Establishing Consistent Standards Across Campuses and Modalities

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Establishing Consistent Standards Across Campuses
and Modalities

• AMATYC 33rd Annual Conference
• Clark Brown, Mohave Community College
• Mark Marino, Erie Community College

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Consistent Academic Standards

• Essential to Retention in Mathematics
• Challenges to obtaining
• Multi-campus environment
• Onground vs. Online courses
• Heavy dependence upon adjunct faculty

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Consistent Academic Standards

• In this presentation we will explore strategies
  implemented at Mohave Community College in
  Arizona to promote consistent standards among all
  faculty across campuses in both onground and
  online offerings.

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The Need For Consistent Standards At Mohave
Community College

• Rural Community College
• 5th Largest County in U.S.
• 13,500 sq. miles
• 4 Main Campuses
• Lake Havasu
• Bullhead City
• Kingman
• Colorado City

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Service area is 1/3 larger than the state of
Massachusetts
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The Need For Consistent Standards At Mohave
Community College

• Rapid Population Growth in County
• Population has doubled in past 15 years
• Diverse Population
• 12.9 Hispanic
• 4 Indian Reservations
• 15.4 Below Poverty Level
• Educational Level
• 9.9 of population has a bachelors degree or
  higher, compared with 24.4 of U.S. (2000 census)

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The Need For Consistent Standards At Mohave
Community College

• Heavily Dependent Upon Adjunct Faculty
• 58.8 of onground math courses taught by adjunct
  faculty (spring 2007)
• 91.7 of online math courses taught by adjunct
  faculty (spring 2007)
• Rural area contributes to shortage of local
  adjunct faculty meeting minimum qualifications.

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The Need For Consistent Standards At Mohave
Community College

• Increasing demand for distance education
• Make higher education accessible to rural
  constituents.
• 15 of math sections offered online spring 2007.

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Establishing Consistent Standards

• To promote consistent standards and enhance
  student retention the math faculty began
  standardizing curriculum
• Common Textbook
• Common Topics to be covered
• Specify for each course what sections from the
  textbook are required and which are optional.

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Establishing Consistent Standards

• Common Final Exams and Exam Reviews
• All online and any course taught by more than one
  instructor.
• Use publishers test-generating software to
  easily update from semester to semester.
• Common Grading Parameters
• Common Graphing Calculator Requirement.

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Establishing Consistent Standards

• Over time this information developed into a Math
  Faculty Guidelines document that also included
• Syllabus requirements
• Information about exams
• Grading standards
• Calculator usage at different levels
• Class preparation, delivery, organization and
  management

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Establishing Consistent Standards

• These guidelines now folded into college wide
  standardized Course Packages.
• Detailed course outline
• Teachers guide to assist new and adjunct faculty
• Common course materials
• Common grading rubrics
• Common Syllabus Template
• Common Online Platform

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Mohave Distance Education
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Background of Online Math Courses

• Majority of mathematics courses are offered
  online
• Courses are offered during the Fall, Spring and
  Summer terms
• Primarily taught by adjunct faculty from around
  the United States
• Consistent standards, policies and procedures
  ensure high levels of quality for online courses

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Online Mathematics Faculty Guidelines

• Syllabi Information
• Material to be covered
• Information about Examinations
• Grading Standards
• Instructional Strategies/Techniques
• Calculator Usage
• Outcomes Assessment
• Homework
• Class preparation, delivery, management
• Resource contact information

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Standard Grading Policy

• All online math courses use a standard grading
  policy
• On-Campus Proctored Final Exam (35)
• On-Campus Proctored Midterm Exam (30)
• Online Objective Weekly Quizzes (15)
• Online Homework (15)
• Discussions (10)
• Students must score gt 50 on the final exam in
  order to receive a satisfactory grade in the
  course

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On-Campus Exams

• On-Campus Proctored Final Exam and Midterm are
  offered on all four campuses
• 65 of the final grade is determined by the
  on-campus midterm and final exam
• Maintains integrity of the course
• Offered over two-days (Friday Saturday) with
  2-hour time slots
• Photo-ID is required
• Students living outside the Mohave service area
  must obtain an exam proctor in their area and
  seek approval from the DE Office

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Midterm and Final Exam Grading Procedures

• Exams from all four campuses are collected at the
  DE office which sends them to the faculty
• Exams are sent priority shipping with tracking
• Students typically receive their grades 1-2 weeks
  after taking the exams
• Graded Midterm exams may be returned to the
  students
• Graded Final exams are mailed back to the DE
  office

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Collaboration Between Resident and Adjunct Faculty

• Team environment between resident and adjunct
  faculty that promotes student success
• Frequent communication on all aspects of the
  course
• Midterm and Final Exam collaboratively developed
• Adjunct faculty share unique perspectives which
  enhance the courses

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Support of the Distance Education Team

• Outstanding Distance Education Office supports
  adjunct faculty in all aspects of online courses
• Technical support
• Pedagogical support
• Student service support
• Administrative support

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Portal of Support Materials

• A portal was developed with a great resources for
  online math instructors
• Standards
• Policies
• Procedures
• Pedagogical
• Course Materials

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Increasing Student Retention

• Phone card provided to all faculty teaching
  online
• Introductory phone call
• During the semester phone calls
• Distance Education Counselor
• Early Academic Alert Program
• Technical Support

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Early Academic Alert Program

• Key to Retention Early Intervention!
• Student Success Form
• Electronic Form that instructors submit after the
  first 3 weeks of the course
• Student Results
• Student Recommendation
• Intervention suggestions
• DE Counselor interventions

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Technical Support for Students

• MCC offers 24/7 Technical Support!
• Portal of technical help resources
• Extensive distance education resources
• RU Ready Assessment
• Assessment to determine if a student has the
  technical skills, hardware, software and
  resources to be successful in an online
  mathematics course
• Opens a dialogue up between the student and
  instructor

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Links

• Mohave Community Collegehttp//www.mohave.edu
• Distance Education Office
• http//www.mohave.edu/pages/150.asp
• Course Packages
• http//www.mohave.edu/pages/438.asp

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Contact Information

• Clark Brown
• Mohave CC
• Neal Campus - Kingman
• 1971 Jagerson Avenue
• Kingman, AZ 86401
• [phone]
• cbrown_at_mohave.edu

• Mark Marino
• Erie CC
• North Campus
• 6205 Main Street
• Williamsville, NY 14221
• [phone]
• marinom_at_ecc.edu