USI History & Research

• Fall 2000: PVCC adopts a strategic issue (#4) to address the growing number of under-prepared students entering college.
  
  
• Spring 2001:
  - Research on Under-Prepared Students by Sally Rings, Ph.D.
  - Original Under-Prepared Student Initiative Committee was formed
  - Under-prepared Student Initiative defined.
  
  
• Spring 2001-Spring 2005:
  - Strategic Plan developed
  - Advocacy paper created, revised, and refined
  - Under-prepared student issues discussed and researched.
  
  
• Spring 2002: President's Advance included a special breakout session focusing on the under-prepared student.
  
  
• Fall 2005 : Final Advocacy Paper completed.
  
  
• Spring 2006:
  - JoAnn Wright from Moraine Valley Community College was invited to share insights and successes in institutionalizing an acclaimed student success course as part of a program that requires mandatory assessment, mandatory placement, and mandatory orientation (link to Ms. Wright's compressed powerpoint presentation).
  - The outcomes listed below included a definition of the under-prepared student, compelling questions to focus on for the pilot, and recommendations for the pilot project.
  - Developed an action plan that has become the MCCCD Student Success Pilot Project and is described in the "Overview of Student Success Pilot."

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USI Outcomes in Preparation for the Pilot Project

USI's definition of the under-prepared student:
Students who do not possess the requisite knowledge and/or skills necessary to perform college-level work and who may have unrealistic beliefs about how to be successful in college.

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Compelling Questions used as a focus in developing recommendations for a pilot:

The USI Project Team offers the following compelling questions for consideration and response:

• Does the proposed definition of an under-prepared student, including the refined definition noted in the “Initial Focus” section of this paper, accurately reflect the college's viewpoint?
• Is the college committed to implement better ways of serving the needs of under-prepared students? Is evidence of this commitment explicit in the college's admissions and registration practices and in its planning, budgeting, employment, and institutional effectiveness systems?
• What data are needed to deepen our understanding of the under-prepared student issue, and are the data available? How can we improve PVCC's ability to more accurately identify under-prepared students?
• What should be the student’s right to fail? Right to repeat? Can we suggest new policy
  related to these issues? How can we attract more students to our orientation program?
• Can PVCC move to mandatory policies that are equitable and responsive to the needs of under-prepared students in the following areas:
  • Course Placement Testing
  • Course Placement
  • Orientation
  • Advising
  • Student Success Course
  • Late Registration Policy
  • Limitations on Repeating a Course
• Are our college's fiscal and human resources--particularly our faculty and staff--appropriately aligned to effectively respond to the needs of under-prepared students? Should the responsibility to serve under-prepared students be embedded in the position descriptions for faculty, administration, and appropriate staff?
• How will we assess the effectiveness of intervention strategies related to under-prepared students? How can we effectively track the progress of under-prepared students?
• How can we create shared responsibility among all college faculty and staff for the success of under-prepared students?
• How do we create a responsible approach to students with an inability to succeed academically?

Resulting Recommendations for the Student Success Pilot Project:

• The PVCC administration and the President’s Leadership Council (PLC) advocate that the under-prepared student challenge is a shared issue, one that is owned by all faculty, staff, and administration.
• The college administration, faculty, and staff move courageously, decisively, prudently, and persistently toward supporting and instituting policies and procedures related to the following:
  • Mandatory Course Placement Testing
  • Mandatory Course Placement
  • Mandatory Orientation
  • Mandatory Student Success Course
  • Mandatory Advising
  • Late Registration Policy
  • Limitations on Repeating a Course
• Legal and financial issues related to existing MCCCD and PVCC policies and procedures be considered. Among the specific areas of focus are policies related to open admissions, services for students with a demonstrated inability to succeed academically, mandatory placement testing, course placement, orientation, advising, a required college success course for identified student cohorts, and the number of times a course may be repeated.
• Create a Student Success Pilot Project to begin Spring 2007 and end in May 2008. Invite other campuses to join in PVCC's Student Success Pilot Project.
• Create college-wide involvement in teaching the new and dynamic student success course called College 101. The course will be required for the identified student pilot cohort and available to other interested students.