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Quinsigamond Community College

Course Implementation

Course Design

In 2001, Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) received a Title III grant to, among other things, strengthen developmental education. From 2001 to 2006, QCC redesigned its three levels of developmental math and today continues to support those efforts. Classes meet for three hours per week and are offered in computer classrooms, traditional classrooms, evening classes, fastpaced courses, and online courses, as well as at off-campus sites. Instructors are provided a resource manual on CD, which includes a sample syllabus, course pacing, group activities, quizzes, and exams.

Computer classrooms. Students attend a minilecture followed by independent computer work using MyMathLab. Required MyMathLab homework may be completed at home, at the campus Math Resource Center, or at the campus Computer Lab. Students may have quizzes and exams administered using MyMathLab.

Noncomputer classrooms. Students experience an interactive lecture format with group work, applications, and the like. Required MyMathLab homework may be completed at home, at the campus Math Resource Center, or at the campus Computer Lab. Students may have quizzes and exams administered using MyMathLab.

Evening classes. These are three-hour classes held in computer or noncomputer classrooms, following the same format as the aforementioned classes.

Fast-paced courses. Held in a variety settings, these courses finish earlier than the traditional semester’s do. Students use MyMathLab to support their learning.

Online courses. All developmental math courses are offered online and use MyMathLab content, homework, and assessments. The final exam is taken on-site.

Off-campus remote sites. Developmental math courses are offered at off-campus remote sites, such as high schools, nursing homes, and correctional facilities. MyMathLab is used where there is Internet access.

Assessments

Instructors decide on the number of quizzes and exams for their classes. All students take the departmental, paper-and-pencil final exam. A score of at least 73 percent is required to continue to the next level.

Use of MyMathLab

All levels of developmental math have a predesigned course that can be copied and adjusted for each learning environment.

The location and format of a course dictate the degree to which MyMathLab is used and the amount of its contribution to a student’s final course grade.

Results and Data

During actual redesign—from 2001 to 2006—the following cumulative results were reported from Title III data:

• In Basic Mathematics, an overall 8 percent increase in student success from fall 2004 to fall 2006
• In Beginning Algebra, an overall 30 percent increase in student success from fall 2004 to fall 2006
• In Intermediate Algebra, an overall 11 percent increase in student success from fall 2003 to fall 2006

Table 1 shows the percent of students who passed the final exam and could therefore advance to the next level of mathematics. Note: This table shows only students who completed the semester and sat for the final exam; it does not include grades of X and W.

As students progress through the developmental mathematics program, they enjoy a high level of success in College Algebra. Figure 1 compares students who take the College Board’s ACCUPLACER and place directly into college-level mathematics versus students who come from Intermediate Algebra. QCC strives to ensure that its developmental- math students are performing the same, or close to the same, as those students who are placed directly into a course. In 2009, 67 percent of students who placed directly into College Algebra finished the course with a grade of at least C. That same semester, 64 percent of students who came from the developmental math program finished the course with a grade of at least C. See Figure 1.

Table 1. Student Pass Rate Percentages, Fall 2006–Fall 2009
*A severe ice storm in 2008 caused exam-day cancellations and a drop in pass rates.

The Student Experience

QCC is confident that the present curriculum is strong and supports students. MyMathLab enables QCC faculty to deliver this curriculum in a unified manner. The Math Center (a student drop-in tutorial center) has increased its number of computers by more than 60 percent to meet student demand for computer mathematics support.