOSED BUDGET DETAIL: Total Amount Requested: _$5,757.20 Note: Pay schedule for: Faculty: $34.42 per hour Tutors: $12.00 per hour Clerical Support: range of $12.00 to $16.00 per hour *Important: an additional percent of around 11% will be added to all payroll expenses. _ Itemized Personnel Costs (Includes stipends for faculty, clerical support, and tutors.) 6
Formula for each category: # hrs X salary rate X # of weeks = $ 10 hrs X $34.42 X 16 weeks = $5,507.20 _ Materials/Equipment Required (please indicate whether or not there is a cost or no cost for this item) _ Software Required (please indicate whether or not there is a cost or no cost for this item) $250.00 I. Will you be receiving funding from another source? Yes No X If so, how much? J. If we are unable to fund your entire proposal, are you willing to accept less money? Yes. K. Follow-up to receiving funding: If you are awarded funding for the project, it is expected that you will fulfill all the parameters of your proposal. You will also need to complete the BSI Action Plan for 2014 2015 by September 2, 2014, participate on the BSI committee throughout 2014 and Spring 2015, present project updates to the BSI committee and Academic Senate, and conduct a comprehensive assessment and submit a corresponding year-end report by June 15, 2015. Brett Myhren 30 March 2014 Please print your name Signature Date Note: Our BSI allocation from the State is expected to be $90,000 for 2014 2015. 7