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Fast Track – A SURE BET to Improve Placement

Fast Track – A SURE BET to Improve Placement. Bill Coe, Montgomery College Suzanne Williams, Central Piedmont CC Debbie Moses, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks Jane Weber, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks. Presentation Outline. What is Fast Track? About Montgomery College History of Fast Track

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Fast Track – A SURE BET to Improve Placement

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  1. Fast Track – A SURE BET to Improve Placement Bill Coe, Montgomery College Suzanne Williams, Central Piedmont CC Debbie Moses, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks Jane Weber, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks

  2. Presentation Outline • What is Fast Track? • About Montgomery College • History of Fast Track • Objectives of the Course • Course Structure • Results to Date • Advertising • Replication Experience at Central Piedmont CC • Replication Experience at University of Alaska Fairbanks • How to Start a Fast Track-Like Program • Conclusions

  3. What is Fast Track? • Two fast paced intensive review courses • Basic Fast Track covers Prealgebra and Elementary Algebra • Advanced Fast Track covers Elementary Algebra and Intermediate Algebra

  4. About Montgomery College • Largest Community College in Maryland (over 26,000 credit students on three campuses) • Diverse student population (33% international, 175 countries represented)

  5. History of Fast Track at MC

  6. Fast Track Course Objectives • Save time (one or two semesters) • Save money • Improve placement of students • Retention

  7. Our Target Population • Graduating high school seniors • Adults returning to school after long absences

  8. Fast Track Course Structure at MC • Two weeks, twenty hours for each course • Basic Fast Track • 7 hours Prealgebra • 11 hours Elementary Algebra • 2 hours testing and counseling • Advanced Fast Track • 10 hours Elementary Algebra • 8 hours Intermediate Algebra • 2 hours testing and counseling

  9. Fast Track Results to Date at MC • Summary by placement level • Out of 1541 students…. • Down one level: 26 students (1.7 %) • Same level: 376 students (24.4%) • Up one level: 558 students (36.2%) • Up two levels: 241 students (15. 6%) • Undetermined: 340 students (22.1%)

  10. More Fast Track Results at MC • Of those students who were officially enrolled in the recommended course in the semester following enrollment in Fast Track, and passed with a C or better: FT Students Non FT Students • Prealgebra: 60% 48% • Elem Alg: 55% 44% • Interm Alg: 61% 54% • CLM: 67% 67%

  11. Still More Results at MC • Comparison of Fast Track students to non FT students by grade (A or B): FT Students Non FT Students Prealgebra 74% 69% Elementary Algebra 62% 55% Intermediate Algebra 69% 59% College Level Math 73% 60%

  12. …and Still More Results • Retention Rates of Fast Track students to non FT students: 55% of FT students complete a CLM class within 2 years of successfully completing the Elementary Algebra portion of Fast Track or Advanced Fast Track. 41% of non FT students complete a CLM class within 2 years of completing Elementary Algebra.

  13. Advertising Fast Track • Counselors and faculty • Prep Talk (newsletter to high school seniors) • Continuing Education office • Credit and non credit schedules of classes • Direct Mail • Flyers • Brochures • Web page (montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/FastTrack.html)

  14. How we have done FT at CPCC All classes are 15 hours total, with last class review and test. The three levels offered are: • Fast Track Pre-algebra (15 hours) • Fast Track Beginning Algebra (15 Hours) • Fast Track Intermediate Algebra (15 hours) Over 700 students enrolled in since Summer, 2007 with 382 in 2009

  15. When do we offer Fast Track at CPCC? • Day and night 3 hour classes (Saturday mornings, if necessary) • Pre-Spring (2010 January 4-9) • Pre-Fall (2009 August 3-10) • Students “required” to enroll in the curriculum math in the following semester.

  16. How Two Terms of FT students did (2008) at CPCC Pre Alg Beg Alg Inter Alg n=127 n=48 n=62 Advanced 50% 56% 55% Completed 87% 82% 88% Made A, B, C 76% 68% 60%

  17. Another Look At Student Success at CPCC Of 455 students: • 54% advanced • 83% completed the next non-FT course • 60% made a C or better

  18. Wildlife You May Encounter on the University of Alaska Fairbanks CampusPhoto by Todd Paris, UAF Marketing and Communications

  19. Wildlife You will NOT Encounter on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus

  20. The University of Alaska Fairbanks at a Glance • Total Enrollment – About 10,000 students • Includes Fairbanks main campus as well as 6 community/rural campuses • Very diverse student population • Median age – 31 • Very large percentage of non-traditional students • One fifth of total student population – Alaska Native/American Indian

  21. Fast Track at the University of Alaska Fairbanks • Fast Track offered in Fairbanks only (for the Fairbanks Main Campus and Tanana Valley Campus) • Offered two-weeks prior to each semester for twenty hours (Fall, Spring, Summer)

  22. More Fast Track Facts at UAF • Math Fast Track (Prealgebra/Elementary Algebra Review) • Advanced Math Fast Track (Elementary/Intermediate Alg Review) • Began as non-credit courses in August 2007 • Changed to 1-credit courses in May 2009

  23. And Even More Fast Track Facts at UAF • 42 students enrolled in Fast Track during the 2007-2008 academic year • 47 students enrolled in Fast Track during the 2008-2009 academic year • An aside…. 24 students enrolled in Fast Track August 2009 (after advent of mandatory placement and change to a credit course)

  24. UAF Fast Track Results to date (2 years) by Placement Level Out of 89 students… • Down one level: 1 students 1% • Same level: 39 students 44% • Up one level: 29 students 33% • Up two levels: 3 students 3% • Undetermined: 17 students 19%

  25. Fast Track Success Rates at UAF • Of those students who were officially enrolled in the recommended course following enrollment in Fast Track, those who passed with a C or better: FT Students Non FT Students 85% (46/54) 55% (1325/2428)

  26. More on Fast Track Success Rates at UAF • Two years of data • 35 of the 89 who took FT have not yet completed a successor course (9 of the 35 who took FT in May 2009 are enrolled this semester in a successor course)

  27. Obstacles and Challenges of UAF Fast Track Program • Prior to Mandatory Placement in Fall 2008, students could enroll in course at higher level than recommended • Not all FT students took final placement test when offered as non-credit courses • Not all FT students interested in improving placement level… some just want refresher • Not all FT students enroll in math course in subsequent semester

  28. Improvements made to FT Program at UAF • Began offering for credit May 2009 requiring pre- and post- placement tests and attendance requirement (9 out of 10 days) • Better advertising • What we have noticed: 1) enrollment increase 2) attendance improvement 3) improvement in placement.

  29. Future Plans for Improvement • Extend to area high schools • Expand to rural campuses via audio and EluminateLive • Explore mid-semester offerings

  30. How to Start a FT-like Program • Determine what courses it should cover • Offer through Continuing Education? • Talk to a number of schools about their start up experiences • Determine the number of classroom hours • Develop course materials • Make a presentation to your counselors • Advise all math faculty of the plan • Develop a brochure for interested students • Develop a flyer

  31. Contacts for the Presenters • Bill Coe – william.coe@montgomerycollege.edu • Suzanne Williams – suzanne.williams@cpcc.edu • Debbie Moses – ffdmm@uaf.edu • Jane Weber – ffjw@uaf.edu

  32. Conclusions • Better Placement • Better Grades • Improved Retention

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