Institute/Session Summary:

Many high school students are unaware of the gap between high school graduation standards and college competencies. At the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and at Kodiak College, a branch of UAA, the Early College Placement Testing Project offered one way school districts and colleges could begin to close that gap by providing more awareness of college readiness standards, early assessment of progress toward readiness, and an early opportunity for underprepared students to catch up before enrolling in college.

The purpose of this session is to show how a four-year university and a two-year college each formed partnerships with local high schools to build awareness in students about college readiness skills and to offer students who were assessed as underprepared an opportunity to develop competencies for college entry.

Session presenters will describe the process and results of the three-part project which took place on each campus during AY 2006-07. First, they administered a college placement test (Accuplacer) to high school juniors and seniors that provided students, parents, and schools useful information about each student's progress toward college and workplace readiness in reading, writing, and math. Next they offered interventions to help students develop reading, writing, and math competencies necessary for college and workplace success. Finally, they administered a post-test to measure progress toward college readiness.

Session attendees will learn how the projects were developed with grant funding and in-kind contributions. They will explore ways to offer outreach to K-12, increase college awareness, and utilize technology in both testing and interventions. Presenters will also discuss difficulties encountered along the way as well as report on the results. Benefits of the projects to students, to local high schools, and to UAA and Kodiak College will be described through a lively PowerPoint presentation and useful handouts.

Presenter1 Name: Patricia Grega
Presenter1 Institution: University of Alaska Anchorage
Presenter1 Bio: Patricia Grega is an Associate Professor of Developmental Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has developed and taught a variety of reading and study skill classes at UAA since 1997. Dr. Grega served as the Developmental Education Department's ASSET placement advisor from 1997-2002; she further developed her knowledge of assessment and placement of underprepared students while attending the Kellogg Institute for Developmental Educators in 2001 and as part of her practicum assisted with the transition to ACCUPLACER Placement Testing at UAA. From 2002-2005, she served as department chairperson. In December 2005, she completed a Doctorate of Education at the University of Oregon. Her dissertation research continued to focus on effective learning strategies for underprepared college students. Her most recent work, the Early College Placement Test Project, is an outcome of her interest in helping secondary students graduate from high school with the academic skills they need to succeed in college.

Presenter2 Name: Barbara Brown
Presenter2 Institution: Kodiak College, University of Alaska Anchorage
Presenter2 Bio: Barbara Brown earned a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in College Student Development and Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2002. She is the Academic Counselor and Assistant Professor of Guidance and Counseling at Kodiak College, University of Alaska Anchorage. She teaches college success courses in a developmental learning community. Her professional interests include learning communities, academic and career advising, and learning and teaching strategies. She presented at CRLA in 2005 and 2006, and she is the current Alaska State Director of CRLA. She also presented at NADE 2007, and she is a member of the NADE Political Liaision Committee.

Presenter3 Name: Evelyn Davidson
Presenter3 Institution: Kodiak College, University of Alaska Anchorage
Presenter3 Bio: Evelyn Davidson is Coordinator of Developmental Studies and Director of the Learning Center at Kodiak College, University of Alaska Anchorage. She also teaches writing in a developmental learning community. In 2003, she received the UAA Chancellor's Award for Excellence for Outstanding Contributions to Students. She is a graduate of the 2004 Kellogg Institute and of Advanced Kellogg 2005. She was Team Leader for the Kodiak College faculty team attending the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities at The Evergreen State College in summer 2005. As a recipient of a CRLA Professional Development Scholarship for 2006, she attended The Winter Institute in Austin, Texas. She is the former Alaska CRLA Director and a current member of the CRLA Scholarship Committee. She is a member of the NADE Adjunct Committee and co-author of an article on supervising adjuncts appearing in the fall 2006 issue of the Journal of Developmental Education. She has presented at both CRLA and NADE conferences.