Undoing Developmental Courses Helped Increase Our Student Success at Community College

Derbei Meyar, Associate Professor Cecil E. Meteolechol, Chairperson English Department Ligaya T. Sara, Institutional Researcher

ACCJC Partners in Excellence Conference 2019 San Francisco, California

. Palau Community College is located in , Palau. Palau is made up of approximately 250 small islands; it is situated between the Philippines and Japan; and forms the western chain of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. Koror, the capital where the College is located is about 500 miles east of Manila, Philippines; 800 miles southwest of Guam; and 10,000 miles west of Washington, D.C. Therefore, Palau CC is the most distant and remote member of the U.S. family of colleges and universities. .Palau is a sovereign nation with a compact of free association with the United States. .It is an island country with 22,206 population, Palau Census Bureau (2019) . Palau Community College is the only higher education institution in the nation and is the farthest ACCJC member institution. .There are five high schools in the country (one public and four private). .School Year 2018-2019 student population:  Palau High School (public) – 512  Mindszenty High School – 132  Emmaus Bethania High School – 77  Palau Mission Academy – 121  Belau Modekngei School – 21 . Since 1977, the College has been accredited for 42 years by ACCJC-WASC. . Palau CC is mandated under RPPL 4-2 (Palau Accreditation higher education act of 1993) to be an accredited Status institution by ACCJC-WASC. . About 93 – 95 percentage of students depend on Federal Financial Aid (Pell Grant, SEOG and Federal Work Study) . Collaborative effort between Palau CC and Palau Open Ministry of Education Discussion and  College readiness Decision-  Development of new courses making to  Alignment of high school courses with college Dismantle courses Developmental  Academic policy development/implementation Courses  Both institutions’ continuous effort to ensure student success .An open-door institution • Not all admitted students meet the proficiency level required for college level courses . Developmental courses offered prior to 2010 • EN070 Conversational English I , EN071 Developmental Conversational English II , EN090 Basic Reading Courses Skills I, EN091 Developmental English I, EN092 Basic Reading Skills II, EN093 Developmental English II, EN095 Developmental English III • Ma090 Basic Mathematics, MA095 Basic Algebra • SC090 Introduction to Science • OA095 Keyboarding . Developmental courses offered prior to fall semester 2016 • EN089 Developmental Reading and Writing Developmental • EN090 Developmental Reading Skills Courses • EN091 Developmental English I • EN092 Basic Reading Skills II • EN095 Basic Grammar & Writing Skills • MA095 Basic Algebra .Costly for Palau CC students • Repeating developmental courses • Exhaustion of students’ federal/local education financial funding Why Undo • Furthers graduation date Developmental • Stress discourages students Courses? .Costly for the institution • More faculty needed • Overloaded faculty • Cost of books • Risk increasing student withdrawals/stopping out of college . Discontinued offering developmental courses in fall semester 2016 • Cohorts enrolled in 100-level courses (e.g. Undoing EN112 Freshman Composition and EN109 Developmental Advanced Reading Skills) Courses • Increased number of students in tutoring centers • Adjusting course pre-requisites and program required courses . Creating new courses based on students’ needs

• EN100 Reading and Writing Skills (completed/implemented spring 2017)

Undoing • MA103 Basic Mathematics Developmental (completed/implemented spring 2017) Courses . Development of EN100 and MA103 provided an opportunity for the 21-degree programs to evaluate and make necessary changes appropriate to support their program requirements as well as improve student learning. . A collaboration between Palau CC and a Palau public high school Undoing • Spring 2018: alignment of public high school’s Developmental and Palau CC’s English, Math, and other core Courses areas • Palau CC’s Academic policy on awarding of high school math credits Academic Policy The Results With and Without Developmental Courses

ns - There was no significant difference when statistically analyzed by group at 95% level of Confidence. Retention Rate

EN100 Successful Completion Rate

EN100 Successful Completion Rate Palau CC Institutional-set Standard for Student Achivement (ISSA) 4

At least 60% of registered students will complete enrolled courses (course completion) in any given semester

Graduation Rate (2-Year) Graduation Rate (150% Normal Time to Completion) . Improvement in student success • One-on-one tutoring services for more insight on lesson concept • Help with total education cost The Overall  Lesser books to purchase Results  Lesser courses to pay for • Smooth transitioning from high school to Palau CC • Increases persistent rate, retention rate, and graduation rate • Meeting 150% normal time requirement Derbei Meyar [email protected] Kom kmal [email protected] mesulang Cecil E. Meteolechol (thank you)! [email protected] [email protected] www.palau.edu Ligaya T. Sara [email protected]