Requisites Review SCC CIC Fall 2016
Sources Guidelines for Title 5 Regulations Section 55003 Policies for Prerequisites, Corequisites and Advisories on Recommended Preparation Adopted by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors March 2011 Good Practice for the Implementation of Prerequisites Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Spring 1997 RSCCD AR 4260 Course Prerequisites, Corequisites, and Advisories
Introduction • Prerequisites are an essential tool in the construction of curriculum for courses in which student success is highly dependent on previously acquired knowledge or skills. Applied overzealously, prerequisites which go beyond needed skills will • unnecessarily limit students’ access to courses and inhibit their ability to make normal progress toward fulfilling their educational potential and may drive qualified students away causing financial loss to the college. • Used laxly or not at all, weak or non-existent prerequisites do not inform students of skills needed to succeed in their courses. Instructors will find course goals hard to achieve when precious class time is needed to teach such unprepared students. In fact, these situations often create pressures to reduce academic standards. The tendency of unprepared students to drop out will create unfilled seats for which the college will generate no income and make it seem that the instructional program is weak and ineffective.
Levels of Scrutiny 1. Standard co/prerequisites Identify three campuses of UC or CSU that offer the equivalent course with the equivalent prerequisite in order to demonstrate that, in fact, the prerequisite in question is a usual, customary, and reasonable one 2. Sequential within and across disciplines Document the content review by including in the course outline a list of the specific skills and knowledge a student must possess in order to be ready to take the course
3. Courses in communication or computation skills as co/prerequisites for courses other than another skills course The additional scrutiny of such prerequisites must include collecting data according to sound research principles. The approved research methods are: – the extent to which students who are or have taken the prerequisite of course believe it is necessary; – a comparison of the faculty member’s appraisal of students’ readiness for the course to whether the students had met the prerequisite; – a comparison of the students’ performance at any point in the course with whether the student had completed the proposed prerequisite; – a comparison of student performance in the course to their scores on assessment instruments in the manner required to validate an assessment instrument and cut scores for the course in question
PREREQUISITE VALIDATION STUDY Target Course: ECON 120 Prerequisite: MATH 060 The following is statistical data on the validation of the following course prerequisite: Successful completion of MATH 060 as a prerequisite for ECON 120. ECON 120 First Attempt GRADE * Completed MATH 060 Crosstabulation Count Completed MATH 060 0 1 Total ECON 120 First Attempt GRADE 0 673 121 794 1 1284 165 1449 Total 1957 286 2243
Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2- Exact Sig. (2- Exact Sig. (1- Value df sided) sided) sided) 6.842 a Pearson Chi-Square 1 .009 Continuity Correction b 6.500 1 .011 Likelihood Ratio 6.696 1 .010 Fisher's Exact Test .010 .006 Linear-by-Linear Association 6.839 1 .009 N of Valid Cases 2243 a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 101.24. b. Computed only for a 2x2 table Chi-Square Measurement: The Chi-Square measurement tests the hypothesis ( null hypothesis ) that there is “no difference” between the expected frequencies and the observed frequencies of two variables. An alternate interpretation of the null hypothesis is that the variables are independent. In order to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the two variables are statistically dependent, the Chi-Square value must be greater than 3.84 . To ensure the validity of the Chi-Square test there is a minimum frequency threshold for a 2x2 table that should be obeyed. If any of the observed frequencies in the cross- tabulation table are 5 or below then the validity of the Chi-Square measurement is questionable. CHI-SQUARE = 6.842 REJECT NULL HYPOTHESIS
Fisher’s Exact Measurement: • The Fisher’s Exact measurement can be used as an alternative to the Chi-Square measurement when a large sample is difficult to obtain. In order to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the two variables are statistically dependent, the Fisher’s Exact value must have a P-value that is less than the standard .05 . • FISHER’S EXACT = .010 REJECT NULL HYPOTHESIS Percent increase: • Percent increase is measured by subtracting the percent success before adjusting for the prerequisite from the percent success after adjusting for the prerequisite. For the study percent increase to meet the percent increase criteria there must be a difference greater than or equal to 10% in the positive direction. • PERCENT INCREASE: FAILED CRITERIA • 1449/2243 = 64.6% Before Prerequisite • 165/286 = 57.7% After Prerequisite
Summary • A total sample of 100, with at least 20 students in the non- successful group for the target course is recommended. In this case the total sample is sufficient (2243), with the number in the non-successful group above the recommended level (794). Both the chi-square test and the Fisher’s Exact test reject the null hypothesis that success in MATH 060 is independent of success in ECON 120. Unfortunately, MATH 060 failed the Percent Increase criteria. Even though the two variables are statistically dependent upon one another, the affect this relationship has on student success is in the negative direction. Conclusion • The data does not support MATH 060 as a prerequisite of ECON 120 at this time.
4. Program co/prerequisites. (Note: Co/prerequisites defined for the program that are mandated by outside accrediting or licensing agencies, other than skills prerequisites, should be documented and attached to this form.) 5. Health and Safety The faculty in the discipline and the curriculum committee determine that students who lack the prerequisite might endanger themselves or others. Attach narrative justification
6. Recency and other measures of readiness (miscellaneous) Such prerequisites also require collecting data according to sound research principles as discussed in number 3 7. Legally Mandated Training
Limitations on Enrollment Performance Courses The College may establish audition or try-out as a limitation on enrollment for courses that include public performance or intercollegiate competition such as, but not limited to, band orchestra, theater, competitive speech, chorus, journalism, dance, and intercollegiate athletics provided that: For any certificate or associate degree requirement which can be met a. by taking this course, there is another course or courses which satisfy the same requirement; and b. The College includes in the course outline of record a list of each certificate or associate degree requirement that the course meets and of the other course or courses which meet the same requirement. c. Limitations on enrollment established as provided for performance courses shall be reviewed at least every six years to determine whether the audition or try-out process is having a disproportionate impact on any historically underrepresented group and, if so, a plan shall be adopted to seek to remedy the disproportionate impact. If disproportionate impact has been found, the limitation on enrollment may not be printed in subsequent catalogs or schedules nor enforced in any subsequent term until such a plan has been endorsed by the department and the college administration and put into effect.
Honors Courses A limitation on enrollment for an honors course or an honors section of a course may be established if, in addition to the review by the faculty in the discipline or department and by the Curriculum and Instruction Council as provided above, there is another section or another course or courses at the College which satisfy the same requirements. If the limitation is for an honors course and not only for an honors section, the College must also include in the course outline of record a list of each certificate or associate degree requirement that the course meets and of the other course or courses which meet the same associate degree or certificate requirement .
Blocks of courses or sections Blocks of courses or blocks of sections of courses are two or more courses or sections for which enrollment is limited in order to create a cohort of student. Such a limitation on enrollment may be established if, in addition to review by the faculty in the discipline or department and by the Curriculum and Instruction Council as provided above, there is another section or another course or courses which satisfy the same requirement. If the cohort is created through limitations on enrollment in the course rather than limitation on specific sections of courses, then the College must include in the course outline of record a list of each certificate or associate degree requirement that the course meets and of the other course or courses which satisfy the same associate degree or certificate requirement.
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